Finally: a horror-themed episode of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds. As a horror-loving girl, I was way excited for this episode. It was predictable, but I didn’t care. Horror! But first, we start with the set up. Kirk, La’An, and Spock are on their way back from a Future Federation Leaders retreat—which was a success. They detect a mysterious signal from an unknown region of space, so they go investigate. They come across the Griffin, a Starfleet ship that went missing without a trace nine years ago. The main theory is that the ship was in the wrong place at the wrong time. Klingons got to it, destroyed it, and covered it up. Spock has his own theory, that a stellar flare hit it during warp, scattering it across many light years. Either way, that doesn’t explain what they are seeing here.
They go check out the Griffin. The first thing they notice is that they aren’t floating. There is no scientific reason the ship has gravity. “It’s like everyone took a coffee break and never returned.” Kirk thinks he hears a baby cry; no one else hears anything. Spock is getting no signs of anything worrying. Suddenly, the computers all flash on, and most importantly, life support is on. They have 60 minutes to figure out what happened before life support shuts off. Sounds like they are setting up a real-time adventure: the 60 minutes is exactly how long the episode is. Unfortunately, they don’t. They just take off their masks and start exploring. There are no escape pods or shuttles—maybe that’s how they left? But no, there is no record of the pods leaving. As the three of them walk, they see a ghostly pale woman who whispers, “I’ve been waiting for you…” They give chase, and she disappears within seconds. There is not enough power to transport out of the ship, according to Kirk. Spock does, however, find there are faint traces of “negatively charged ions,” which makes Kirk jump to conclusions: “You mean a ghost?” Of course he doesn’t, Kirk! They find phaser marks on the wall, surrounding a boarded-up door. Starfleet, Klingon, and Vulcan phaser scars are all identified. It looks like someone was locked into the room, and someone else tried to break them out. La’An and Spock begin working to get into the door, while Kirk is distracted by the sound of a baby crying. He begins to wander off, but La’An shakes him from his reverie.
