Pelia Is Strange New Worlds’ Best Addition To Star Trek

Pelia is a Lanthanite, a new addition to the roster of Trek universe aliens, and her presence is a departure from the commonly held narrative of first contact according to Star Trek lore. Her species lives a very long time, and Pelia has been observing humanity in disguise–possibly for millennia. Carol Kane does a great job of using Pelia’s playful, mischievous nature to keep the secret of exactly how old she is and also what kinds of artifacts she’s been collecting in her quarters.

The Lanthanites, the species that Pelia is from, were discovered on Earth in the 2100’s, according to Spock. This would put their discovery in with the mix of humanity doing away with war and money, as well as the founding of the Federation. Whether or not Pelia’s people were involved in the events that led to humanity’s great leap forward is unclear, but you get the sense that Pelia might have witnessed these events in any case.

Carol Kane explained that in addition to using the tool of comedy, she employed an accent for Pelia that was hard to nail down. It’s similar to the type of speech she had in Taxi, but you can’t quite tell where the accent is supposed to be from, adding a layer to the enigma of Pelia. The accent can also help to distinguish Pelia from her human crewmates, who fully resemble her but are indeed from another planet.

One of the best things about Commander Pelia is that she gives up a couple of high-demand positions within Star Fleet, both as an instructor at Starfleet Academy and as an inspector at Star Base 1, because she’s bored. Because her species lives so long, she is constantly on the lookout for something new to do, and the Enterprise gives her the perfect project. Pelia’s enigmatic past is coupled with her avid pursuit of the future.

Because Pelia is mischievous and has a spritely sense of humor, she can join in with the adventures that the crew are having, even when they cross the line on Starfleet protocol. While Pelia has the wisdom of a being who has lived for a very long time, she doesn’t stand on ceremony, mainly because she can’t stand the tedium. In this way, Pelia is able to straddle the divide between the command and the rest of the crew, making her an excellent lynchpin for dramatic story arcs.

Carol Kane had never seen Star Trek before she joined the cast of Strange New Worlds. She explains that before being asked to play Pelia, science fiction just wasn’t in her wheelhouse. Although her previous career includes celebrated roles from Taxi to Unbreakable Kimmy Shmidt, Kane shared that she felt like a newbie at the first table read for her role over Zoom. In spite of her humble demeanor, Kane’s take on her Pelia character was spot-on, and she was given the green light to run with her unique style for the role.