Ron’s Review

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When I first saw ‘Valles Marineris’, my rating was an easy 4.5. We got moments with all the characters. Chin-Riley, Ortegas, and La’an were the leads, how many times do we get to see that? The plot was about time travel. We got gorgeous costumes. There was a dilemma of truly epic proportions that Captain Pike had to solve on the fly. This episode has everything that makes Star Trek compelling and enduring. But unfortunately, the next few episodes are so incredible on every level, that ‘Valles Marineris’ has gone down in the ratings. That’s how strong this season of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds is – one of the best Trek episodes is languishing at 3.5 moons.

Mon’s Review

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The Season 4 premiere was a great reintroduction to the show and characters. The episode had space anomalies and our favourite gimmick – time travel. But in true Trek fashion, the story dealt with the deep dilemma of needing to do the right thing even when it goes against our best judgement. I found it interesting that Pike confesses to Mbenga that he didn’t think he had all the facts of the matter when he made the decision to let the Martians kill their enemy, and Mbenga has to remind him that he in fact did. Looking back on that scene, this was the show’s introduction to the season’s central theme. Our Enterprise crew are amazing, and so good at their jobs, but they’re also human and complicated and vulnerable.

Ron’s Review

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‘The Griffin Incident’ is one of my favourite episodes of this season. I was scared out of my mind. I have never had to look away from a Star Trek episode but Strange New Worlds Season 4 went there. This show knows how to play with genre in a way that embodies everything I love about horror while still being as Star Trek as possible. I loved every minute even as I knew I would have to sleep with the lights on. It’s a great, freaky, edge-of-your-seat episode. We don’t get all the answers, and that’s for the best. I don’t think I want to know. But what made this episode stand out was how much it revealed about Spock, La’an, and Jim. These characterizations are going to play a huge part this season. I love that we get to spend time with our characters. But honestly, my lasting memory is of that final shot. It will haunt me forever. shudder

Mon’s Review

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I love me a Star Trek horror episode. They’re never as scary as a horror film, but just scary enough to keep you awake at night. This one was freaky and had some body horror in there that I wasn’t expecting. The ambiguous ending made it that much better. But again, the best part of the episode wasn’t how much it leaned into genre, but about the characterizations. La’an’s fear that she can’t trust herself was at the core of the story. As was Spock’s continued struggle to juggle his human heritage as a Vulcan. Plus, we had Jim Kirk, who’s on his eternal battle between his greatest love (space exploration) and his responsibilities towards the people in his life. These are frailties we all struggle with in real life, and that’s what really haunts you about this episode.

Ron’s Review

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After the heaviness and scares of Episode 2, we desperately needed lighter fare. And boy, did Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 4 deliver. ‘Human Best Friend’ made me so happy. It’s a spotlight episode on Ortegas and Scotty. As an Ortegas’ die-hard fan, that’s all I needed to love this episode. But it’s also a ton of fun. The crew are supposed to be on a vacation planet except Ortegas has been given a mission. She’s stuck with drunk, and thus, rather useless Scotty. Spock can’t help, either, because he’s Vulcan-inebriated. Which looks like normal Spock to everyone else. Oh, and Spock is hallucinating a friendship with Jim Kirk. The rest of the crew are scattered around doing the wildest activities, which would be totally normal for everyone else. I mean, who doesn’t want to stand on stage singing Klingon ballads, or playing bingo against aliens? Of course, there’s a deadline that gets moved up and negotiations on the line, because this is Star Trek. An absolute joy to watch, and we get beautiful friendships at the end.

Mon’s Review

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I had so much fun with ‘Human Best Friend’. An Ortegas episode? Sign me up. I love her so much, and we’ve waited far too long for her to bask in the spotlight. I loved the hi-jinks with her and drunk Scotty. But you know me, I’m a big softie at heart. The fact that this whole episode was about two rivals finding commonality in each other and becoming friends warmed my cold, cold heart. That confession scene between the two of them made me emotional. We’re all just insecure humans powering through every moment to be the best version of ourselves. If Scotty and Ortegas have to struggle this hard, I think we can all be a little easier on ourselves. And on the flip side, there’s Jim Kirk being the absolute perfect friend anyone could want. This whole episode was a celebration of friendship and the strangest ways of making friendships happen. What a heartening and sweet episode this was.

Ron’s Review

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Oh, this episode. Oh, how I love, love, this episode. ‘A Case of Chiaroscuro’ encapsulated so much of what I have always enjoyed about Star Trek: Voyager and TNG. It’s our crew lost on a planet, making tough choices to help the locals versus protecting themselves, all while revealing to us, and themselves, their insecurities and their strengths. This is an Una episode and it does right by her. Rebecca Romijn is in her element – she absolutely kills it in that 20s outfit, and that hat! So suave. Her Una knows when to let events happen, but she also knows when to give in to her protective instincts. And then we have Mbenga, so knowledgeable yet so mysterious. And Uhura is the ingenue, on her first undercover mission, with all the risks that that entails. The ending is everything I hoped for – unexpected and requiring team work. I loved the slow pace of this episode, and the monochrome visuals. I felt like I was transported back in time. An absolute visual treat with a story that made me think for a long time after.

Mon’s Review

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At the risk of sounding like a broken record, I loved this episode. The moment the black-and-white scenes started, I was hooked. Maybe it’s because we loved Spider-Noir so much, and we watched that in black and white, but I was ready to be engaged. And I was. The story is an analogy of Nazi-occupied France (it reminded me a lot of the Voyager 2-parter “The Killing Game”), but we’re in a Klingon-occupied world. Una wrestles with her moral obligation that is, technically, at odds with her position as a Commander in Starfleet. Mbenga, who has a sordid history with the Klingons, and struggles with the brutality of his past, keeps trying to remind her not to get involved. And then there’s sweet, innocent Uhura, who’s large-hearted love for learning and communications, is completely at sea in an undercover role. I was surprised at the lack of tension and stress in a story that’s so reminiscent of real (and in some countries, still present) horrors. But the writing was so clever! And they really homed in on developing the characterizations of three characters who’ve been given short shrift recently. I was floored. And emotional. Man, I love this episode.

Ron’s Review

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I adore ‘Level-Five Transporter Accident’. Strange New Worlds Season 4 takes genres and turns them on their heads. This time, we get the crew being turned into muppets. And they are so stinking cute. Each and every time a new muppet appeared, I had to physically stop myself from reaching into my screen to cuddle them. The hair!! Oh my word, how did they get Pelia and Nurse Chapel’s hair so right? And Mbenga and Uhura’s? And the Captain’s? La’an’s adorable high ponytail. Even Una’s straight hair and Ortegas’ fade. These are the cutest munchkins in the whole universe. But aside from the cuteness, I love Spock’s fish-out-of-water status as the only human on a muppet ship. And how the crew has to navigate their new form when the Orions take over. It’s Star Trek ingenuity at its best! But this episode is also cuter than humanly imaginable.

Mon’s Review

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When ‘Little Ricky’ the puppet showed up, I remembered reading that there was talk of a puppet episode in Star Trek: Strange New Worlds. I was worried about how it would turn out. But of course, trust the creative team to surprise us with something so adorable and silly, and precious. And, the episode brought back T’Pring. I have missed her. She’s so mean! But the Jim Henson puppets are so cute. I love them. I didn’t think it was possible to squee over puppets, but here we are. The La’an puppet has this superhero pose moment that was just too cute. And the Christine puppet is the adorablest thing I’ve ever seen. But yes, the Pelia puppet is particularly special. I also loved Spock in this episode. Ethan Peck had to do a ton of heavy-lifting with the physical performance, as well as the whole acting opposite puppets thing. It’s so daft, and yet so sweet. And in the end, it was all a dream? Or was it? Does it matter as long as we had a good time?

Ron’s Review

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I thought we’d seen all the best episodes in Strange New Worlds Season 4. But then came ‘Off-Hour’ and I had to change the ratings for the first half of the season. Because this episode has everything. Peril? You got peril for everyone, and the ship. Hell, the Captain is incapacitated for the first quarter of the story and Ortegas is put in charge. You want high stakes? The ship is 45 minutes away from being ripped to shreds. You want character depth? Mbenga and Chapel have a fight and literal moments later, Mbenga gets cut in half by a med-table. He spends the entire episode pinned to a wall, seconds away from death, with only Chapel and a failing sickbay to save him. We have Scotty having to work with the Vulcan intern and Pelia trapped in her quarters trying to calm him down. We have Spock practically sacrificing himself for critical data and La’an doing the same for Spock and the ship. We have the Captain putting his faith in the Enterprise and his crew to keep them all together till the very last minute. This isn’t just edge-of-your-seat stuff. This episode is a nail-biter that will have you moving closer to the screen so you can save the crew yourself.

Mon’s Review

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I knew the mid-season point of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds would take us places. This is the Trekkiest episode of Season 4, and it’s nigh perfect. We have a countdown towards something great (the weekend!) turn into a countdown to doom. We have deaths, suffering, and vulnerability on a level I didn’t expect this season of the show to go. I thought I knew where we were headed with this episode, but of course the creators are too clever to be predictable. Maybe I’m partial because we got to see a side to Mbenga we’ve not seen before – vulnerable, scared, freaking out. And yet, ever the professional and a great friend. We got more Christine, as well. She’s been in the background a lot this season. Ortegas at the Conn, yes ma’am! Every character has a hero moment in this episode, and that, per Robert Duncan McNeill of Voyager, is what makes a good Star Trek episode. I’m not going to lie, this was my favourite episode of the first part of the season. The way I gasped at times, and then got super-emotional during Mbenga and Christine’s scenes – beautiful!

Ron’s Review

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The moment you open a Star Trek episode with someone in sickbay, you know something is up! And a head injury to boot? The Captain finds himself in a soap opera version of the Enterprise, complete with Mbenga staring off into the distance as he speaks, random musical tones, and a long-lost daughter! What could be behind this?

This episode is the goofiest of the season and indulgently cringey. But at the heart of this episode is that the crew of the Enterprise have strong relationships with each other, and they don’t get enough time to explore their bonds.

I’m particularly fascinated by La’an’s arc. She’s been out-of-sorts all season, and she can’t seem to settle into herself. Things have been so stable, she’s made her place on the ship. And yet, she’s so lost. Where are they going with this? I’m afraid to find out. 

The Captain, for all the goofiness around him, absolutely destroyed me in the final scene. Star Trek examines a lot of human feelings, and loss is high on that list. Pike knows what’s coming for him, but can he deal with what’s happened? What he’s lost? This is heavy stuff wrapped up in a funny episode.

Mon’s Review

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This was the first episode this season that had me confused. I don’t watch soap operas, so I didn’t figure out the trope immediately. Despite that though, I enjoyed the laugh out loud moments. This cast is so committed to the bit, they’ll do anything. I love that. The glam shots, the hamminess, the over-the-top storylines—it was all so ridiculous and adorable. I enjoyed the Easter Egg of Days of Our Lives actor Diedre Hall being in this episode. She was very poised.

But, as usual, the show is all about real emotions. That last scene with Captain Pike breaking down, I wasn’t expecting it. And yet, it tied together his struggles and the core of it was human grief and the cycle one goes through with it. This was such excellent work by Mount. I’m so interested in La’an’s story though. She’s desperate for love and simply can’t find it. I mean, there’s a pattern here with her falling for unattainable men. Alt-universe Kirk, now fake-Sybok, who’s just a romantasy, bad boy version of Spock? Is she looking for love in all the wrong places? What’s happening here? I’m curious. 

This was a more uneven episode than the others so far, but it was still a lot of fun and wow, so emotional.

Ron’s Review

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This was a great sci-fi episode, and a fantastic vehicle for Paul Wesley’s Jim Kirk. He’s taking that mantle over with aplomb – William Shatner-who? Kirk is the odd-man out in this episode, second in command under a man who’s revered at Starfleet, and by the crew of the Enterprise. 

The man in charge is Admiral Reeger, played by veteran actor Joe Morton, who honestly looks like he’s been in Starfleet all his life. The guest stars this season have been astounding – they fit right in and add so much detail to the tapestry of Star Trek. Morton’s Admiral is immediately delightful – he knows the crew and he appreciates them. He puts them at ease and praises them at every turn. He’s exactly the kind of man you’d want when the Captain and Commander are on an away mission.

Yet Kirk is constantly butting heads with the Admiral – even as the crew agrees to Reeger’s ever-more dangerous and preposterous plan. Kirk gets to be a hell of a hero in this episode and I love that for him.

However, the rest of the crew – La’an, Spock, Ortegas – it just doesn’t make sense that they never question the Admiral. Yes, they’re fans, but still? Mass murder? They’re just going to go along with it? We know the crew – they would never do this.

The B-Plot is equally tense and with high stakes. And Uhura gets her moment to shine. I loved her arc in this episode. She’s fantastic and it looks like Celia Rose Gooding had a ball in this episode. She gets emotion, she gets action, she gets joy. I love it!

This episode has me very worried for M’Benga’s future. He’s my absolute favourite and I don’t want him to go. This is going to be hard.

While a great sci-fi episode, this didn’t do right by the characters we so loved.

Mon’s Review

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I didn’t like this episode. It was a total misfire. The characters made no sense to me. Una at one point says they can escape this way, and she barely moves a muscle and they’re all caught. What? And don’t get me started with the Enterprise crew. They’re all NPCs in Admiral Reeger’s mission of vengeance? Really? Listen, Ortegas and Scotty following orders makes sense–they’re not strategists. But La’an and Spock are way too senior to just let Kirk take the hit and do nothing. 

La’an, especially in this episode, was like a whole other person. She’s fangirling over Reeger. She’s cold to Kirk. She’s just a good soldier with no backbone. You want to put the spotlight on Kirk and the persecuted Kirk family, go ahead. Don’t throw our Enterprise crew under the bus for that. 

And then the see-sawing denouement. Why was Reeger acting like that? Brain damage–no! Kirk drugged him. No, M’Benga drugged him. Uh, no. M’Benga’s taking the fall for Kirk who drugged him. Good heavens! 

I didn’t care for this episode one bit. The only good thing was Uhura’s arc and her awesome fight scene. She took down a gang of Andorian mercenaries on her own using her smarts, her fighting skills and her training. That’s a huge thing this episode has going for it.

That and the performances. You have to watch the reactions and emotions of the actors not in focus, because the director is sharing a lot of the story through those performances. But the story and characters still don’t make sense.

Ron’s Review

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With a title like ‘Once La’an A Time’, it was quite obvious we were getting a La’an episode. She’s been out of sorts all season, unable to process her feelings. Acting on instinct. Flip-flopping between Spock and Kirk. Finally, La’an gets to exorcise her demons through magic and mystery and find her complete herself. 

I loved this episode. I thought the Elysium episode in Season One was a triumph and I think about it often. The fact that we get to return to it, and this time for La’an’s journey? What an absolute delight.

The actors are once again having the best time of their lives. We get to see them play the fool — sometimes quite literally — and it’s just such a joy to watch. Pelia being her unserious self despite the dangers will never not be my favourite thing. She is a delight. I love her. 

We finally get the queer moment we’ve been waiting for — it’s not Ortegas and Una but it is their fantasy selves. Adorable.

I’m loving Jim Kirk this season. Paul Wesley is all-in with this show and his chemistry with Christina Chong is undeniable. I’m relieved and excited that we’re getting the La’an-Kirk love story. Where that will go, I don’t know. But I’m glad we’re getting something. 

We also get the season’s best guest star in Chong’s dog, Runa. She’s the cutest!

This is a wonderful La’an episode. It finally gives her room to breathe. It’s not as powerful or game-changing as Voyager’s ‘Faces’, but the breadcrumbs are there. The message is important — we need to accept our whole selves to find actualisation.

Mon’s Review

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I was definitely concerned about the episode because the last two hadn’t been the best. Also, La’an’s been really uneven this season, as if the team had no idea what to do with her.

I’ll say that ‘Once La’an A Time’ could have been tighter written, but I loved it. This episode made me smile. I love that we went back to that beautiful, heartfelt fairytale episode from Season 1 to explore more characters and tell a different story. You can tell just how much everyone is enjoying this fantasy land. Oh and Pelia is just the best. My gawd, that woman just brightens up our lives. 

Coming to La’an, I love how she falls for yet another fake Jim Kirk. Honestly, this is a trope that I can get behind. Though, that’s obviously not the case. But essentially the story is La’an finding and accepting herself. Her not being so afraid of her darker genetics. Her accepting that she can be loved. It was the sweetest thing. Kinda like Voyager’s ‘Faces’, but much less intense. The intent remains though. We are all more than the sum of our parts, and we have to accept that about ourselves. 

I loved this episode so much. I especially love that Star Trek: Strange New Worlds finally has a queer kiss. Yes, it’s between fantasy Una and Ortegas, but I’ll take it! I love the ridiculous comic relief of fake Pike and Spock. And Celia Rose Gooding was obviously eating it up in those glorious costumes. We know La’an and Jim don’t have a happily ever after, but hopefully they find some kind of happy for some time.

Ron’s Review

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Despite the title, ‘Tomorrow’s Enterprise’ has nothing to do with ‘Yesterday’s Enterprise’, aside from having some time travel in it. This is a very Star Trek episode — space anomalies, unseen aliens, time travel, doppelgängers — they threw the kitchen sink at this finale. 

Yet it doesn’t feel like the right story to end the season on. They should’ve swapped episodes 6 and 10, because that episode focused on all the characters. A spotlight episode is an odd choice for a finale. 

Having said that, we’ve had to wait all season for an Uhura episode and this does a great job. Celia Rose Gooding is fantastic as the two Uhuras. She’s so different as each one. The older Uhura holds herself and moves differently. Her facial expressions are different. It’s a great showcase for Gooding’s acting skills. 

But I don’t know how I feel about Uhura and Scotty as a couple. It’s come out of nowhere, much like La’an and Spock last season. This show likes to throw random romances at us. I guess we just have to roll with it?

I feel like this episode wants us to accept that some of these characters will be gone soon. But I’m not ready to let them go. Let’s not run towards the original series already. Let’s enjoy the new characters we’ve fallen in love with over four seasons.

Mon’s Review

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‘Tomorrow’s Enterprise’ is the Trekkiest of Trek episodes. It’s got all the hallmarks of the franchise, from space anomalies, time travel, seeing double, relationships, surprises, and space oddities. It’s philosophical, as much as it is sci-fi. And even better, we get two Uhuras to spend our time with. 

Uhura’s been given short shrift these past few seasons, so I’m delighted she got a spotlight episode. But this is a season finale, and most of the characters have minuscule screen times. Instead of wrapping up some of the plots and emotional threads, we end up with brand new ones—a surprise romance between Uhura and Scotty that comes from nowhere. Look, even if it’s been hinted at in past films/books that romance is in their future, we the viewers deserved some development of a relationship between two such key players in TOS. 

I liked the episode. In and of itself, ‘Tomorrow’s Enterprise’ is fascinating. But it’s so obvious the creative team has to warp us towards the future because Paramount decided to give the 10-year timeline only 5 seasons of 10 episodes each. The episode feels like we’re fast-forwarding through time. And we are, because we have to. And that’s disappointing. 

The characters, Uhura, and us fans, deserve better. And that’s not ‘Tomorrow’s Enterprise’s fault.

Ron’s Review

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Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 4 was galaxies ahead of last season. And I enjoyed last season. But as the penultimate season of the show, this came out strong. We had spectacular character moments, so many changing relationships. Really innovative, and sometimes terrifying, plots. The season played with our emotions, put our beloved characters in immense peril, and showcased the resilience of the human spirit. There were so many hilarious moments, some heartbreaking emotional moments. I only love these characters more each time I see them. I can’t believe we only get one more season. I love them too much.

Mon’s Review

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Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 4 was my favourite season of the show so far. I loved the various genres this season. It was innovative, emotional, and fun. I loved the spotlight episodes. I loved the Trekkie episodes. I loved seeing so much more Jim Kirk. This season makes me wish we had another six to enjoy, but we only have one. And that hurts. We could have developed and built so many arcs and journeys if only we were given more time. But, my love for this show refuses to wane, I just love these characters so much, and I can’t wait to see more of them.