It’s time again for another review of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds. This week, Lt. Singh travels back in time after encountering an apparent time agent. But, it is because there is a time variance that she is immune to after grabbing the device the agent gives her. She is aboard the Enterprise, but Captain Kirk is in command and there is only the United Federation of Earth. Kirk has a discussion with the Lieutenant and grabs the device while accidentally pushing the button on it, hurtling them both back to 21st Century Canada. Armed with an ambiguous term from the agent to go to the bridge, they are trying to find the variance. After settling into the time period, they see the main bridge in Toronto explode across the way in a hotel room. They realize that’s the bridge, and head toward it to encounter an alien-believing reporter that eventually helps them escape the police. The reason they were almost arrested was because of chasing a piece of the bridge that had evidence of an extra-terrestrial bomb. La’an and Kirk share a kiss in their search through the streets of Toronto. Then with the help of the time period’s ship engineer, Pelia, they track the radiation of a possible cold fusion device. It leads them to the Noonien-Singh labs, which makes Lt. La’an realize that Khan is there. The reporter that helped them shows up again and it turns out she is a time-traveling Romulan that wants to stop humanity from developing Starfleet. On a dare, she shoots and kills Kirk and grabs the Lieutenant to get her into the labs. It turns out that because of Khan, humanity emerges in a utopia as the result of a massive war. The Romulan wants to kill Khan as a child and thus preventing that development. La’an overpowers her and saves Khan, much to her reluctance. Back in the present, she is visited by a Federation time agent from the future and is told not to discuss the events with anyone.
And, here we go with our thoughts on the episode!
Music
Mr. Daps: “I thought the music this week worked well. I don’t know how iconic or memorable it was in the big picture of Star Trek music but it did the trick. It matched with what was going on throughout the episode and that’s really what it needed to do. I did find myself wondering if there had been some themes that were more memorable if it would have taken this episode up another notch in the world of Star Trek episodes.”
Murray: “The music was noticeable to me, but not in a bad way. It had some nice suites to it, and had the tone of a romantic comedy score with some Trek overtones. I think that fit the episode, and especially for how grounded on Earth it was.”
Design
Mr. Daps: ” This week’s design really didn’t have to go very far as most of it was taken in a time period that is fairly close to today. Yes, there were some interesting things that were slightly different but overall this episode did exactly what it needed to do with design. A big part of that was showing restraint. Overall, I thought it was right what it needed to be.”
Murray: “There wasn’t a lot to the designs since they were on location in present day. I did like the striations of the bomb debris and how that could look alien, but also not too alien.”
Story
Mr. Daps: “I have mixed feelings on this episode’s story to be completely honest. There were some things I really liked, and other things I didn’t. I think my final thoughts on this might not be decided until the end of the series. it seems like there might be something going on with alternate timelines that is part of a bigger theme happening in Star Trek: Strange New Worlds. I’m curious how that will play out. I liked how the episode dealt with legacy both good and bad. I will admit, I am still going back and forth on if I liked another time-traveling story. However, the story itself, outside of that, was a good story that had a lot of emotion.”
Murray: “I was concerned that the time travel plot would be too recycled, especially with the Original Series doing so many on location time displacement type episodes. I was really surprised where it was more of a story dealing with La’an and her loneliness and heritage. The solutions were also refreshing, with trying to find Pelia. Overall, a fun and heartfelt time travel story.”
Hit or Miss?
Mr. Daps: “I would say this one was a hit for me, but maybe not as big as some other ones. I liked the questions it asked. I liked the relationships that were explored. I also liked the emotional journey that was taken. I wasn’t necessarily a fan of the time travel being leaned on again. I liked that it surprised me a bit as it moved forward and it offered some new ideas on a classic approach to Star Trek. I’m looking forward to where the rest of this season goes.”
Murray: “This was a hit for me, though I would say it had a slow start. It did feel very cliché at first, and then turned into a new story with time travel. The deeper dive into La’an’s character was very welcome and made for an interesting episode. Even the resolution about Khan where it’s the ‘do you kill the bad person before they become a bad person’ question was remarkable. I enjoyed the episode and like the fresh take on some Trek tropes!”
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