TL;DR – This is one of those episodes that, structurally, I should love, but is filled with these moments that pull you out of the narrative.

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

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Introduction –

Today, we are looking at a bit of a frustrating episode of Star Trek, because it is filled with incredible highs and, unfortunately, deep lows. It is one of those contrasts that can derail an episode, which is what happened here to an extent. It is filled to the brim with all these classical elements that make it shine, but which crash against serial elements that pull it all apart.  

So, to set the scene, the USS Enterprise have been invited by the M’Kroon to the planet Vadia IX. The M’Kroon are a very wary people and have politely declined Federation involvement in the past. But Roger Korby (Cillian O’Sullivan) has found a magnetic anomaly in one of their most sacred locations. After much work from Nurse Chapel (Jess Bush) and Christopher Pike (Anson Mount), the M’Kroon have allowed a small landing party to explore the site. Only to discover there may be more to this place than meets the eye. Now, from here, we will be looking at the episode as a whole, so there will be [SPOILERS] ahead.

Plot Analysis

While there were a lot of frustrating elements to this episode, I do want to say that the highs are still there. The design of the M’Kroon was stunning, and I am sad we only got to see one of them. The idea of the prison being one room but in multiple dimensions was an interesting setup. Even that it was a prison in the first place, was a novel twist. This leaves the away team trying to work together in groups to save themselves, while the crew on the ship is fighting whatever Ensign Gamble (Chris Myers) has become. All of this combines into an extraordinarily strong classic episode of Star Trek. We have our A-Plot and B-Plot all working in tandem, Red Shirts getting taken out, and a moral conundrum or two. All anchored by a command performance by Chris Myers, and even a great fight scene with Gorn Batel (Melanie Scrofano) as a help.

However, where this episode failed was when they tried to force the serialised elements into an episode that did not need them. Creating unnecessary conflict that detracted from the episode’s natural tension. The love square between Korby-Chapel-Spock (Ethan Peck)-Noonien-Singh (Christina Chong) was already getting frustrating in last week’s A Space Adventure Hour; however, here it starts pulling you out of the episode. The primary example of this is after Gamble gets his eyes exploded, we had to sit through a fight from Korby and Chapel about whether they stay or not. They try to guilt Spock into staying, given they think their relationship had something to do with him wanting to leave, when even without knowing, they had just realised an evil in the world, having one of your crew set off a surprise ordnance would 100% be a logical reason to pause the exploration. It made Korby and Chaple look petty, and Spock look like an ineffectual leader.

Conclusion

In the end, do we recommend Star Trek: Strange New Worlds – Through the Lens of Time? I feel bad that I had such an adverse reaction to this episode because it was Chris Myers’ episode to shine, and boy, does he. It is just that I now have serious concerns with the rest of this season if this is the level of emotional discourse we will be exploring. Have you seen Star Trek: Strange New Worlds – Through the Lens of Time yet? Drop your impressions in the comments below.

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.

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Credits – All images were created by the cast, crew, and production companies of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds
Directed by – Andi Armaganian
Written by – Onitra Johnson & 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, Martin Quinn & Rebecca Romijn with Cillian O’Sullivan, Melanie Scrofano, Dan Jeannotte, Mynor Luken, Chris Myers & Carol Kane and David MacInnis & Ish Morris