Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Episode 2 // Review
NOTE: This article is about the second episode of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds entitled Children of the Comet. There will be some spoilers. You have been warned.
Two episodes in, and Star Trek: Strange New Worlds plays right into the title by showing off a set of strange and new species and ideologies. Shockingly, it even plays into some of the strengths of Star Trek without even trying.
Entitled Children of the Comet, Captain Christopher Pike (Anson Mount) and the crew of the USS Enterprise are literally stuck between a rock and a hard place. A comet is destined to collide with a populated planet, whose people are literally clueless to their fate. Not only is the Prime Directive staring Pike and the Enterprise in the face, but so are the comet’s guardians - intent on letting the comet collide with the planet.
Need someone to blunder into danger? Ask for a Kirk!
This episode is, quite frankly, another great showing for the cast and crew. When the casting was first announced, there was some trepidation with several of the crew being prequel iterations of The Original Series characters. While we had seen what had been done with Spock, Pike, and Number One in Discovery, they were all ultimately bit players and guest-stars compared to a larger cast. Seeing Uhura as a younger incarnation, for example, did bring up some concern.
That said, those concerns should no longer be needed: Celia Rose Gooding is fantastic as Uhura. One of the earliest scenes in the episode features a delightful piece of acting from Rose Gooding, fleshing out Uhura’s background and her motivation for joining Starfleet. It is genuinely a fantastic scene, and fleshes out everyone involved. Again, this only goes to show that Strange New Worlds is coming from a source of love and care.
As for the episode itself, it’s a traditional format. The episode splits in two stories: one with an away team on the comet itself, exploring a strange ancient structure, and a second story with Pike and the Enterprise facing off against The Shepards and trying to find an even ground between holy war and global genocide. In some traditional television shows, one of these would be a lesser story with a smaller focus or contain an easier story to settle. This is not the case with Children of the Comet.
When scans of the comet show an ancient structure, an away team made of Spock (Ethan Peck), Uhura (Celia Rose Gooding), Noonien-Singh (Christina Chong), and Kirk (Dan Jeannotte) are sent to investigate. Adding to Uhura’s nervousness is the fact that this is literally her first away mission, and Lt. Kirk is now in danger of dying after blundering into a trap. Kirks do as they must, I suppose.
Meanwhile, the Enterprise is in a Mexican standoff with a previously-unknown species known as the Shepherds. These aliens have made it their mission to follow the comet across the empty wastes of space, as it provides life to each world it passes. It’s against their religion (for lack of a better name) to even touch the comet, and Pike’s crew have been all over it since they arrived. Unfortunately, the Shepherds also completely outgun the Enterprise, and are willing to destroy the ship to stop them.
Of course, both plots end with the Enterprise and her crew intact. It’s a prequel series, we know that this has to end out ok. After all, the Enterprise needs to show up in The Original Series, as does a third of the cast at this point. However, how it ends is truly unexpected, and a delight. This is Star Trek at its best, and even fans of the “shooty-shooty” Star Trek incarnations can get their fill, with the Enterprise flying in combat that would make even the oldest and grumpiest fan smile with delight.
It’s another great episode for Strange New Worlds, and it feels like the rough early seasons of Discovery and Picard were the training wheels it took to reach this place. If this show keeps up the quality, those seasons of rough Trek were worth it.
