'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,/9j/2wBDAAYEBQYFBAYGBQYHBwYIChAKCgkJChQODwwQFxQYGBcUFhYaHSUfGhsjHBYWICwgIyYnKSopGR8tMC0oMCUoKSj/2wBDAQcHBwoIChMKChMoGhYaKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCj/wAARCAAGAAoDASIAAhEBAxEB/8QAFQABAQAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAb/xAAhEAABBAEDBQAAAAAAAAAAAAADAQIEEQAFBiESEzFCUf/EABUBAQEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAQF/8QAHBEAAQMFAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAgABAxIhIlGB/9oADAMBAAIRAxEAPwCIg7u1GLq4TSTKhITRCC2O1GDRjG8J0eOeb+2q5Ozt3jlTZEgwF7pSOI+m0lqtr7YxkgJDqe+kg2wHq//Z'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 3, Episode 5, "Through the Lens of Time," begins with a classic Starfleet setting: a scientific expedition to investigate ancient ruins.
What starts as a normal mission rapidly becomes an acute life-threatening situation that threatens both the landing party and the USS Enterprise. The episode introduces a new villainous entity, bringing new risks to the season.
The episode is written by Onitra Johnson and Davy Perez, and directed by Andi Armaganian. It offers a gripping, brain-twisting story with layered character development, time-bending enigmas, and a centuries-slumbering alien terror.
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds investigates the ancient temple of Vadia Nine
Nurse Christine Chapel commands a Starfleet landing party to Vadia Nine to explore the M'Kroon's ancient temple. The team members include Dr. Roger Korby, Ensign Nyota Uhura, Ensign Dana Gamble, and documentarian Beto Ortegas.
They're later joined by Lt. Spock and Lt. La'an Noonien-Singh, who immediately realize that the temple is anything but mundane. The group becomes trapped inside, starting a chain of events that will alter their mission and potentially Starfleet history.
An ancient evil rises in Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 3, Episode 5: The Vezda
A routine scan of relics comes back to bite Ensign Gamble in the form of being exposed to an unknown object. Shortly thereafter, it's discovered that Gamble has been taken over by the Vezda, a long-forgotten evil entity that had been trapped within the temple. The Vezda, according to Commander Pelia, are thousands of years old and bring deep discomfort even to long-lived species such as the Lanthanites.
The Vezda appearing on the USS Enterprise turns out to be deadly, too. The Vezda uses Gamble's body to kill security officers and for itself, resulting in multiple security officer deaths. Dr. Joseph M'Benga stands against the entity, and with the help of Pelia and Scotty, the Vezda is subdued. The Scotty beams it nowhere, so the risk was far from over.
The Vezda threat is far from over in Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 3 Episode 5
As the sole Vezda on the Enterprise is extracted, the crew finds out that thousands more are still held captive on Vadia Nine. If one might escape, then others could as well. The arrival of the Vezda presents an added threat in the form of something new, more psychological and older than physical, auguring a departure from Gorn-focusing battles in earlier seasons.
This development may mark Vezda as the overarching antagonist of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 3, setting the tone for a more existential and morally complex enemy than seen in earlier arcs.
The Temple’s mystery and the Chapel’s leap of faith in Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 3 Episode 5
The M'Kroon temple runs on nonlinear physics, making "effect before cause" possible. Spock concludes that the team is not in different places, but rather in different planes of existence. Chapel is finally selected by the temple to lead the team. At a critical juncture, she makes a leap of faith into seemingly endless space, a symbolic bound reminiscent of old-time adventure films.
Her act reorders time and space, so the entire crew is saved. The crew realizes the temple was not merely a building, but a prison meant to hold the Vezda.
Dr. Roger Korby's emerging obsession in Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 3 Episode 5
Although introduced as a sympathetic character earlier in the season, Dr. Korby starts to show signs of a more obsessive, morally dubious character in Episode 5. Although he is not behaving maliciously, his obsession with discovery rather than crew safety is contrasted with the Starfleet philosophy of Chapel and others.
This description serves as a subtle wink to his later part in Star Trek: The Original Series, hinting at the change that will ultimately put him on the opposite side of Starfleet.
Death of Ensign Dana Gamble in Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 3, Episode 5
Ensign Dana Gamble, who debuted in episode 2, is the episode's greatest tragedy. His initial introduction as a young, rising officer and Chapel's replacement, Gamble's pride in his first landing party leads to possession and death. His tale is a dark reminder of the perils of Starfleet and the redshirt trope of the early Star Trek canon.
Captain Batel's genetic mystery in Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 3 Episode 5
Another surprise turn of events comes when Captain Marie Batel faces off against the Vezda. Her response is strange: she can speak its language and exhibit superhuman strength. The episode serves to remind audiences of her prior infection with Gorn DNA and that Spock had earlier synthesized a Chimera Blossom to stabilize her hybrid genetics.
Whether this link portends a greater connection between the Vezda and the Gorn, or a whole new metamorphosis for Batel, remains to be seen. Either way, this subplot profoundly questions identity, control, and the price of survival.
Therefore, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 3, Episode 5 takes the story away from its earlier arc. The episode takes a typical exploratory mission and turns it into an encounter with an evil that has lived for thousands of years, leading to long-term consequences. It also introduces ethical dilemmas of scientific discovery, power, and sacrifice.
Trending
Whether the return of the Vezda is near or not, one thing is certain: the crew of the USS Enterprise has discovered something much more deadly than they might have anticipated.
Reply
