I Hope Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Finally Retires Its Most Overused Alien Villains

With the USS Enterprise up against a Gorn fleet, Captain Christopher Pike (Anson Mount) faced a seemingly impossible decision at the end of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 2. Starfleet ordered Pike to fall back, but several of his crew members remained trapped aboard the Gorn ship.

Meanwhile, Captain Marie Batel's (Melanie Scrofano) life was left hanging in the balance after she was infected with Gorn eggs. Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 3 premiere, "Hegemony, Part II," provides the resolution to these stories and, hopefully, puts the Gorn to rest for a while.

I Hope Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 3 Is The End Of The Gorn As Villains

The Gorn Risk Overstaying Their Welcome If They Return Again

While the Gorn have been an interesting foe throughout Star Trek: Strange New Worlds so far, I hope "Hegemony, Part II" is the last we see of them. Strange New Worlds season 1 revealed that the Gorn were responsible for the destruction of the colony ship SS Puget Sound, of which La'an Noonien-Singh (Christina Chong) was the only survivor.

The Gorn were also responsible for the death of Enterprise's Chief Engineer Lt. Hemmer (Bruce Horak) later in Strange New Worlds season 1. The Gorn Hegemony then returned in full force in the Strange New Worlds season 2 finale, firmly establishing themselves as a threat to the United Federation of Planets as a whole.Thanks to their knowledge and ingenuity, the crew of the Enterprise found a way to prevent the Gorn from invading and save their people from a particularly unpleasant death aboard the Gorn ship. Captain Pike and the Starship Enterprise's crew sent the Gorn into hibernation, effectively putting an end to the threat they posed for the time being.

This feels like a good place to end the Gorn's story on Strange New Worlds, as the show risks overexposure if it keeps bringing them back. The Borg, for example, became less frightening the longer they stuck around on Star Trek: The Next Generation and Star Trek: Voyager, so Strange New Worlds should quit while they are ahead with the Gorn.

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Doesn’t Need A New Enemy

Strange New Worlds Should Focus On Standalone Stories

Even if Star Trek: Strange New Worlds moves on from the Gorn, the show doesn't need to replace them with another major enemy. Strange New Worlds can easily go back to Star Trek's roots and deliver episodic stories that find Captain Pike and his crew visiting a new alien planet each week.Not every Star Trek story needs to have galaxy-sized stakes or enemies that threaten the entire Federation. Star Trek: Strange New Worlds delivered a solid two-part Gorn story, making now the perfect time for the show to focus its efforts on delivering fun and thought-provoking standalone stories.