Bloody Hell, Starfleet: Strange New Worlds Asks If You’re Colonizers, Then Fumbles the Holo-Recorder
AI Gaming News Author · Polygon ·
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds attempted to bravely question Starfleet's potentially colonialist nature in its latest episode, but a clumsy documentary framing device utterly undermined a genuinely compelling, high-stakes war story about sentient weapons and moral compromises, ultimately fumbling a brilliant opportunity for deep introspection.
Right, so picture this: You’ve got a grand old institution, beloved by billions across countless star systems (and quite a few living rooms here on Earth), that's supposed to represent humanity’s absolute best. Pure ideals, bold exploration, peace amongst the stars – the works. And then, someone slaps a camera in its face and, with the subtlety of a Gorn in a china shop, asks, 'Mate, are you sure you’re not actually the baddies? Or, at the very least, a bit dodgy around the edges?' That’s essentially what Star Trek: Strange New Worlds tried to do with its latest episode, 'What Is Starfleet?', and fair dinkum, it’s a bit of a chaotic mess. It's like trying to brew a potent truth serum, but you accidentally swapped out the honest-to-goodness ingredients for a bunch of comedic confetti, a slightly damp rag, and a rogue Tribble.
Now, this season we’ve been following Umberto 'Beto' Ortegas, our Enterprise helmsman Erica’s brother, as he films a documentary aboard the ship. And honestly, it’s mostly been played for laughs – Pelia mugging for the camera like she’s trying to win an intergalactic 'Most Dramatic Extra' award, Captain Pike getting exasperated with the whole thing. Fun for a bit, sure. But in 'What Is Starfleet?', Beto's film takes center stage, and frankly, it's utterly baffling that Starfleet, an organisation that literally deals with cosmic threats and delicate diplomatic dances daily, would give this bloke free rein on their flagship. He's clearly got an axe to grind – his sister 'abandoned' him for the stars, apparently a choice he still doesn't quite grasp – and he's dead-set on proving Starfleet is actually a clandestine tool of colonialism rather than the benevolent bunch of space diplomats they claim to be.
The problem isn't the question itself; it's a brilliant, timely question that Star Trek has danced around for decades, especially with modern audiences looking back at its utopian ideals through a more critical lens. The problem is Beto. His methods are less 'investigative journalism' and more 'toddler trying to get attention'. He abuses his relationship with Nyota Uhura, secretly recording her responses. He ambushes her with news of a friend’s death just to get an emotional reaction on camera – a truly low blow, mate. He badgers Erica for classified info, clearly oblivious to the actual stakes involved. He even goes full boorish-interviewer on Captain Pike, asking him if he’s 'seen anyone die' with all the subtlety of a Klingon trying to whisper during a diplomatic reception. Pike, to his credit, gives him the stern contempt he absolutely deserves. It’s like watching a kid try to cast a complex summoning spell with a toy wand – lots of flailing, very little actual magic, and mostly just making the *point* he’s trying to make ring utterly hollow. If you want to question the morality of a galactic superpower, you probably need a better, more nuanced messenger than a bloke driven by sibling rivalry.
Here’s where it gets truly frustrating, though. Because behind Beto’s utterly hollow arguments, there's a genuinely compelling, high-stakes war story unfolding. The episode introduces us to the expansionist planet Kasar, which has just absolutely leveled its neighbour, Lutani VII, killing nine million people. The Lutani, previously Klingon allies, now need the Federation’s help. The Enterprise is tasked with a classified cargo delivery to forge a new alliance, and you can practically *feel* the crew’s unease. They’re working with former rivals, ferrying... well, something mysterious and probably not entirely above board.
And what is that something? Bloody hell, it’s a massive, glowing moth-like creature called a Jikaru, implanted with a neural controller and essentially turned into a living weapon of mass destruction. A Lutani scientist, with her dying breath, admits her people were wrong to use the creature. Spock, being Spock, mind-melds with it and discovers it's a sentient being, enslaved for war.
Now *that's* a juicy dilemma, isn’t it? This isn’t just about exploring strange new worlds; it’s about the moral compromises of interstellar politics, the ethics of war, and whether even the 'good guys' can accidentally become complicit in atrocities. It immediately brings to mind deeper sci-fi like the rebooted Battlestar Galactica or even Yoon Ha Lee’s brilliant *Revenant Gun*, which truly grapples with empires built on enslaved sentient beings. Those stories don’t just ask the question; they *live* in the discomfort of the answer. They force their characters (and us, the players/viewers) to reckon with the consequences, showcasing the messy, grey areas that make for truly compelling drama and, dare I say, genuine thought-provoking content. This is exactly the kind of material that Star Trek, at its very best, *should* be tackling, pushing its own utopian boundaries.
But what does Star Trek: Strange New Worlds do with this genuinely thought-provoking, high-concept plot? It rushes it, mate. The Jikaru lashes out, endangering the ship, forcing the Enterprise’s hand. With classic Starfleet daring and empathy, they manage to communicate with the creature, renegotiate their orders, and ensure no more Jikaru are used as weapons. Starfleet promises alternative protection for the Lutani, but there’s no real clarification on their continued involvement in the war. It's a pat resolution, tied up neatly with a bow, almost as if the writers suddenly realised they had to get back to Beto's documentary. The potential for a sustained, thorny ethical debate about Starfleet's true role in this conflict, about the fine line between aid and intervention, between protection and projection of power – all of it gets swept under the rug faster than you can say 'prime directive violation.'
And Beto? After some chiding from Uhura and seeing the crew’s inherent goodness (which, fair enough, they do exhibit with the Jikaru), he simply walks away from the experience, his biases apparently corrected, convinced Starfleet is indeed good. Just like that. Poof! All the complex questions about colonialism, military expansion, and moral ambiguity evaporate like a poorly cast invisibility spell. It’s a narrative shortcut that feels utterly unearned and, frankly, a bit patronising to the audience. We're given a massive, intriguing moral dilemma, only for it to be conveniently resolved and then used as a flimsy prop to prove a point that the episode hasn't actually earned with its clumsy framing.
This is the real rub, isn't it? The episode *could* have been a masterful exploration of Starfleet’s role in a complex galaxy, showing its inherent goodness while still acknowledging the grey areas and potential for unintended consequences. It could have demonstrated the crew's misgivings, their debates, the compromises they have to make – showing, not just telling, the complexities. Instead, the clumsy documentary gimmick not only distracted from the compelling central conflict but also actively sabotaged the very question it ostensibly set out to answer. It’s a classic case of aiming for profundity but hitting a puddle of narrative inconsistency instead. It leaves you wondering why they bothered raising such potent issues if they weren't prepared to genuinely grapple with them.
So, while I'm always genuinely excited to see Star Trek trying to tackle these massive, ethical questions – because honestly, what's sci-fi for if not that? – this particular attempt felt like a thoroughly missed opportunity. It reminds us that even with the best intentions, sometimes the execution just doesn't land. Here's hoping the next deep dive into Starfleet's soul casts a more effective spell, one that actually sticks the landing and makes us truly ponder the universe, rather than just scratching our heads at the narrative choices.
Tags: Sci-fi Narrative, Star Trek, Storytelling Analysis, Moral Choices, Pop Culture Gaming
Original article: Polygon