What Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Fans Absolutely Love About Lt. Ortegas
"Star Trek: Strange New Worlds" is not only introducing fans to new iterations of pre-existing, beloved "Star Trek" figures but also entirely new characters that they've never met before. The series, which is a spin-off of "Star Trek: Discovery," functions as a prequel to "Star Trek: The Original Series" and is set several years prior to the events of that seminal sci-fi TV show. It follows Captain Christopher Pike (Anson Mount) as he and the crew of the USS Enterprise set out to — as the show's title suggests — discover new worlds and occasionally deal with unexpected threats.
Pike's crew on the USS Enterprise counts a number of familiar "Star Trek" characters among its ranks, including Spock (Ethan Peck) and Nyota Uhura (Celia Rose Gooding). However, Pike's crew also features a number of new "Star Trek" characters, some of whom have already made quick and lasting impressions on fans of the beloved sci-fi franchise. At least, that's certainly true for Lieutenant Erica Ortegas (Melissa Navia), a character who "Star Trek" fans have already begun to fall in love with.
In fact, some "Star Trek: Strange New Worlds" viewers have even gone online to express their love and appreciation for Lt. Ortegas.
Star Trek fans love Lt. Ortegas' attitude and personality
Lieutenant Erica Ortegas is the cocky and quippy Starfleet pilot who serves as the helmsman of the USS Enterprise on "Star Trek: Strange New Worlds." She's one of several notable supporting players on the show. However, just because she doesn't have as major of a role as some of the series' other characters doesn't mean Ortegas hasn't made an impression on "Star Trek" fans.
On Reddit, u/jcarr277 even created a post professing both their love for Ortegas as well as their desire to protect her from danger. In response to the post, u/MalleusManus admitted, "Ortegas is easy to enjoy." The Redditor added, "She's just the hotshot pilot who also says what the audience is thinking — a critical role in any ensemble cast." In the same Reddit thread, u/Ok-Belt8931 also wrote, "Every episode has a moment that makes me say 'I love Ortegas' out loud." Meanwhile, u/riqosuavekulasfuq similarly shared their love for Ortegas' quippy attitude, writing, "Her sense of repartee, on the bridge, especially, I find endearing and timely."
Notably, Melissa Navia has talked about how quickly she took to the character, even telling HollywoodLife, "Right from the bat, I knew who she was." In the same interview, Navia also talked about her desire to combine Ortegas' comedic and serious sides in her performance, teasing, "She's going to be in some ways comic relief, but at the same time, I wanted to make sure that the character wasn't just comic relief, but was also just like in life, you have tragedy and comedy."
In other words, it sounds like "Star Trek" fans aren't the only ones who have found themselves quickly falling in love with Ortegas.