Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 3 Finally Gave Fans The Ortegas Storyline They've Wanted

Security alert! This article contains spoilers for season 3, episode 9 of "Star Trek: Strange New Worlds."

"Star Trek: Strange New Worlds" fans really love Lieutenant Erica Ortegas (Melissa Navia), the feisty and somewhat free-spirited Enterprise pilot on "Star Trek: Strange New Worlds." There's something about Navia's performance that's deeply grounded, and along with the character writing, Ortegas is incredibly relatable and works as a perfect audience stand-in when things get really wacky because her reactions feel authentic. Despite being surrounded by legacy characters like Spock (Ethan Peck), Uhura (Celia Rose Gooding), and more, she has managed to carve out a spot for herself as one of the all-time great "Star Trek" characters. In the show's third season, she has had an incredible arc that's seen her go through serious trauma being captured by the Gorn and barely escaping while critically wounded, leading to some slightly erratic behavior and even more fiery intensity than usual. 

She's had to overcome her fears and face her trauma head-on, using her confidence in herself as a pilot to get through the toughest moments, and it seems like that's all been building toward episode 9, "Terrarium." After taking on a challenging solo mission to get data from inside of a space storm, she ends up sucked into a wormhole and stranded on a deserted, alien planet. Just when things seem like they couldn't get worse, she discovers that there's a Gorn pilot stranded there too, and Ortegas has to befriend her greatest enemy. It's a somewhat common science fiction trope, used in films like "Enemy Mine" and even in the "Star Trek: The Next Generation" episode "The Enemy," but Ortegas' earnestness makes "Terrarium" hit especially hard. 

Everyone in Starfleet is really great at their jobs, but they also occasionally feel a little too perfect in some "Star Trek" shows. Their "flaws" are deeply specific and often not that challenging, so characters like Spock and Captain Pike (Anson Mount) can sometimes feel more like idealized characters than real people. Ortegas, meanwhile, can be a little cocky and her trauma from both the recent Gorn escape and her years as a soldier have made her a bit snappish, to the point where Lieutenant Commander Una (Rebecca Romijn) even considered sidelining her from missions for a bit. She's got a great sarcastic sense of humor and always feels like she's growing and changing, and it's a real treat to explore that human side of "Strange New Worlds" through her experiences. 

In "Terrarium," Ortegas realizes that the Gorn pilot she's stranded with isn't going to hurt her, and the two develop a deep bond out of their shared situation. She even learns to play a Gorn dice game, showing that these truly terrifying alien creatures are capable of more than we expect. If one of the other characters were in her position the episode might not work, but because Ortegas is so genuine and has gone through so much growth, it feels like a natural part of her character evolution. Not only that, but because she's not one of the legacy characters, when she's in jeopardy it feels a little more serious, because there's no guarantee that she'll survive, unlike her compatriots that go on to be characters on "Star Trek: The Original Series." All of these things together help make "Terrarium" a phenomenal episode of television, telling a story that's pure "Star Trek." 

The characters are a massive part of what makes "Star Trek" great, and real character development has been a vital part of the franchise going all the way back to William Shatner's James T. Kirk, so watching Ortegas get a thoroughly planned arc this season has been deeply satisfying. It's a bit of a shame that the show doesn't have the breathing room of the 26-episode seasons of its forebears, because these personal side quest episodes really matter from a character standpoint and in the past have been something that made "Star Trek" shows sing. Who doesn't love seeing their favorite character get a chance to shine on their own, or watching two very different characters be forced to work together? 

It's fantastic that the team behind "Star Trek: Strange New Worlds" heard fans' cries for more Ortegas and delivered with not just one episode but a full season-long arc culminating in "Terrarium." It's a testament to the writing staff and Navia herself that Ortegas has managed to be such a standout character in a show full of big personalities and familiar fan favorites, and "Terrarium" is their finest showcase for her yet.

"Star Trek: Strange New Worlds" season 3 is streaming on Paramount+.