7 Ups & 1 Down From Star Trek: Strange New Worlds 3.5 — Through The Lens Of Time

8. LATINUM UP — Chris Meyers

An UP for the character is also an easy LATINUM UP for the actor this week. Given comparatively little screentime from Wedding Bell Blues onwards, Chris Meyers has put in an excellent performance as Nurse Gamble, both pre- and post-possession by non-corporeal alien entity, the Vezda. His smile has delighted and terrified us. His screams will haunt us forever.

As Gamble, Meyers exuded an effortless likeability. We were all lulled into a false sense of security. Equally effortless was his ability to switch to pure evil (and back again) in an instant. Another actor might have failed to convince with such rapid transitions of emotion.

Instead, Meyers adeptly managed to blur the line between Gamble and Vezda. This was grippingly, purposefully uncomfortable viewing, instilling just the right amount of doubt. Like Doctor M'Benga, we wondered (and hoped) until the very end, fond of the character as we were. After so much promise, we were left with a flickering screen in sickbay: "QUARANTINE SUBJECT: VEZDA LIFEFORM."