Yes, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 2 Will Finally Give Ortegas Her Own Episode
The first season of "Star Trek: Strange New Worlds" felt like a throwback to the original series in a lot of ways, including giving specific characters their own focus episodes and wrapping up most of the major conflicts by the end of each episode. This gave every single character a chance to really shine, with full episodes dedicated to La'an (Christina Chong) getting a chance to explore her trauma, Spock (Ethan Peck) exploring his identity, and Dr. M'Benga (Babs Olusanmokun) learning how to let go. Almost every major crew member received their own episode this season, but the ship's helmsman, Lt. Erica Ortegas (Melissa Navia) was sadly relegated to the sidelines. She's a major player in every episode, but she's always a supporting character, which is a shame because Ortegas is a truly stellar "Star Trek" character.
In an interview with /Film, "Strange New Worlds" co-showunner Henry Alonso Myers shared that Ortegas fans can relax, because the peppy pilot is due to get her own major storyline episode in season 2.
Ortegas is the series' heart
Myers explained that part of the reason Ortegas didn't have an A-plot storyline that focused on her in season 1 was because she fits so well into every other story, but they will remedy that in season 2:
"Ortegas does have an episode in season 2. We love Ortegas. One of the great things about Ortegas is that she fits so well into every story, because she's always kind of in the center of it. You know what I mean? I like to think of her as the person who gets to comment on every single story. Ortegas gets to do a bunch of things that she does in season 2 that she didn't get to do in season 1, so I'll leave it at that."
Throughout season 1, Ortegas serves as the connecting tissue between each of the sections of the Enterprise, offering advice and companionship to crew members from every team. She's extremely charismatic, and you can count on her to reassure a crew member in almost every episode. Whether she's helping Uhura (Celia Rose Gooding) loosen up a little or giving a eulogy for fallen comrades, Ortegas always speaks from the heart. No matter how wacky or wild things get, she's there to provide a laugh or a bit of wisdom, and she cuts a fine figure in not only her Starfleet outfits but as a medieval swordsman. Sulu would be impressed.
Ortegas has become my favorite character on "Strange New Worlds," so season 2 can't get here soon enough.