Strange New Worlds Just Remade One Of Captain Picard’s Greatest Star Trek: TNG Episodes

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds just remade one of Star Trek: The Next Generation's most celebrated episodes, with a Gorn twist. After taking a backseat to Strange New Worlds' other main characters, Lt. Erica Ortegas (Melissa Navia) finally gets the spotlight in a survival story that forces her to face one of her greatest fears.

In Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 3, episode 9, "Terrarium," Lt. Ortegas heads out for a solo mission to explore a strange area of space. When a mysterious wormhole suddenly appears, Ortegas' shuttle gets pulled in and crashlands on a rocky moon orbiting a gas giant. As Erica puts her considerable survival skills to good use, she soon discovers that she's not alone.

Directed by Andrew Coutts and written by Alan B. McElroy, "Terrarium" tells a classic Star Trek story that draws inspiration from Star Trek: The Original Series and Star Trek: The Next Generation. Considering the involvement of the Gorn and the Metrons, the iconic TOS episode "Arena" may be the most obvious comparison, but "Terrarium" also has a lot in common with TNG's "Darmok."

How Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 3 Episode 9 Remade A Classic Captain Picard Episode

"Terrarium" spends much of its runtime following Lt. Ortegas, putting her ingenuity and quick thinking on full display as she builds a water dispenser and sets out in search of food. Before long, Ortegas encounters the moon's only other intelligent occupant – a Gorn pilot (Warren Scherer) whose escape pod crashed. Ortegas immediately goes on the defensive, but later forms a truce with the female Gorn, as they work together to find a way off the moon.

This story unfolds much like Star Trek: The Next Generation's "Darmok," in which Captain Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) is stranded on an alien planet alongside Captain Dathon (Paul Winfield), a member of the Tamarian species. As the Tamarians communicate in metaphors only they can understand, Picard and Dathon initially struggle to understand one another. Although Picard doesn't view Dathon as an enemy, he doesn't know what to expect from the Tamarian captain.

Erica, too, struggles to understand her new Gorn friend, until she rigs up a makeshift universal translator that translates yes or no answers. Like Picard and Dathon, Ortegas and the Gorn find ways to communicate and work together to fight off the predators that inhabit their respective planets. In the end, both "Darmok" and "Terrarium" come to similar bittersweet conclusions, as well.

In "Darmok," a predator mortally wounds Dathon when the Enterprise-D crew tries to beam Picard back to the ship. Although Dathon soon succumbs to his injuries, Picard has learned enough to establish communication with the Tamarians. "Terrarium" also ends with the tragic death of the Gorn. When Lt. La'an Noonien-Singh (Christina Chong) and her landing party arrive to rescue Lt. Ortegas, they kill the Gorn before Erica can stop them.

Which Is Better - Strange New Worlds’ “Terrarium” Or TNG’s “Darmok”?

Ultimately, Star Trek: The Next Generation's "Darmok" is a better episode of Star Trek, but "Terriarium" certainly isn't a bad outing. It's a great showcase for Melissa Navia's Lt. Ortegas, and it delivers its classic story well. "Darmok" has the advantage of telling the story first and boasts an incredible performance from Patrick Stewart as Captain Picard.

"Darmok" has long been considered one of Star Trek's best episodes, making it difficult to live up to. In addition to strong performances from its stars, "Darmok" works as well as it does due to its simplicity and a message that exemplifies Star Trek's ideals.

"Terrarium" adds technobabble problems and a ticking clock to raise the stakes, but the episode didn't necessarily need all of that to deliver a solid story. Still, "Terrarium" takes some of the best elements from "Darmok" (and other classic Trek episodes) to deliver a compelling story about enemies working together that shows the Gorn in a new light.

"Terrarium" Borrows From Other Classic Star Trek Stories

While Star Trek: Strange New Worlds clearly took inspiration from Star Trek: The Next Generation's "Darmok" for "Terrarium," the episode also incorporates elements from other Star Trek stories. For one thing, "Terrarium" directly connects to the first episode in which the Gorn ever appeared, Star Trek: The Original Series season 1, episode 18, "Arena."

In "Arena," the highly advanced Metrons strand Captain James T. Kirk (William Shatner) and a Gorn Captain on a barren planet, where they battle it out in a physical contest. Kirk eventually emerges as the victor, but he spares the Gorn's life, impressing the observing Metrons. A Metron (Dariush Zaheh) pops up briefly in "Terrarium," too, appearing before Lt. Ortegas to inform her they orchestrated her situation with the Gorn.

Another episode with similarities to "Terrarium" is TNG season 3, episode 7, "The Enemy," in which Lt. Commander Geordi La Forge (LeVar Burton) finds himself stranded on a dangerous planet with a Romulan named Bochra (John Snyder). The Romulans have long been enemies of the Federation, but when the planet's atmosphere messes with Geordi's VISOR, he must work with Bochra to get back to the Enterprise.

Like Ortegas and the Gorn in "Terrarium," Geordi and Bochra are initially wary of one another and only agree to work together when the situation becomes dire. Geordi and Bochra don't necessarily end the episode as friends, but they do develop a better understanding of one another's species. Star Trek: Strange New Worlds' "Terrarium" joins these iconic episodes as another classic Star Trek story that celebrates tolerance and heartfelt open-mindedness.

After Controversial Second Season, The Last of Us Gets a Major Shakeup for Season 3

The Last of Us, which adapted the popular video game of the same name, was a massive success when it premiered in 2023. Season 2, however, drew a lot of criticism over many creative decisions and storylines.

The Last of Us is already renewed for Season 3, which has yet to start production. However, the show, which was created by Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann, will experience a major change for the upcoming season. Per The Ankler, co-creator Neil Druckmann will not return to Season 3, and Mazin will write the new episodes alone.

Instead, Neil Druckmann will focus on his new Naughty Dog game. Druckmann had previously confirmed that they're working on another game in addition to Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet last month. However, he didn't reveal any details about the genre or title. However, that led to him to step down from his work on the adaptation of The Last of Us. In the announcement, officially shared on Naughty Dog's social media account, Druckmann announced his decision to step down.

"I've made the difficult decision to step away from my creative involvement in The Last of Us on HBO," the statement from the show's co-creator started. "With work completed on Season 2, and before any meaningful work starts on Season 3, now is the right time for me to transition my complete focus to Naughty Dog and its future projects."

Those include "writing and directing our exciting next game, Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet, along with my responsibilities as Studio Head and Head of Creative," the statement explained.

In his message, the co-creator explained, "Co-creating the show has been a career highlight. It's been an honor to work alongside Craig Mazin to executive produce, direct, and write on the last two seasons." Druckmann also said that "I'm deeply thankful for the thoughtful approach and dedication the talented cast and crew took to adapting The Last of Us Part I and the continued adaptation of The Last of Us Part II."

The Last Of Us Season 3 Will Tell a Different Story

Following the extremely successful Season 1, the show returned in 2025 with a new installment that proved to be controversial. Season 1 boasted a near-perfect 96% approval score from the critics out of almost 500 reviews, and it featured the Certified Fresh badge. Audiences also enjoyed the show, giving it an 86% approval score. However, that changed with Season 2.

The Last of Us Season 2 began adapting Part II, and received acclaim from the critics again. It boasts a Certified Fresh 92% score, and received praise for the story and performances. However, audiences didn't like it, giving it a disastrous 37% approval score.

Season 3 will make a change and will officially focus on Kaitlyn Dever's character, Abby, who was introduced in Season 2. "I think it was good to go on that journey to end up at HBO, end up at a place that leaned into those controversial decisions," Druckmann said, referring to Joel's death. "But the decisions are just what the story required, and even now, it’s like I can't believe that they let us structure the series in this way. Meaning, like we just ended Season 2, and Season 3 is going to be starring - spoiler alert - Kaitlyn [Dever]."

The Last of Us Seasons 1 and 2 are streaming on Max. Season 3 doesn't have a release date yet.