Hey! Hallie here!
We’ve gotten two more episodes of ‘Strange New Worlds’ so that means it’s time for another review! I have very different opinions on both of the episodes that came out recently, but I can say that I’m very much liking this season of the show so far. While not every episode is perfect, the show still captures the whimsey of ‘The Original Series’ while also tackling interesting moral and philosophical problems. Not to mention the amount of chemistry this cast has which makes the entire ship feel like one big, happy, family. ‘Strange New Worlds’ has become one of the best Star Trek shows at fully utilizing its ensemble cast to create a found-family dynamic, and that’s something I just can’t resist in Star Trek. So let’s get into the two most recent episodes and the good, and bad, of both! I’ll be reviewing these episodes a bit differently than I usually do, but with no less detail. SPOILERS AHEAD!
UPDATE: As of today, the SAG-AFTRA leaders currently striking on behalf of actors have discouraged any content creators from talking about projects that are currently stricken, meaning projects that are promoting and releasing. Though supporting works as an unpaid creator is a complicated discussion and does not technically cross the picket line at the moment, I will still be cancelling all content related to upcoming and currently releasing projects, including upcoming episodes of ‘Strange New Worlds’, with few exceptions. Please support the WGA and SAG-AFTRA at this time while they put their livelihoods on the line for fair working conditions and wages.
Amongst the Lotus Eaters:
This episode is framed as an episode for Erica Ortegas, an idea that I was immediately excited for. She’s the one who gives the opening officer’s log to gush about how she’s about to go on her first away mission, and she also gives a somewhat triumphant log to close out the episode. Except she doesn’t play a major role in the plot. She doesn’t even go on the away mission. The whole thing is thwarted when Spock randomly discovers that there’s an astroid field surrounding Rigel VII, something that Ortegas has to personally deal with, so she can’t go down to the planet. The rest of the plot proceeds without her and she’s given a side plot that’s returned to without nearly enough frequency. Sure she gets a badass save-the-day scene, but she doesn’t even solve the main problem in the episode. Meanwhile, the main plot aims to answer a question fans have had since ‘The Original Series’ hidden pilot was aired, which is kind of cool. In the episode Pike mentions a past trip to Rigel VII that ended in disaster, where he lost a yeoman and had to fight warriors of the planet. The strange thing about this event though, is the details were muddled between episodes, creating discrepancies surrounding what happened on Rigel VII. This episode cleverly decided to solve that problem by creating a plot in which everyone in the planet’s vicinity who doesn’t actively stay in the planet’s palace slowly loses their memories. This definitely raises the stakes, but I wouldn’t say going through an episode where the characters don’t remember who they are is really my cup of tea. Especially because plots like this mean we get less character development. I also can’t say I really appreciated the way Pike went about treating his crew in the lead-up to everyone losing their memories, which was less caring and more preoccupied with his meh girlfriend. So, not a horrible episode, but not something I can say I particularly enjoyed.
Charades:
Who doesn’t like a good Spock comedy episode? Ethan Peck’s Spock might be the most comedic we’ve ever seen Spock, and that’s probably because he manages to make Spock seem so strait-laced and so innocent at the same time. It’s especially fun that we get to see his depiction of Spock turned on its head for ‘Charades’, where Spock and Christine are in a shuttle accident that results in an alien species trying to “fix” Spock by removing his Vulcan half and making him completely human. Unfortunately for him, he’s also expected to perform a ritual with his future In-Laws to further cement his engagement to T’Pring. Because Spock has never been completely human before, he winds up going through the developmental stages of a human teenager. So he’s hungrier and moodier than ever before as his mother tries to teach him to lie his way through the ritual. This episode is just really cute. Amongst the entire crew trying to put up with teenage-boy Spock, we have Pike and his amazing facial expressions back. I honestly feel like this is the first time we’ve seen casual Pike back this season and I missed it so much. His expressions during the Vulcan ritual left me breathless with laughter. We also have some great girl-bonding in this episode. This includes Uhura, Ortegas, La’an, and Una chatting and joking around with each other, plus a hilarious scene where they’re trying to teach Spock how to act Vulcan in order to help him prepare for the ritual. But it also includes various scenes where Uhura and Ortegas have honest conversations with Christine where they try to get her to confess her feelings for Spock.
As for Christine, she gets the side-plot in this episode. She’s been talking about leaving the ship to intern with the Vulcan Academy all season and we all know part of her reasoning is to escape her feelings for Spock. While preparing for the interview to get the internship, she doesn’t even consult Spock on how to navigate a Vulcan conversation and winds up instantly regretting it. But Christine also finds herself in the position of trying to turn Spock back to his normal self before the Mind-Meld part of the ritual, an act he can’t fake. In contacting the alien species that changed him and convincing them to turn him back, with the encouragement of Uhura and Ortegas she confesses to wanting more of a relationship with him. Meanwhile, Spock has been feeling similarly towards her and, even after returning to his normal self, feels even more separated from his Vulcan side when he sees the way T’Pring’s parents treat his humanity as well as his mother. By the end of the episode Spock and T’Pring decide to take a break. We also see Christine blow off the Vulcan Academy for being jerks. Hell yes. But that isn’t all. It turns out during the shuttle accident Spock diverted all the shields to protect Christine, information which leads to Spock and Christine confessing to each other. Finally! But what is a break to T’Pring? Is this a Ross situation? And also, we know that Spock and Christine aren’t together during ‘The Original Series’ though she does flirt with him. We also know that Spock doesn’t completely break it off with T’Pring until ‘The Original Series’. So is this relationship really built to last? I suppose we’ll have to see. Either way I loved this episode and it reminded me exactly why I love the character dynamics in ‘Strange New Worlds’.
That’s all for this week! I’ll be back for more reviews of this season once we have a few more episodes released! At first I wasn’t sure if this season would be able to match the charm that the first season had, but even with a few missteps I feel like this season is winning me over. It’s so much fun, and even when it’s not at its best, it still has hilarious moments and themes that make you appreciate what the writers are attempting. I can’t get over how much I love this Enterprise crew and I can’t wait to see what they do next!
Don’t do anything fun until I get back!
Hallie
Oreos & Peanut Butter 