Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 3 Already Makes No Sense
This year’s San Diego Comic-Con was a real treat for Star Trek fans because we got an extended glimpse at some upcoming projects. This included a divisive trailer for the Section 31 movie and a 5-minute preview of Strange New Worlds season 3. While the show is great, this trailer makes no sense because it features Pike and several crew members being temporarily transformed into Vulcans, something which seemingly violates the Federation’s restrictions on genetic engineering.
The Genetic Enhancement Angle
Now, Strange New Worlds has embraced the sillier side of Star Trek in previous seasons (just look at the musical episode and the crossover with Lower Decks), and it looks like season 3 will be no exception.
We don’t know the exact details of why she had to do it, but the trailer starts with Chapel using a version of the Kerkhovian serum that made Spock temporarily human to make Pike, herself, and others temporarily Vulcan to complete a mission.
At least, the effects are supposed to be temporary, but as a weirdly Ivanka Trump-looking Vulcan Chapel explains at the end of this preview, the transformation now looks permanent.
Potentially Messing With Canon Established In DS9
Its comedy value (or lack thereof) aside, why do I think that this Strange New Worlds season 3 preview makes no sense? Weirdly enough, it all goes back to the Deep Space Nine episode “Doctor Bashir, I Presume,” which clarified that the Federation had made genetic enhancements illegal. As a gruff admiral bluntly explains, some genetically augmented people like Bashir might turn out just fine, but nobody wants to run the risk of creating the next Khan Noonien Singh.
We Can’t Ignore Una Chin-Riley’s Story Either
The prequel series Enterprise would explore more about why the Federation is nervous about genetic enhancement, even tying experiments with Augmented people to why the Klingons in The Original Series had smooth foreheads (it’s a long story). But Strange New Worlds ended up featuring a major plot-line about Una Chin-Riley (Number One) getting arrested by Starfleet because she was genetically modified before birth.
This was part of her family and cultural tradition, but she had to endure a nasty court martial (really, a very public show trial) before she could be reinstated into Starfleet on a technicality.
Temporary Or Permanent?
It is this earlier Strange New Worlds plot that really underscores how little sense this preview for season 3 makes. If the Enterprise’s first officer can be nearly drummed out of service for a genetic enhancement that happened before she was even born, why can the ship’s captain and other officers get enhanced without any repercussions?
It’s possible that the episode will explain that the Federation doesn’t care about temporary genetic enhancements, but as the end of the preview reveals, it’s easy for “temporary” DNA changes to become permanent.
The Legality Of The Premise Needs To Be Addressed
It’s also possible that this Strange New Worlds season 3 episode will argue that the Federation doesn’t care about genetic engineering so much as it’s not an enhancement. After all, Starfleet was apparently fine with Paul Stamets injecting himself with tardigrade DNA to make the spore drive work in Discovery.
But considering that turning humans into Vulcans (who are three times stronger) effectively gives them Khan-like super-strength, Pike’s actions would seemingly fly in the face of everything we know about the Federation’s legal stance on this.
Still, We Need To Know About The Possible Hair Club For Trekkies
Now, I don’t want to sound like the fun police here … Strange New Worlds has generally knocked it out of the park with sillier stuff (especially the musical episode), and this season 3 episode will probably deliver some great comedy.
However, it’s important for the show to have consistent storytelling, making it weird that genetic enhancement is treated like a seriously illegal act for two seasons and then suddenly turns into a punchline.
If the Federation is suddenly cool with all this, then I have an important question for Chapel: do you have a serum that can give me Captain Pike’s beautiful hair?
