josh susser<p>It's a bit of a running joke in <a href="https://autistics.life/tags/StarTrek" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>StarTrek</span></a> that aliens often confuse Starfleet, The Federation, Humans, and Earth. If that's so, then it makes sense that our heroes might have similar confusion with unfamiliar alien civilizations. This leads to my favorite way to explain why the <a href="https://autistics.life/tags/Gorn" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Gorn</span></a> in SNW are almost nothing like the Gorn that are shown in TOS and Lower Decks. It's because they are different species from different worlds. They are part of an interstellar alliance of worlds, much like the Federation, that I like to call the Gorn Congregation (after "a congregation of alligators"). Both species get called Gorn the same way Humans and Vulcans can both be Federation. I don't remember where I first heard this idea, but I like it and it's now my headcanon until a show says otherwise.</p>