It is imaginable to person excessively overmuch of a bully thing.

In nan lawsuit of “Star Trek: Strange New Worlds” Season 3, reviewing nan frothy, effortlessly watchable first 5 episodes brings this reviewer to that inescapable conclusion. This is the show that brought nan nosy backmost to “Star Trek,” that brought backmost nan astronomical alchemy of Gene Roddenberry’s “Original Series” and Rick Berman’s ’90s “Trek” series successful a measurement astir viewers thought they’d ne'er spot again. You could clasp up a reflector to our nine and person a lighthearted, pop-art-colored romp; you could animate heavy emotion alongside genuine thrills.

Of that equation, though, nan heavy emotion is missing from Season 3 of “Strange New Worlds,” arsenic is nan reflector — moreover contempt a characteristic virtually saying successful 1 section that sci-fi tin make america look much intimately astatine our ain world.

All that’s near is nan fun. Hey, who are we to kick erstwhile it’s a show this fun? But “Star Trek” ever has had nan capacity to beryllium more, and truthful has this show: This very bid has fixed america incredibly analyzable episodes discussing our ain societal infinitesimal (going truthful acold arsenic to opportunity that 23rd period historians branded the U.S. successful nan 2020s arsenic successful a “Second Civil War”), a riveting courtroom play astir individual freedom, and, successful “Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow” 1 of nan astir soulful of each “Trek” episodes, 1 that genuinely turns Kirk into a romanticist leader for nan ages.

Instead, successful nan first half of Season 3, “Strange New Worlds” opts to support it surface-level.

The play picks up instantly aft nan past frames of nan Season 2 cliffhanger, pinch a number of nan Enterprise unit captured by nan Gorn and nan vessel itself being swarmed by Gorn onslaught craft. The crippled unfolds successful an undeniably clever measurement — Season 3 continues to beryllium smart, but is ne'er rather thought-provoking — pinch a solution to this communicative that feels very “Trek” and a batch of LED-wall CGI mush that feels sludgy and for illustration immoderate different TV accumulation these days. A number of storylines are group up from these events related to ongoing beingness and psychological trauma connected relationship of nan Gorn, for which your interest-level whitethorn vary.

Jess Bush arsenic Chapel and Ethan Peck arsenic Spock are astatine nan halfway of nan astir romance-focused ‘Trek’ show successful franchise historyMarni Grossman/Paramount+

The formed is uniformly stellar, arsenic always. Anson Mount brings a texture and integrity to his Capt. Pike that puts him among nan champion “Star Trek” bid leads ever. Previous “Trek” bid did truthful overmuch to found that their leaders person lives beyond nan captain’s chair, person thoughts beyond their captain’s log — Picard’s emotion of classical euphony and Dixon Hill detective stories, Sisko’s domiciled arsenic a begetter and his liking successful his practice and successful archaeology, Archer’s burning desire to watch “Rosemary’s Baby” aft virtually redeeming Earth, Janeway’s slump and inward move during nan “Night” section of “Voyager” — and of each nan “Trek” bid since nan franchise relaunched arsenic a streaming spot successful 2017, Mount’s Pike is nan only 1 that really fits successful their ranks. He brings truthful overmuch much to nan domiciled than conscionable nan transportation of dialogue, uncovering gestures and expressive nuances that convey acold beyond what could ever beryllium connected nan page alone. His romanticist narration pinch Capt. Batel (Melanie Scrofano) is simply a peculiarly awesome measurement to further research dimensions of some characters.

Babs Olusanmokun continues to bring magnitude and depth, moreover coiled menace, arsenic Dr. M’Benga, whose singular Season 2 section that resulted successful him beautiful evidently flat-out murdering a Klingon warfare criminal is revisited quickly successful Season 3. Jess Bush’s Nurse Chapel is ne'er little than riveting, someway funny and earnest successful nan astir cleanable “Trek” way. Christina Chong’s La’an is 1 of nan awesome humor-by-way-of-repression characters nan franchise has ever fixed us.

And nether Ethan Peck’s bonzer steering of nan character, Spock has go each but a Jane Austen hero, personification whose rigid power of their emotions and adherence to nan strictest codification of behaviour corrals a barely-contained sensuality. He’s nan “Pride and Prejudice” hand-flex arsenic a full-fledged character. (One can’t moreover ideate Leonard Nimoy doing a amended occupation delivering nan statement “I do not require a Bacchanale.”) So overmuch of this show is now astir his romanticist pursuits, aliases those pursuing him, and it works.

Spending clip pinch these characters feels for illustration spending clip pinch friends. What’s lacking are really meaningful storylines to put them into, culminating successful a very dispiriting section that features zombies. “Star Trek” does not, now aliases ever, request zombies. An “escape room” archaeological excavation section isn’t vastly amended either.

Christina Chong’s La’an and Spock squad up to lick a ‘Once Upon Time successful Hollywood’ by measurement of ‘The Original Series’ mysteryMarni Grossman/Paramount+

The 1 absolute triumph of an section is nan 1 that goes all-out successful conscionable being a lark: “Trek” should astir apt person its “lark” episodes and past much superior episodes, giving america a assortment of tones while keeping them distinct. This peculiar “lark” episode, directed masterfully arsenic ever by Jonathan Frakes, involves nan Enterprise testing retired a holodeck (not a spoiler, its unique grid shape was seen successful nan charismatic teaser) via an Agatha Christie-style whodunnit that La’an has to solve.

But it’s not conscionable a Christie-style mystery, it’s 1 group successful 1960s Hollywood and astir a execution connected nan group of a abstraction escapade show that’s fundamentally conscionable a redressed “Original Series,” pinch “Once Upon a Time successful Hollywood” style abounding. It’s an absolute blast, and it reminds that done these first 5 episodes we don’t get astir capable of Rebecca Romijn arsenic first serviceman Number One aliases Celia Rose Gooding’s Uhura. This show has ever been bully astatine spreading nan wealth, truthful it’s apt they’ll get their moments earlier Season 3 wraps. And hold till you spot who Mount is playing successful that holodeck episode.

That installment is great, but moreover still, hanging complete each 5 of these episodes is simply a whiff of “what is this show about now?” The comparative deficiency of constituent crossed nan committee can’t thief emotion for illustration a bull retired for a show that’s been tin of a batch more. God forbid nan avoidance of thing topical is different look of Paramount looking to debar immoderate imaginable confrontations up of its projected merger pinch Skydance. It whitethorn not beryllium that, but it’s starting to look for illustration nan decision to wrap nan bid aft a six-episode 5th season shoots later this twelvemonth is simply a bully one.

After nan 5 episodes we’ve screened of Season 3, location are apt only 21 episodes left. Let’s hope, pinch a existent plan, showrunners Akiva Goldsman and Henry Alonso Myers tin genuinely make them count.

Grade: B-

“Star Trek: Strange New Worlds” Season 3 premiered astatine nan 2025 Tribeca Festival. It will watercourse connected Paramount+ starting July 17, releasing a caller section each week.