Season 3 of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds is set to premiere on July 17, in a continuation of the season 2 cliffhanger with a devastating stand-off against the Gorn Hegemony regime and the USS Enterprise, which culminates in Captain Pike’s heart wrenching decision of whether to disobey Starfleet orders to leave his crew and the Parnassus Beta colony survivors at the mercy of the Gorn.
The political and human toll could be immense if Starfleet engaged in a full-scale war with the Gorn. In damage control mode, the Federation wants to avoid any conflict that could lead to war, because the Gorn’s attack on the Parnassus Beta colony is outside of Federation space. Therefore, arguably, the Gorn did not attack the Federation.
This action-packed launch of season 3 is a great source material for the crew of the Enterprise to show their strengths, and for actors like Celia Rose Gooding who portrays Communications Officer Lt. Junior Grade Nyota Uhura – this could be an opportunity to evolve and expand Star Trek canon for such a beloved iconic TOS character.
Uhura speaks Swahili and she's fluent in 37 alien languages. She has a keen aptitude for engineering, as evidenced by her assistance to Chief Engineer Lt. Hemmer (before his death) on various problem-solving efforts under pressure, including repairing critical systems and rerouting power to shuttles during dangerous missions. In the season 2 finale of Strange New Worlds, Uhura coordinated with Chief Engineer Pelia to develop a method to visually locate (circumventing the Gorn's jamming of the Enterprise's sensors) survivors of the Parnassus Beta colony, which resulted in identifying the location of the Gorn's communications interference tower.
Nyota has always been (if the opportunity arises) much more than just a communications officer who translates interstellar transmissions, facilitates diplomatic protocols, and administers ship-wide coordination. Nyota is a brilliant Xenolinguist and Cryptographist who has mastery in alien languages, code breaking, and cross-cultural awareness. Hence, Nyota is essentially a Federation spy and interrogator, on the level of any female espionage assailant, comparable to the likes of Marvel’s Black Widow. So, Strange New Worlds creators have a real opportunity for some creative storytelling to expand this character beyond the surface portrayal, who is often confined to a communications station on the bridge.
At the Tribeca Festival premiere of Strange New Worlds, Celia spoke with media outlet Strange New Pod on how Uhura has grown into her own this upcoming season 3. Celia was quite eager to chat all about Uhura when she said this:
“She’s literally growing her hair out and taking up more space. I think we haven’t seen a lot of that in this character yet, we’ve seen her in this very curious, a little insecure beginnings, and she's finally standing up on her own two feet and being proud of herself in a way that is so affirming for this character.”
Based on a Strange New Worlds season 3 trailer, it’s hard to say whether Celia is talking about a potential romance with Lt. Ortegas’ younger brother or if she is going to decipher the Gorn's language. However, in either case, the exposure to deliver more character-driven storytelling for Uhura is exciting, and Celia is proud of the direction Uhura is taking, as she expressed more at the Tribeca Festival with this:
“We're seeing the Uhura that audiences fell in love with back in the 60s, and we're constantly growing closer and closer to her and so in season 3 we are just continuing that through line… we’re continuing to show off her more playful, her more curious, her more ambitious side... I’m so proud of the Uhura that exists in season 3…”
The name Nyota in Swahili means "star". It refers to the literal interpretation of a celestial body as well as the symbolic meaning of a famous person or cosmic beauty. How fitting is that for Celia to embody the bright star, this Nyota Uhura, and I certainly hope she continues to illuminate throughout season 3 and beyond to season 5 of Strange New Worlds. As Star Trek fans and we are more eager than ever to see an espionage episode dedicated to Uhura and her many talents!
