More than most science fiction universes, the sprawling world of Star Trek isn’t just populated by a few different alien species; it's stuffed to the gills with different extraterrestrials. So many, in fact, that you could argue that finding actual “strange new worlds” and having Starfleet “seek out new life” can be tricky. But now, midway through Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 3, the franchise has done something that sometimes feels like a challenge: introduce a dynamic alien species that actually feels new.
In “Through the Lens of Time,” the Enterprise crew encounters the Vezda, a dangerous alien race that, while presented as ancient, is brand new to the canon.
Spoilers ahead.
After several episodes that focused on decades-old aliens like the Gorn, Trelane, the Klingons, and the origin of The Original Series itself, “Through the Lens of Time” marked a noticeable change insofar as the crew’s encounter with the ancient, spirit-like aliens known as the Vezda appears to be a new innovation. Longtime fans will probably notice that Marie Batel’s (Melanie Scrofano’s) battle with the Vezda that possesses Ensign Gamble (Chris Myers) has some shades of the Prophets versus the Pah-wraiths in Deep Space Nine. And obviously, Star Trek has dealt with crew members getting possessed with god-like powers before. The entire premise of the second pilot episode, “Where No Man Has Gone Before,” — which sold the series in 1965 — tackled that very premise.
But Gamble becoming imbued with the soul of an ancient Vezda does not make him the new Gary Mitchell, or even the new Gul Dukat, of the show. Strange New Worlds is making it clear that this is, in fact, a new alien menace, and not one that we’ve encountered before. It also seems that this time, Starfleet won’t be able to use diplomacy or empathy to find a way to work things out. As Pelia (Carol Kane) makes clear, the Vezda are pure evil.
Whether or not this plot line ends up being satisfying by the end of Strange New Worlds Season 3 is hardly the point. What’s more crucial here is that the show is introducing a big, new alien presence, which isn’t something the franchise has really attempted since Discovery Season 4, in which the truly alien Species Ten-C proved that Trek could still do big speculative stories about non-humanoid lifeforms.
So far, the Vezda don’t seem as high-concept as Species Ten-C, but they don't represent a moment in which Strange New Worlds is at least trying to do something brand-new. Yes, Roger Korby (Cillian O’Sullivan) is a legacy character, and yes, this episode is also about the increasingly complicated love affairs happening between the crew. But, at the end of the day, the mission of the Enterprise is to seek out new life and new civilizations. In the two previous seasons, we have met a few alien species that were technically new, but for most of its run, the appeal of Strange New Worlds has largely been about playing the hits when it comes to aliens.
Does the introduction of the Vezda bode well for the future of Strange New Worlds? From a plot perspective, this is an alien species that has powered up a few characters and created a threat to Starfleet that feels brutal and real. But it’s very hard to develop new and lasting Trek antagonists. The Next Generation gave us the Borg, while Deep Space Nine gave us not only the Dominion, but the aforementioned Pah-wraiths. Are Voyager’s baddies, like the Kazon or Species 8472, as memorable? What about the Xindi on Enterprise?
These debates will rage in Trekkie circles forever, but perhaps the coolness of various villainous aliens isn’t the point. But the fact that Strange New Worlds is trying something new? That’s what boldly going is all about.
