6 Ups And 3 Downs From Star Trek: Strange New Worlds 3.6 — The Sehlat Who Ate Its Tail

There was a twist in the tale of the tail. After whoops and cheers — the nervous release of 'kill or be killed' — came the shock, the stark reality of 7,000 life signs diminishing. There were clues, but figuring it out in advance didn't lessen the impact. Down the scope, those life signs were human. The "monster past the edge of the map" is you!

The gut-wrenching reveal was played perfectly. As Spock reported on the bridge, Pike unmasked a scavenger down below. Anson Mount deserves ample credit for all the sorrow, regret, and confusion expressed in a single set of fleeting facial expressions. The ready room scene that followed was heartbreaking.

There were a few lessons to be learnt from all this — one for Kirk in particular. Empathy isn't automatic, but trying to find some, even for your worst enemy, will make anyone a better person, and a better leader. Empathy doesn't have to be reciprocal either, as the scavengers largely demonstrated.

We, the audience, also learnt a little more about mid-21st century, pre-warp human history. At least Zefram Cochrane was honest about his interstellar intentions, his "vision," i.e., "dollar signs!" These astronauts-cum-scavengers were little more than the fools who fled.