SiftPop

by Nick Ferro, Contributing Writer

The sophomore slump. This is a term often used to describe a television show when it experiences a decline in quality in its second season after a very successful first entry. Some shows that have suffered from this are Westworld, True Detective, and Prison Break. With the monumental first season of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds in 2022, it was almost inevitable that a slump would occur. How do you top the best first season of any Star Trek show in the franchise’s history? A franchise which already had 879 episodes prior to the start of Season Two. Quite frankly, it’s a miracle that they are even able to come up with new ideas for the show, and be creative enough to feel fresh and original, without having to worry about being as good as Strange New Worlds Season One. So where does Season Two fall? A definite slump? Better than the first? Good enough? I think my answer would be… yes? (Depending on the episode.)

To properly judge a season of TV, we need to look at what the first season did well and determine if Season Two lived up to the task. One element that I really love from Season One is the ensemble cast. This incredibly (and unfairly) talented and attractive group of performers all bring their A game once again to Season Two. 

“I was thoroughly unprepared for how hot young Spock was going to be”

Beckett Mariner

No longer having to worry about introductions really allows the individual cast members to flesh out their characters, and shine in unique ways. As I said in my Season One review, I could do a whole paragraph on the merits of all 10 of the main cast, and that remains true of this season. Each character that gets their own episode deserves an MVP shoutout, especially Babs Olusanmokun, but I will focus on the actual MVP, who I believe is Ethan Peck’s Spock. This season sees him temporarily become captain of the Enterprise; turned into a full human and be forced to participate in a Vulcan ritual with his in-laws; experiment with acting more human; have relationship troubles with his fiancée T’Pring (Gia Sandhu), as well as with Nurse Chapel (Jess Bush); have two big musical numbers during. Despite every twist and turn that this season throws at him, Peck takes this character to new depths, and is able to bring forth an era of this character that is fresh and exciting. Spock is probably the most iconic character in Star Trek, and Peck continues that legacy without even blinking. One of my favorite elements of this season, and fans of The Next Generation may enjoy this too, is Spock experimenting with human emotions in a very similar way to Data, and yet he makes it his own. This has upset some longtime fans who believe Spock should remain emotionless, but I, for one, love how the writers nod to that directly by having it addressed in a very natural way in an episode I will get to later.

“Does Spock always laugh or is this new?”

Bradward Boimler

Another aspect Season Two improves upon is the extra focus given to its guest stars, as it allows them to be at the forefront in several episodes. In Episode Two, Yetide Badaki guest stars as Una’s (Rebecca Romijn) lawyer. She is given the most to do in an episode that not only pays homage to the great courtroom episodes of Star Trek, but also points a mirror at our own society regarding the way we treat those different from ourselves. Despite the on-the-nose metaphorical dialogue, her powerful performance allows you to forget that the show is yelling a message at you. Although, the episode does actual courtroom-ing wrong (you can’t introduce new evidence in your closing statement, folks). 

In Episode Four, character actor and famous “that guy,” Reed Birney, plays a man who decides to help Captain Pike (Anson Mount), who is trapped on a planet that makes you forget, during an away mission. Birney’s performance is another great example of an amazing character who is not the episode focus, but who helps deliver the emotional punch of the episode: Is it better to live in blissful ignorance, or let the pain of past memories shape who you become? 

In Episode Five, we get guest appearances from Mia Kirshner as Amanda Grayson (Spock’s Mom), as well as Ellora Patnaik and Michael Benyaer, as Spock’s in-laws, who are able to take the clichéd trope of the in-laws being in town from every sitcom ever and give them a hilarious Star Trek twist. 

In another episode, we get an outstanding guest appearance by Robert Wisdom, who Klingon warlord-turned-ambassador Dak’Rah. 

But by far, the best guest star roles of the season are in Episode Seven. Tawny Newsome and Jack Quaid appear as their Lower Decks characters, Mariner and Boimler, in a crossover episode for the ages. They are both so incredibly charming and hilarious as these characters, and they bring a physicality to the roles that not only do their animated characters justice, but also translates perfectly to live action. This episode could have easily been a jump the shark moment with the potential to harm both shows, but they instead deliver not only the best episode of the season, but my favorite episode of the show to date. 

“Hey, what’s the future like? Do you have jetpacks or what?”

Erica Ortegas

This brings us to the James Kirk-sized elephant in the room, as he appears in three of the 10 episodes this season. Paul Wesley was introduced as Kirk in the finale of Season One, and was met with mixed reception; I personally didn’t feel he was well suited for the role. However, considering he was introduced in an alternate timeline episode, I was willing to give him the benefit of the doubt. He was then brought into Episode Three of Season Two in another alternate timeline episode (a different alt timeline), which allowed him to portray the character differently again, but again, even though I did not like what I saw, I had to take it with a grain of salt. We finally get the prime timeline Lt. Kirk in Episode Six, and it’s just bizarre that the writers thought this rollout strategy for one of the most iconic Trek characters was smart. I do have to say, they nail the way to introduce him with the characters. His friendship with Uhura (Celia Rose Gooding) is fun and endearing, and his introduction to Spock is simple yet meaningful to anyone who has been waiting for this moment. But I still am unsure of the performance. It is way too subtle for a character that is supposed to be larger than life. Characters on screen tell me that he is ambitious and even cocky at times, but I am not seeing it yet, except for during interactions with his brother Sam (Dan Jeannotte). I personally think we saw way too much of Kirk in the show up to this point; however, I have a theory that the writers added him in to compensate for Mount’s paternity leave, which coincided with the filming of this season. We get so much less of Pike this season, and it is definitely noticeable due to there only being 10 episodes per season. So the overuse of Kirk, and underuse of Pike, aside, in terms of acting and characters, mark this category a huge check in the positive for living up to and even surpassing the previous season.

“James, meet our chief science officer, Mr. Spock. Spock, meet James Kirk, first officer of the Farragut.”

Nyota Uhura

What about the stories, you ask? Well, in Season One, the episodes excelled by being standalone, adventure-of-the-week stories with a strong focus on character work, while delivering fun, strange, new worlds to explore, and new alien cultures to discover. Each week, we went somewhere new and learned more about our main characters. In Season Two there is a much heavier focus on character, which I loved. But, unfortunately, there is a lot less focus on the strange new worlds aspect of the show. That is, unless you count the corridors of the Enterprise, a replica of small-town USA, or Toronto a strange new world… okay, maybe Toronto. This is where the cracks start to show, and you can see the production constraints. Only two of the 10 episodes actually take place on a strange new world. So I will give this season partial credit for being strange new world-adjacent in a few additional episodes. At times, a character will momentarily leave the ship, but when that occurs, it is hard to not look at the vacant, clearly green screen/volume wall environment and realize they are trying to avoid building additional sets. 

The locations of each story aside, a concern I had that persists from last season is providing a satisfying, logical explanation when it comes to wrapping up the Star Trek problem. I was often left asking the question, “Why did X happen in relation to Y.” As an example, in the finale, Spock says that he must be the person to go on a specific mission, as only he, a Vulcan, can successfully complete it. But then the mission is portrayed as something any human could have done. The writers leave out small details in each episode that help the audience understand the world they are viewing. The most egregious example occurs in Episode Eight which focuses very heavily on Dr. M’Benga (Olusanmokun). The episode is one of the most powerful, and one of my favorites, of the season. It is an interesting look at how war effects people, and how those who never experienced it firsthand live with a level of privilege that prevents them from understanding its true horrors. But after rewatching the episode two more times, it became apparent that the metaphor is more important to the writers than the logic of the episode. When the story loses itself in the metaphor, I lose my connection to the narrative and begin to ask questions. Because something like this occurs in almost every episode, this season is not quite up to the standards of Season One.

“Some things break in a way that can never be repaired… only managed.”

Dr. Joseph M’Benga

As I mentioned up top, this season of Strange New Worlds constitutes episodes 880 through 889 of the series overall. With that many episodes of anything, it’s difficult to be original. Several times this season feel like the writers returning to the old episode well to reuse ideas from the past. I previously mentioned the courtroom episode, which is very similar to “Drumhead” from TNG, which tackles racial prejudices and a character lying on his Starfleet application to hide that he is half Romulan. Episode Three of SNW is another time travel episode with many elements reminiscent of Picard Season Two (which is not the flex they think it is). It is a play on last season’s body swap episode, “Spock Amok,” in which Spock has to navigate shenanigans involving being half Vulcan, T’Pring (Gia Sandhu), and Nurse Chapel. And “Under the Cloak of War” has elements of “The Wounded” from TNG, in which Chief O’Brien (Colm Meaney) has to convince a commanding officer to let go of old hatreds created by war. It also evokes Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country,where humans and Klingons have to put aside old hatreds. For the most part, I enjoyed each attempt at replicating an older episode or movie with a new angle (except for Episode Three; that episode is the worst). They each do a fairly decent job, but I wish they had done better to hide the similarities. It is inevitable that some episodes resemble others. In fact, if you rewatch The Original Series and TNG back to back, you will see a ton of recycled episode ideas that don’t even attempt to hide their similarities. 

“It’s not you I hate, Cardassian. I hate what I became, because of you.”

Chief Miles Edward O’Brien

On the flip side, this season gives us two completely unique situations that audiences have never experienced in Star Trek before. “Those Old Scientists” is the first time that animated characters are brought into a live action setting. Yes, in the past, we have seen characters on different shows cross over, like Scotty in TNG or the Deep Space Nine cast in “Trials and Tibble-ations.” We haven’t seen a crossover like this since they used TNG as a soft introduction for the DS9 characters, and Picard appeared in the pilot of DS9. Having characters from an animated comedy jump to live action and show that their seemingly genre-specific style could translate to a different medium was fun and unique. It’s a prime example of how the existing connected universe can lead to multiple shows building off themselves in this new generation of Trek. It especially gives me a ton of hope for the future of the franchise and the proposed Star Trek: Legacy project. 

This season also gives us the first ever Star Trek musical episode. I truly believe that every single show should attempt a musical at least once, though, to be fair, I am a guy who loves musicals. Couple that with serious characters acting counter to their programing, and you’ve guaranteed my enjoyment. That episode is right up my alley, but I can understand if some people are turned off to the idea. Regardless of your feelings about musicals, I believe this episode is executed well. The story’s reason for everyone singing makes sense, is fun and original, and the singing by most of the cast is astounding. It should come as no surprise to anyone that Gooding has earned a Grammy, and Christina Chong just released a new album. I love that they were allowed an opportunity to flex a muscle that you wouldn’t expect in a Star Trek episode. The dance choreography is the one area of this episode that is lacking. It isn’t bad, but for all the great singing, they don’t have the dance moves to match. I was reminded constantly of my own high school’s musical production choreography. For all the positives in the originality of these two episodes, I can’t exactly give the whole season a check in the win category. I’m not ready to say it was a slump, but it may be a situation where your mileage may vary.

“Apologies, the most confounding thing, I appear to be singing…”

Spock

The highlight of this season, and the show as a whole, is the heart that it has in almost every episode. A resounding win across the board for this category. It is just so easy to fall in love with every character. Whether it be due to their charm, the chemistry they have with others, how adorable they can be, or how funny they are, these characters make the show glow. I can’t help but root for them to succeed, or fear for them when in danger. After the events of Una’s trial, and learning why the phrase, “Ad astra per aspera,” is important to her, we get a callback with Ensign Boimler in Episode Seven. Learning that, in the future, Una will be the poster woman for Starfleet recruitment, and that “Ad astra per aspera” is on the posters, is very sweet. But to hear Boimler tell Una that she was one of his inspirations for joining Starfleet, and seeing her reaction, is not only an amazing moment for Strange New Worlds, but for Star Trek as a series. 

“Your flagrant disregard for temporal protocols by telling me this is deeply troubling. But thanks, all the same.”

Una Chin Riley

Overall, I would rate this season far from a sophomore slump, but it is also a step down from Season One. I truly don’t think there was ever a chance that it could live up to Season One, simply because of how great that season was right out of the gate. I said it before, and I will say it again: The only real negative criticism I have for this show is that 10 episodes per season is just not enough when telling week-to-week adventures. I love that this franchise can be comedy and drama, but when there are only 10 episodes, you risk alienating your audience by giving them tonal whiplash. I, however, will not be alienated from this show. It is the bright light in my week that allows me to both feel nostalgia for the past, as well as excitement for the future. I am disappointed to hear that Season Three will most likely be delayed to summer 2025 because the AMPTP believes that writers and actors don’t deserve to be fairly compensated for their work. Sadly, due to the delay, when it returns, some people may fall off the Strange New Worlds train, but not me. “I cannae do it captain; I don’t have the power!”

Rating: Loved it

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds is currently streaming on Paramount+

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You can read more from Nick Ferro, and follow him on Twitter and Letterboxd