The Season Finale forStar Trek: Strange New Worldsis here and the show aims its focus on what is going to eventually happen to Captain Pike and how the franchise gets handed off to the next generation of crew members, even if it’s not theStar Trek: The Next Generationcrew. More shows that a person can count have had some sort of story that is very similar. Thisepisode ofStrange New Worldstells the tale of the dangers of changing someone’s future. Fortunately, this version of that same trope has enough likable in it that the episode is still pretty good, but it does leave some questions unanswered.
Star Trek: Strange New Worldscontinues to be a show that seems like it’s too good to be relegated to a streaming platform that not everyone has access to. The show has a sense of humor that pops off the screen and it has acting from people that weren’t all that well known before the series launched. Anson Mount is the biggest name on the crew (apologies to Rebecca Romjin) but there are quite a few members of the cast who could be on the verge of big careers considering how well they perform in this show. That doesn’t mean everything is perfect, despite above average writing and above average acting, the Season Finale still has some serious problems.
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Theepisode ofStrange New Worldsstarts off gentle enough, with Captain Pike and the rest of the crew meeting with another captain of a mining colony. However, when Pike meets his son and that son is someone who dies in the future that Pike has been dreading since the beginning of the series, he decides to try and change the future. Once he makes that decision, his older self shows up and warns him that trying to warn the young man of his future, changes things in an “end of the world” kind of way.
This is also how the show actually handles the trope of “don’t change the future or else” better than those that have come before it. There are often plot holes where people wonder “ok but why did those changes happen.” There are some of those in this particular episode. Right at the top of the list is why the demeanors of Ortegas andNoonien-Singhare so different. In some ways, it’s almost as though they’ve switch personalities. There’s no explanation for this and it’s just up to the audience to figure out why. The problem is that there’s not even a clue as to why and while it’s not all that important, it does strike an odd chord.
Taken into the future, Pike finds himself in the thick of a brewing war between the Romulans and the Federation. It doesn’t take long at all for it to be explained just why his changing of the future has changed the way this particular series of events have also changed. That’s actually a nice touch because it doesn’t keepStar Trekfans wondering just what happened and why. It’s how other shows have failed in this regard. HowPike convinces Spockthat he’s from the future is also a nice touch that helps avoid the “why in the world do they believe him?”
That’s not to say there aren’t still questions about how the “old” future unfolded without the changes that Pike made. It’s the kind of question that anyStar Trekfan who really sits down to examine what happened is going to have. It’s the kind of question that always comes about from this kind of show. There are simply some questions a show like this can’t answer without becoming quite pedantic.
This episode ofStrange New Worldsalso finally brings a character into the forefront that’s been hinted atall season long in the form of James T. Kirk. His appearance has even been teased by the mention of “Kirk” though it’s turned out to be his brother Sam. This time around, Captain Kirk finally does show up and while he looks nothing like the KirkStar Trekfans are used to, the argument could be made that he is indeed simply the younger version of the beloved character.
Of course, his appearance also sparks yet another question. Because the show makes it very clear that if Pike doesn’t change the future, Pike and Kirk never become inextricably linked. It’s not clear whether the writers even really realize they’ve justchanged a massive part ofStar Treklore. While it might have been a bit harder to do, there are ways that things could have been changed with Kirk’s introduction that wouldn’t have changed that lore so completely. For whatever reason, the writers took this avenue and it will be interesting to see if they try and change that path in some ways in Season 2.
One of the things thisepisode ofStrange New Worldsdoes very well is show how the future unfolds from a couple of different angles. It also underlines that sometimes, leaving the future unchanged is indeed going to lead death, destruction, and sadness. The show does a very good job in reminding people that the “better” choice doesn’t mean the perfect choice. It shows people that there isn’t a choice where everyone comes out unscathed. It’s an interesting angle that some of the other shows that try and handle this trope end up missing. Far too often the two choices are “change the future and make things worse, or leave the future and basically solve all problems.”
Strange New Worlds' Season Finale is not a perfect show. There are some issues with some of the follow through but this remains one of the better attempts at “this is why you can’t change the future” that television has seen. The show also does a good job of teasing thefuture ofStar Trek, not just in the next season of this fantastic series, but also the future of the franchise in general in a way that is plenty fun.
Star Trek: Strange New WorldsSeason 1 is now available on Paramount Plus
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