What is your opinion of season 3 as a whole?
- Thread starter Rahul
- Start date
I was glad it was back and I liked the first two episodes. I found it was never less than watchable - with the Sehlat Who Ate Its Tail probably being the best episode - until 4.5 Vulcans, which I truly hated. It's not The Last Jedi or Superman (2025) level of bad or offensive but it is the worst Star Trek episode I've ever seen and it seemed to burn up a lot of the goodwill I had for the show. But I think The Inner Light inspired sequence in episode 10 brought me back to the show. It was bittersweet too because, in my opinion, SNW is at its most moving and original and it makes its most significant contribution to Star Trek mythos when it focuses on Captain Pike and his fate. These moments are some of the most soulful of all of Star Trek but they happen so seldom now. There was one conversation with the two time travellers with the neurodevelopmental conditions in season 2 about his birthday and just this season 3 finale. In any case, irrespective of what you thought about, why it happened, what the consequences of it were etc, that sequence was well done.
I'll definitely watch seasons 4 and 5 (assuming I'm still alive) but, overall, I thought season 3 wasn't bad and it gave us a glimpse of how great it could be.
I'll definitely watch seasons 4 and 5 (assuming I'm still alive) but, overall, I thought season 3 wasn't bad and it gave us a glimpse of how great it could be.
It was uneven to be certain. After the first two seasons, I was of the opinion that this show had the potential to overtake DS9 in my rankings, but I don't believe that anymore. The only two episodes that were unqualified wins for me were the Sehlat That Ate its Tail and Terrarium.
They doubled down on everything I disliked about the second season, and almost entirely removed what I did like. The standout of the season was Sehlat, but even that was a very by-the-numbers episode and botched its ending.
My impression of the show overall is that the first season held a lot of promise, which the second season started to squander, and the third frittered away. I'm still on board for season four, but at this point the only thing pushing me forward is the scant remainig residual goodwill from S1, and a dumb completionist desire to see all live-action Star Trek.
My impression of the show overall is that the first season held a lot of promise, which the second season started to squander, and the third frittered away. I'm still on board for season four, but at this point the only thing pushing me forward is the scant remainig residual goodwill from S1, and a dumb completionist desire to see all live-action Star Trek.
It just wasn't as good as the first two seasons, and that's really about it.
Through the Lens of Time was probably a highlight for me, and The Sehlat Who Ate its Tail had a fair amount of potential, but that was overshadowed by the niggling thought of every other episode where X takes command and nobody believes in them until Y happens etc.
Everything else was a bit flat and lacked originality. I don't know what happened, but it's like night and day compared to the first season.
Through the Lens of Time was probably a highlight for me, and The Sehlat Who Ate its Tail had a fair amount of potential, but that was overshadowed by the niggling thought of every other episode where X takes command and nobody believes in them until Y happens etc.
Everything else was a bit flat and lacked originality. I don't know what happened, but it's like night and day compared to the first season.
It was a bit more uneven than I would like, but still pretty decent. Season 1 is my favorite, followed by season 2, and then season 3.
There was no single episode that I hated, and in fact I enjoyed a lot of them, but nearly every episode had at least one scene or segment that didn't quite work for me. It's hard to quantify, but there just weren't as many episodes that left me with the same excitement I had with the earlier seasons.
I have hopes that season 4 will be closer to the previous ones though, I saw a few mentions of the showrunners talking about the struggles with the creation of season 3. So hopefully they've gotten that ironed out in the meantime!
There was no single episode that I hated, and in fact I enjoyed a lot of them, but nearly every episode had at least one scene or segment that didn't quite work for me. It's hard to quantify, but there just weren't as many episodes that left me with the same excitement I had with the earlier seasons.
I have hopes that season 4 will be closer to the previous ones though, I saw a few mentions of the showrunners talking about the struggles with the creation of season 3. So hopefully they've gotten that ironed out in the meantime!
Certainly very entertaining but it just sort of ended. It probably would have been enhanced with some kind of through thread or at least with the finale being part 1 of a 2-parter. This is not to say I didnt enjoy the finale of course but a finale needs to feel special and not just be another episode.
I disliked 2 out of 10 episodes - so pretty much on par with S1 and S2 for me. S3 was good; and miles above anything made in the Berman/Braga era of Trek. 
(SNW is still the Best Trek show since TOS.)
(SNW is still the Best Trek show since TOS.)
I think this season might be as good as season 2 or 1. But the excitement of the novelty is slowly wearing off - it's more visible what this series "is", warts and all.
OTOH this series is really solidifying itself, it's tropes, characters etc. DIS & PIC jumped & re-invented themselves every season. SNW just works.
The relationship drama was much more tame this season - which is a shame, I loved the absolute messyness of the early Spock-T'Pring-Chapel love triangle.
Surprising strong focus on monsters & horror this season - which I love, but understand might not be everyone's cup of tea. The comedy this season didn't work at all.
The biggest problem of this series might be Kirk. He does not work at all as a character, there's no chemistry with anyone, especially not Spock, and he's always coming over like a sitcom character.
Between the costumes, the production design, the make-up, the sets, props, vfx - this series is the best looking Star Trek that has ever been produced.
I also loved how every interaction nails the Trek'ish details - e.g. Pike & M'Benga checking their phasers to be on 'stun' while planning an ambush on the Klingons.
OTOH this series is really solidifying itself, it's tropes, characters etc. DIS & PIC jumped & re-invented themselves every season. SNW just works.
The relationship drama was much more tame this season - which is a shame, I loved the absolute messyness of the early Spock-T'Pring-Chapel love triangle.
Surprising strong focus on monsters & horror this season - which I love, but understand might not be everyone's cup of tea. The comedy this season didn't work at all.
The biggest problem of this series might be Kirk. He does not work at all as a character, there's no chemistry with anyone, especially not Spock, and he's always coming over like a sitcom character.
Between the costumes, the production design, the make-up, the sets, props, vfx - this series is the best looking Star Trek that has ever been produced.
I also loved how every interaction nails the Trek'ish details - e.g. Pike & M'Benga checking their phasers to be on 'stun' while planning an ambush on the Klingons.
Last edited:
My biggest complain this season might be that the episodes try to do too much at once every episode, and become less focused by that:
There is now a clear A/B-plot structure, whereas in the first seasons more time was devoted to the one main plot.
Resulting in a time-shifting ancient temple, or squeezing inside the walls of a wormhole, or mind-melding phasers-portal-shooting becoming minor B-plot points, which feels very shoddy & underdeveloped, but also eating away from the main drama with flashy but unconvincing filler & lots of technobabble being brushed over.
I'm still absolutely enjoying the heck out of every episode though. Even the bad ones.
There is now a clear A/B-plot structure, whereas in the first seasons more time was devoted to the one main plot.
Resulting in a time-shifting ancient temple, or squeezing inside the walls of a wormhole, or mind-melding phasers-portal-shooting becoming minor B-plot points, which feels very shoddy & underdeveloped, but also eating away from the main drama with flashy but unconvincing filler & lots of technobabble being brushed over.
I'm still absolutely enjoying the heck out of every episode though. Even the bad ones.
I rewatched the first season recently and I think it is markedly different in tone and structure - episodes like "Children of the Comet", "Where Suffering Cannot Reach", and "Ghosts of Ilyria" are solid three-act standalone stories of the type that S3's had a lot of trouble (or is just uninterested in) making.
Obviously the running plot in this season kept interfering in the plot of the week too, like the first visit to the ancient temple has no real resolution, it's just the away team pissing around with a sub-Monkey Island puzzle for fifteen minutes while Gamble whacks a bunch of people on the ship. It's all setup, no payoff, since the payoff comes in another episode, and is, uh... Batel becoming the Ultimate Good to trap the Primal Evil inside a statue.
The tone in the first season feels a lot less Discovery-esque too, the crew are still informal and stop to talk about their feelings every five minutes - which is fine - but it's less overt than in S3, and Pike feels much more in command of the ship, while to me he feels like he's barely there these days.
I'm waiting for the DVD set with a worm on my tongue.
You know, "baited" breath?
You know, "baited" breath?
In a word? Eh.
You could really see the effects of the writer's strike; even the episodes that weren't overtly "gimmicky" felt half-baked. I'm looking forward to S4 not being that way.
You could really see the effects of the writer's strike; even the episodes that weren't overtly "gimmicky" felt half-baked. I'm looking forward to S4 not being that way.
While it might very well be SNW's weakest season, I still enjoyed the hell out of it, and SNW is still the best live action show of the current era.
I thought it was just fine, though not nearly as good as the first two, which were fantastic.
I did not think there was a home run, classic episode. Sehlat, Lens of Time, and Space Adventure Hour were the highlights for me. Terrarium, the finale, and the end of What is Starfleet? were all pretty to very good. Hegemony II and Kenfori weren't great, but perfectly good and watchable.
The comedy eps missed for me this year. Wedding Bell Blues was not terrible but did not click for me. 4.5 Vulcans was terrible in my book. Worst ep of the 30 so far.
I did not think there was a home run, classic episode. Sehlat, Lens of Time, and Space Adventure Hour were the highlights for me. Terrarium, the finale, and the end of What is Starfleet? were all pretty to very good. Hegemony II and Kenfori weren't great, but perfectly good and watchable.
The comedy eps missed for me this year. Wedding Bell Blues was not terrible but did not click for me. 4.5 Vulcans was terrible in my book. Worst ep of the 30 so far.
Overall, pretty massively disappointing.
There weren't really any episodes that rose above mediocre for me, and certainly no home runs like "Ad Astra Per Aspera" or "Those Old Scientists" last season. And the writers have learned all the wrong lessons from S2 and leaned into the gimmick episodes, to the show's detriment.
Pelia hasn't become anything more than unfunny comic relief, the La'an/Spock coupling makes NO sense, and every attempt the show made to set up or tie in with TOS just made me roll my eyes. I like Martin Quinn as Scotty, but it's hard to believe he's only six years younger than James Doohan's Scotty. It seems more like 15 years. Honestly, I like most of the actors on the show. I think they're a talented and charismatic bunch. I just hate the writing now.
I'm really hoping that S4 corrects the missteps of S3, but on the other hand... Muppets.
There weren't really any episodes that rose above mediocre for me, and certainly no home runs like "Ad Astra Per Aspera" or "Those Old Scientists" last season. And the writers have learned all the wrong lessons from S2 and leaned into the gimmick episodes, to the show's detriment.
Pelia hasn't become anything more than unfunny comic relief, the La'an/Spock coupling makes NO sense, and every attempt the show made to set up or tie in with TOS just made me roll my eyes. I like Martin Quinn as Scotty, but it's hard to believe he's only six years younger than James Doohan's Scotty. It seems more like 15 years. Honestly, I like most of the actors on the show. I think they're a talented and charismatic bunch. I just hate the writing now.
I'm really hoping that S4 corrects the missteps of S3, but on the other hand... Muppets.
I think Jammer articulated what I thought about the season as a whole, and I will copy and paste it here:
I think there was an overreliance on the gimmick episodes and I missed the Star Trek aspect. Episodes like the Vulcan episode, or Wedding Bell Blues or Space Adventure Hour just felt a little gimmicky or dumb to me. I think that is the reason why I liked the Sehlat episode so much. That was two crews working together in a very Star Trek-ian space and it ended with a moral quandry that allowed the viewer to think and reflect. That's Star Trek to me. I think it was the best use of this cast, and it was the best use of Wesley so far this series, next to the Tomorrow^3 episode.
I think the episode that surprised me the most was the Zombie episode. I don't like Zombie shows that much but this was much more than that, and it was M'banga having to address the consequences of his actions. When I want episodic shows, I want there to be a mixture of a self contained episode vs. advancing character arcs. TNG, which was very episodic for it's time, even did this with Worf or Picard or even Data.
In a way I wish this show was more arc based than it is. With only 10 episodes a season, being able to follow these characters journeys makes the viewing experience more rewarding.
Jammer - New Life and New Civilizations Review
I think there was an overreliance on the gimmick episodes and I missed the Star Trek aspect. Episodes like the Vulcan episode, or Wedding Bell Blues or Space Adventure Hour just felt a little gimmicky or dumb to me. I think that is the reason why I liked the Sehlat episode so much. That was two crews working together in a very Star Trek-ian space and it ended with a moral quandry that allowed the viewer to think and reflect. That's Star Trek to me. I think it was the best use of this cast, and it was the best use of Wesley so far this series, next to the Tomorrow^3 episode.
I think the episode that surprised me the most was the Zombie episode. I don't like Zombie shows that much but this was much more than that, and it was M'banga having to address the consequences of his actions. When I want episodic shows, I want there to be a mixture of a self contained episode vs. advancing character arcs. TNG, which was very episodic for it's time, even did this with Worf or Picard or even Data.
In a way I wish this show was more arc based than it is. With only 10 episodes a season, being able to follow these characters journeys makes the viewing experience more rewarding.
Jammer - New Life and New Civilizations Review
Not an attempt to dissuade you from your view, but I have a completely opposite opinion on Kirk’s presence. I genuinely enjoy Wesley as Kirk and two of my favourite episodes feature him prominently (A Quality of Mercy and Tomorrow…).
As for S3, I rank it last among the three, but that’s only relative to itself—this is, by far, my favourite Trek series after TOS. In terms of batting average, it’s even above TOS as the latter has a number of episodes I consider inferior to the least of SNW. Obviously I’m not in charge, but if I were, I would simply keep producing SNW for as long as key cast members would be willing to keep going—up to the handover to Kirk, through the “in-between” moments of TOS/TAS/TMP and to a post TMP 5 year mission. It’ll never happen, of course, but, at the very least, I’ll take whatever is made. I have enjoyed just about every iteration of Trek on screen to some degree, but the only ones I would definitely want (in a world where it would be possible) to have more of indefinitely are TOS, Kelvinverse, and SNW.
Similar threads
- Poll
