Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 3 episode 3 “Shuttle to Kenfori” takes us on a secret mission to a forbidden planet. We have a rare flower that blooms with even rarer medicinal properties. There are some real horror elements, and for want of better terminology, we’ve got Star Trek zombies! Also, did I mention #MORETEGAS?! We’ve got #MORETEGAS! Well, sort of. I have questions. It’s a lot to take in, so grab a phaser and follow me into my review of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 3 episode 3 “Shuttle to Kenfori.”
Star Trek: Zombies!
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds has broken a lot of new ground in its run, but season 3 episode 3 “Shuttle to Kenfori” has brought us the first real instance of Star Trek zombies! I’m not a big zombie fan, but for the episode, the idea of fast zombies born of a disease, a la 28 Days Later, works. The “zombies” are effectively scary for what the story is conveying with the chimera blossom. It shows what is at stake if the blossom is mishandled, and raises questions for Pike about just what M’Benga and Spock are planning to do with the blossom. More on that later.
Blood Feud
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 3 episode 3 “Shuttle to Kenfori” connects us back to Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 2 episode 8 “Under the Cloak of War.” I didn’t expect our crew to get pulled back into that story with Dak’Rah’s daughter, Bytha, but it makes sense, though not in the way that I would have expected. Props to Christine Horn as Bytha, portraying Klingon ferocity and sense of honor perfectly. She is absolutely fierce in this, and it was a nice change of pace to see more lady Klingons. The episode’s resolution makes sense within Klingon culture. May Sto’Vo’Kor receive you, Bytha.
MORE: Read our Strange New Worlds season 3 reviews—Episode 1 and Episode 2.
More #MORETEGAS! Sort of.
I am so excited that Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 3 episode 3 “Shuttle to Kenfori” gives us #MORETEGAS! Well, sort of. We’re given the information that she’s had some time off after her encounter with the Gorn to recover her physical and emotional health. However, it seems PTSD and her war experience are rearing their ugly heads, causing her to act out in a way I didn’t expect.
We know that Ortegas is the best pilot in Starfleet and can pull off tricky flight maneuvers with ease. However, her other default posture is “I got you.” Melissa Navia has said in interviews that Ortegas is the Riker of the ship, meaning that she’s reliable. You can count on her. Erica isn’t going to let anything happen to her crew, her chosen family. So she does what she thinks she needs to do to rescue Pike and M’Benga and forces Una’s hand to switch to her plan. I get why she did it, but it’s unlike her to shirk the chain of command. It threw me off. What do you think about this development? Sound off in the comments.
Good Cop, Bad Cop
There’s an interesting dynamic happening in Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 3 episode 3 “Shuttle to Kenfori.” It feels like a good cop, bad cop situation. Pike is easier on M’Benga, who straight-up committed murder, perhaps justly, but still killed someone, nonetheless, than Una is on Ortegas. To be fair, this mission is off the books, so Pike can’t report him without also explaining how they got into the situation where this truth came out to begin with. But still, he’s more relaxed about his chief medical officer having killed someone than a lot of folks would be.
There is some discussion to be had of Starfleet being a paramilitary organization, and what Ortegas did is an issue of insubordination, especially in a dangerous situation. However, being sent to chain of command training as a bridge officer is basically the same level of humiliation as getting sent to driving school. I felt bad for her, but I also think she maybe could benefit from some more counseling, rather than being punished with chain of command training. She’s had a horrifying experience with the Gorn on top of her clear PTSD from the Klingon War. I would have liked to see Una dig into that more, or at least ask the question if there was something greater going on with her.
Men vs. Women Dynamic?
It’s a dynamic that I don’t want to make sweeping generalizations about, but in my own experience, I’ve observed men go easier on other men when they’ve made mistakes or done something bad. Whereas I’ve also observed women being harder or stricter on other women when they’ve made similar or even less serious mistakes. Una is described as “where fun goes to die” in “Spock Amok.” Is this perhaps an extension of her reputed strictness? It’s hard to say, and I need more information to consider the full ramifications of this situation. What do you think? Tell me all your thoughts on this situation in the comments section.
Final Thoughts
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 3 episode 3 “Shuttle to Kenfori” ends with trouble in paradise with Marie and Chris. Lack of communication is a bad thing in a relationship, but I also get the whole idea of needing a quick decision, and Marie making her own decisions about her health. What will become of her now that she’s merging her DNA with the Gorn’s? Spock clearly experienced Gorn Vision when he mind-melded with her. Also, nice callback (or call forward) to the Star Trek: The Original Series episode, “A Private Little War,” where Spock asks Chapel to smack him in order to bring him out of his partially hypnotic state.
It’s a lot to take in. It makes me think we might start to see Batel as something akin to Ripley in Alien: Resurrection, where a newly resurrected Ripley also shares DNA with the Xenomorph. It tracks with all the previous Alien homages we’ve seen in this series.
What do you think of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 3 episode 3 “Shuttle to Kenfori”? Leave me a comment and let’s talk Trek.
The next episode of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds will air on July 31, 2025, on Paramount+.
