The third season of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds finally started this week, and its opener, “Hegemony, Part II,” picked up right where the last season left off. But along the way, it surprisingly ended up taking the Gorn—a Trek mainstay and the show’s longest-running threat—off the board.

In the season opener, we return to those aggressive reptilian creatures known as the Gorn when Pike and Co. come to the rescue of his imprisoned crew and Parnassus Beta colonists. These aliens have been fan favorites for the last two seasons but now they're being laid to rest at last.

Strange New Worlds" showrunners Akiva Goldsman and Henry Alonso Myers are mindful of "Star Trek" canon. They have to be, since this is a prequel series that must lead into "Star Trek: The Original Series.