“Star Trek: Strange New Worlds” season 3 premiere, “Hegemony, Part II,” the Enterprise crew can at least temporarily catch their collective breath. “Wedding Bell Blues” offers a small time skip and a welcome respite from brutality, opting to focus on character relationships — specifically, the love triangle between Christine Chapel (Jess Bush), her new boyfriend Dr. Corby (Cillian O’Sullivan), and the lovelorn Spock (Ethan Peck). Unfortunately, the god-like alien Trelane (Rhys Darby of “Our Flag Means Death” fame) soon starts muddying the waters with his mischievous, reality-altering ways. Suddenly, Spock and Chapel are getting married, and only Corby seems to realize that something is wrong…
Yes, it’s one of those “Star Trek” episodes, and it’s refreshing to have a truly weird one — especially since “Wedding Bell Blues” throws in a little extra something for the fandom. Captain Christopher Pike’s (Anson Mount) hair has been the subject of memes and good-natured jokes for some time now, and the episode cheekily addresses this via Captain Marie Batel (Melanie Scrofano). Early in the episode, Pike and Batel ponder their feelings toward each other and how their occupations as starship captains means pose severe challenges for a more serious relationship. At the end of the conversation, Batel jokingly ponders what would happen if they both tried to live in her captain’s quarters — and where all Pike’s hair products would fit. This is such an obvious wink and nod to the hair memes that it’s easy to imagine quite a few fans punching the air when they see the scene.
