Lieutenant Spock (Ethan Peck) and Captain Marie Batel (Melanie Scrofano) shared a horrifying vision in Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 3, episode 3, and here's what it could mean. Directed by Dan Liu, and written by Onitra Johnson and Bill Wolkoff, the intense and provocative "Shuttle to Kenfori" sees Spock attempt to alleviate Batel's pain from her resurgent Gorn DNA.
In Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 3, episode 3, Captain Christopher Pike (Anson Mount) and Dr. Joseph M'Benga (Babs Olusanmokun) travel to the abandoned world of Kenfori searching for the Chimera Blossom, a rare plant with properties Spock can synthesize to save Captain Batel's life.
Along with facing Klingon zombies, however, Captain Pike is horrified to learn that Spock and M'Benga's plan is to permanently turn Captain Batel into a human/Gorn hybrid. Yet, it's a plan Marie herself authorized, as it's the only way to keep her from dying. Pike and M'Benga are in a race against time as Batel's condition worsens.
What Spock & Captain Batel Saw In Their Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Mind Meld
Something Is Up With Their Gorn Vision
Aboard the Starship Enterprise, Lieutenant Spock volunteers to mind meld with Captain Batel, using Vulcan healing techniques to lessen Marie's agony. Initially, Spock's mind meld works until both the Vulcan and the Captain are overwhelmed by a shared vision that terrifies them both. Spock temporarily loses control, knocking Ensign Dana Gamble (Chris Myers) across Sickbay.
The Gorn in their vision behaved as if it was also in afraid of something.
The Gorn Batel and Spock saw seemed even more agitated and hostile than usual. The Gorn in their vision behaved as if it was also afraid of something, as opposed to its normal aggression when feeding. The Gorn is now tied to Batel, and perhaps her newfound reptile side is trying to warn her of something?
What Spock & Batel’s Vision Means For Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 3
The Gorn May Not Be Hibernating After All
Captain Pike and the USS Enterprise crew induced the Gorn into hibernation in Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 3's premiere, preventing an attack on the United Federation of Planets. Yet, what if the Gorn are not hibernating? Or, what if the Gorn are indeed in a passive state, but their society shares dreams that Batel, who is now part Gorn, is now privy to?
The Gorn are also haunting Lieutenant Erica Ortegas (Melissa Navia), who is seeing her own visions of the reptilian aliens. Ortegas was mortally wounded but not infected by the Gorn like Batel, yet she's also seeing Gorn in her waking nightmares. This can't be a coincidence, and perhaps it's a foreshadowing of a potential threat that even the Gorn dread.
While some viewers hoped Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 3 would move past the Gorn, Batel becoming part Gorn and Ortegas' hauntings indicate the prequel isn't done with the alien reptiles yet. Instead, the purpose of the Gorn may shift in ways Spock and Captain Batel don't yet understand from their shared vision in Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 3.
