SNW Episode 3 Ghosts Of Illyria Brings To Light Infections Of Days To Come

All I’m saying is that someone needs to let us know where these kids are buying their wardrobes. Damn.

Epsiode 3 of Strange New Worlds Ghost Of Illyria is about destruction, renewal, hope, and days of futures past. An away team is sent to Planet Illyrian to look for additional clues as to what happened to the local Illyrians who seemed to vanish into thin air. The Illyrians are a race with a proclivity towards genetic manipulation (of their own genes) who desperately want to be a part of the United Federation of Planets but couldn’t due to the Federation’s strict policy of prohibition towards members engaging in unnatural genetic enhancement which is understandable to a point but most points need to be reassessed at some point, which is something I’d like to point out. Like, I don’t know, points about gun control laws and how we need stronger laws for all. Moving on.

While on the planet an ion storm roles through, somehow infecting most of the away team with a light-based virus that feeds off of the vitamin D in their bodies making them crave lethal amounts of illumination to fix the imbalance. In fact, the virus begins to infect nearly everyone on the ship except Una and Uhura, but for different reasons. Una has been hiding her true ethnicity and genetic makeup both of which saves everyone’s tuckus from the virus, and Uhura, well she’s just a normal human with weird sleeping habits (not weird for me but still) which helps give insight into how the virus can be contained so don’t let anyone tell you how you sleep is weird. It could save lives (probably not but stay positive here.)

While mayhem reigns supreme on the ship, Captain Pike and Spock are still stuck on the planet’s surface, trying to survive the storm through pure grit and some oddly and severely offered help from the locals. The rescue is the stuff of nightmares but is also another bend in the learning curve of the life and death of these Illyrians. As per the norm of Star Trek episodes (and Star Trek homage shows, looking at you The Orville) we are left with a lot of things to consider about how we handle circumstances that are beyond our control in life, and how we handle cultures whose practices we do not agree with but appreciate and understand the necessity of trying to find unity and common ground.

Another fantastic episode, the lot of which can be streamed right here on Paramount +.