Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 3 Remakes A TNG Episode With A Much Darker Twist
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This post contains spoilers for season 3 of "Star Trek: Strange New Worlds."
"Star Trek: Strange New Worlds" is not shy about lifting heavily from past "Star Trek" episodes. The series basically remade the classic episode "Balance of Terror" twice during its first season, first spiritually in "Memento Mori" and then literally in the season 1 finale "A Quality of Mercy."
"Hegemony," the two part episode that closed "Strange New Worlds" season 2 and opened season 3, had a cliffhanger and resolution that echoed the famous "Star Trek: The Next Generation" episode "The Best of Both Worlds." For the latest "Strange New Worlds" outing, "Through the Lens of Time," the series pulls from a less beloved "TNG" episode.
"Through the Lens of Time" guest stars Dr. Roger Korby (Cillian O'Sullivan), archaeologist and boyfriend of Nurse Christine Chapel (Jess Bush). The Enterprise is assisting Korby in excavating a temple on an alien world. When the away team goes inside to investigate, they learn the old adage that some secrets are best left buried.
This episode owes a debt to Ridley Scott's "Alien" and "Prometheus," in how the characters are exploring a long lost spaceship from a dead civilization, but Ensign Gamble (Chris Myers) apparently never watched those movies! Like how Kane (John Hurt) got attacked by a Facehugger by peering over an alien egg, Gamble picks up a mysterious glass ball. The ball starts glowing and then explodes in his face.
Gamble, sent back up to the Enterprise, is possessed by the intangible entity trapped in the ball; the "temple" is really a prison. It's unclear who the entity possessing Gamble was in their past life, but they were imprisoned for good reason. The possessed ensign goes on a warpath on the Enterprise; he's ultimately defeated while facing down Dr. M'Benga (Babs Olusanmokun).
Pelia (Carol Kane) shoots the possessed Gamble in the back. The entity exits his dead body, which slumps over, and Scotty (Martin Quinn) retraps it in the container it escaped from. He then beams the crystal prison into space, where there's about a 0% chance anyone will find it again. The day is saved, though M'Benga is saddened by losing his favorite subordinate officer.
Does this sound familiar? This B-plot is right out of the "Next Generation" episode "Power Play," about ancient incorporeal prisoners possessing the Enterprise-D crew to hijack the ship.
Before there was Through the Lens of Time, there was Power Play
In "Power Play," the Enterprise happens on a distress signal coming from the moon Mab-Bu VI; they suspect it may be the long lost Starfleet ship the USS. Essex. An away team heads down to the moon's surface, but while there Counselor Troi (Marina Sirtis), Data (Brent Spiner), and Chief Miles O'Brien (Colm Meaney) are possessed by three floating orbs of light. The possessed crew take over Ten Forward, holding the patrons as hostages.
Captain Picard (Patrick Stewart) of course plays the part of hostage negotiator. The three alien entities claim to be crewmembers of the Essex, who want their bodies recovered so they can be laid to rest on Earth. Picard is skeptical and he's right to be; the spirits are actually alien prisoners, who were deprived of their bodies as part of their punishment and are now trying to escape with the Enterprise as they once tried with the Essex.
"Power Play" ties up pretty neatly: Troi, Data, and O'Brien are freed with no harm done. "Through the Lens of Time" adds some body horror. During the possession, Gamble's eyes are burned out of his skull. He spends the rest of the episode (and his short life) walking around with charred holes on his face where his eyes used to be. This results in much more gruesome possession and, since Gamble lacks main character body armor, the episode kills him off to make the story more tragic.
"Power Play" is not a hated episode exactly, but it's far from a fan favorite either. Famous "Star Trek" internet reviewer SFDebris disparaged "Power Play" as "a season 2 episode somehow in season 5" to reflect its below average quality.
"Through the Lens of Time" takes the same premise as "Power Play," but it's a scarier and more effective episode.