Trelane was played by William Campbell in Star Trek: The Original Series season 1's "The Squire of Gothos." In Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 3, episode 2, Rhys Darby's wedding planner intended to marry Lieutenant Spock (Ethan Peck) and Nurse Christine Chapel (Jess Bush), changing reality to spite her boyfriend, Dr. Roger Korby (Cillian O'Sullivan).
Trelane's plot, and impulsive decision to kill the entire crew of the USS Enterprise, was foiled by the appearance of his father, an energy being voiced by John de Lancie. It was a copy of how Star Trek: The Original Series' "The Squire of Gothos" ended, indicating that Rhys Darby was playing Trelane. Strange New Worlds skirted breaking Star Trek canon but deftly avoided it.
Trelane In Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 3 Didn’t Break TOS Canon
Strange New Worlds Tap Danced Around TOS Canon
Rhys Darby's wedding planner never identified himself as Trelane in Star Trek: Strange New Worlds. However, Darby's hair and flamboyant military costume were nearly identical to William Campbell's Trelane in Star Trek: The Original Series. This indicates Darby was playing the same mischievous character, just a tad younger at a mere 8,020 years old.
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds ingeniously ensured that none of the USS Enterprise's crew actually saw Trelane the way audiences did. To Lt. Spock, Trelane first appeared as a Vulcan bartender. To everyone else on the Enterprise, the wedding planner appeared to be Andorian. This means that when the Enterprise crew encounters Trelane in TOS, they can't identify him from "Wedding Bell Blues."
It's also possible that Trelane didn't adopt the name "General Trelane, retired" until the events of Star Trek: The Original Series' "The Squire of Gothos."
Who encountered Trelane in Star Trek: Strange New Worlds was also carefully chosen. Only Spock and Roger Korby broke Trelane's mind control to confront him. Everyone else was held in Trelane's thrall until the end of "Wedding Bell Blues." Meanwhile, Nurse Chapel wasn't in "The Squire of Gothos," and characters like Ensign Nyota Uhura (Celia Rose Gooding) and Scotty (Martin Quinn) didn't directly meet Trelane in "Wedding Bell Blues."
Notable by his absence in "Wedding Bell Blues" is Lieutenant James T. Kirk.
John de Lancie In Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Also Didn’t Break TNG Or Voyager Canon
This Is The First Time John de Lancie Didn't Play Q In Star Trek
To Star Trek fans, John de Lancie's voice is instantly recognizable as Q from Star Trek: The Next Generation, but John voices Trelane's father, not Q, in Star Trek: Strange New Worlds. However, casting John de Lancie is a nod to the long-held belief that Trelane was a member of the Q Continuum all along, though that has never been established as Star Trek canon. Nor does Strange New Worlds do so.
Q is not canonically known to have a child until Q Jr. (Keegan de Lancie) in Star Trek: Voyager.
John de Lancie has made 22 appearances as Q throughout Star Trek, but Strange New Worlds season 3, episode 2, marks the first time John does not play his signature character. Then again, it's also possible that by casting de Lancie, Strange New Worlds is tacitly implying that Trelane is a Q, although Strange New Worlds never identifies Trelane's father as Q or says Trelane is the son of the same Q from TNG.
How Strange New Worlds Set Up Trelane’s Star Trek: TOS Episode
"Wedding Bell Blues" Is A Prequel To "The Squire Of Gothos"
In Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, Trelane tried to marry Spock and Nurse Chapel because he hated Dr. Roger Korby. Trelane saw Korby during a previous excavation, took an instant dislike to the handsome medical archaeologist, and followed Korby to Starbase One. This is similar to how Trelane fixates on his dislike of Captain James T. Kirk in Star Trek: The Original Series.
At the end of "Wedding Bell Blues," Nurse Chapel told Roger Korby, "We won't talk about this again. Ever." Korby wasn't in "The Squire of Gothos."
Watching "The Squire of Gothos" after Strange New Worlds, Trelane likely recognized the USS Enterprise from his time aboard it in 2261. However, some things don't line up in "The Squire of Gothos," as Trelane doesn't recognize Spock (Leonard Nimoy), which seems impossible after "Wedding Bell Blues."
While Spock may not recognize Trelane's physical appearance in Star Trek: The Original Series, perhaps memories of his would-be wedding planner in Star Trek: Strange New Worlds prompted the Vulcan to condemn Trelane, which is why the Vulcan tells the cosmic trickster, "I object to you. I object to intellect without discipline. I object to power without constructive purpose."
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