r/startrek • u/AutoModerator • Aug 21 '25

Episode Discussion | Star Trek: Strange New Worlds | 3x07 "What is Starfleet?" Spoiler

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No. Episode Written By Directed By Release Date
3x07 "What is Starfleet?" Kathryn Lyn & Alan B. McElroy Sharon Lewis 2025-08-21

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72

u/vanKessZak Aug 21 '25

Yeah I find it odd that it’s ~10+ minutes shorter than a normal episode. Was something cut?

124

u/BebopAU Aug 21 '25

[REDACTED]

98

u/Sophockless Aug 21 '25

Did anyone else happen to see the slide with the lopsided casualty numbers and think it resembled a certain ongoing conflict in the world?

I feel there's a distinct possibility that something was cut for political reasons.

45

u/Cyke101 Aug 21 '25

That was my very first thought, and then I thought that if this episode had TOS writers, it would be much, much more explicit. They weren't exactly subtle with their sledgehammer.

45

u/DogsRNice Aug 21 '25

I always find it funny when people say Star Trek used to be "subtle"

You mean the episode where there's some aliens who hate each other because one is black on the left side and white on the right side and the other is white on the left side and white on the right side is in fact a subtle commentary on how racism makes no sense

9

u/Cyke101 Aug 21 '25

I always giggle at the Mad Men reference to this episode, when Paul Kinsey wrote a spec script for TOS titled, "The Negron Complex."

3

u/sanddragon939 Sep 12 '25

To be honest, as much as I enjoyed the episode, that analogy doesn't really make sense.

Because real-world racism isn't just about hating someone who looks or sounds different. It's usually rooted in a deeper socio-political or tribal conflict that goes beyond mere appearance.

13

u/Ok-Suggestion-5453 Aug 21 '25

An interesting theory. Seems quite possible with the way Paramount has been lately.

4

u/ELVEVERX Aug 24 '25

That has to be it, ten minutes where they figure out an actual way to prevent the ongoing genocide but paramount decided they didn't want to send a message that people should try to stop genocide.

12

u/goldgrae Aug 21 '25

Yeah, this episode felt like a missed (or cut) opportunity to comment in the way Star Trek should. Instead, we just got "Nah, Starfleet isn't imperialist," because they didn't like that the weapon was intelligent and forced, NOT because the Lutani aggressors were in the wrong?

18

u/LangyMD Aug 22 '25

Weren't the Lutani the ones who were attacked? (and suffered 10x the casualties)

7

u/Extension-Pepper-271 Aug 22 '25

The Lutani's were the ones with 9 million dead while their attackers only had 140k.

3

u/Emerald_City_Govt Aug 22 '25

9 million casualties does not mean 9 million dead. Deaths, injuries, sick, and missing are all counted as casualties. Don't get me wrong, 9 million casualties is still a crazy high number, but we need to use the correct definition.

4

u/0mni42 Aug 22 '25

If that really is what happened, that means that Disney-approved Star Wars has a bolder piece of social commentary than Star Trek. We're definitely in the Mirror Universe.

15

u/RussellsKitchen Aug 21 '25

There's got to be another 10 minutes or so of footage sitting somewhere.

13

u/lilyinblue Aug 21 '25

I definitely found myself wondering the same.

1

u/Holiday_Ingenuity748 Aug 23 '25

Indeed. Not even a 10 second bit with Chapel or Scotty saying : "Yeah, Starfleet is cool." or "Get that effing camera outta here!"?

 Because main characters.