star trek strange new worlds episode 8 explained

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Star trek strange new worlds season 2 episode 8 ending explained.

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds returns to the aftermath of Discovery's Klingon war, in a dark episode that ends with an Enterprise crew divided.

WARNING: Contains SPOILERS for Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 2, Episode 8, "Under the Cloak of War."

"Under the Cloak of War" explores the lasting effects of the Klingon War on veterans from Star Trek: Discovery, highlighting the division between those who served and those who didn't.
Dr. M'Benga, once known as "The Ghost" for his hand-to-hand kills, reveals a dark secret of being the true Butcher of J'Gal, leading to his moral conflict and desire for vengeance against Klingon Ambassador Dak'Reh.
The episode sets up future storylines, including the potential involvement of Section 31 in M'Benga's past and the complications in Spock and Chapel's romance due to the trauma of the Klingon War. The crew of the Enterprise is also divided as they face a possible war with the Gorn Hegemony.

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds continues to explore the aftermath of the Klingon War in a devastating new episode that ends with Dr. M'Benga (Babs Olusanmokun) and Captain Christopher Pike (Anson Mount) on either side of a moral debate. When the USS Enterprise is tasked with transporting the Klingon Ambassador Dak'Rah (Robert Wisdom), it exposes the division between those officers who served in Star Trek: Discovery's Klingon War, and those who didn't. "Under the Cloak of War" is a dark and thematically dense morality play that recalls Star Trek: Deep Space Nine 's explorations of the trauma left by the Cardassian occupation of Bajor. M'Benga and Dak'Rah's scenes crackle with a palpable tension that recalls the very best episodes of DS9 .

The overall theme of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 2, episode 8, "Under the Cloak of War" is that those veterans of Star Trek: Discovery 's Klingon war were profoundly changed by their experiences. It quickly becomes clear that nobody on the outside of the conflict can truly understand how those changes have manifested. This is demonstrated by the shocking revelations about Dr. M'Benga and the complicity of Nurse Chapel (Jess Bush) in a cover-up. By the end of "Under the Cloak of War", Dak'Rah's visit has exposed the interpersonal divisions caused by the Enterprise sitting out the war.

Dr. M'Benga's Dark Secret: He Was The Real Butcher Of J'Gal

Although he's now a diplomat who's turned his back on the Klingon Empire to preach peace, Dak'Rah gained a reputation as the Butcher of J'Gal. Although he authorized the slaughter of Federation civilians including children, it was the Klingons, not Starfleet, who gave Dak'Rah this title. The legend was that, to cover his retreat from the Moon of J'Gal, Dak'Rah slaughtered his own men, an act that seemingly convinced him to embrace peace. However, Dak'Rah wasn't the Butcher of J'Gal, because he left his men behind to the mercy of the true butcher - Dr. Joseph M'Benga.

During flashbacks to the Federation-Klingon War , it was revealed that M'Benga had a reputation of his own. Known for his 90 confirmed hand-to-hand kills, M'Benga was dubbed "The Ghost" by Starfleet special forces. Like Dak'Rah after the war, M'Benga had turned his back on that life and instead pursued a career in medicine, opting to save lives rather than take them during the Klingon war. Tragically, the extent of the violence on J'Gal forced M'Benga and Dak'Rah to swap places. The brutality meted out to children was the final straw that convinced M'Benga that he was the man to topple the Klingon senior staff on J'Gal, and he finally accepted the mission he'd been offered by the mysterious Andorian officer.

Killing Dak'Rah's three captains with a Klingon dagger, M'Benga later watched as the Klingon Ambassador publicly adopted the title of Butcher of J'Gal. It was a good basis for a formerly bloodthirsty Klingon Warrior to preach his message of peace. However, it was also a story that, as a serving officer in the peace-loving Starfleet, M'Benga could never publicly reveal. Dak'Rah's arrival on the Enterprise dredged up M'Benga's suppressed shame and trauma and forced him to confront the man that the Klingon war had turned him into. For M'Benga, the only way to move on was to complete his J'Gal mission and kill Dak'Rah, removing the final reminder of this dark secret.

It's presumably for this reason that he goaded Dak'Rah into a fight, knowing that it would allow him to kill the former Klingon Warrior in "self-defense". As Nurse Chapel (Jess Bush) and the audience see M'Benga and Dak'Rah's struggle through frosted glass, it's left ambiguous who first reached for the Klingon dagger. However, at the very end of the episode, M'Benga realizes that Pike will not accept his old friend's approach to avenging the deaths of children and civilians. And so, M'Benga maintains that Dak'Rah started the fight, but admits that he's not sorry that the Klingon is dead. It's as close as Star Trek: Strange New Worlds will likely get to an admission of guilt on the part of M'Benga.

M'Benga And Chapel's Klingon War Service And Super Soldier Serum Explained

The story of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 2, episode 8, “Under the Cloak of War” unfolds in parallel timelines. In the “present day”, the Enterprise pays host to a visiting Klingon dignitary. In the flashbacks, viewers get to see the first meeting between Nurse Chapel and Dr. M’Benga, when she’s assigned to the Moon of J’Gal as Chief Nurse. While there, the pair form a strong bond and Chapel learns M’Benga’s revolutionary strategy for saving lives using Star Trek’s transporters – something he would later do for his daughter. In the final stages of the battle of J'Gal, Chapel also gets her first taste of the Star Trek super drug that was first seen in the Strange New Worlds season 2 opener.

It’s revealed that M’Benga designed this concoction - dubbed Protocol 12 - for use by Starfleet officers placed in combat zones. A combination of both adrenaline and pain inhibitors, M'Benga tells Lt. Va'Al Trask (Kyle Gatehouse), the enigmatic Andorian special forces officer, that it was discontinued due to the damaging effects of repeated use. When M'Benga refused to accept the mission to kill Dak-Rah and his senior staff, he was instead asked to provide special forces with the serum. It's clear by the end of "Under the Cloak of War", M'Benga regretted not handing over the serum, which is why he avenges the fallen Andorian and his team by taking Protocol 12 himself and going off to complete their mission single-handedly.

Strange New Worlds Continues To Set Up Star Trek 6's Klingon Conspiracy

Both the meal with Dak'Rah, and M'Benga's killing of the Klingon Ambassador aboard the USS Enterprise recall the assassination of Chancellor Gorkon (David Warner) in Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country . The signing of the Khitomer Accords is decades away from Star Trek: Strange New Worlds ' timeline, but it's clear that there are those aboard the Enterprise who are skeptical about peace with the Klingon Empire. Despite M'Benga's belief that it's through the brutality of war that Starfleet can guarantee that others in the Federation can live in peace, he still can't cope with a Klingon Ambassador on the same ship.

Nurse Chapel and Lt. Erica Ortegas (Melissa Navia) also find it difficult to maintain their professionalism while in the presence of Dak’Rah. It’s interesting to ponder where they would both stand decades later when Captain James T Kirk (William Shatner) was framed for the murder of Gorkon. Hopefully, they and M’Benga would have made some peace with the horrors of the Klingon War, and would accept that peace is the way forward. The alternatives – that these beloved Star Trek: Strange New Worlds crew members condone or even participate in the plot of Admiral Cartwright (Brock Peters) and his fellow officers – are too heartbreaking to contemplate.

Strange New Worlds Brings Back Section 31 - Who Try To Enlist M'Benga

Although the Black Ops group isn’t explicitly named, “Under the Cloak of War” subtly sets up Michelle Yeoh’s Star Trek: Section 31 movie in its M’Benga flashbacks. It’s revealed that, while stationed on the Moon of J’Gal, Section 31 made repeated attempts to recruit Dr. M’Benga. “ Tell them to stop sending people ” is M’Benga’s response to Trask's latest offer, but by the end of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 2, episode 8, he’s effectively carried out their mission for them by brutally assassinating Dak’Rah’s senior staff. It’s also implied that M’Benga may have been a former Section 31 operative, having created Protocol 12.

M’Benga’s nickname of “The Ghost”, and his 90 confirmed kills heavily suggests that if he hadn’t worked for Section 31, he had definitely worked for Starfleet Special Forces. However, he turned his back on this military career to pursue medicine, which ultimately made him a perfect all-rounder to run J’Gal’s field hospital. It also explains why he was specifically requested for Pike's return mission to Rigel 7 in Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 2, episode 4. With Starfleet now facing a potential war with the Gorn, it will be interesting to see if Section 31 makes further job offers to M’Benga.

The Klingon War Complicates Spock And Chapel's Romance

In Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 2, episode 8, Lt. Spock (Ethan Peck) explores raktajino recipes and human emotions. Realizing how difficult the presence of Dak'Rah is for Nurse Chapel, he tries to empathize with her and offer her some emotional support. It's a touching moment from the usually repressed Spock, but heartbreakingly it also hints at why he will eventually abandon his exploration of human emotions and romantic relationships. While Spock means well, Christine feels smothered by his concern for her and finds it hard to vocalize her pain and trauma from the Klingon War.

She eventually pushes him away, explaining that because Spock wasn't on the Moon of J'Gal, he can never truly understand what she went through. She immediately regrets rejecting Spock's offer of consolation, and it will be interesting to see how this develops in future episodes. Spock and Chapel's distance helps to highlight the divisions between those aboard the Enterprise who served in the Klingon war, and those who didn't. It also teases a possible reason why Spock and Chapel's romance won't last .

Strange New Worlds' Enterprise Crew Is Divided Before Possible Gorn War

M'Benga's attempts to repair biobed 2 in sickbay are a metaphor for his own mental health. In his Chief Medical Officer's log, M'Benga notes that biobed 2 has been malfunctioning since the Enterprise crew's traumatic encounter with the Gorn. It implies that the trauma of that encounter reactivated "The Ghost" and also teases the potential Gorn war ahead for Starfleet and the crew of the USS Enterprise. In the Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 2 premiere, Admiral Robert April (Adrian Holmes) was seen to be concerned about a possible war with the Gorn Hegemony. And then, in "Lost in Translation", Starfleet authorized the construction of a deuterium refinery on the fringes of Gorn space.

As Starfleet prepare for a possible Gorn war in Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 2, it will be interesting to see how these preparations are impacted by the experiences of the Enterprise crew. "Under the Cloak of War" shows three pairs of close colleagues who have divided opinions on war and morality. The most notable of these is Captain Pike and Dr. M'Benga, two old friends who have very different opinions on notions of justice and second chances. It's an extraordinary scene between actors Anson Mount and Babs Olusanmokun, that drills down into how difficult it is for Starfleet to maintain its ideals during wartime.

Star Trek canon has established that there is no war between the Gorn Hegemony and the Federation. It's therefore highly likely that it will be Pike's Enterprise that averts the recent attacks from snowballing into all-out war. Perhaps the combination of the harrowing experiences of officers like Dr. M'Benga, and the hopeful optimism of Captain Christopher Pike will be what stops the war. It might also allow Dr M'Benga to heal himself by coming to terms with his own traumatic military career in Star Trek: Strange New Worlds ' season 2 finale, ominously entitled "Hegemony".

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 2 streams Thursdays on Paramount+.

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Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 2 Episode 8 Recap – who is the Butcher of J’Gal?

Paramount+ series Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 2 Episode 8 Recap

We recap the Paramount+ series Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 2 Episode 8, “Under the Cloak of War,” which contains spoilers.

The Enterprise’s chief medical officer Joseph M’Benga takes center stage in episode 8, “Under the Cloak of War.”

Flashbacks reveal his involvement in the Klingon War, fighting alongside Christine ( Jess Bush ) . While in the present day, M’Benga is faced with his old enemy, Ambassador Dak’Rah .

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 2 Episode 8 Recap

This installment begins with a quick summary of the crew’s latest mission. They are transporting the Klingon Ambassador Dak’Rah (known as Rah) to his next conference.

Who is Ambassador Dak’Rah?

Dak’Rah is a feared Klingon General, nicknamed the Butcher of J’Gal, who changed his ways to become a renowned peace negotiator after the Klingon War. Yet his horrifying past still haunts some of the Enterprise’s crew members.

First of all, Erica doesn’t trust him; she believes that Rah is working undercover to steal the Enterprise’s secrets. Uhura defends Rah, though, stating that he is a changed man. Rah is given a tour of the ship; Spock attempts to make him feel welcome.

Another crew member who distrusts Rah is M’Benga. On meeting Rah, he had a panic attack.

Flashbacks explain his complicated history with Rah. We start these flashbacks in the middle of the Klingon War, on the Moon of J’Gal.

How did Christine first meet M’Benga?

Christine is posted into the middle of this conflict to aid the medical department; this is where she first meets M’Benga. The medical staff are placed in the heart of the war, dealing with an endless conveyor belt of injured soldiers that are beamed in.

M’Benga is already scarred by the horrors of war and has lost all hope, but Christine’s optimism inspires M’Benga to try and save every soldier. Christine and M’Benga quickly form a bond, yet the endless stream of new patients is relentless.

It isn’t long before M’Benga is summoned into battle. The resistance is planning to assassinate the Klingon’s leader Dak’Rah.

They have discovered that he is killing anyone who isn’t a Klingon soldier; this means civilians and even children. M’Benga declines the offer, though.

Back in the present, the angry crew members struggle to hide their true emotions. Pike wants to give Rah the benefit of the doubt, but the others are growing impatient.

Rah doesn’t help matters when he gloats about his achievements.

Spock is unable to appease Christine, who is also filled with rage. Christine asks for some time away from Spock. This decision may have been spurred on by Brad’s future talk and then intensified by the sudden appearance of Rah, but it doesn’t look good for the couple.

Rah then asks to spend some time with M’Benga; they spar with each other. J’Gal is discussed. Rah wants M’Benga to join him at his next peace conference, but M’Benga wants to know the truth. He asks if Rah actually killed his own men.

Why does M’Benga decide to fight in the Klingon war?

The Ambassador admits that he did kill his own men. He was appalled by the army’s decision to kill innocent people, and he chose to take a stand. After this encounter, M’Benga has traumatic flashbacks, remembering the bodies of dead children during the war. This motivated M’Benga to finally join the fight on J’Gal.

Una senses a drop in the crew’s morale, so she decides to shorten Rah’s trip to counteract this negativity. Rah visits M’Benga after discovering this change, of course.

Rah wants to make amends with M’Benga, but the chief medical officer doesn’t want to forgive him.

M’Benga wants Rah to admit to the truth that he was the one who gave the orders to kill civilians and children. Rah finally admits to the horrifying truth.

Who is the Butcher of J’Gal?

Then M’Benga provides further twists. He was the one who killed Rah’s men, M’Benga was the actual Butcher of J’Gal. M’Benga fought and killed Rah’s men, while Rah escaped. He let Rah take the credit for the murders for all those years. M’Benga is still ashamed of his actions, though.

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 2 Episode 8 Ending Explained

The episode ends with the two enemies arguing. M’Benga wants Rah to pay for his war crimes. They fight, and Rah is stabbed and killed, but the audience doesn’t actually get to see the scuffle firsthand. It is inferred that M’Benga killed Rah.

Christine informs Pike that she witnessed the whole thing. The knife is scanned; it is the Butcher’s weapon. DNA from the knife confirms that the Butcher killed three warlords. Pike believes that Rah is the Butcher and, therefore, he must have attacked M’Benga first. M’Benga is in the clear.

Although Pike does have his doubts still. He meets with M’Benga afterward. M’Benga won’t admit to his actions but brings up the truth about Rah that he ordered the killing of children.

Pike and M’Benga have their disagreements, but M’Benga is happy justice has finally been served.

What did you think of the Paramount+ series Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 2 Episode 8? Comment below.

Article by Adam Lock

Adam Lock is a highly experienced Freelance Entertainment Writer who has written for Ready Steady Cut since January 2022. He is passionate about all things film and TV-related and has devoted his time to tracking streaming content on his social media.

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Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Recap: Life During Wartime

Star trek: strange new worlds.

After last week’s lighthearted crossover episode, the Star Trek pendulum swings back with the heaviest episode Strange New Worlds has produced to date (even counting that terrifying Gorn Babies episode that ended in Hemmer’s death). In some ways, it’s been a long time coming. As fun an episode as “ The Broken Circle ” — the season-two premiere — is, it’s laced with allusions to M’Benga and Chapel’s time serving together in the Klingon War, particularly their stint on J’Gal. After injecting themselves with an unknown substance — we learn the name in this episode — we witnessed them going into a berserker rage with an assurance that suggested they’d been there before. The Chapel we know is almost unfailingly upbeat, and M’Benga radiates kindness and concern. But it’s been clear for a while that they’ve seen and done some things they’d rather forget.

With this episode, it all comes rushing back thanks to what Pike calls “a special visitor.” Pike clearly sees his visit as a positive. After all, Ambassador Dak’Rah (Robert Wisdom) — “Rah” for short — is responsible for spreading peace throughout the galaxy, most recently in the Prospero system. That Dak’Rah is a Klingon complicates matters, however, in spite of the ease with which he seems to charm Pike. As Pike points out, most of the Enterprise crew has no direct experience of the war. But those who do view Klingons, particularly this Klingon, in a different light.

That extends to the bridge, where Rah interrupts Ortegas debating the pros and cons of a Klingon peace ambassador with Uhura (who’s firmly pro-Rah) as their guest joins them on the bridge. Ever the diplomat, Rah pretends not to have heard and tries to win Ortegas over. He even downplays his pain when Spock’s attempt to produce a raktajino burns his hand. That brings him to Sick Bay, where the barely contained fury on M’Benga’s usually placid face instantly expresses the divide between who Rah presents himself as and who M’Benga still believes him to be.

But who is Rah? Is he a true Federation convert, or is that a convenient front? We learn he’s lied about at least part of his defection story, but does that mean he’s dishonest through and through? And, even so, does this matter when balanced against his good deeds? “Under the Cloak of War” never really answers the question. Instead, it stays in a moral gray area up to a series of final scenes that blur what really happens and who’s telling the truth while forcing us to look at Chapel and M’Benga differently. What happens here is undoubtedly going to haunt future episodes.

What drives M’Benga’s (maybe) murderous rage? The episode provides a clear answer to that question via its flashbacks to the Klingon War and M’Benga and Chapel’s time on the Moon of J’Gal, where they meet and form the supportive partnership we’ve witnessed over the course of the show. That meeting takes place, the onscreen text tells us, “a few years ago” and in the midst of wartime chaos shortly after Chapel deploys what’s essentially a Starfleet MASH unit in the middle of a combat zone. Once on the ground, she’s greeted by Commander “Everyone Calls Me Buck” Martinez (Clint Howard), the unit’s chief medical officer and a man fond of malapropisms like, “Apparently, a watched pot doesn’t get the oil.” That’s in reference to the lack of an internal-organ regenerator, a sign of what Buck calls Tent City’s meager supplies that will have dire repercussions later on.

After Buck informs Chapel she’ll be serving as head nurse, he points her toward M’Benga and lets her find her own way as the wounded start arriving via transport. While performing triage, Chapel gets another indication of just how bad things are when she has to decide what to do with a badly wounded soldier in obvious need of an internal-organ regenerator. M’Benga informs her they need to clear the pad but presents a temporary solution to the problem by storing the soldier’s pattern in the transport’s buffer. (Shades of what he’ll later do with his daughter.) It’s a dubious makeshift solution, but at least it’s something. A bit later, we see the partnership gel as they desperately try to save a patient whose heart has stopped while landing on what amounts to a team motto: “We got this.”

Back in the present, Pike pays M’Benga a visit under the pretense of borrowing some Deltan parsley, which is apparently delicious in small measures but deadly in excess. M’Benga sees through the excuse and even seems to take it in stride when Pike tells him that he has orders for Klingon War veterans to make Rah feel welcome. To that end, he’s hosting a dinner for their guest (complete with jambalaya) and would like M’Benga and Chapel to attend. He doesn’t order them to, but it’s clearly important.

This is a dubious directive and one it seems unlikely Pike would try to institute without orders, as fond as he is of hosting his crew for dinner. Just how misguided it is quickly becomes apparent over the course of the meal. “There’s a chance General … Ambassador Rah has genuinely reformed,” M’Benga tells Ortegas before they head in. “Sometimes you pretend something long enough it becomes the truth.” They agree to put on “the Starfleet face” and get through it. But it’s not that easy. While Rah amuses the others with anecdotes about his adventures in diplomacy, Chapel struggles to hide her discomfort. She doesn’t even want to talk to Spock about it.

Spock decides to distract Rah with a comparison between Sun Tzu’s The Art of War and Klingon thoughts on the subject, which creates an opening for Chapel and M’Benga to drift away, cueing another flashback, one in which an Andorian agent tries to recruit M’Benga, who has a previously unmentioned background in black ops, for a mission to take out a particularly horrible Klingon leader: Rah.

Back at the dinner, the illusion of politeness breaks down after Rah brings up J’Gal. “My ideals shifted,” he says, part of a pattern of disparaging Klingon ways he’s been engaging in since boarding the Enterprise . Ortegas isn’t buying it. Recalling the Klingon battle cry of “Remain Klingon” after Rah attempts to toast to J’Gal, she leaves, followed by Chapel, then, after Pike notices his distress, M’Benga, but not before Rah extends the offer to engage in some Klingon martial arts.

If he knew M’Benga’s background, he undoubtedly would have reconsidered. It’s a tense session, one in which Rah proposes an alliance because of the powerful statement it sends. In turn, M’Benga asks if Rah really killed his own men to escape and defect. But he already knows the answer.

His time on J’Gal pushed him over the edge. After having to purge the pattern of the badly wounded soldier from the transporter buffer and watching the soldier he and Chapel saved head off to war, then return a corpse and the death of the Orion agent, M’Benga decides to take on Rah himself. Rah earned the name “The Butcher of J’Gal” for taking out his own men, but it was M’Benga who did the killing and would have killed Rah, too, if he had the chance.

When Rah and M’Benga meet again in Sick Bay, M’Benga can’t hide his true feelings. Rah keeps up his plea for M’Benga to join his peace initiative, even after M’Benga confronts him with the fact that he ordered the worst atrocities of J’Gal himself. “I’ve been doing the best I can to make up for my transgressions,” he says before M’Benga reveals himself as the true Butcher of J’Gal. Then the conversation takes a turn for the worse. M’Benga opens a case containing the weapon he used to kill the Klingons under Rah’s command. Rah keeps up his plea for peace. They struggle. Rah is stabbed and killed.

But what exactly happened remains obscured, both to us and Chapel, who witnesses the incident behind a wall of opaque class and then testifies that Rah was the aggressor and grabbed the knife, forcing M’Benga to defend himself. She can’t know this for sure. But she testifies to it anyway. Whether she knows the truth, or even wants to, remains unclear. Pike’s shocked but seems to buy the story because DNA evidence confirms the knife as the property of the Butcher of J’Gal, which is true. But Pike’s assigning that title to the wrong person.

Pike’s no dummy. Talking to M’Benga, he says, “I like to think that if you did instigate the fight with Rah, if it got away from you somehow, you could talk to me. I’d be on your side. I’d work it out.” But, M’Benga insists, he didn’t instigate the fight, and Pike has to take him at his word. Nonetheless, M’Benga throws out a hypothetical. What if he did murder Rah, but Rah was a really awful person? Would that matter? Pike, a Boy Scout to the end, can’t sign on to this hypothetical. “You haven’t lived my life,” M’Benga tells him. “You have the privilege of believing in what’s best in people.” When M’Benga tells Pike he’s glad Rah is dead, all his Captain can do is nod and walk away.

So did M’Benga start the fight? We don’t know for sure, which is by design, but little evidence points to Rah snapping and turning combative. Whether he was faking his love for peace or a true believer, he didn’t waver from his message at any point in the episode. (And even if he was faking, that doesn’t take away what he accomplished as an ambassador.) But it’s still hard not to see M’Benga’s side. He lived through the unthinkable, and here was the person most directly responsible for the worst of what he witnessed and experienced. Posing ethical questions is something Star Trek does frequently, but it rarely leaves them this unresolved, much less raises the possibility that a major and extremely sympathetic character might have crossed a line from which he can never return. The damaged, blinking biobed that M’Benga sees as a metaphor for his own broken state suggests this episode might end, but it’s not really over.

• It’s probably best not to get too hung up on chronology, but when did the events on J’Gal take place? It’s a “few years ago,” yet Pike and M’Benga affirm they’ve known each other for a long, long time. Also, M’Benga and Chapel appear to be roughly the same age now as during the Klingon War. Will we get answers? Does it matter?

• “Protocol 12” is the name of the performance-enhancing drug taken by M’Benga and Chapel. What’s more, we learn that M’Benga is its creator, it has deleterious health effects, and it’s not Starfleet-approved.

• The relentless repetition of “incoming transfer” does as much to establish the oppressiveness of work at the MASH unit as the blood and explosions.

• Clint Howard has a long history with Star Trek . He’s guested on Deep Space Nine , Enterprise, and Discovery. But his most famous appearance remains his work as Balok, the childish antagonist in the original series episode “The Corbomite Maneuver.” It’s a Trek debut for the great character actor Robert Wisdom, most recently seen on Barry .

• “I am having difficulty watching you experience such obvious distress” is a sweet sentiment coming from Spock. But here, he also learns there are some problems no partner, no matter how caring, can fix.

• This episode is written by Davy Perez, previously responsible for season one’s “Memento Mori” (as a co-writer) and “All Who Wander” (the aforementioned Gorn Babies episode) and this season’s “Among the Lotus Eaters” (also as a co-writer). Those are all intense hours of television, suggesting his name in the credits means viewers best steel themselves. Jeff W. Byrd, an in-demand TV director and producer, directs.

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The Inventory

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds' Silliest Episode Might Also Be Its Most Emotional

"the elysian kingdom" is, in a sea of fantasy hijinks, strange new worlds ' most camp episode yet—but it's also an incredibly emotional highlight of the season..

Melissa Navia, Babs Olusanmokun, and Anson Mount in fantasy medieval costumes for Star Trek: Strange New Worlds.

Although it has largely treated its characters with great care in its debut season, Star Trek: Strange New World ’s general sense of episodic breeziness has also given those characters a light touch—moments of highlights, but nothing too deep with our crewmates. This week’s episode changes that, wrapping up one of its most sincere stories yet in the show’s most zany caper.

Follow Star Trek: Strange New Worlds

Star trek: strange new worlds season 2 episode 8 review: under the cloak of war.

Following possibly the most absurd (and awesome!) crossover adventure is an exceptional challenge. With Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 2 Episode 8 , we dive deep into the murkiest moral morays of wartime trauma and truths.

Dr. M'Benga's backstory is full of tragedy and painful choices. His very identity is a compilation of contradictory facts of being. A doctor who cannot heal his daughter. A healer known for his deadly skills. A man who becomes monstrous to fight monsters.

The purposeful ambiguity of the conclusion leaves us with questions, doubts, and complex considerations.

The trope of the good man with a dark past gets a double treatment here between Dak'Rah, a Klingon general and war criminal turned Federation ambassador who publicly tours his brand of truth and reconciliation, and M'Benga, our resident Chief Medical Officer who hides the violence of his past.

The irony that Dak'Rah has built his current life as peacenik and politicker upon M'Benga's act of violence is a sharp commentary on society's allowance for any past misdeed as long as the individual has something to offer in exchange for absolution.

For those who experienced the war, it's not something that can be moved past or "healed" so that the scar does not show or make itself felt.

Ortegas is a great example of someone who isn't completely blinded by her experiences in combat but who cannot sweep past atrocities under the rug for the sake of preserving the peace now.

Ortegas: Trust me I know Klingons. This guy with the peace treaties, that’s not Klingon. Uhura: So, you don’t trust Ambassador Rah because he believes in peace? Permalink: So, you don’t trust Ambassador Rah because he believes in peace?

While M'Benga is able to convince her to join the captain's dinner with the effective combined lure of "Let's Show Him" bravado and the promise of Pike's jambalaya, he struggles to make it through the evening himself.

Ortegas: He’s pretending. I sense it. And I don’t want to play along. M’Benga: Sometimes, you pretend something long enough, becomes the truth. So let’s pretend the war doesn’t bother us. At least, for tonight. Ortegas: Put on the Starfleet face? M’Benga: It’s a good face. Permalink: It’s a good face.

When Ortegas pushes the question of whether Dak'Rah did the things he is believed to have done -- specifically, slaughtering his own commanders so he could escape and defect -- the mood of the evening is irrevocably broken.

Her exit signals the end of niceties. Chapel uses Ortegas as a reason to absent herself from the table. M'Benga holds out longer, but Pike can see the stress he's under and gives him an out as well.

The specific parallels between M'Benga and Dak'Rah are subtle but deliberate.

When the raktajino cup burns him, Dak'Rah resists an instinct to retaliate, to cry out. We see that same restraint and tension in M'Benga when Dak'Rah grabs him suddenly to request they practice Mok'bara together.

Una: On a recent mission, Spock was able to parley with a Klingon captain… Spock: I must admit it has ignited a curiosity in me, a desire to experience more of your culture. Dak’Rah: There’s nothing to experience. They are a war-mongering race, limited by ideology. Permalink: There’s nothing to experience. They are a war-mongering race, limited by ideology.

One wonders if Dak'Rah has tired of the charade he's living and is looking for death by Federation with the way he repeatedly pushes in on M'Benga.

He allows Ortegas to find her own path and doesn't seem to seek Chapel out to "heal," but despite M'Benga explicitly asking to be left alone, he persists in hounding the doctor.

Federation or not, everyone is on their own journey. Una Permalink: Federation or not, everyone is on their own journey.

It's the ultimate test of self-discipline. M'Benga holds back a finishing blow in their Mok'bara session, just as he holds back the truth of his role on J'Gal.

It's honestly surprising how differently people view the Klingon War in terms of effect and proximity.

For M'Benga, Chapel, and Ortegas, it's still a fresh wound, a trauma that hasn't had time to dull, only to be repressed if possible.

Pike: How can we represent a Federation that believes in peace if we say some people aren’t allowed to make up for their past? Una: I agree with you, in the abstract. But the people he hurt – some of them right here on this crew – might not find forgiveness so easily. It isn’t fair for us to ask them to just let it go. Permalink: I agree with you, in the abstract. But the people he hurt – some of them right here on this...

Because Pike and Una were held back from the war -- deployed away from the front with the Enterprise and then with Discovery during the final days of the conflict -- they have a distanced perspective, sympathetic but without the internalized understanding of the quantifiable loss.

War, it doesn’t leave you. It can bury itself, but it’s always there. Chapel Permalink: War, it doesn’t leave you. It can bury itself, but it’s always there.

Chapel does an admirable job trying -- and falling frustratingly short -- of explaining it to Spock.

It's not something that is easily or willingly shared with others, especially people you care about.

War, it makes sense if you’ve been there, but it will never make sense. Chapel Permalink: War, it makes sense if you’ve been there, but it will never make sense.

That divide is difficult for any relationship, and to communicate the purely emotional response to a half-Vulcan who is only just beginning to explore how feelings work would strain any bond.

It's tertiary, but I do feel for Spock. He's clearly trying his best, but there is nothing logical about war trauma.

Speaking of which, how great was Commander Martinez with his malaphor-ridden phrases?

Whatever you need, we probably don’t have it but ask anyway. I’ll run it up the flagpole and see if it quacks. Martinez Permalink: Whatever you need, we probably don’t have it but ask anyway. I’ll run it up the flagpole and...

In the bleakness of Tent City, having some unlikely comedic relief is a strange but welcome distraction. I sincerely hope Martinez survived J'Gal.

So, the ultimate question is: Do we believe M'Benga killed Dak'Rah in self-defense or with intention?

My take here is entirely my own, and, recognizing this is a potentially heated topic, I welcome discussion and disagreement.

I believe it was self-defense.

I looked for you. Now, here you are, using the blood on my hands to make yourself a saint. M’Benga Permalink: I looked for you. Now, here you are, using the blood on my hands to make yourself a saint.

That's not to say that M'Benga didn't want to kill him. He admits as much, but he also tells Dak'Rah repeatedly -- even pleading with him -- to leave the sickbay and to stop talking to him. The Klingon had multiple opportunities to get out of the way.

One might consider this justification for M'Benga to kill him.

But the keen observer will note that M'Benga turns away from the Klingon daqtagh in the kit and even with the glass wall obfuscating the details of their struggle, his silhouette never turns back to the kit. He is always opposing Dak'Rah.

I surmise from this that Dak'Rah reached for the blade, reaching past M'Benga under the pretense of "helping him heal" and attempted to kill M'Benga to keep him from revealing the truth of J'Gal.

Peace is not a destination. It’s a journey. It’s a state of mind. Dak’Rah Permalink: Peace is not a destination. It’s a journey. It’s a state of mind.

Chapel lies in her testimony to protect the truth of M'Benga's actions on J'Gal, but ultimately tells the truth about the self-defense.

Pike: I’m just shocked that Rah would attack him like that. Chapel: I guess, it just goes to show, no one ever really knows what goes on in anyone’s heart. Permalink: I guess, it just goes to show, no one ever really knows what goes on in anyone’s heart.

When TV Fanatic had the opportunity to speak with actors Jess Bush and Babs Olusanmokun , they both commented on how they were challenged and invigorated by the character development in this narrative. As viewers, it enriches our understanding of Chapel and M'Benga, as well as their partnership.

The trust they show in each other on Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 2 Episode 1 makes so much more sense now, as does the super serum. Seeing the crucible of war experiences they undergo together, the losses they suffer, and the brutality they witness, their camaraderie takes on even more nuance and depth.

And as much as J'Gal binds them, it divides the doctor and the captain just as it separates Spock from Chapel, distances Uhura from Ortegas.

We’ve known each other for a very long time. See eye-to-eye on most things. But you haven’t lived my life. You have the privilege of believing in what’s best in people. Me? I happen to know there’s some things in this world that don’t deserve forgiveness. M’Benga Permalink: We’ve known each other for a very long time. See eye-to-eye on most things. But you haven’t...

In another brilliant bit of writing, M'Benga now lives with Pike's suspicion as Dak'Rah lived with an unearned reputation. The narrative echoes are deafening.

Whichever side you come down on with regard to Dak'Rah's demise, we can all consider the remains of war with somber assessment.

There are the survivors, the observers, and the dead.

Some things break in a way that can never be repaired. Only managed. M’Benga Permalink: Some things break in a way that can never be repaired. Only managed.

So, Fanatics, who are the lucky ones?

What does it all mean for M'Benga's future aboard the Enterprise? Will Chapel and Spock manage to bridge this new divide?

Where does it leave Federation-Klingon relations? Will L'Rell make an appearance to address Dak'Rah's death?

Hit our comments with your takeaways!

Under the Cloak of War Review

Diana Keng was a staff writer for TV Fanatic. She is a lifelong fan of smart sci-fi and fantasy media, an upstanding citizen of the United Federation of Planets, and a supporter of AFC Richmond 'til she dies. Her guilty pleasures include female-led procedurals, old-school sitcoms, and Bluey. She teaches, knits, and dreams big. Follow her on X .

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 2 Episode 8 Quotes

Klingons will never admit it, but the Federation has much better ships. Dak’Rah Permalink: Klingons will never admit it, but the Federation has much better ships. Added: July 26, 2023

Ortegas: Trust me I know Klingons. This guy with the peace treaties, that’s not Klingon. Uhura: So, you don’t trust Ambassador Rah because he believes in peace? Permalink: So, you don’t trust Ambassador Rah because he believes in peace? Added: July 26, 2023

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 2 Episode 8 Photos

7/27/23 Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 2 Episode 8 Under the Cloak of War

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'Star Trek: Strange New Worlds' Season 1 Episode 8 Review: Fairytales, Fanfiction, and Farewells

When a nebula traps the Enterprise in a fairytale Dr. M'Benga must find a way to save everyone them all.

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds , Season 1 Episode 8, "The Elysian Kingdom," is without a doubt one of the best episodes of the entire franchise. From the bottom to the top "The Elysian Kingdom" is filled with stunning visuals, quite a few jokes, and a deeply emotional journey. What begins as a campy episode dripping with magic and mayhem becomes a moving tale of love, autonomy, and hope. We open the episode with Doctor M'Benga ( Babs Olusanmokun ) reading his daughter Rukiya ( Sage Arrindell ) her favorite fairytale — the one she's heard a hundred times. She tells her dad she hates the way the story ends and wishes she could change it so that the huntress teams up with the knight to save the king — he tells her maybe someday she can write her own ending.

Elsewhere, Captain Pike ( Anson Mount ) muses with Spock ( Ethan Peck ) about how quiet their routine survey mission is — naturally cursing them to run into some absolute chaos. As they try to leave the nebula they find themselves stuck and Ortegas ( Melissa Navia ) injured. When M'Benga rushes to the bridge to assist, he finds himself and the entire crew decked out in absolutely stunning renaissance wear. It would appear the crew of the Enterprise is living out the roles of Rukiya's fairytale book.

Written by Akela Cooper ( Malignant ) and Onitra Johnson and directed by Amanda Row ( Doom Patrol ) this episode gives the majority of the cast a delightful opportunity to play against type. The bold, brave Captain is now a cowardly page, Cadet Uhura ( Celia Gooding ) plays the evil queen, and the ever-intimidating La'an ( Christina Chong ) becomes a precious princess. "The Elysian Kingdom" harkens back to classic Star Trek holodeck episodes like Voyager 's "The Bride of Chaotica!" or "The Killing Game" and The Next Generation 's "A Fistful of Datas" or "The Big Goodbye."

RELATED: Why 'Strange New Worlds' Shouldn't Rely Too Much on Jim Kirk in Season 2

At the time that Strange New Worlds takes place in Star Trek canon, holodeck technology does not yet exist, so the writers have to get creative for their fantasy episodes. Luckily this is Star Trek , and if you can dream it, they can make it happen. M'Benga appears to be the only crew member who still remembers who he is, he heads down to medical to grab a tricorder and attempt to make sense of the unusual happenings on the ship. Here we find that La'an has become Princess Talia — she's an absolute diva, and Chong in particular does an incredible job differentiating her fairytale persona from her actual character. The costume department truly deserves an abundance of praise for this episode. La'an and Uhura's gowns in particular are just breathtaking pieces of art, but every character is decked out in the most stunning fairytale garb you have ever seen. Each detail is crafted with incredible precision and thoughtful design.

We soon learn that M'Benga isn't the only one who has retained his memories. As an Aenar, Hemmer ( Bruce Horak ) has different brain chemistry with different abilities than his human counterparts — his telepathic skills allowed him to block the "presence" that has taken the rest of the Enterprise under its control. Down in the landing bay, we find Uhura's Queen Nev bent on ruling the entire kingdom and taking the coveted mercury stone from M'Benga's King Ridley. In the same way that Chong plays against type as Princess Talia, Gooding ramps up the bright-eyed Uhura into a terrifying monarch that strikes fear into her subjects. This episode is also filled with moments of humor, especially with Ortegas and Pike bickering back and forth as his cowardice contrasts with her comical bloodlust and Spock's roguish evil wizard at the beck and call of the queen.

When Una ( Rebecca Romijn ) appears as the huntress to rescue an outnumbered Ortegas against the queen's guards, it becomes apparent that this story isn't quite playing out the way it does in the book anymore. As the fairytale narrative textualizes a romantic relationship between Ortetas and Una's characters, M'Benga realizes that this version of the story follows his daughter's wishes rather than what's written. The version that they're living out is essentially Rukiya's fanfiction of "The Elysian Kingdom." The previous episode of Strange New Worlds made it abundantly clear that the show embraces queer people, and it's nice to see that inclusion continued in such a wholesome way with this imagined pairing from Rukiya's ideal ending to her favorite fairytale.

As M'Benga and his allies scramble to find Rukiya they learn that she's no longer being kept safe in the pattern buffer that delays the progression of her illness. At the start of the episode, she asked her father if she could see his quarters one day when she gets better. Following a final confrontation with the Queen in which Hemmer gets to pull out all the stops to work his "science magic" M'Benga is reunited with his daughter. Rukiya is also dressed up in a beautiful gown, as M'Benga's personal mercury stone, and when he scans her he finds her illness has been completely eradicated.

Rukiya reveals that the nebula does indeed have a consciousness and Hemmer graciously offers to use his telepathic abilities to allow M'Benga to speak to the entity that has freed — and seemingly cured — his child. The entity values her above all the other lives on the ship, and Rukiya explains that they were both lonely. While M'Benga explains that the way he's kept her life suspended has been to protect her, the entity also makes the point that that's no way for Rukiya to truly live. Ultimately, M'Benga must make a choice: keep holding his daughter in the pattern buffer while he searches for a cure, or allow Rukiya to join with the entity and truly live even if it means it won't be with him.

As a parent, it feels like a completely impossible choice, but M'Benga does exactly what any parent should and explains the situation in terms that Rukiya can understand and then gives the choice and autonomy to her. She wants to write her own story, and he lets her go with all of the love in the world. I'm not entirely sure it's possible to make it through the end of this episode without being moved to tears by both the story and the performances. M'Benga has done the right thing for his daughter even though he feels so much pain over not being able to spend more time with her. In true Star Trek fashion, Rukiya's departure with the entity is not the last we see of her. Moments later, she returns fully grown (played by Makambe Simamba ) and explains that though no time has passed for her father, it's been years filled with unimaginable adventures with the entity that she named after her mother. M'Benga is filled with so much emotion and peace at seeing his daughter live a life more spectacular than any he ever could've imagined for her.

It's an absolutely incredible way to resolve this particular storyline and the way that it's written as well as the magic of Star Trek leaves plenty of room for Rukiya and M'Benga to be reunited for future adventures. "The Elysian Kingdom" is truly an exemplary episode of Star Trek , and I don't think I will ever get tired of watching it.

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds is streaming now on Paramount+.

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 1, Episode 8, "The Elysian Kingdom," Recap & Spoilers

Doctor M'Benga takes point as the Enterprise is transformed into a fantasy kingdom. Here's a spoiler-filled recap of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds.

The following contains spoilers for Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 1, Episode 8, "The Elysian Kingdom," now streaming on Paramount+.

As the Enterprise continues to venture into the unknown, Doctor Joseph M’Benga has a memorable encounter with a cosmic entity that shakes him to his core. Over the course of this reality-altering ordeal, familiar faces become twisted into strange, fantasy figures while M’Benga moves to learn what is going on and how to restore things to normal. And as with any good fairy tale, M’Benga’s adventure comes with a bittersweet price as he moves to singlehandedly save the day.

M’Benga continues to push himself hard to find a cure for his daughter Rukiya’s genetic condition , accidentally ingesting a chemical compound while performing a medical experiment for treatment. When the Enterprise finds itself mysteriously grounded in a nebula, helmsman Erica Ortegas suffers a severe head wound attempting to warp the starship out. As M’Benga arrives on the bridge to treat Ortegas, he finds it has been transformed into a fantasy world that resembles the story he has been reading to Rukiya, with M’Benga hailed as a king.

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With Pike and Ortegas as rival courtesans attending to him, M’Benga discovers that the Enterprise ’s systems appear to be running as normal and scans himself at sickbay where he similarly learns he is healthy. M’Benga’s analysis is interrupted by La’an Noonien-Singh ( played by Christina Chong ), who appears as a spoiled princess searching for an important relic known as the Mercury Stone. Chief Engineer Hemmer is also aware of the fantastical shift in reality, but is confused for an evil wizard and taken by soldiers who refuse to acknowledge M’Benga’s regal authority.

Suspecting Hemmer is the key to finding the Mercury Stone and using it to restore reality, M’Benga has Pike and Ortegas escort him on a mission to rescue Hemmer from the custody of a rival queen. Along the way, the group encounters Spock and his distinctive eyebrows ; he has been reimagined as a wizard seeking to save his brother from the same queen. The queen is revealed to be an altered vision of Uhura ( played by Celia Rose Gooding ), with Spock leading M’Benga and the others into a trap that gets the group imprisoned after M’Benga fails to produce the Mercury Stone.

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Hemmer explains that his telepathic abilities sensed a lifeform when reality shifted, theorizing that the entity used M’Benga’s story as inspiration to create this world. Using some of his gear, he frees himself and the group from their cell before they are aided in their escape by Number One -- reimagined as a skilled archer allied with Ortegas. Picking up on the noticeable changes to the story he’s familiar with, M’Benga theorizes that the entity actually telepathically drew inspiration from Rukiya, based on his daughter’s preferences about how the story should unfold.

After Hemmer sidelines Uhura and the traitorous Spock with the transporter, he and M’Benga find Rukiya playing with the entity. Speaking through Hemmer, the entity reveals that Rukiya’s condition will return if they allow her to leave the nebula. Rukiya decides to remain with the entity in order for her father to be freed and reality to be restored to normal, appearing moments later as a full-grown adult to assure M’Benga that her life has been great. As activity on the Enterprise returns to normal, none of the crew have any memory of what occurred in the nebula, with M’Benga confiding in Number One about his extraordinary experience to conclude one of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds ' most fantastical episodes.

Created by Akiva Goldsman, Alex Kurtzman and Jenny Lumet, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds streams Thursdays on Paramount+.

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Episode 8 Review

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Episode 8 takes a big diversion from the rest of the season and while there are some fun moments, it falls flat.

One of the most impressive things about the first eight episodes of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds is that there haven't been many "dud" episodes. Unfortunately, it appears that the series was due. "The Elysian Kingdom" is a bit of a diversion from the rest of the season as the crew suddenly finds themselves donning some rather garish costumes and forgetting entirely who they are. As has been the case with other episodes of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds , the story is very reminiscent of the original series and for that alone, it gets some high marks. The show has done a marvelous job of capturing the feel of the original series and what made Star Trek so popular so many years ago.

However, even the original Star Trek wasn't a home run episode every single week. There were some stinkers, and it appears in even this regard, Strange New Worlds is paying a kind of homage. That doesn't mean that "The Elysian Kingdom" was a particularly bad episode. There were even some touching moments. The episode simply wasn't all that interesting, and there were definitely some rather major plotholes when it came to the science and the medicine involved in the story.

RELATED: TV Shows That Killed A Character Way Too Early

Things start out innocuously enough, as the crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise is checking out a spacial body that even Captain Pike believes is about as benign as can be. He even makes a comment that he's looking forward to having a nice quiet time after spending several weeks in all kinds of different missions. Of course, as is usually the case, any character that says this kind of thing is bound to jinx the issue. The show does make a rather humorous joke where Spock even comments that it appears Pike did jinx the ship when it suddenly finds that it appears stuck. That humor quickly evaporates when the ship lurches and Ortegas is injured. This leads to a call to the bridge for Dr. M'Benga.

However, when the doctor arrives on the bridge, he finds that it has instead been transformed into his royal court and he has been clothed in the outfit of a character from a book that he and his daughter often read together. That daughter has been a big part of the doctor's story as he's been hiding her from most of the crew. It turns out that the way he was hiding her even affected what happened to the crew earlier in the Strange New Worlds season . This is because he tends to house his daughter in the transporter buffer as a kind of stasis field while he tries to find a cure for her very rare disease.

It is of course always interesting when a Star Trek episode shows some sort disease that even the advanced tech of the far future can't cure. Of course, it's also no longer all that interesting in that every time this kind of plot device is introduced, it's almost a given that the story will head one particular direction. The show did indeed go in that direction this week as well, meaning that the person who was sick was suddenly well again only there was a choice that their loved ones had to make. That choice is almost always "they can be cured, or they can be sick again, but around their loved ones."

It always feels like this particular conundrum is more than a bit contrived. This particular episode certainly had that feel considering at one point, the doctor's daughter was "cured" with no sign of the disease. If that was really the case, if there was really no sign of the disease then she would indeed be all better. However, as it turned out, there was supposedly still the danger should M'Benga make the wrong decision. This is the kind of thing where it feels like the conundrum could have been written slightly different and made more sense. For the most part, the show's writers tend not to be this kind of lazy but they failed that particular test this week.

As far as the crew being engrossed in the story, there were some fun parts, including La'an Noonien-Singh appearing as the over the top princess. While her part was quite small, and she wasn't on-screen much at all, the show did allow her to stretch her wings acting wise a bit. That she walked around carrying a cute little puppy was a nice touch if only because the actual Noonien-Singh would almost certainly do no such thing. Meanwhile, Ortegas gets to be on screen and show off her chops more than she has since the series started.

Likewise, Anson Mount actually has a relatively small role this week as he plays a cowardly and eventually traitorous aide to the king. The positives of this role is that it appeared that Mount was truly enjoying the part. There were others who seemed to be loving being able to depart from their usual personalities and take on totally new. Strange New Worlds also missed an opportunity by not having Spock be one of those that totally left his usual persona behind. Instead, they simply made him a different character with the same character traits.

While it appears that there were several members of the show that truly did enjoy doing something so different from what the season had been, the episode was sadly not all that fun on its own. Whether it was because the plot was rather easily predicted once it was divulged as not being some sort of hallucination, or just because the story in the book wasn't a particularly well fleshed out or interesting one, there was just something missing in this week's episode of Strange New Worlds . The good news is that even when the show isn't putting out a top-of-the-line product, it's still pretty darn good and that's helped along by a cast that is both good at what they do and that seem to have some real chemistry when they are on screen together. That is also quite reminiscent of the original Star Trek .

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Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 1, episode 8 review: "A silly, self-indulgent story"

GamesRadar+ Verdict

Strange New Worlds continues its voyage around classic Trek tropes, and comes unstuck with the now-traditional dress-up episode. The conclusion of the emotionally charged story of Dr M’Benga and his sick daughter deserved better than this otherwise pointless diversion

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Warning: This Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 1, episode 8 review contains major spoilers – many of them set to stun. Boldly go further at your own risk…

With new episodes of Obi-Wan Kenobi , The Boys , Ms. Marvel , The Umbrella Academy , For All Mankind, and many more debuting this month, there’s no shortage of quality TV vying for your eyeballs right now. Perhaps it’s for the best, then, that Strange New Worlds has just rolled out an installment that feels as missable as this one.

Aside from addressing one of the show’s most significant story arcs – namely the fate of Dr. M’Benga’s terminally ill daughter, Rukiya – this silly, self-indulgent story feels like a waste of an episode.

Your inner red alert siren starts screeching early on, as M’Benga opens up a Princess Bride-like storybook called ‘The Kingdom of Elysian’. Isn’t that kinda similar to the title of the episode, ‘The Elysian Kingdom’? Surely the writers wouldn’t plunge the crew into a live-action roleplay version of the book… would they?

A quick trip to the bridge – where a routine nebula survey is coming to an end – briefly lulls you into a false sense of security. Indeed, when Spock points out that the captain enjoying the uneventful nature of the mission might be tempting fate, everything starts to look a lot more promising. Then the Enterprise finds itself trapped by an unknown force, and Lt Ortegas is injured in the sort of set-quake that’s been afflicting Starfleet crews since the earliest days of the franchise. Could this be a proper Star Trek episode after all?

Er, no, because as soon as M’Benga arrives on the bridge to treat Ortegas’s injuries, he realizes he’s playing the king in what looks like a high school production of a fairytale drama. Is he suffering from hallucinations caused by his exposure to Chemical 3QND in a Sickbay explosion? Or have the writer’s room been overdoing the Romulan Ale and decided to do something very silly indeed? Star Trek has always relished the opportunity to get its crews out of uniform to indulge in a spot of cosplay. These adventures have rarely ranked among the franchise’s finest hours, but even within those parameters, ‘The Elysian Kingdom’ is one to forget.

Making the wonderful Enterprise interiors look cheap is quite a feat, but the episode achieves the impossible by filling familiar sets with plants and regal paraphernalia. As the bridge becomes a throne room and the transporter room is decked out as a prison, everything about the makeover feels half-hearted. Maybe it was a Covid or budget-related decision, but even in a storytelling context, it makes little sense that an entity strong enough to induce a collective hallucination didn’t work a little harder on the set dressing. Say what you like about Q, but at least when he dumped Picard and co in a Robin Hood adventure in ‘Qpid’ – Worf was not a Merry Man – he made some effort to invoke a convincing Sherwood Forest.

Unfortunately, the fictional ‘The Kingdom of Elysian’ rarely feels like a classic of children’s literature. The characters the Enterprise crew inhabit are too one-dimensional to entertain and it’s remarkable that a show that’s usually so effortlessly funny could become so lumpen when it goes all-in on a comedy episode.

Although the cast clearly relish the chance to try something different, not everyone is well served by their new personas. Melissa Navia has plenty of fun as the king’s all-action bodyguard while Ethan Peck makes a convincing evil wizard, but the usually brilliant Anson Mount seems completely out of his element as a cowardly court advisor. It’s an uncomfortable experience watching such an accomplished, charismatic performer struggle with such an unforgiving – and poorly written – role.

A degree of salvation – both for the episode and for the crew – comes in the form of Bruce Horak’s Lt Hemmer. Like M’Benga, the Andorian engineer is mostly unaffected by the collective pantomime around him, but his trademark world-weary humor lifts every scene he’s in. His telepathic abilities have allowed him to resist the powerful psychic force emanating from the nebula – even though the experience “felt as if my brain were being squeezed through my nose” – and he brings some much-needed scientific reasoning to the second half of the episode.

While it’s easy to explain away a holodeck malfunction – as in Voyager’s Flash Gordon-inspired ‘Bride of Chaotica’ – Star Trek’s other dalliances with cosplay require more creative thinking. ‘The Elysian Kingdom’ plays around with the real-life thought experiment known as a Boltzmann brain to justify everything that’s happened. It turns out that a consciousness lurking in the nebula had noticed Rukiya in stasis in the medical transporter’s pattern buffer, and tried to remedy her loneliness by recreating a familiar book – while also allowing her to shape her own ending.

Similar concepts have been explored on numerous occasions, both in Star Trek and other sci-fi stories, but here it brings some belated emotional resonance to an otherwise disappointing episode. M’Benga is faced with an impossibly heartbreaking choice: keeping Rukiya on the Enterprise in the vain hope of curing her condition, or letting her leave with the nebula entity to live a non-corporeal life among the stars. Babs Olusanmoku plays the moment beautifully, allowing his little girl to leave with an unknowable alien force, even though he knows it means he “won’t be happy anymore”. It’s slightly trite and simplistic when she returns as a grown-up moments later – telling M’Benga about the wonders she’s seen with a nebula called “Deborah” – but the confirmation that the choice was the right one provides some much-needed closure for her father.

One question remains, however: why did such an emotionally powerful story arc have to be resolved in such a lightweight episode? Giving everyone other than M’Benga collective amnesia about the incident – on top of the convenient wiping of the Enterprise’s computers – almost feels like a tacit acknowledgment that the events depicted in this episode shouldn’t be discussed again. So let’s just pretend ‘The Elysian Kingdom’ never happened, and get back to what’s otherwise been a wonderful season.

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds is currently airing now on Paramount Plus. For more, check out our guide to the Star Trek timeline .

Richard is a freelancer journalist and editor, and was once a physicist. Rich is the former editor of SFX Magazine, but has since gone freelance, writing for websites and publications including GamesRadar+, SFX, Total Film, and more. He also co-hosts the podcast, Robby the Robot's Waiting, which is focused on sci-fi and fantasy.

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Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Ending Explained: What Pike’s Future Means for Season 2

The Star Trek: Strange New Worlds finale may have left you with some questions. We have answers.

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This article contains spoilers for Star Trek: Strange New Worlds .

The first season of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds is essentially perfect television, a delightful space adventure whose episodic storytelling has allowed it to explore many different kinds of genres. From tense submarine thrillers and goofy bodyswap romantic comedies to fantastical children’s tales and dark horror stories , each hour manages to be entertaining in its own right while still telling us, as viewers, something worthwhile about the characters we’re watching. Honestly, as we look back on season 1, it feels as though there’s essentially nothing this show can’t do.

However, its predominantly episodic format means that the bulk of season 1’s stories are tied up each week. There aren’t any larger puzzle box mysteries to try to solve, and the series’ outstanding plot threads tend to focus on ongoing emotional arcs rather than shocking cliffhangers meant to leave us counting the days until the season 2 premiere. That’s not a bad thing; one of the most appealing aspects of this show is the incredible care with which it treats its characters and their journeys, but it does mean that there’s not a lot of reason to spin out elaborate fan theories or speculation during the series’ hiatus. (I welcome all your thoughts on Pike’s sartorial and grooming choices throughout the season, however.)

Here’s a rundown of how everything wrapped up across season 1’s final episodes—and what it all might mean for Strange New Worlds season 2.

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Pike Finds Peace…For Now

One of the best things about Strange New Worlds season 1 is the deft way it has managed to explore Captain Christopher Pike’s inner struggle in the face of the foreknowledge of his own death without getting repetitive or overly saccharine about it. Happily, his story isn’t one of despair over his circumstances, nor is it overly fixated on the things he’s lost or those he’ll never get to have. Instead, the show seems determined to find new ways to explore questions of fate and consequences, and “A Quality of Mercy” presents him a vision of a different future and the unexpected cost of changing his fate: Spock’s life.

Apparently, there’s a timeline in which Pike can not only avoid a future of agonizing pain and disfigurement—but it’s also one where his attempt to save himself (or more correctly, save the cadets he knows are destined to die) dooms his friend instead, leaving Spock in a lifetime of physical agony and kicking off a war with the Romulans that will leave millions dead. Learning that, of course there’s only one choice a man like Christopher Pike could ever make.

By the end of the hour, Pike seems to have made a tentative kind of peace with his own future and ends the season with a seemingly much lighter heart than he began it. (Not that I’m complaining about the pilot’s unshaven, rustic day drinker look, mind you!) Whether that’s because saving Spock—whom Pike is told is destined for a world-changing future—has made his choice more personally immediate, or simply because he’s not the kind of person who would ever consider trading his life for millions of other people he’ll never meet, isn’t explicitly stated. Either way, he seems more determined than ever to embrace the time he has left and make some memories on his adventure (something the finale’s closing credits song backs up.)

Una Is Arrested

Though much of “A Quality of Mercy” is essentially erased by Pike’s decision not to tell his future cadets about the dire fate that’s waiting for them in just a handful of years, its final moments see his sometime girlfriend Captain Batel arrive to take Una into custody for violating the Federation’s genetic modifcation laws. (She is actually Illyrian and has been hiding her true identity since joining Starfleet.)

Pike, of course, is furious—and I suspect his romantic relationship with Batel is very much done after this—but there’s little he can do at the moment. How he’ll get his first officer back—and who turned Una in, given that only a handful of Enterprise crew members were even aware of her deception—are questions we’ll have to wait for season 2 to answer. But on the plus side, we’re likely to finally get a chance to really dig into Una’s character next year, one of the few weak areas of Strange New Worlds ’ first season.

Spock Gets In Touch with His Emotions

Spock’s struggle to both understand and accept his unique dual identity as half human and half Vulcan has been a major part of his character arc since Ethan Peck took over the role on Star Trek: Discovery . Strange New Worlds has further complicated this journey by introducing his Vulcan fiance T’Pring, his jailed half-brother Sybok , and a warm friendship/maybe something more with Nurse Christine Chapel .

In “All Those Who Wander,” Spock is forced to tap into the rage he so often suppresses in order to successfully battle the Gorn who are trying to kill the crew. But once he allows his anger to flow freely, he discovers he doesn’t quite know how to turn his emotions off again. Though he turns to Chapel for guidance, it’s unclear how much this will impact his mental state in season 2.

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La’an Takes a Leave of Absence

As a rare survivor of a Gorn attack, Enterprise security officer La’an Noonien-Singh has spent most of her adult life trying to process the trauma of that experience (and her choice to essentially leave her brother for dead). In Strange New Worlds season 1, she gets the chance to face her greatest fear not once but twice, as the crew manages to survive both a run-in with a Gorn ship and an attack by juvenile versions of the creatures who hatched from eggs implanted in a handful of rescued refugees. (Don’t ask, it is exactly as gross as it sounds.)

During their attempt to escape the crashed Peregrine in “All Those Who Wander,” La’an helps rescue a young girl named Oriana, whose experiences are frighteningly close to her own youth. She digs deep into her own past to help motivate the child to keep fighting, and when they’re all safe back aboard the Enterprise La’an requests a leave of absence so that she might help Oriana find her family. (The one thing La’an herself never got the chance to reclaim.)

How Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Episode 9 Sets Up Original Series Character Return

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Episode 8 "The Elysian Kingdom"

How Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Hilariously Tweaks Classic Episodes

On the surface, this seems like a neat way to write the character of La’an out of the show, but it’s hard to imagine her leave will keep her away from the Enterprise for long. After all, Pike’s promised her she always has a place on his crew, and we have to image La’an will want to help get Una—one of the scant handful of people she seems to genuinely care about—out of prison. It’s even more difficult to believe that Strange New Worlds purposefully gave this character the last name of Noonien-Singh and allowed her to leave the canvas for good without ever exploring what living with that legacy is like.

The Enterprise Needs a New Engineer

At the end of season 1’s penultimate episode, Enterprise Chief Engineer Hemmer sacrifices himself to prevent the Gorn eggs he’s been infected with from hatching. A shocking, dramatic death that is both moving and narratively relevant—Hemmer’s species believes that death does not come for you until you have fulfilled your larger life purpose, and saving his crew was apparently his—many viewers are likely still reeling from what is Strange New Worlds’ first real loss.

But Hemmer’s death does open up space for some interesting and necessary speculation. Who will become the Enterprise’s next chief en gineer ? In “A Quality of Mercy” we hear the voice of Montgomery Scott from the ship’s engine room, though we don’t see him. Is that a hint that some version of Scotty is headed our way? Or will Strange New World use this as an opportunity to introduce some new characters to the Enterprise engine room?

Uhura Chooses Her Path

Though it’s hard to imagine a world in which Nyota Uhura isn’t on board the U.S.S. Enterprise , it’s apparently something that came super close to happening. Upon completion of her Academy training, Uhura was still unsure of her purpose and was planning on returning to Earth—the crew even threw a farewell party for her!

But in the wake of Hemmer’s death, and in response to his final exhortation that she stop closing herself off to real connection and grab a chance to make a future for herself with both hands, she decides to take Pike up on his offer and remain part of the Enterprise . And though she doesn’t yet realize what a momentous choice this is….we do, and the concluding shot of her looking over the communications console is genuinely lovely.

The Long-Awaited Arrival of James T. Kirk

Though we already knew that Paul Wesley would be portraying iconic Star Trek : The Original Series character James Kirk in Strange New Worlds season 2, his appearance in the season 1 finale came as something of a shock. Granted, Wesley’s technically playing a version of Kirk—the captain of the U.S.S. Farragut —in “A Quality of Mercy” that doesn’t exist anymore, but his presence will likely still impact next season anyway.

After all, Kirk’s older brother Sam already serves on the Enterprise —and Pike is now aware of just how much potential the younger Kirk possesses. We’re clearly going to see him again, perhaps in a way that’s similar to how Spock’s fiancee T’Pring has appeared in multiple episodes this season. But since we’re still the better part of a decade away from Kirk taking command of the Enterprise , it seems unlikely that he’ll join the crew full-time, even at a lower rank. It’s not completely out of the realm of possibility, but it’s pretty hard to imagine, especially given how many secondary characters (Una, M’Benga, Uhura, Nurse Chapel, La’an) the show already has to balance.

You don’t bring on a legacy figure like Captain Kirk and then do nothing with him—but you also can’t risk doing too much with him, particularly given the narrative constraints imposed by The Original Series canon , especially the events of “The Menagerie.” Will Strange New Worlds season 2 manage to balance these competing priorities in a way that makes longtime fans happy and respects the new stories the series is telling? Fingers crossed.

Lacy Baugher

Lacy Baugher is a digital producer by day, but a television enthusiast pretty much all the time. Her writing has been featured in Paste Magazine, Collider,…

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Star Trek: Strange New Worlds

A prequel to Star Trek: The Original Series, the show follows the crew of the USS Enterprise under Captain Christopher Pike. A prequel to Star Trek: The Original Series, the show follows the crew of the USS Enterprise under Captain Christopher Pike. A prequel to Star Trek: The Original Series, the show follows the crew of the USS Enterprise under Captain Christopher Pike.

Akiva Goldsman
Alex Kurtzman
Jenny Lumet
Anson Mount
Christina Chong
1K User reviews
38 Critic reviews
9 wins & 32 nominations total

Episodes 31

Melissa Navia Wants to Know Why You Aren't Watching Her on "Star Trek"

Captain Christopher Pike …

La'an Noonien-Singh …

Lt. Erica Ortegas …

Una Chin-Riley …

Nurse Christine Chapel

Nyota Uhura …

Dr. M'Benga

USS Enterprise Computer …

Lieutenant George Samuel 'Sam' Kirk

Jenna Mitchell

Captain Batel …

Admiral Robert April

Captain James T. Kirk …

T'Pring
All cast & crew
Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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Did you know

Trivia Bruce Horak , the actor who plays Hemmer, is legally blind, just like his character's species, the Aenar, who are also blind.
Goofs There are some rank insignia mistakes. Number One is introduced as "Lieutenant Commander Una Chin-Riley" yet she is wearing the rank insignia of a full commander: two full stripes. A Lieutenant Commander's rank insignia is a full stripe under a thin stripe (in TOS it is a full stripe and a staggered stripe). It is not uncommon for a ship's first officer to be a Lt. Commander if they have not been in the position long. Spock at this point is a Lieutenant but he is wearing Lieutenant Commander's stripes; a Lieutenant just has one stripe. La'an is the ship's chief of security and the ship's second officer. She is also wearing Lt. Commander stripes but is addressed as a Lieutenant, but it would make more sense for her to be a Lieutenant Commander. Either way both of their rank insignia are not matching the rank they are addressed by. Ortegas is addressed as a Lieutenant but is wearing Lieutenant Commander's strips. A Lieutenant Commander may be addressed as a Commander or Lieutenant Commander but never as just a Lieutenant, so either her rank insignia or the manner she is addressed by the rest of the crew is in error.

[opening narration]

Captain Christopher Pike : Space. The final frontier. These are the voyages of the starship Enterprise. Its five-year mission: to explore strange new worlds, to seek out new life and new civilizations, to boldly go where no one has gone before.

Connections Featured in Nerdrotic: Woke Hollywood is FAILING, and That's a Good Thing (2022)

User reviews 1K

May 21, 2022

Technical specs

Runtime 52 minutes
D-Cinema 48kHz 5.1
Dolby Digital
Dolby Atmos

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Star Trek: Strange New Worlds – Season 1, Episode 8

The elysian kingdom, where to watch, star trek: strange new worlds — season 1, episode 8.

Watch Star Trek: Strange New Worlds — Season 1, Episode 8 with a subscription on Paramount+, or buy it on Fandango at Home, Prime Video.

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Cast & crew.

Anson Mount

Captain Christopher Pike

Rebecca Romijn

Science Officer Spock

Babs Olusanmokun

Dr. M'Benga

Christina Chong

La'an Noonien-Singh

Celia Rose Gooding

Nyota Uhura

Critics Reviews

Episode info.

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Finding the Balance: Inside the Strange New Worlds Finale

Go inside the twists and turns of Strange New Worlds' first season finale.

Spoilers for Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season One, Episode Ten " A Quality of Mercy" to follow!

The cast and crew of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds discuss finding the balance between the new series and The Original Series .

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds streams exclusively on Paramount+ in the U.S., U.K., Australia, Latin America, Brazil, South Korea, France, Italy, Germany, Switzerland and Austria. In addition, the series airs on Bell Media’s CTV Sci-Fi Channel and streams on Crave in Canada and on SkyShowtime in the Nordics, the Netherlands, Spain, Portugal and Central and Eastern Europe. Star Trek: Strange New Worlds is distributed by Paramount Global Content Distribution.

Discovery, Strange New Worlds Studio Is Now the "Star Trek Stage"

Star Trek has a strong bond with Toronto; Pinewood Studios stage renamed to honor franchise's connection with Canada's largest city.
Discovery 's final season filmed in Toronto; Strange New Worlds is currently shooting in the city.
Paramount+ executive producer thanked Toronto for hospitality; future Star Trek productions are planned in the city.

Star Trek has called Toronto, Ontario home since the launch of Star Trek: Discovery in 2017, and now one of their studio homes has been renamed to commemorate the long-running science fiction franchise's bond with Canada's largest city. One of Pinewood Studios Toronto's soundstages has been renamed the Star Trek Stage. On Discovery , the 18,000 square-foot stage is used for both the USS Discovery 's ready room and for the United Federation of Planets' space station headquarters; several other stages are used for the ship's other locations, while many outdoor scenes are shot on location in the greater Toronto area.

The stage was officially renamed during the filming of Discovery 's fifth and final season . In a statement, Paramount+'s Star Trek executive producer Alex Kurtzman expressed his gratitude for the city's hospitality to Trek's cast and crew: "Pinewood Toronto Studios has become a second home for our Star Trek family, and we’re grateful that they’ve named a stage in honor of the franchise. In addition to the amazing stage space, we’ve benefited from working with the talented artists in front of the camera and behind the scenes and look forward to our partnership in Toronto on future series."

What Other 'Star Trek' Series Are Shot in Toronto?

Despite the impending end of Discovery 's five-season mission, Star Trek in Toronto isn't going anywhere. Discovery spinoff Strange New Worlds , which was recently renewed for a fourth season , is currently filming its third season in the city. Additionally, the newest series Starfleet Academy is slated to shoot there later this year . The Paramount+-original movie, Star Trek: Section 31 , also filmed in Toronto, and wrapped production earlier this year . While Toronto and its environs are typically called upon to represent alien worlds, the city did get a chance to play itself in the second-season Strange New Worlds episode " Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow ", in which La'an Noonien-Singh and James T. Kirk had to foil a Romulan plot in the Ontario capital.

Star Trek: Discovery 's fifth and final season has the crew chasing the ancient secret behind all life across the galaxy, even as they try to outrace a new pair of implacable foes. In her review , Collider's Samantha Coley deemed it "well-paced and well-structured, with each episode offering a satisfying piece of the puzzle."

Star Trek: Discovery 's fifth and final season is now streaming on Paramount+ ; Strange New Worlds ' third season is currently filming in Toronto, and Starfleet Academy will film there later this year. Stay tuned to Collider for future updates.

Star Trek: Discovery

Taking place almost a decade before Captain Kirk's Enterprise, the USS Discovery charts a course to uncover new worlds and life forms.

Watch on Paramount+

Discovery, Strange New Worlds Studio Is Now the "Star Trek Stage"

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Prep Begins For ‘Star Trek: Strange New Worlds’ Season 3 Finale; Cast And Directors Share BTS Images

| April 25, 2024 | By: Anthony Pascale 15 comments so far

Work on the third season of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds continues to move swiftly in Toronto and looks to be set to wrap up next month. We have some fun bits from the set shared by the cast and a couple of directors, as well as some details on the production.

2 more episodes to go

First up, a selfie from director Jordan Canning, who previously directed the season 2 episode “Charades.” The image posted earlier this week shows the director with Ethan Peck and Rebecca Romijn and has the message, “Always happy to be the redshirt between these two.”

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Jordan Canning (@jjhcanning)

TrekMovie has confirmed that Canning directed episode 8, which has wrapped. Filming for episode 9 has already begun, with Andrew Coutts directing. This will be the directorial debut for Coutts, a co-producer and editor on the show. The 10th and final episode of the season will be directed by Maja Vrvilo, a Paramount+ Trek veteran who has directed episodes of Discovery , Picard , and Strange New Worlds . Earlier this week, she posted an image of her office door, indicated prep work for her episode had already begun.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Maja Vrvilo (@majavrvilo)

Anson has a challenge for cosplayers

There have also been a couple of fun recent social media updates from the cast. First up, Anson Mount posted on Twitter/X that season 3 will require cosplayers to bring their “A-game” as he shared some creative fan costumes.

I will say this about season 3 of #StarTrek #StrangeNewWorlds : Cos-players, you better be ready to bring your A-game. #Cosplay @StarTrek @StarTrekOnPPlus pic.twitter.com/mZ9gMmIhsL — Anson Mount 🖖 (@ansonmount) April 16, 2024

One new look for cosplayers to try is an armed Nurse Chapel, as seen in this short video from Jess Bush showing off her phaser holster.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Jess Bush (@onejessa)

Finally, on the day of the big eclipse, some of the Strange New Worlds team took a moment to check it out. Bush shared an Instagram story with herself and co-star Melissa Navia rocking their eclipse glasses. (They had 90% totality in Toronto.)

Last week brought big news for Strange New Worlds: It’s been renewed for a fourth season. Paramount+ recently confirmed season 3 will debut in 2025.

Keep up with news about the Star Trek Universe at TrekMovie.com .

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I LOVE holodeck dude in cosplay!

I’m curious how long their entire season shooting period actually is.

Usually 5 to 6 months. This one started just before Christmas.

I know I’ll end up watching it, but I’m just not excited for the next season. Season 2 was all over the place, in my opinion. For every episode like Those Old Scientists or Ad Astra Per Aspera, there was rubbish like The Broken Circle and Under the Cloak of War and Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow. I like the cast, but the quality isn’t there- and for all the talk of “big swings” and pushing the envelope- Season 2 was almost painfully generic.

Same here. I’ll be tuning in, but it’s not up there on my ‘must-see right away’ list. I feel like overall, the storytelling floundered during S2, legacy characters written badly, and a distinct corny popcorn feel to it. Both Spock and Pike were reduced to bumbling sidekicks. Hoping S3 has a bit more gravitas to it. Like you said, not the fault of the cast. All blame goes back to the writer’s room. I’m more than happy to consider this show as existing in its own separate timeline, as has been confirmed.

I still can’t get over how *boring* the finale was. It felt like it went on for hours and yet nothing actually happened besides a super-quick and appallingly shot fight in zero-g. Season Two really dropped the ball.

I agree. I don’t even remember what happened in the finale, except Pike at the end hesitating like a scared junior officer when the situation called for fast decisive action. As for the season in general, it feels empty, like nothing really happens in the episodes. I hate the way they turned Spock into a moron. There are better ways if the writers wanted to put some humor in… I’m sure the 12 year olds found it funny but adults are watching too…

They seem to be testing the water for the Academy show with teen romances also. Spock, Chapel / La’an, Kirk and Pike, Batel were all shallow romances and just really boring that took up way too much time in the season. They seriously need to get back to writing some good sci fi stories or this show will go down as one of the worse Star Trek series for me. It seems more of a comedy starship show than the Orville at times. And season 1 had so much promise as well.

The SNW writers room has a chalk board titled Gimmick Board only they misspelt it Big Swing Board. Hopefully they can’t destroy Spock’s character anymore as they have already scraped the bottom of the barrel with their writing of his character.

So relieved I’m not the only one who felt this way. I hear “game changer” and “big swing” and I think “great, they’re effing with my show again to bring in the non-Trek fans”!

Yes, to them “big swing” means having the characters do things completely out of character and turning Star Trek into a Broadway play. Sure the musical was original and unexpected, but really out of place, and I will never be able to get the K-Pop Klingons out of my head.

I didn’t mind the musical episode (probably because I love musicals!) but on the whole, the season felt soulless and devoid of anything interesting to say (outside of Ad Astra Per Aspera). It’s as though the entire season was written by committee and was deathly afraid of offending the fandom by doing anything even slightly controversial.

I’ve had this feeling since the first season. Anson Mount is a wonderful lead, but they’ve completed destroyed the character that we got to know in Season 2 of Discovery. And they need to do something with Spock besides him being a complete and utter pig to women.

I’m absolutely giddy for this next season. Season two was fantastic and I cannot wait for this next season.

I really wish studios would get it together. They used to be able to turn out twice the number of eps or sometimes more every year without year-long pauses between seasons.

COMMENTS

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Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, Season 1 Episode 8, "The Elysian Kingdom," is without a doubt one of the best episodes of the entire franchise.From the bottom to the top "The Elysian Kingdom" is ...
Star Trek Strange New Worlds
I take a look at Star Trek Strange New Worlds Episode 8 "The Elysian Kingdom" + break it down and review!MERCH - https://sci-finatics-merch.myspreadshop.com/...
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds S1E8 Recap & Spoilers
Published Jun 23, 2022. Doctor M'Benga takes point as the Enterprise is transformed into a fantasy kingdom. Here's a spoiler-filled recap of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds. The following contains spoilers for Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 1, Episode 8, "The Elysian Kingdom," now streaming on Paramount+.
Star Trek Strange New Worlds Season 2 Episode 8 Ending Explained
Warning: Contains Spoilers for Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 2, Episode 8, "Under the Cloak of War." "Under the Cloak of War" explores the lasting effects of the Klingon War on veterans from Star Trek: Discovery, highlighting the division between those who served and those who didn't. Dr. M'Benga, once known as "The Ghost" for his hand-to-hand kills, reveals a dark secret of being the ...
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Episode 8 Review
Published Jun 23, 2022. Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Episode 8 takes a big diversion from the rest of the season and while there are some fun moments, it falls flat. One of the most impressive ...
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 1, episode 8 review: "The show's
The most beloved modern Star Trek shows are both getting renewed, but there's sad news for one of them Star Trek legend calls his Strange New Worlds season 3 murder-mystery "the best episode of ...
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds
Watch Star Trek: Strange New Worlds — Season 2, Episode 8 with a subscription on Paramount+, or buy it on Fandango at Home, Prime Video, Apple TV. Captain Pike and his crew welcome a Klingon ...
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Ending Explained: What Pike's Future
Pike Finds Peace…For Now. One of the best things about Strange New Worlds season 1 is the deft way it has managed to explore Captain Christopher Pike's inner struggle in the face of the ...
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds (TV Series 2022- )
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds: Created by Akiva Goldsman, Alex Kurtzman, Jenny Lumet. With Anson Mount, Ethan Peck, Christina Chong, Melissa Navia. A prequel to Star Trek: The Original Series, the show follows the crew of the USS Enterprise under Captain Christopher Pike.
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds
Watch Star Trek: Strange New Worlds — Season 1, Episode 8 with a subscription on Paramount+, or buy it on Fandango at Home, Prime Video, Apple TV. The Enterprise becomes stuck in a nebula that ...
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds is an American science fiction television series created by Akiva Goldsman, Alex Kurtzman, and Jenny Lumet for the streaming service Paramount+.It is the 11th Star Trek series and debuted in 2022 as part of Kurtzman's expanded Star Trek Universe.A spin-off from Star Trek: Discovery, it follows Captain Christopher Pike and the crew of the starship Enterprise in the ...
Finding the Balance: Inside the Strange New Worlds Finale
The cast and crew of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds discuss finding the balance between the new series and The Original Series. Star Trek: Strange New Worlds streams exclusively on Paramount+ in the U.S., U.K., Australia, Latin America, Brazil, South Korea, France, Italy, Germany, Switzerland and Austria. In addition, the series airs on Bell ...
Discovery, Strange New Worlds Studio Is Now the "Star Trek Stage"
Star Trek has a strong bond with Toronto; Pinewood Studios stage renamed to honor franchise's connection with Canada's largest city. Discovery's final season filmed in Toronto; Strange New Worlds ...
Prep Begins For 'Star Trek: Strange New Worlds' Season 3 Finale; Cast
The 10th and final episode of the season will be directed by Maja Vrvilo, a Paramount+ Trek veteran who has directed episodes of Discovery, Picard, and Strange New Worlds. Earlier this week, she ...

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