TL;DR – This episode brought a smile to my face from the moment it started till the second those end credits rolled.

Disclosure – I paid for the Paramount+ streaming service that viewed this episode. 

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Review –

Well, this week, we get the incredible joy of having not one but two episodes of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds. However, they could not be more different as we jump from the joyful romp of Those Old Scientists to a deep exploration of grief and loss and the wounds of war are laid bare.

So to set the scene, the USS Enterprise has rendezvous with the USS Kelcie Mae to collect the Federation ambassador Dak’Rah (Robert Wisdom) from the Prospero System. An ambassador who is a Klingon who defected during the War. This is difficult for many of the crew who fought during the Federation-Klingon War, for example, Chapple (Jess Bush) and M’Benga (Babs Olusanmokun), who were posted on the Moon of J’gal. How do you break bread with a man soaked in the blood of innocents? Now from here, we will be looking at the episode as a whole, so there will be [SPOILERS] ahead.  

This is not a comfortable episode because it dives into a side of Starfleet and the Federation that we have not seen outside of episodes of Deep Space Nine like Nor the Battle to the Strong, and I don’t think it was a coincidence that Pike (Anson Mount) cooked jambalaya. There are some difficult issues raised here to which there are no simple answers. How do you stay polite when confronted by someone who has done real evil? How far do the ideals of the Federation go when pushed to the very edge? Do you let someone die to save the lives of others?

Under the Cloak of War is an episode predicated on the performances to make it work, and here I must give credit to Babs Olusanmokun. Much of his performance is through the eyes, and you feel that in your soul. His verbal and physical sparring with Dak’Rah was unsettling as you felt the unrestrained anger just sitting under the surface, ready to break out. It is an episode where you can see the ending coming, but that is not a relief, and the episode does not give you a nice easy answer to tie up the moral lesson.  

We spent a lot of time this week in a flashback to the Moon of J’gal, or as they call it, the digital set. Part of this was clearly Science Fiction M*A*S*H, but it gets a lot of substance in a short run time. Not only do we get some background into Chapple and M’Benga, but we get a couple of small stories that help take us out of the location. You also need it because that ending needs some substance behind it for it to work.

So in the end, do we recommend Star Trek: Strange New Worlds – Under the Cloak of War? One of the strengths of this series is its ability to dive into many different genres and tones. I think they did a good job exploring the issues around war, and I am glad they left it at an uncomfortable point rather than trying to tie it up. From here, we get to take an even more giant swing next week to a place that Star Trek has not gone before.  

By Brian MacNamara: You can follow Brian on Twitter Here, when he’s not chatting about Movies and TV, he’ll be talking about International Relations, or the Solar System.

Have you seen Star Trek: Strange New Worlds yet ?, let us know what you thought in the comments below, feel free to share this review on any of the social medias and you can follow us Here. Check out all our past reviews and articles Here, and have a happy day.    

Credits – All images were created by the cast, crew, and production companies of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds
Directed by – Jeff W. Byrd
Written by – Davy Perez
Created by – Akiva Goldsman, Alex Kurtzman & Jenny Lumet
Based On – Star Trek Created by Gene Roddenberry
Production/Distribution Companies – CBS Television Studios, Roddenberry Entertainment, Secret Hideout & Paramount+
Starring – Anson Mount, Ethan Peck, Jess Bush, Christina Chong, Celia Rose Gooding, Melissa Navia, Babs Olusanmokun & Rebecca Romijn with Robert Wisdom & Clint Howard with Saida Ali, Ryan Allen, Carolyne Das, Rong Fu, Kyle Gatehouse, Jose Gutierrez, Brendan Jeffers, Alex Kapp & Vanessa Smythe