Summary
- Captain Marie Batel has a busy schedule as captain of the USS Cayuga but manages to find time for her on-again-off-again relationship with Captain Christopher Pike.
- She serves in the Judge Advocate's Office for Starfleet and was involved in arresting Number One and serving as the prosecutor during her trial.
- Unfortunately, Captain Pike's future has already been laid out, indicating that his relationship with Captain Batel is destined to be short-lived due to his tragic fate revealed in "The Menagerie."
Melanie Scrofano's Captain Marie Batel has become a welcome presence whenever she pops up in an episode of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds. Since her introduction in Strange New Worlds' pilot episode, Captain Batel has been involved in an on-again-off-again relationship with Captain Christopher Pike (Anson Mount). When Pike took a break from Starfleet after the events of Star Trek: Discovery season 2, he spent some of that time with Batel. Since retaking command of the USS Enterprise, he and Captain Batel have met up on several occasions, carving out time together whenever they can.
As captain of the USS Cayuga, Marie Batel has a schedule just as busy as Christopher Pike's, and the two have struggled to find time for one another. Though not much has been revealed about Batel's backstory, she seems to be an intelligent and competent captain and a well-respected Starfleet officer. At the end of Strange New Worlds' musical episode, Captain Batel and the Cayuga are called on a priority one mission, a mission that could prove to be an extremely dangerous one. Though Melanie Scrofano's Captain Batel has only appeared in five episodes of Strange New Worlds, she's proven to be a compelling character and a good match for Captain Pike.
Melanie Scrofano’s Captain Batel In Strange New Worlds Explained
In addition to captaining the USS Cayuga, Captain Batel also serves in the Judge Advocate's Office for Starfleet. She was the officer ordered to arrest Number One (Rebecca Romjin) after Una's Illyrian heritage was made known to Starfleet. Captain Batel also served as the prosecutor during Una's trial, despite her personal feelings on the matter. At one point, Batel was up for a promotion to commodore, but she was ed over for another candidate, likely in part because she lost Una's trial. In the Strange New Worlds musical episode, Batel and the Cayuga rendezvoused with the Enterprise at the subspace fissure where she and her crew were affected by the same quantum uncertainty field as the Enterprise.
Melanie Scrofano is best known for starring as Wynonna Earp on Syfy's Wynonna Earp from 2016-2021 and as Mrs. McMurray on the comedy show Letterkenny. Scrofano began acting in 1999 and played several small roles in television and film throughout the 2000s, including one in Saw VI in 2009. She has appeared in many television series, including Being Erica, Warehouse 13, Haven, Degrassi: The Next Generation, Damien, Designated Survivor, and Bad Blood. She played Tia Tremblay in The Listener and Suzanna in History Channel's Gangland Undercover. She also appeared in the 2019 horror movie Ready or Not as Emilie and has starred in several made-for-television movies.
Does Batel Have A Future With Captain Pike In Strange New Worlds?
As revealed in the two-part episode of Star Trek: The Original Series called "The Menagerie," Captain Pike (Jeffrey Hunter, Sean Kenney) will eventually be horrifically injured by delta rays while saving Starfleet cadets. As a result, he will be confined to a wheelchair and unable to speak. In "The Menagerie," Spock (Leonard Nimoy) commandeers the Enterprise to take Pike to Talos IV because the Talosians can create a lifelike illusion for Pike to live in. In that future, he apparently lives out the rest of his days on Talos IV with Vina (Susan Oliver), a young woman he had met the first time he visited the planet.
Considering Pike's future has already been laid out, it seems unlikely that he and Batel will have a future together. The Pike of Strange New Worlds knows about the accident that will befall him, but he has not told Marie about it. Vina (Melissa George) made an appearance in Star Trek: Discovery, establishing that she and Pike had a relationship when he first visited Talos IV. This suggests that the Pike of Strange New Worlds will have the future seen in "The Menagerie," a future that unfortunately does not involve Captain Batel. Unless Star Trek: Strange New Worlds can find a way for Captain Pike to avoid his tragic fate, his relationship with Captain Batel is destined to be short-lived.