Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Latest Episode Featured A Touching Tribute Involving Melissa Navia's Late Partner, And It Made Me Tear Up

Warning! The following contains spoilers for the Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 3 episode "What Is Starfleet?" Stream it with a Paramount+ subscription and read at your own risk!

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds continued its run on the 2025 TV schedule with a challenging documentary-style episode diving into the question: What is Starfleet really? Erica Ortegas' brother Beto released his documentary, debating whether the outfit acted as the military arm of the Federation or as peacemakers. It was a compelling episode that made me unexpectedly emotional after hearing about the way it honored Melissa Navia's late partner.

I knew Starfleet didn't operate as a military faction (even if it would obliterate Star Wars' Empire), but I hadn't expected to see the touching tribute honoring Brian Bannon (one other viewers might have missed). For those that did, let's dive in and talk about the episode, the tribute, and the showrunners finally giving us more Ortegas.

Melissa Navia's Late Partner Brian Bannon Is Referenced In "What Is Starfleet"

As noted by prolific Star Trek Easter egg hunter Jörg Hillebrand on X, there was a subtle tribute to Melissa Navia's late partner Brian Bannon in "What is Starfleet." There was a vinyl album on the shelf of Erica Ortegas' quarters, which was mysterious considering the show's set in the future, and that's pretty low-tech for the Enterprise.

It was revealed the album was titled "Irish Cowboy Country Blues" and it came from musician Sean Fhéile. According to Hillebrand, Brian Bannon was a musician for this album, hence its place on the set and in Ortegas' quarters.

How Melissa Navia And Brian Bannon's Story Is Linked To Star Trek: Strange New Worlds

Back in 2022, Melissa Navia penned an emotional piece talking about her late partner Brian Bannon, and the journey that ultimately led her to Star Trek: Strange New Worlds. Bannon helped her film auditions during the pandemic, and while they weren't officially married, he was allowed to travel to Toronto with her while she filmed Season 1 despite travel restrictions.

Unfortunately, Brian was diagnosed and passed away in December of 2021 following a battle with an aggressive and rare form of acute leukemia. Despite her grief, Melissa Navia returned to the Star Trek: Strange New Worlds set to begin filming new Ortegas scenes in Season 2. The actress wrote about how returning to the set ended up being less difficult than she imagined, and it was the wonderful cast and crew who helped her continue on in the role. Her comments were not surprising to hear, given all I'd listened to over these past three seasons about how well this cast gelled and how they've all genuinely been friends outside of filming.

So, when I learned that the album in Ortegas' room was connected to Brian Bannon, I couldn't help but get super emotional and happy for Melissa Navia. Sure, having the support of fans chanting that they want "Moretegas" was nice, but I can't imagine how nice it must have felt to have a tribute to a loved one forever etched in Star Trek history.

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Star Trek: Strange New Worlds continues new episodes on Thursdays only on Paramount+. With only a few more episodes left in Season 3, the wait is on for Season 4 and other upcoming Trek shows on the horizon. I know I'm not the only one psyched for Starfleet Academy!