“Memento Mori”

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds delivers a deadly game of cat and mouse when the Enterprise is attacked by the terrifying and mysterious Gorn.

When Star Trek: Enterprise was on the air it would periodically push against the boundaries of canon by introducing alien races that Humans weren’t supposed to have encountered until later in the franchise chronology. In most cases the same story could have been told with a different alien race, so the usage was questionable. The same could be said here as the first canonical encounter with the Gorn was by Captain Kirk in his crew in the episode “Arena”. The first question this episode will invite fans of the franchise to ask is whether this story could have been told with another hostile alien race.

The answer is a vehement “yes” and personal preference will determine whether the canon violation is something that can be overlooked. Steps are taken to preserve canon as much as possible by having none of the Enterprise crew see the Gorn through the threat being represented entirely by their ships. Past experience with the Gorn is a significant part of La’an’s backstory as was set up in the first episode so this outing acts as an opportunity for her to confront the trauma she has been struggling with. Once again, the Gorn could have been replaced in her backstory with nothing else changed so the personal preference determination still exists.

Putting aside the fact that the Gorn were used and whether they should have been -they were used, and nothing can be done to change that-, the episode can still be analysed on its own merits. Regardless of the named species, this is a story about the Enterprise crew trying to survive while outnumbered, outgunned and facing an enemy they don’t understand while one of the crew potentially holds the key to ensuring they get out of the situation alive. The tension is palpable and relentless as the situation grows more bleak and the crew are constantly tested by the unpredictable threat they are facing.

Not seeing the Gorn works in their favour in terms of establishing them as a threat. La’an’s account of her experience with them leans heavily on them being monstrous and beyond understanding. According to her they see Humans as nothing more than prey which means the conventional Federation ethos of finding common ground will never work. This is supported by them being defined by the actions they take. They have no voice or presence so it’s impossible to assign any sense of identity to them. All they are is a dangerous predator bent on consuming their prey. This makes them mysterious and compelling while putting the audience in the mindset of Pike and the others trying to figure out a way to outsmart them in order to secure their survival.

Further enhancing the threat is that they are clearly intelligent as demonstrated by their evolving tactics and lack of boundaries when it comes to putting themselves in danger. They don’t think twice about sacrificing themselves in service of the hunt which gives them an advantage over Pike as he is only willing to assume so much risk. He is stunned by the prospect of them sacrificing one ship so that the others can pin down their location. Despite never being seen or even speaking they have a ferocious personality that helps the episode maintain momentum.

There is a cost to the altercation with the loss of members of the crew. None of them are named but their loss adds to the texture of the threat. A poignant moment of Pike standing over the coffins clearly distraught by the loss is depicted and the loss is exemplified through seeing one crewmember lost when the bulkhead is sealed. This is done at the last possible second out of necessity as failing to do so would mean the entire ship is lost. Losing someone in the process is regrettable but the alternative was everyone losing their lives. This is punctuated very clumsily with Pike having to be told by Spock that there was no other choice. He questions what it doesn’t feel like the right decision and is told it’s because he values life. None of this needed to be said because Pike’s training and experience should make him aware of this already. The dialogue exchange exists for the benefit of the audience; to show that Pike doesn’t take the loss of those under his command lightly but the same could have been accomplished far more effectively with a simple look on Pike’s face rather than dialogue stating the obvious.

In general, the crisis situation points to a problem with the general setup around Pike. It has been established that he is aware of the accident that will occur in less than a decade that will leave him confined to a life support chair. That awareness is detailed right down to when it happens and who he saves. This means that any dangerous situation he finds himself in before that date ends in success. He knows this so shouldn’t be concerned for his own well-being as he believes he is unable to prevent the outcome. The second episode suggested that he was beginning to doubt the certainty of his future but that thought process has yet to be expanded on so as far as the audience knows he still firmly believes his fate is sealed.

On one hand Pike knowing his future in the level of detail he does could be considered a mistake because it risks removing any tension from dangerous situations he finds himself in, He should be aware that he resolves them so this is something that the show could play with through having him confidently approach problems fuelled by the belief that his decisions will always result in victory. There is scope for him to be mistaken and be shaken out of his arrogance or proceed on the mistaken belief that knowing about his own invincibility also guarantees the safety of the Enterprise and her crew.

Another option would have been to have his knowledge of the accident be vague so that it could be something that happens at any time. This creates personal jeopardy as he never knows what set of decisions will lead to that outcome. An opportunity existed for this episode to be a false alarm in that regard as the damage to the Enterprise could have produced similar circumstances. The problem with the level of knowledge he has stands out in this episode because at no point does he address knowing for a fact that he will survive. Of course, he has no way of knowing if anyone else does but with some work the show could really have fun with Pike’s future knowledge as a commentary on the invincibility of characters in prequels. Unfortunately, he behaves as if his life is in danger which doesn’t track with the knowledge he is established to have.

Despite that, Pike’s strong leadership skills and encouraging command style are further showcased. From early on he makes it clear that the best way to survive is to work together and he encourages the crew to be creative in pursuit of attaining victory. He also doesn’t downplay the severity of what they’re facing and maintains composure as an example for the crew to look up to. Any plans or suggestions brought to his attention are met with encouragement and his decisions are sensible given the circumstances. Pike is a great example of a Captain in this franchise and Anson Mount continues to excel in this role.

There is a subplot involving Hemmer and Uhura having to learn to work together. They become trapped in a cargo bay during an assessment Hemmer is doing on Uhura to evaluate her engineering capabilities. The attack turns it from a routine evaluation to a fight for survival where Uhura has to do the work because Hemmer is rendered incapable. She needs to follow his instructions precisely, remain calm and delicately work on the malfunctioning machine. It’s not especially tense but it provides an excellent opportunity for a dynamic to form between them. Hemmer has so far been characterised as deliberately standoffish which will make him intimidating to some but Uhura is determined to find common ground with everyone she meets.

She is particularly interested in how an Aenar can be in Starfleet because of their pacifistic nature. Hemmer declares that he won’t fight but he will defend the Federation ideals because he believes in them. His statement “pacifism is not passivity, it’s the active protection of all living things in the natural universe”. Uhura is excited at this insight into his perspective because it teaches her something about him which helps her relate to him. They also have a conversation about his belief that people don’t die until they have found and fulfilled their purpose which raises her established uncertainty around her purpose in life. It’s nothing more than a brief reminder that she has yet to resolve that uncertainty but it’s an example of continuity and a complex approach to character development.

In theory, the Sickbay scenes factor into the escalating tension though showing the injuries sustained and how overwhelmed the medical staff are. There is mention of supplies being lost and much of these scenes involve M’Benga and Chapel using old school techniques to treat the injured. Una’s injuries act as something of a case study though it doesn’t quite work as the threat to her life doesn’t fully translate into tangible danger. It comes across as more of an excuse to keep her off the bridge and push La’an into that leadership position.

The emotional grounding of this episode comes from La’an as she is the one who has experience with the Gorn and unresolved trauma. Encountering them again is unmistakably her worst nightmare and she is visibly torn between her personal feelings and her duty throughout. Pike checks in with her to see how she’s feeling once it becomes known they are dealing with the Gorn and she dismisses an emotional connection of any kind. She cites that feelings get in the way so she doesn’t have any which is far easier said than done. Pike gently prompts her to offer up any knowledge that could be of help and she admits that her memories are trauma inhibited but she’ll do what she can. Notably, Pike also encourages her to have hope and pass that onto the crew. He makes her First Officer for the duration of this crisis so that advice is in line with what is expected of her in a leadership position. The crew need to believe that they can survive and turn to their leaders for assurance that it’s possible. La’an is far too fatalist by nature to naturally be that hopeful presence so Pike pointing that out to her is a nice touch and creates a learning opportunity for her.

Interestingly it isn’t a lesson she learns in this episode. At no point does she deliver a rousing speech about teamwork being the key to survival or every problem having a solution. Having her adopt this philosophy within this episode would have been contrived because the purpose of her arc is to begin the healing process. She has a lot to work through so taking a step forward by admitting that she needs to deal with her feelings is enough for this episode.

The obvious difference between this encounter and her previous one is that she recognises the opportunity to save those around her whereas before she felt completely helpless as someone who could do nothing more that watch everyone she cared about be brutally murdered by a predatory race. This desire to make sure the same thing doesn’t happen to the Enterprise crew motivates her to push her anxieties aside in order to focus on the task at hand. Here she has power she didn’t have in the last encounter, and she isn’t shy about making use of it.

This culminates in her directly confronting the feelings she has tried to deny exist because she knows that her memories contain key information around how the Gorn communicate. She facilitates this by asking Spock to Mind Meld with her so that she can revisit the memories. Spock warns her against is as it can be a dangerous process, but she insists and is able to understand how the Gorn communicate so that it can be used against them.

More importantly, revisiting her memory allows her to begin to heal because she confronts her past and can admit to herself that the feelings need to be dealt with. She sees her brother and starts to process his death rather than trying to push aside her feelings connected to that loss. It’s an important first step for her and there is a visual representation of her progress when she wears the insignia of her old ship at the end of the episode after refusing to do so earlier.

The Mind Meld also clues her in on Spock dealing with the loss of his sister. It creates a small kinship between them but it’s an uncomfortable one; particularly for Spock who is forbidden from talking about it. There’s no sense that La’an was privy to the details, but it does serve as a reminder that many around her are dealing with their own pain. Whether that acts as comfort to her isn’t clear but it’s a brief display of common ground between them and highlights that Spock’s emotions are always threatening to be expressed.

This was a great episode for La’an that provided strong insight into her character. It’s an expansion of what was established in the first episode of the season that allows her to develop beyond what could easily be a cliché emotionally closed off character. There is a lot to her beneath the surface and she isn’t comfortable sharing her true self with others. Her development in this episode is incremental but also significant which highlights a commitment to more realistic character development rather than suggesting stratospheric personality shifts following a single experience.

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Verdict

A strong episode that neatly connects the main plot to La’an’s characterisation and delivers a brilliantly tense threat driven narrative. Pushing aside the obvious questions around the necessity of using the Gorn when they canonically aren’t encountered until later in the timeline, the episode does an excellent job establishing them as a threat. Their tactics evolve and not seeing them helps sell La’an’s account of them as monstrous predators. Members of the crew are lost which enhances the texture of the threat even though they aren’t named. A poignant moment of Pike standing over the coffins clearly distraught by the loss is depicted and the loss is exemplified through seeing one crewmember lost when the bulkhead is sealed. This is punctuated clumsily with Pike being told by Spock that he had no other choice when he should already be aware of this. In general, the crisis situation points to a problem with the general setup around Pike. More could be done to play with his future knowledge. Despite the issues, Pike’s leadership skills and encouraging command style are further showcased. The subplot involving Hemmer and Uhura works really well as it further demonstrates Uhura’s desire to find common ground with everyone. Hemmer’s views on pacifism and the Federation are compelling. Their dynamic is engaging and Uhura’s uncertainty around her purpose is shown to not be resolved. The sickbay scenes factor into the escalating tension though not as effectively as they could. Una’s injuries are a case study of the pressure sickbay is under, but it comes across as more of an excuse to keep her off the bridge and push La’an into a leadership position.

The emotional grounding of the episode comes from La’an. Encountering the Gorn again is her worst nightmare, and she is visibly torn between her duty and personal feelings. She dismisses an emotional connection of any kind when talking to Pike and is gently prompted to offer up any knowledge she can. He also encourages her to have hope and pass that onto the crew. Interestingly, this isn’t a lesson she learns in the episode because her she isn’t in the right mindset to internalise it. This is more realistic given her fatalistic nature. Taking a step forward in healing by admitting she needs to deal with her feelings is enough for this episode. Mind melding with Spock allows her to confront her feelings. This accomplishes her remembering a key detail that helps resolve the situation while beginning the healing process by allowing her to start processing what she has lost. The Mind Meld also clues her in on Spock dealing with the loss of his sister. It creates a small kinship between them and highlights to La’an that others are dealing with their own issues while detailing that Spock’s emotions are always threatening to be expressed. La’an development is brilliantly handled as it expands her beyond what could easily be a cliché emotionally closed off character. There’s a lot to her beneath the surface. Her development in this episode is incremental but also significant which highlights a commitment to more realistic character development rather than suggesting stratospheric personality shifts following a single experience.

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