Batel takes on a dangerous role to imprison the Vezda, leaving Pike to move on as the Enterprise sets out to explore.
As Batel prepares to leave the Enterprise, the Vezda escapes the transporter buffer inside a reconstruction of Gamble's body. The crew learns that Batel's DNA matches that of the Beholder, the statue guarding the Vezda prison, and plans to fire on the prison's doorway from both the Enterprise and the Farragut, with Spock and Kirk coordinating their timing through a mind meld. Pike and Batel enter the prison, where Gamble destroys the Beholder and frees the Vezda.
Batel then creates an illusion of a happy life with Pike, traps the Vezda, and takes the Beholder's place as guardian. Pike struggles to move on as the Enterprise sets out to explore uncharted worlds. The third-season finale resolves the Vezda thread begun in Through the Lens of Time and closes Batel's arc, which began with her Gorn infection, leaving Pike to grieve. Maja Vrvilo directed from a script by Dana Horgan and Davy Perez.