Strange New Worlds Season 3 Episode 3 plunges Star Trek directly in the last of us
Be careful, Redshirts! This article contains spoilers For “Star Trek: Strange New Worlds” season 3, episode 3, “Shuttle to Kenfori”.
“Star Trek” in general and “Star Trek: Strange New Worlds” in particular does not hesitate to be inspired by other genres. In fact, season 3 of “Strange New Worlds” has now delivered two consecutive episodes that wink and head to specific fictional works. Episode 2, “Wedding Bell Blues”, brought Trelane, extraterrestrial child of William Campbell (now played by Rhys Darby of “Our Flag means Death” Fame) to present himself as a wedding planner for the recently broken spock (Ethan Peck) and Chistine Chapel (Jess Bush). The antagonist resets the situation whenever Spock refuses to comply, thus locking the half-vulcan in a loop which seems to pay tribute to the “Marmot day”. Now, episode 3, entitled “Shuttle to Kenfori”, seems to be rifting on a much more recent pop culture phenomenon: the post-apocalyptic juggernaut series of HBO “The Last of Us”.
In search of the healing healing chimera, the company establishes a course on the Kenfori planet, which is an area without strict flight. On the surface, Captain Christopher Pike (Mount Anson) and Doctor Joseph M’Benga (Babs Olusanmokun) soon find themselves in the middle of a full post-apocalyptic scenario, where they meet hordes of fatal vegetable zombies. Admittedly, “Strange New Worlds” throws in many specific traditions of franchise on Klingon invasions and really bizarre medical treatments, but the episode certainly looks like Kenfori as the “Star Trek” version of the Earth “Infested Cordyce”. And honestly? Season 3 of the best “Star Trek” show for decades makes this combination unlikely which works surprisingly well.
The many parallels between Kenfori and the last of us
The apocalyptic event of “The Last of Us” is a version of the Parasite Mushroom of Cordycers, which begins to take control of the brain of the infected. The cordycepts make his victims behave a bit like traditional zombies and attack people in order to spread the infection before finally mutating them into something much more foreign. Years after the epidemic, nature has recovered most of the human colonies, and the few survivors who remain struggled to happen by themselves or in makeshift alliances. In season 1 of “The Last of Us” by HBO, the main characters Joel (Pedro Pascal) and Ellie (Bella Ramsey) cross this cruel but magnificent world on a mission that can save humanity or not, struggling with the dark side of human nature on the way. Season 2 presents another very different duo mission, as well as a key element of the Naughty Dog games: the spores of surprisingly precise mushrooms which allow the airport propagation of the infection.
It is easy to see how “Shuttle to Kenfor” plays with similar themes. Here, Pike and M’Benga play the role of the controversial traveler duo exploring the invaded buildings and trying to survive the zombies infected by Moss. They even locate an apocalyptic newspaper that is unlike what players find in “The Last of Us” games. He reveals that the fate of Kenfori is indeed a science fiction version of the Cordycers infection: the agent of Chimera, which transfers a bit like the spores “The Last of Us”, went from hay and caused everyone to Kenfori turns into hybrid creatures infested with foam. Combine all this with the history of revenge, violence and despair that takes place on the planet, and it is clear that “Star Trek: Strange New Worlds” season 3, episode 2 has become full “The Last of Us” on its viewers … either by design or accident.
