Star Trek: Strange New Worlds 3x02 - "Wedding Bell Blues"

[Tuskin38]

INTERVIEW — Henry Alonso Myers and Akiva Goldsman on STRANGE NEW WORLDS' New Set, That "Wedding Bell Blues" Character, and More!

We chat with STAR TREK: STRANGE NEW WORLDS showrunners Henry Alonso Myers and Akiva Goldsman about that "Wedding Bell Blues" character, the show's new science lab, and more!

blog.trekcore.com

They're saying Trelane being Q's son might not be 100% literal, it's just the easiest way to express it.

Also the Bartender is confirmed to be Edosian.

 

[fireproof78]

INTERVIEW — Henry Alonso Myers and Akiva Goldsman on STRANGE NEW WORLDS' New Set, That "Wedding Bell Blues" Character, and More!

We chat with STAR TREK: STRANGE NEW WORLDS showrunners Henry Alonso Myers and Akiva Goldsman about that "Wedding Bell Blues" character, the show's new science lab, and more!

blog.trekcore.com

Excellent interview. Was just about to come post it. I appreciate the comments and use of various canon sources for inspiration. TAS especially!

 

[UssGlenn]

Is she though? Her third arm seemed to be on her back, Arex had his on the front of his torso just like all the other Edosians we've seen depicted on screen.

I think edosians are supposed to "really" have trilateral symmetry, so if one of your arms is directly in front of you or directly behind you, it's just a matter of turning your head 60 degrees.

 

[Burning Hearts of Qo'nos]

I think edosians are supposed to "really" have trilateral symmetry, so if one of your arms is directly in front of you or directly behind you, it's just a matter of turning your head 60 degrees.

This is pretty reasonable, maybe its the torso that can spin around while the head and legs remain stationary. The explanation I was thinking was the front/back arms are their two sexes and what we see as gender expression is a separate thing.

 

[GulBahana]

It's nice Strange New Worlds got it's Q episode. Didn't do much for me.

 

[ToddCam]

That interview says q and Trelane are not the same person.

 

[David cgc]

I’ve noticed a lot of the incidental music these two episodes seems to be trying to sound more TOS-y (George Michael and 80s party music notwithstanding), though more in “Hegemony Part II” (which was VERY Original Series in the brassy oh-no-things-look-bad-it’s-the-commercial-break-what-can-we-do? sense).

Yeah, the Gorn leitmotif sounded a lot like a cross between the Romulan/Mirror Universe ostinato and Khan's TWOK theme (wait, was that theme in the season 1 finale as the SNW version of the Romulan theme?). I'd like it even more if they started incorporating specific TOS themes, like Spock's plucked electric guitar, or Kirk's personal theme, but I know composition rights can be complicated and some people don't appreciate being told to just riff on others' work, so musical continuity is always less common than I'd wish.

 

[eschaton]

So, so much better than the first episode of the season, though with a few notable flaws.

Like many of the strongest SNW episodes, this lives or dies on characterization, and the episode has it in spades. Spock is the main focus here, and has a full character arc, from angry and sullen over the realization that he's lost Chapel to acceptance that he's not the one for her. The episode also introduces Korby quite well, portraying him as a guy who seems fundamentally decent, but with enough hints of flaws underneath the surface to hint at his future path.

Regarding the whole sci-fi aspect of the story, I rather like that the episode doesn't explicitly say that we're meeting Trelane again (for the first time), or that he's a baby Q, but the implication is obvious to anyone with knowledge of Star Trek. Rhys Darby also does an amazing job with the material given to him. There's other little bits which are good here.

The semi-romance that Uhura gets with Ortegas's brother is cute, if a bit underbaked. And La'an is pretty great in here as someone who built her life around a trauma fumbling with what her life is about now. Not sure what the hell that final teaser for Ortegas means, but damn if I'm not intrigued by her as a character for the first time.

One of the issues I have with the episode though is Chapel. She's a bit underbaked as the object of affection of both men, feeling more like a passive object being passed around rather than an active character with growth across the episode. This has been a growing problem with Chapel, who has really lost agency independently of her love life.

I thought some of the setup of the episode was a bit awkward as well, as the time skip was clearly just to give a romance time to build between Chapel and Korby, but it meant there were aspects of the setup that didn't make much sense (Enterprise stuck at starbase for three months, Pike getting briefed on Batel's medical status for the sake of the audience, etc.

The biggest issue, however, is that although the episode was charming and lighthearted, it really wasn't funny. I didn't laugh once, and barely smiled at all. SNW has done funny successfully before, in episodes like Charades and Those Old Scientists. This ain't it.

Still, there's some creativity behind the premise, and there was a bit of surprise in the way the episode rolled out. So I'm pleased overall.

 

[Trekker4747]

I did like this guy's take on Korby (is he already an android) my biggest "problem" is there's too many questions. Was that Trelane? Was that Q? How/why was Trelane on SB1? Why was he doing this? Didn't Trelane need technology to do his tricks? I dunno... A friendly 7 just for at least being some new Trek I can enjoy for the first time in 2 years.

 

[thribs]

I don’t think it was Trelane. He didn’t snap his fingers. Q2 makes more sense

 

[FredH]

I did like this guy's take on Korby (is he already an android) my biggest "problem" is there's too many questions. Was that Trelane? Was that Q? How/why was Trelane on SB1? Why was he doing this? Didn't Trelane need technology to do his tricks? I dunno... A friendly 7 just for at least being some new Trek I can enjoy for the first time in 2 years.

See, most of these didn’t seem questions. Korby’s not an android yet, that comes during the time Christine’s not with him, later. Yes, that was Trelane and Q; we were nicely hammered in the face with it. Trelane’s there because he’s a mischievous kid who feels like playing with lessers, just like later. (Why does he just happen to be here? …Yeah, okay, small universe syndrome. Eh. But maybe this is how the Q first notice humanity in the first place, which makes this a really important event). The technology question’s reasonable, but either that was just an amplifier, or he’s got one stored away somewhere nearby (which implies all Q actually do that — eh). I’m going to go with child-Q “training wheels”, not always or usually necessary.

EDIT: Interesting implication from Trelane’s dialogue — the planet Korby’s digging around on is the Q’s old homeworld, from before they “ascended” or whatever. Is this the same planet as in “What Are Little Girls Made Of?” Making the primordial ancestors of the Q the Old Ones who built Ruk, etc.?

 

[Tuskin38]

IIRC in the novel they took inspiration from, the tech or whatever was to prevent him from using too much power.

 

[Trekker4747]

Never read that one.

 

[FredH]

I don’t think it was Trelane. He didn’t snap his fingers. Q2 makes more sense

Though since time is immaterial to the Q, Q2 could easily be Trelane. In fact, I bet he is.

 

[Trekker4747]

Korby’s not an android yet, that comes during the time Christine’s not with him, later.

Rewatched the opening scene that made me think think this. Scotty remarks on some "strangeness" before beaming Chapel and Korby on, first viewing I thought it was hinting at Korby being the android, now I realize he's talking about Q/Trelane.

 

[FredH]

Rewatched the opening scene that made me think think this. Scotty remarks on some "strangeness" before beaming Chapel and Korby on, first viewing I thought it was hinting at Korby being the android, now I realize he's talking about Q/Trelane.

Yeah, this version of Korby seems a decent, regular (if genius-level) guy. (And isn’t the actor the vampire from Preacher?)

 

[thribs]

I kept looking at Ortegas’ hand to see if there was any difference but there wasn’t any sadly. I was expecting a special glove or cybernetics but nothing.
Giving her PTSD was fine but we already had that story beat with La’an. Seems rather lazy.

 

[Captain Jollydark]

Christine doesn't seem to have a lot of agency in the alternative reality. It's the dudes fighting about who gets the gal then working together to determine who gets the gal.

 

[MrShinzoff]

I loved it. It was definitely my favourite wacky SNW episode. I also think it was the funniest episode of SNW. These two episodes have made me realise how much I love this crew.

 

[Verteron]

Andorians dance in groups because "Andorians marry in groups of four".

Nice little nod....