During an observation of Starfleet’s Remembrance Day, a day where crew members don pins of past ships they’ve served aboard that have lost corps members in the line of duty, the Enterprise is ambushed by the terrifyingly evil Gorn, a predatory alien species whose sole purpose seems to be to enslave, breed, and consume whatever species they happen to come across. Some species just want to watch their worlds burn, the Gorn would like also to see those worlds burn but treat it more like a dinner and a show.
When an urgent visit to planet Finibus 3 turns first into a rescue-the-locals mission and then turns into a rescue ourselves mission, the one person who can help turn a near-certain slaughter into a victory lap is struggling with repressed memories (the real kind) from her last experience with the Gorn, and needs help. La’an is one of the few individuals in the galaxy to have survived years of enslavement by the interplanetary demons, ones who produce a very particular click-clack sound (like a horse trotting) as they are stalking you, hunting you through the dark tangle of the blood-soaked forests that are their breeding grounds except she can’t remember most of it. Sorry for the drama but these are definitely not the Gorn of our yore.
When the Enterprise is severely damaged by the Gorn attack cruiser, Captain Pike retreats to a gas giant planet nearby so they can regroup. In the process of taking a breather most of the ship’s systems, including medical, climate, and core, go off-line, putting Dr M’Benga and his staff in the precarious position of having to do medical treatment like it was 1999 on everyone who was injured in the Gorn attack, including saving the life of one Una Chin-Riley who was severely injured. Meanwhile, Uhura and Hemmer are trying to keep the ship’s core from exploding and thereby keeping everyone from exploding as well as La’an and Spock take a shuttle out for a quick intel trip that leads to two minds melding in a way that both saves the day and, possibly, each other’s future selves. The episode is intense and intelligent, with plenty of nods to TOS and TNG to keep you busy (you know you’re going to Google everything and that’s ok,) it resolves the storyline respectfully and leaves you with a sense of realistic hope.
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds can be streamed right here on Paramount +