Summary
- Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 3 will avoid the mistake made by Star Trek Into Darkness by not hypersexualizing Carol Marcus.
- The introduction of Carol Marcus in Strange New Worlds season 3 will portray her as a younger version of the career-driven Dr. Marcus from Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan.
- The controversy surrounding Carol Marcus' scene in Star Trek Into Darkness highlighted the show's exploitation of her sex appeal, which Strange New Worlds will not replicate.
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 3 won't repeat Star Trek Into Darkness' Carol Marcus mistake if she appears. Strange New Worlds season 2 brought Lt. James T. Kirk (Paul Wesley) aboard the USS Enterprise commanded by Captain Christopher Pike (Anson Mount). Kirk formed bonds with his future Enterprise crew mates Ensign Nyota Uhura (Celia Rose Gooding) and Lt. Spock (Ethan Peck) as well as Lt. La'an Noonien-Singh (Christina Chong). But Kirk also dropped a bombshell on La'an that curbed their possible romantic pairing: He has a pregnant girlfriend named Carol, who can only be Carol Marcus.
Dr. Carol Marcus (Bibi Besch) was introduced in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan as the inventor of the Genesis Device, which she built with David Marcus (Merritt Butrick), her son with Admiral James T. Kirk (William Shatner). Kirk and Carol were estranged for many years, and Jim wasn't involved in raising David at her request. Jim and Carol reunited after Khan Noonien Singh (Ricardo Montalban) stole and weaponized the terraforming power of the Genesis Device. After Khan was defeated, Kirk and Carol parted ways once more. The alternate Kelvin Timeline's version of Carol Marcus (Alice Eve) appeared in J.J. Abrams' Star Trek Into Darkness, but the filmmakers' controversial attempt to add Carol as a new female lead character on the USS Enterprise badly misfired.
Carol Marcus In Strange New Worlds Season 3 Won’t Repeat Star Trek Into Darkness’ Mistake
If Carol Marcus appears in Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 3, the hit Paramount+ prequel won't make the same mistake Star Trek Into Darkness made by having Carol gratuitously strip to her underwear in front of Lt. James T. Kirk. As James told La'an, Carol is pregnant with David at that point, so if she does join the cast in Strange New Worlds season 3, Carol would either still be with child or just newly delivered baby David. Either way, flaunting Carol as a sex object wouldn't be on Strange New Worlds' agenda if they introduce the future creator of the Genesis Device.
Strange New Worlds season 2 took some big creative swings that paid off, such as mounting a crossover with Star Trek: Lower Decks and presenting Star Trek's first-ever musical episode. But Strange New Worlds' creative team will surely not repeat Star Trek Into Darkness' blunder by hypersexualizing Carol Marcus if she appears. Strange New Worlds' Carol would be the younger version of Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan's career-driven Dr. Marcus while Alice Eve's Carol in Star Trek Into Darkness was a Kelvin Timeline reinvention that was reflective of J.J. Abrams' intent to make his young USS Enterprise crew more sexually charged.
Why Alice Eve’s Star Trek Into Darkness Scene Was So Controversial
Star Trek Into Darkness ignited controversy over Carol Marcus changing out of her uniform after telling Captain James T. Kirk (Chris Pine) to "turn around" and Kirk disobeying and getting an eye full of Carol in her underwear. Critics of the scene point to it being gratuitous eye candy with no bearing on the film's story. J.J. Abrams and his team offered an apology while Alice Eve herself is proud of her role as Carol and doesn't understand why that scene upset people. However, Star Trek Into Darkness was released in 2013 when the #MeToo movement was starting to hold abusers of women in Hollywood accountable, and audiences pushed back at Star Trek Into Darkness exploiting Carol Marcus and Alice Eve's sex appeal.
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds certainly has an attractive cast, but the prequel series hasn't gone for gratuitous eye-candy moments. Characters like Captain Pike and Captain Marie Batel (Melanie Scofano) sleep together on Strange New Worlds, but the show doesn't hypersexualize any of its characters the way J.J. Abrams' Star Trek movies or Star Trek: Enterprise did with T'Pol (Jolene Blalock). If Carol Marcus does appear in Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 3, it will be under very different circumstances than in Star Trek Into Darkness, and she will be a different character than Alice Eve's Carol.