The story progression was predictable and the pacing was not the best. Still, I appreciated the focus on Ortegas and Navia's acting. In this interview she alludes to not being able to dance when others are; I presume she's talking about the death of her partner late 2021 (which was after the worst of covid restrictions, but not so long after them). When it came to the rescue scene and La'an killed the Gorn, Ortegas' only friend in a lonely time and place, it made me sad to think Navia was probably going back to that loss.

But this episode was really made to retcon people not knowing the Gorn in TOS. The writers needed to make up a reason for people to forget a species they've now encountered several times, including medical breakthroughs (Batel). Still, more Ortegas, please. And still more range, please.

“People know” comments, such as the one in this article are increasingly annoying. Mainly, because they are simply wrong.

No, we don’t know that Ortegas and La’an aren’t on the ship in the first year of Kirk’s command.

Sulu was a xenobiologist at the beginning of TOS, and Kirk had already been captain for some time. There was a bit of a rotation of pilots in the initial episodes.

TOS didn’t even have a regular security officer.

That sounds insulting

FFS...it started as a rip-off of The Martian and ended incredibly predictably. So yeah, she could do a Marvel film with the tripe they are churning out.

Is this episode 9 that just aired? I haven’t watched the last 2 episode yet.