The Season 2 finale of Strange New Worlds finally introduces the audience to a full-grown Gorn warrior who gets in a fight with Spock and Chapel. While “Hegemony” is a thrilling episode, it does create a Star Trek continuity problem. According to Star Trek: The Original Series, the first contact between the Gorn and the Federation came nearly a decade after these events.
Like most franchise prequels, Strange New Worlds often abuts the established canon, especially when trying to introduce familiar elements. Khan Noonien Singh is Star Trek‘s greatest villain, yet in both encounters with Captain Kirk, no one mentions La’an. One would think a descendant of the historical tyrant serving in its ranks might change Khan’s mind about Starfleet. Yet, a bigger canon problem than La’an is that she survived a Gorn attack as a child. The reptilian alien creatures have appeared in at least three other Strange New Worlds episodes. Yet, when the Enterprise encounters the Gorn in TOS, Spock, Uhura and other members of the crew seem to know nothing about them. However, despite all their encounters with the Gorn, Spock got a very up-close look at the creatures. It’s a continuity error, but it is easy to get around with “head-canon,” or the stories fans make up for themselves to resolve such things.
Until Strange New Worlds, Star Trek Wasted the Gorn Threat
Until “Hegemony,” the only Gorn the characters saw were their young, which are quadrupeds, unlike the bipedal adults. However, while trying to destroy the dampening field preventing transporter use, Spock comes face-to-face with an adult, albeit in a space suit. Still, since he dispatches it by breaking its spacesuit helmet, it’s tough to argue he doesn’t know what one looks like. Yet, it was dark in the ruins of their ship. Also, he’d spent the entire episode worried about Chapel, and she has already been a distraction to him this season.
The Star Trek: The Original Series episode that introduced the Gorn, “Arena,” is most remembered for the slow-moving fight scene between Kirk and the rubber-suit-monster. However, the Gorn in the series acted nonetheless brutally than they do in Strange New Worlds. The Gorn attack and decimate the Cestus III colony, then lure the Enterprise there. Kirk’s suspicion is that the aliens want to destroy the Enterprise, making invasion much easier. Strange New Worlds does explain why they’d target the Enterprise, especially if Pike is able to beat them and rescue his crew. After “Arena,” outside of a few brief animated or alternate-timeline appearances, the aliens aren’t seen again.
Strange New Worlds is making them truly scary villains, though it does suggest Starfleet should have some information about them. In fact, the Gorn Hegemony even established a border with Starfleet, suggesting some official communication. However, the joy of being a fan of a science-fiction epic like Star Trek means there are any number of ways they can explain it rather than griping about “canon.” Ultimately, the question Trekkies must ask themselves is if the story itself was worth telling or not.
Star Trek Canon Isn’t the Hard and Fast Rule Some Fans Claim It to Be
If Strange New Worlds depicts a full-blown war with the Gorn, it becomes a bigger problem in terms of continuity. The first Romulan episode of The Original Series also focuses on aliens the Federation hasn’t seen before, but it does mention the Federation and Romulan War. If Strange New Worlds goes this route, it’s clear the storytellers are suggesting the future of this version of Star Trek‘s timeline differs from what fans remember. This could be frustrating to those who prefer a cohesive universe, but it raises the dramatic stakes considerably. No character is “safe,” and anything can happen.
Whatever is in store for Strange New Worlds Season 3, there are still ways to justify it. Once the Federation sends the Gorn packing, they could completely redesign their ships. Or, if they simply commandeer technology rather than build it, they may conquer their way to new starships. Similarly, seeing the Gorn in the alien arena is likely the clearest view anyone ever got of them. Every encounter thus far takes place in the dark, and the Starfleet officers fighting them are primarily concerned with survival. Or there could be a Starfleet classification or time-travel solution like the one employed on Star Trek: Discovery.
There are countless episodes that are part of the Star Trek canon fans actively ignore. There’s the episode where Spock “loses” his brain. The Voyager episode where Captain Janeway and Lt. Tom Paris turn into lizards and mate is another often overlooked. The only reason Star Trek canon exists is to guide the writers, and those rules should never get in the way of telling the best story possible. Whether the storytellers provide an answer to the Gorn problem or fans do, it all serves to ensure that Star Trek‘s past never gets in the way of its continued future.
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Seasons 1 and 2 are currently streaming on Paramount+.