Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 1 is a triumph, with each of its ten episodes offering something compelling and exciting. Technically a spinoff of Star Trek: Discovery, SNW chronicles the adventures of Captain Christopher Pike (Anson Mount) aboard the USS Enterprise in the years before Captain James T. Kirk (William Shatner) took command of the vessel as seen in Star Trek: The Original Series. Pike is accompanied by younger versions of TOS icons Spock (Ethan Peck) and Nyota Uhura (Celia Rose Gooding), as well as a robust supporting cast headlined by Pike’s First Officer Commander Una Chin-Riley (Rebecca Romijn), commonly referred to as Number One.
While the new era of live action Star Trek had previously been defined by the serialized, thematically darker Star Trek: Discovery and Star Trek: Picard, Strange New Worlds has been hailed for its back-to-basics approach. The stories are largely self-contained, with the exploratory USS Enterprise visiting a new planet each week. It’s a winning formula, with compelling character work and exciting plots making it one of the easiest Star Trek shows to like in a long time.
10 Episode 6 – “List Us Where Suffering Cannot Reach”
Pike is reunited with an old love, Minister Alora (Lindy Booth) on the planet Majalis, where he is tasked with protecting a young boy who’s destined to become the planet’s First Servant, a mysterious position of great importance. The highlight of the episode is Pike’s rapport with Majalis Minister Alora; he even confides in her that he knows the truth of his tragic future fate. The romance collapses once it’s revealed that the boy is to be inserted into the machinery of the planet to keep its cities afloat, a monstrous tradition that will eventually kill the boy. Unable to save the boy, Pike leaves Alora and Majalis behind in disgust.
9 Episode 9 – “The Elysian Kingdom”
“The Elysian Kingdom” sees the USS Enterprise crew entered into an elaborate fairytale due to the effects of a conscious nebula. It’s a fun episode where most everyone gets to play against type, with Pike becoming a goofy chamberlain and La’an Noonien Singh (Christina Chong) taking on the guise of an emotional princess. It’s all an interpretation of the book Dr. Joseph M’Benga (Babs Olusanmokun) reads to his terminally ill daughter Rukiya (Sage Arrindell), who serves as the emotional through line of the story. It’s a stylish, somewhat silly episode that ends with an emotional gut punch, a great bottle episode in grand Star Trek tradition.
8 Episode 3 – “Ghosts Of Illyria”
With Captain Pike and Lieutenant Spock trapped in a storm on an Illyrian colony and a mysterious virus running through the crew of the USS Enterprise, “Ghosts Of Illyria” requires Number One to step up in a big way. Number One, strangely immune to the virus, manages to stop her crazed ship mates from hurting themselves and others on multiple occasions, but at a personal cost – Una is forced to reveal to La’an and Pike that she is a genetically augmented Illyrian, meaning it’s against Federation law for her to serve in Starfleet. To Number One’s surprised and appreciation, Pike promises to keep her heritage a secret.
7 Episode 1 – “Strange New Worlds”
After seeing a vision of his tragic future through a Klingon time crystal in Star Trek: Discovery season 2, Pike took a leave of absence from Starfleet to live a quiet, simple life on Earth. The series premiere “Strange New Worlds” sees Pike called back into action by Admiral Robert April (Adrian Holmes) when a first contact mission overseen by Number One goes wrong. Through his rescue of Number One and introduction to new USS Enterprise security chief Lieutenant La’an Noonien Singh, Pike slowly remembers what being a part of Starfleet means to him. Reluctantly accepting his fate, he rejoins the Enterprise to take on new adventures.
6 Episode 5 – “Spock Amok”
One aspect of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds with roots in Star Trek: The Original Series is the surprisingly deep examination of the relationship between Spock and his fiancée T’Pring (Gia Sandhu). During a Vulcan ritual designed to bring the couple closer together, Spock and T’Pring unintentionally switch bodies. “Spock Amok” gets a surprising amount of mileage out of the comedic value of the situation, while also forcing Spock and T’Pring to understand each other’s point of view a bit better. It’s a light, character-driven episode that proves the stakes don’t always have to be galactically high for a Star Trek story to work.
5 Episode 2 – “Children Of The Comet”
“Children Of The Comet” is an Uhura-centric episode, offering a new perspective on the beloved member of the USS Enterprise bridge crew and her origins. Early on in the episode Cadet Nyota Uhura confides in Captain Pike and the rest of the senior staff that she’s not entirely sure she belongs in Starfleet, to everyone’s surprise. However, she later proves herself indispensable when unwrapping the mystery of a comet that may in fact be sentient. Gooding’s Uhura and Peck’s Spock play off each other wonderfully, hinting at the deep respect and friendship that will eventually blossom between the two Star Trek icons.
4 Episode 9 – “All Those Who Wander”
A tense, jumpy hour of sci-fi horror, “All Those Who Wander” finds Pike and an away team trapped on an icy planet as they inspect the remains of the USS Peregrine. The away team is eventually confronted by murderous Gorn hatchlings, vicious little creatures they have to outsmart to survive. Not everyone makes it out alive, as the USS Enterprise’s Chief Engineer Hemmer (Bruce Horak) sacrifices himself after being infected with Gorn eggs. Hemmer’s demise is a surprisingly touching moment after an episode the consisted largely of violent terror, and his death will have long-lasting effects on Uhura, his young protégé.
3 Episode 7 – “The Serene Squall”
The USS Enterprise finds itself under siege by pirates from the vessel the Serene Squall. With Pike and much of the bridge crew imprisoned on the pirate vessel, Spock and Nurse Christine Chapel (Jess Bush) do what they can to take back control of the ship. The pirates are led by Captain Angel (Jesse James Keitel), a dynamite new character who manages to outsmart Pike and Spock at seemingly every turn. While the crew manages to gain control of the Enterprise back, Spock is haunted by Captain Angel’s connection to a character from his past – his half-brother, the radical Vulcan Sybok (Laurence Luckinbill).
2 Episode 10 – “A Quality Of Mercy”
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds‘ season 1 finale “A Quality Of Mercy” offers a glimpse of a possible future where Pike is able to sidestep his tragic fate and remain in command of the USS Enterprise. When presented with the same dangerous Romulan scenario Captain Kirk faced in the classic The Original Series episode “Balance Of Terror,” Pike makes the wrong choices, dooming the Federation to a long and ruinous war with the Romulans. Pike is once again forced to accept his fate as a necessary tragedy just as Number One faces a potential court-martial for concealing her augment origins.
1 Episode 4 – “Memento Mori”
The USS Enterprise is surprise attacked by a Gorn vessel while on a routine supply mission, dealing the ship serious damage along the way. What follows is an intricate cat and mouse game between the hobbled Enterprise and the Gorn ship, a thrilling strategic game where the Enterprise is under constant threat of destruction. It’s all framed by La’an’s tragic history with the Gorn that cost her her entire family as a child. Pike’s tactical brilliance and reassuring presence during a crisis solidifies his position as one of the great Starfleet captains. “Memento Mori” is the moment it became clear Star Trek: Strange New Worlds was something special.
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 2 premieres June 15, 2023 on Paramount+.
