Boldly Going Beyond Star Trek Into Darkness: Strange New Worlds Season 3 Avoids Carol Marcus Misstep

Summary

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 3 will avoid the mistake made by Star Trek Into Darkness by not hypersexualizing Carol Marcus.

In Strange New Worlds season 3, Carol Marcus will be introduced as a younger iteration of the ambitious Dr. Marcus depicted in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan. Unlike the controversy surrounding her portrayal in Star Trek Into Darkness, Strange New Worlds will refrain from exploiting her sex appeal.

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 3 will avoid repeating the mistake made with Carol Marcus in Star Trek Into Darkness. In season 2, Lt. James T. Kirk joined Captain Christopher Pike's USS Enterprise and developed relationships with Ensign Nyota Uhura, Lt. Spock, and Lt. La'an Noonien-Singh. However, Kirk revealed that he had a pregnant girlfriend named Carol, who is likely to be Carol Marcus.

Dr. Carol Marcus, the inventor of the Genesis Device, was introduced in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan. She built the device with her son David, who she had with Admiral James T. Kirk. Kirk and Carol had been estranged for years, and Kirk was not involved in raising David at Carol's request. They reunited after Khan Noonien Singh stole and weaponized the Genesis Device, but they went their separate ways after Khan's defeat. The Kelvin Timeline's version of Carol Marcus appeared in Star Trek Into Darkness, but the decision to add her as a new female lead character on the USS Enterprise was controversial and unsuccessful.

Carol Marcus In Strange New Worlds Season 3 Won’t Repeat Star Trek Into Darkness’ Mistake

If Carol Marcus appears in Season 3 of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, the show will not make the same mistake as Star Trek Into Darkness by unnecessarily having her strip down to her underwear in front of Lt. James T. Kirk. In Strange New Worlds, Carol is either pregnant with David or has just given birth to him, so her character would not be portrayed as a sexual object. The creative team of Strange New Worlds has taken bold risks in previous seasons, such as crossing over with Star Trek: Lower Decks and featuring a musical episode. However, they will not repeat the misstep of sexualizing Carol Marcus if she makes an appearance. The portrayal of Carol in Strange New Worlds would align with the younger, career-focused version of Dr. Marcus from Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, rather than the more sexually charged reinvention seen in Star Trek Into Darkness.

Why Alice Eve’s Star Trek Into Darkness Scene Was So Controversial

Star Trek Into Darkness sparked controversy when Carol Marcus changed out of her uniform, leading Captain Kirk to sneak a glimpse of her in her underwear despite her request for him to turn around. Critics argue that this scene was unnecessary and served as mere eye candy, unrelated to the film's plot. While J.J. Abrams and his team apologized for the scene, Alice Eve, the actress portraying Carol, stands by her portrayal and finds the public's negative reaction puzzling. However, considering that Star Trek Into Darkness was released in 2013 during the rise of the #MeToo movement, audiences criticized the film for exploiting Carol Marcus and Alice Eve's sex appeal.

In contrast, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds features an attractive cast but refrains from incorporating gratuitous eye-candy moments. While characters like Captain Pike and Captain Marie Batel engage in intimate relationships within the show, Strange New Worlds avoids hypersexualizing its characters, unlike J.J. Abrams' Star Trek films or Star Trek: Enterprise, which portrayed T'Pol in such a manner. If Carol Marcus were to make an appearance in Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 3, it would be in a completely different context from her role in Star Trek Into Darkness, portraying a distinct character separate from Alice Eve's portrayal.