Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 3 review: "The show's most assured run of episodes to date"

When Strange New Worlds began in 2022, it was billed as a return to old school Star Trek values: episodic space adventures on the Starship Enterprise, with a Captain pulled from the original series, Spock on the bridge, and James T. Kirk waiting in the wings. But what has become clear as the show has matured is that this is also the Star Trek that's not afraid to get goofy and take a few risks.

Sometimes, those have paid off – season 2's 'Those Old Scientists' was a winning crossover with the Lower Decks animated series, while others haven't quite landed. For this writer, at least, that included last season's much-hyped musical episode, 'Subspace Rhapsody', which, critically, didn't have strong enough tunes to stand next to the gold standard of this sort of thing: Buffy the Vampire Slayer's 'Once More, With Feeling.'

Hooray then for Strange New Worlds season 3, which feels like the show's most assured and cohesive run of episodes to date. These first five episodes (of 10, all supplied to us on a spoiler-free review basis) manage to more successfully integrate the show's wilder impulses with its various ongoing plot threads. The ideas are bigger and punchier, the character work more considered.

Into darkness...

The season naturally opens with 'Hegemony, Part II' – the conclusion to season 2's climactic tussle with the Gorn. That episode had a tough, dangerous tone which carries over here. Indeed, it's a remarkably tense start to the season and a conscious throwback to the Next Generation and Deep Space Nine days, when a much-hyped new run of episodes would start with an episode that was absolutely impenetrable to anyone who hadn't seen the previous instalment.

That's no bad thing, however. A big 'ol cliffhanger is a beloved Trek staple, and the payoff here was worth the wait. It's also true that while Strange New Worlds loves to get silly, it's often at its best when telling slightly grittier stories. Logically (and try not to read that in Spock's voice), we know that most of these people will be fine – the majority of the main cast here are Original Series characters, after all – but the show wrings a lot of tension out of us not knowing the fates of several crucial members of the bridge crew.

The third episode, 'Shuttle to Kenfori', continues this more serious tone as it pairs up Pike and Babs Olusanmokun's emotionally conflicted Doctor M'Benga for an away mission gone wrong. This is another high-concept episode of sorts, one that effectively melds Star Trek with a familiar horror sub-genre to great effect.

It isn't all darkness and trauma, however. Episode 2, 'Wedding Bell Blues' introduces Rhys Derby as... well, we can't get into that here, except to say that it's a very fun performance. The episode spins the focus back on Spock and Christine Chapel's relationship in a way that's both amusing and tinged with melancholy.

Episode 4, 'A Space Adventure Hour,' meanwhile, borrows a popular Next Generation episode format, but uses it to make a bunch of metatextual gags. Not in itself a bad thing, but given that Strange New World's great strength has always been its accessibility, I did find myself wondering during the gaudy, fan-teasing cold open what exactly a new viewer would make of this show.

Still boldly going

Episode five, 'Through the Lens of Time', is the best episode of this first batch, and one that is perhaps hinting towards future plans for the show. Playfully pinching from Raiders of the Lost Ark, it's a tense tale of an away team investigating an ancient alien civilization and biting off more than they can chew. This episode in particular leans into the growing relationships (of all kinds, not just romantic) between the characters. Strange New Worlds has always benefited from the charisma of its cast, but this time around, it really feels as if everyone has locked into place in a really satisfying way.

Sadly, as I was writing this review, the news broke that Strange New Worlds will end with a shorter fifth season. No date has been given for that as yet – we've still got all of seasons 3 and 4 to come first – but we're probably looking at late 2027, or perhaps even 2028, before the Enterprise completes its five-year mission.

Even with such a protracted farewell, I'll be sad to see this show end. Strange New Worlds clearly still has ideas to spare and these five episodes leave you with a sense that the real adventures are only just beginning.

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 3 debuts on Paramount Plus in the US and the UK on Thursday, July 17.