Warning: SPOILERS for Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 3, Episode 6, “The Sehlat Who Ate Its Tail"Lt. Commander James T. Kirk (Paul Wesley) faces his first big command challenge in a phenomenal episode ofStar Trek: Strange New Worlds. Throughout its third season,Strange New Worldshas continued exploring the adventures of Captain Christopher Pike (Anson Mount) and his crew in the years leading up to Kirk’s historical command of the Starship Enterprise.
Directed by Valerie Weiss, with a script by David Reed and Bill Wolkoff,Star Trek: Strange New Worldsseason 3, episode 6, “The Sehlat Who Ate Its Tail,” shifts thefocus to James T. Kirkfor an episode,checking in on the first officer of the USS Farragut.The episode begins with a personal log from Kirk as he laments the Farragut’s current (and boring) planetary survey mission.
Kirk understands why his captain wants to do everything by the book, buthe thinks"the book would be more interesting if [he] got to write it.“Kirk soon gets his wish when an explosion from the planet severely damages the Farragut, injuring the captain and forcing Kirk to take command. The Enterprise then arrives to offer assistance, and the two ships face off against a massive alien Scavenger Ship.
Captain Kirk Faces An Impossible Situation & Struggles With Command
“The Sehlat Who Ate Its Tail” Depicts An Important Step On Kirk’s Journey
Soon after Captain Pike and his crew arrive, the Scavenger Ship effectively swallows the Enterprise for its parts.This leaves Kirk in command of the Farragut,with Lt. Spock (Ethan Peck), Lt. Scotty (Martin Quinn), Nurse Chapel (Jess Bush), and Ensign Uhura (Celia Rose Gooding) filling in for the bridge crew.
Acting Captain Kirk orders Scotty to work on repairing the Farragut, encouraging him to"perform some miracles,“foreshadowingScotty’s later reputation as a miracle worker. Although Scotty’s repairs initially appear to be holding, Kirk celebrates prematurely, and the Farragut soon winds up"dead in the water.”
At this point, Spock, Scotty, Uhura, and Chapel begin bouncing ideas around, but Kirk insists he doesn’t need options, just time to think.The Enterprise officers consider removing Kirk from command,as the young officer is still developing his command style, which Scotty says is"lacking.”
It’s fascinating to see the beginnings of Kirk’s command journey, as his uncertainty and inconsistent command style contrast sharply with Captain Pike’s confidence and collaborative style.
Meanwhile, Captain Pike andLt. La’an Noonien-Singh (Christina Chong)work with the rest of the Enterprise crew to escape the bowels of the Scavenger Ship. They must detach the Scavenger Ship’s umbilical cord from the Enterprise while avoiding the alien Scavengers who have boarded the ship.The stories on the Farragut and the Enterprise are both equally captivatingand make great use of the scattered characters.
Kirk Begins Forming Bonds With His Future Enterprise Crewmates
Spock Is Already Acting Like Kirk’s First Officer
“The Sehlat Who Ate Its Tail” not only hints at the type of captain Kirk will soon become, but also reveals why he may have chosen certain officers for his Enterprise crew.Captain Kirk and Lt. Spock, in particular, immediately prove to be a great team, asSpock helps Kirk work through his uncertainty and lack of confidence.
Kirk has always wanted to be a starship captain, and he even admits that he often thinks he would make better decisions than those in command. But when faced with a truly dire situation,Kirk struggles with the realities of commandand is at a loss about the Farragut’s next move. In some very un-Vulcan-like advice, Spock urges Kirk to trust his intuition.
Spock, Scotty, Uhura, and Chapel may not fully have faith in Kirk yet, butthis episode shows the beginnings of their bond.Despite Kirk’s insistence that"rousing speeches aren’t exactly [his] forte,“he assures the Enterprise crew members that he won’t abandon their ship, proposing a risky plan to disable the Scavenger Ship.
“The Sehlat Who Ate Its Tail” also teases Kirk and Spock’s eventual banter-filled friendship. When Kirk remarks that he feels weird being called captain, Spock dryly replies,“I promise to demote you at the earliest opportunity.”
It’s incredibly fun watchingStar Trek: The Original Seriescharacterslike Kirk, Spock, Scotty, Uhura, and Chapel work together, and they prove to be a great team despite Kirk still being a relative outsider among the group. After recovering from his"crisis of confidence,“Kirk brings out the best in the Enterprise crew memberstemporarily under his command, hinting at the future dynamic of Kirk and his crew.
“The Sehlat Who Ate Its Tail” Ends With An Unconventional Solution & A Devastating Reveal
The Episode Gives Almost Everyone Something To Do
With the Enterprise quickly losing power,Commander Pelia (Carol Kane) comes up with a unique solution to restore communicationson the Enterprise so the crew can coordinate their escape from the Scavenger Ship. To accomplish this, Pelia sifts through the old technology in her delightfully messy quarters to find some old corded phones from Earth circa the 1980s.
This storyline is not as interesting as Kirk’s or Pike’s, but it gives Pelia something to do and delivers some fun visuals of the Enterprise crew members using landlines. In the end,Pike and his crew work together to steer the ship out of the Scavengeras Kirk and Spock devise a way to destroy the ship entirely.
Although the explosion of the Scavenger Ship initially feels like a triumph, Spock soon discovers that around 7,000 lifeforms lost their lives. In a final devastating reveal,those lifeforms turn out to be humans descended from a spaceship crewwhodeparted Earth sometime in the 21st century.
This reveal is not particularly shocking, asStar Trekhas done similar ones before, most notably with V’ger inStar Trek: The Motion Picture.Still, the final reveal helps Kirk learn a valuable lesson about command.
Later, Captain Pike checks in with Kirk, sharing some advice that alsoexemplifies whatStar Trekmeansas a franchise. When Kirk remarks that he didn’t see the Scavengers as people until it was too late, Pike replies that Kirk should learn something from that, adding,“Empathy isn’t conditional. It’s either given or it isn’t.”
In a perfect final scene, Pike says,“Good night, Captain Kirk,“as James sits alone on the battered Farragut, reflecting on his first command. In “The Sehlat Who Ate Its Tail,“Star Trek: Strange New Worldsoffers fascinating insight into Captain James T. Kirk, laying the groundwork for him to become one of the most celebrated Starfleet captains of all time.
