Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 3 Episode 7 Review: What Is Starfleet?

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 3 Episode 7, “What Is Starfleet?”, delivers a blend of episodic narrative and stylized camerawork, feeling like a bona fide documentary as Beto Ortegas presents his finished product to the world (universe?). It’s quite the pivot from last week’s Kirk-centric fare, not just story-wise but in tone and style. 

What Separates a Federation From an Empire?

For the most part, “What Is Starfleet?” balances these tonal differences well. The plot regarding the Jikaru seamlessly blends into Beto’s documentary. Where it gets a mite bumpy is the Beto side of things. His conversation with Uhura, when we learn why he’s essentially crafting a hit piece on Starfleet, doesn’t pack as much of an emotional punch as it could. 

For starters, we don’t see Beto’s reaction to his sister Ortegas’ grave injuries following the Gorn incident. Sure, his being upset is understandable, but without that buildup and without much knowledge of who Beto is as a character, this reveal doesn’t land. That said, Celia Rose Gooding and Mynor Luken deliver beautiful performances in this scene. 

Thankfully, “What Is Starfleet?” finally shines a spotlight on Gooding as Uhura, who offers compelling, nuanced work. She imbues Uhura with so much hope and unwavering optimism. Uhura represents the future of Starfleet and its limitless potential. She’s the catalyst that keeps the fire going.

There’s a sweetness to Uhura that could be mistaken for naivete, but the ensign is far from naive. She merely refuses to allow anything to sully her belief in the inherent goodness of people. Gooding’s performance is grounded and natural. 

Don’t Accept Anything Blindly

“What Is Starfleet?” not only balances different story and filmmaking approaches, but it also tackles a myriad of relevant themes. None of said themes are unfamiliar territory for the franchise. However, the outing could’ve benefitted from a longer runtime to flesh out these themes further. It’s a lot to juggle. 

The episode addresses everything from colonization and constantly questioning the status quo to being open to changing your mind and bodily autonomy/consent. Oh, and learning to live with the consequences of your choices. Phew. Beto angles to find similarities between the Federation and your stereotypical empire, noting that both colonize, subjugate, and impose doctrines. Ultimately, we land on Starfleet — and the Federation at large — being imperfect, which is territory we’ve already covered in Season 2’s stellar “Ad Astra per Aspera.” 

A Thin Line 

Despite its imperfections, Starfleet endeavors to do better every day. Uhura admits this to the camera. It’s also essential that they don’t abuse their privilege and act with everyone’s best interest at heart. Perhaps that’s the true difference between the Federation and its adversaries. There’s a thin line, and it’s so easy to cross. 

“What Is Starfleet?” is an introspective piece that forces the institution to analyze what works and what doesn’t. Who’s the arbiter of what constitutes “innately good” when someone potentially looks like an enemy? Perhaps it’s all subjective. Perhaps all we can do is our best. And maybe, just maybe, we should take a breath before we decide to make a revenge documentary as a “gotcha” to a massive space organization (with big-ass ships). 

Stray Observations: 

• Spock recounting that traumatic story from his childhood, when he tried to “cut out” the human part of himself, is such a punch to the gut—poor baby.
• RIP, Jikaru. You deserved to live life without being used as a weapon and with your little alien butterfly babies. 
• I wonder if Number One feels conflicted about the experiments on the Jikaru because she’s Illyrian. 
• Take a drink every time Pike says something is classified or the word “redacted” appears onscreen. You might be more than a bit tipsy by the end. 
• I hope Beto can hit the film festival circuit with this doc. It’s always good to support emerging filmmakers. 

---

What did you think of this episode of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds? Share your thoughts in the comments below, and don’t forget to leave your own rating!

Critic Rating:

Audience Rating:

 

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds drops new episodes every Thursday on Paramount+. 

Check out our latest TV recommendations, updated weekly!

Want more from Tell-Tale TV? Subscribe to our newsletter here!