Summary
Star Trek: The Original Serieswas only the first chapter in what would become one of the most beloved science fiction franchises of all time. Kirk, Spock, and the rest of the Enterprise crew explore the universe and discover everything from warlike aliens to time-travel phenomena, but most are only around for an episode before the ship moves on to its next adventure.
Many episodes ofTOSintroduce ideas that the series itself doesn’t return to, but they set up concepts thatStar Trekwould return to in future movies or shows. Some callbacks are obvious, while others are more subtle. A recent episode ofStrange New Worlds, “Wedding Bell Blues,” makes a callback to an episode fromTOS, while reintroducinga familiar cosmic trickster: the infamous Q.
What Happens In “The Squire Of Gothos?”
In Season 1, Episode 16 ofStar Trek: The Original Series,Kirk and the crew stumble across a planet in a region known as a star desert. As they note their discovery, Sulu and Kirk vanish one after the other. While the crew tries to determine what’s happened to them, they materialize on the planet below. There, they find a strange castle and a humanoid being who introduces himself as:
General Trelane, retired.
Trelane conjures objects from nothing; he manipulates the universe with a wave of his hand. He has afascination with Earth’s history, having created his dwelling in the style of an 18th-century castle. He toys with the crew throughout the episode, dressing up the women to dance with him and creating a manhunt-like “game” in which he attempts to capture Kirk.
The episode ends with the revelation that Trelane is a child of his species, as his parents appear and reprimand him for being so irresponsible with his playthings. Showing similar mastery over the forces of the universe, they return Kirk to his ship, as if nothing ever happened.
What Happens In “Wedding Bell Blues?”
In the second episode of Season 3 ofStrange New Worlds, the Federation’s centennial celebration is approaching. Spock prepares to reunite with Christine Chapel andhopes to rekindle their romance— but when she arrives, she’s brought Dr. Korby with her, and reveals that they have struck up a relationship. As he’s drinking his sorrows away, a bartender offers him another drink, and upon downing it, Spock wakes up in an altered reality where he’s preparing for his wedding to Christine.
Roger Korby is the only onewho knows that reality has been altered, though Spock soon regains his bearings. Together, they attempt to dispel the illusion and bring the rest of the crew back to the real world, but it proves difficult. To make matters worse, the bartender from the previous night is now acting as a “wedding planner,” altering the universe with a snap and maneuvering the Enterprise crew like pawns in a game.
The Wedding Planner’s game falls apart whenSpock pours his heart out to Christine. With his genuine display of emotion, the illusion breaks, bringing the rest back to reality and enraging the Wedding Planner. At that moment, in a scene that mirrors the ending of “The Squire of Gothos,” a glowing green amorphous face appears over the crowd, reprimanding the Wedding Planner for his behavior and revealing that he’s no more than a misbehaving child.
Though it isn’t confirmed in the episode itself, the ending of “Wedding Bell Blues” isn’t the only thing to suggest that the Wedding Planner is Trelane. Though the actors behind Trelane and the Wedding Planner (William Campbell and Rhys Darby, respectively) don’t look much alike, they are styled very similarly. The Wedding Planner sports the same distinctive muttonchops as the Squire, while his blue-and-gold coat resembles Trelane’s military uniform. Finally, to clear up any lingering doubt, Akiva Goldsman confirmed the character’s identityin an interview with TrekCore.
Is Trelane/The Wedding Planner a Q?
So, Trelane and the Wedding Planner are one and the same — but how does that relate to Q?Star Trekfans have long been intrigued by this mysterious race of beings, first (officially) appearing in theTNGseries premiere, “Encounter at Farpoint.” In this two-part episode, the Enterprise crew is tormented by a mysterious being calling itself Q (played by John DeLancie).
Q reappears throughoutTNG, pops in a few episodes in otherStar Trekseries, and returns toplay a significant role inPicard. Throughout his tenure in the franchise, viewers learn that he is part of something called the “Q Continuum,” home to several like him. They all possess the same godlike powers, able to shape reality to their will for whatever means they see fit. DeLancie’s Q, in particular, has a fascination with humans. His motivations for interfering with Starfleetseem largely rooted in curiosity: he wants to see what Picard, Riker, and other Starfleet officers will do when he thrusts them into dire situations.
The idea that Trelane was a member of the Q continuum goes back much farther thanStrange New Worlds. Since Q’s first appearance, fans noted the similarities between the two, from their powers to their habit of observing Earth history. In the 1994 novelQ-Squaredby Peter David, Q seeks the aid of his Starfleet frenemies in tracking down a renegade Q and getting him under control — that renegade being Trelane himself. Since then, it’s been unofficially but widely accepted that Trelane is indeed part of the Q continuum.
“Wedding Bell Blues” not only canonized this idea, but strengthened the connection between Trelane and the Q that fans know best. As sharp-eared viewers may have noticed,thevoice role of the Wedding Planner’s fatherwas performed by none other than John DeLancie himself.It appears that Trelane is indeed Q’s son, and like his father, he has a tendency to go rogue.
It remains to be seen whether Trelane/the Wedding Planner will become a fixture onSNWas his father was onTNG. Since he was in disguise for most of the episode, it’s possible he may reappear to the Enterprise crew without them initially knowing his identity. This appearance may also be a one-off, a fun homage to an episode fromStar Trek’s humble beginnings. Regardless, “Wedding Bell Blues” is both a clever tribute to the show’s legacy, and an entertaining episode in its own right.
