IR TV Review: STAR TREK - STRANGE NEW WORLDS - EPISODE 7 (“What Is Starfleet”)[Paramount+-S3]
The aspect of perception is always about how things are versus how they could be. With Episode 7 of Season 3 of "Strange New Worlds" entitled "What Is Starfleet", the idea is bathed in the documentary that we saw Ortegas' younger brother making back at the beginning of the season. The idea revolves as the episode progresses about a notion of conscience which does make sense. What is interesting about the play of this episode is that moments we saw earlier in the season in another episode are shown from a different perspective. Stylistically the episode is also very different from the rest of the season using what would be security and station cams to give a different indication of what we are seeing. It is jarring in a way but it works in the context of the show trying different things. The filmmaker here focuses on the different characters and in a way one gets a sense of aspects or questions that one might have as a documentary filmmaker trying to get to a "truth".
Doctor M'Benga is an interesting one because he tries to walk the line that might eventually turn on him. L'an Noonien-Singh is another interesting one since it is about how she is balancing her duties versus letting someone in. What is interesting is how this filters into the original series even it is not necessarily canon. One gets the sense of a little bit of Tasha Yar's journey in a way. Spock speaks about his humanity in a way that maybe he can't explain to his captain or others. Pike in the meantime has a little bit of foreboding without hitting the reality over the head. Ortegas herself has some unresolved issues but the Gorn flash from earlier this season has really still yet to be explained so that plot hole seems to drift just a little bit.
Ultimately it is Uhura that the episode tries to rest on which makes sense since she seems closest to the younger Ortegas and does try to bring closure and a sense of hope. The balance between colonialism and exploration in the perception of Starfleet is an interesting and likely more realistic idea for a civilian since not everyone on Earth likely supports Starfleet. This series is simply done from the point of view a group who made the decision to pursue this lifestyle. It is an interesting perspective though again more of an experiment in storytelling. The main new story it tells (which does have reflections in certain ways to TNG's "Encounter At Farpoint") talks about making the right choice and the imagery at the end even using this storytelling device reflects well on the season. B+
By Tim Wassberg
