Wedding Bell Blues (episode)

Real world article

(written from a production point of view)

Warning!

This page contains information regarding Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, and thus may contain spoilers.

Summary[]

Teaser[]

Three months have passed since the incident at Parnassus Beta. The USS Enterprise is almost finished with its repairs incurred by the incident, meaning the crew has been given shore leave. For Spock, it means time to think. With the Federation Day Centennial three days away, Christopher Pike believes a gala for the whole crew will boost everyone's spirits. With Christine Chapel returning from her trip with the fellowship, Spock has personal reasons to prepare. As such, he approaches La'An Noonien-Singh for dance lessons. However, Spock's logical way of thinking makes it hard for him to do dancing well. As La'An tries to get him to loosen up, Spock realizes that she has a proclivity for dancing. She admits that she wanted to be a prima ballerina when she was younger, but the Gorn ruined that. With the Gorn taken care of, she seems more inclined to fall back to such things. Realizing that Spock still has feelings for Chapel, La'An tries to warn him that "absence makes the heart go wander", but he doesn't realize what she's talking about. Nyota Uhura contacts Spock that Chapel is on her way over and Spock rushes out.

At the transporter room, Montgomery Scott watches as Spock fixes his hair on a console panel when La'An arrives in uniform. It turns out that Chapel had added someone to the visitors list. Scotty notices something odd on a panel, but when Spock and La'An investigate, Scotty dismisses it as a sensor ghost. With La'An giving the go-ahead, Scotty beams aboard Chapel and her guest, Dr. Roger Korby. Both Chapel and La'An give each other uncomfortable gazes as Spock and Korby talk. To Korby's surprise, he notices Spock holding a first-edition copy of the Saltavanur and takes hold of it, getting excited over how it's designed. However, Spock takes it back and reveals its a gift for Chapel. Trying to break the awkwardness, La'An asks if Korby needs guest quarters, but Chapel reveals that he's with her. To Spock's surprise, Chapel and Korby are dating.

Act One[]

In the gym, Erica Ortegas is busy sparring with her younger brother Beto Ortegas. When Beto's camera gets in the way, Erica punches it upset - he's meant to film the Centennial, not their exercise. Suddenly, Uhura bursts in, telling Erica about Chapel's date. However, Beto is distracted by Uhura's presence, allowing Erica to slug him with a haymaker. Once Beto regains his senses, it's quite clear there's sparks between him and Uhura.

In sickbay, Una Chin-Riley is donating blood and chatting up with temporary Nurse Ensign Gamble. As much fun as he's having, Gamble laments that, with Chapel back, his tour of duty is done. However, Una and Joseph M'Benga reveal that he is permenantly being transferred to the Enterprise, which excites the ensign greatly. M'Benga and Gamble reveal that Marie Batel is recovering nicely, that the Gorn embryos have been fully reabsorbed and that they're just managing some lingering after effects, all thanks to Una's blood. Una mentions that she's gonna miss Batel after having her onboard for so long, M'Benga agreeing that she won't be the only one.

Log entries[]

Memorable quotes[]

Background information[]

Title[]

This episode's title was revealed via press release on 5 June 2025. [1]

Story and script[]

Preproduction[]

Production[]

This episode marks the first live-action appearance of an Edosian, as they had previously only appeared in Star Trek: The Animated Series and Star Trek: Lower Decks.

Postproduction[]

Cast and characters[]

According to an interview with Akiva Goldman, the Wedding Planner, while not named in the episode itself, is actually Trelane from TOS: "The Squire of Gothos", and his father is Q.