TV Assessment: ‘Star Trek: Strange New Worlds’ Season 2

Returning to Paramount+ on June fifteenth, the second season of ‘Star Trek: Strange New Worlds’ continues the robust storytelling and adventure-of-the-week fashion that made the primary season work.

It’s a welcome return for Anson Mount’s Captain Christopher Pike and the remainder of the crew, who discover themselves as soon as extra confronting some traditional science fiction ideas whereas additionally bonding as a unit.

Ethan Peck as Spock in season 2 of ‘Star Trek: Strange New Worlds,’ streaming on Paramount+, 2023. Photo: Michael Gibson/Paramount+.

What’s the story of ‘Star Trek: Strange New Worlds?

Space…. The ultimate frontier. Yes, the acquainted chorus from the beginning of the unique ‘Star Trek’ continues to outline this newest tackle the franchise. It’s the persevering with mission of the Starship Enterprise because it explores the titular unusual new worlds, seeks out new life and new civilizations and all that boldly going stuff everyone knows so effectively.

For its second season, the present continues the mix of serialization and episodic adventures that labored in final 12 months’s first run of episodes. Initially, it picks up a few the threads left dangling from the tip of Season 1 –– Lt. La’an Noonien-Singh (Christina Chong) taking go away from the ship to assist a younger survivor of the Gorn assaults discover her household, and Starfleet prosecuting First Officer Una Chin-Riley (Rebecca Romijn) for hiding her genetically enhanced nature.

Once these are handled, it’s on to the acquainted, efficient combine of constant character arcs and new science fiction adventures, together with Spock (Ethan Peck) having to cope with a tough Vulcan ritual involving his potential in-laws whereas in a good trickier state, Noonien-Singh concerned in a time journey journey, Pike, Doctor M’Benga (Babs Olusanmokun) and their touchdown celebration stranded on a planet the place reminiscences are wiped each evening and Ensign Uhura (Celia Rose Gooding) in touch with aliens that talk by way of desires and symbolism.

Celia Rose Gooding as Uhura in season 2 of ‘Star Trek: Strange New Worlds,’ streaming on Paramount+, 2023. Photo: Michael Gibson/Paramount+.

Who else seems in ‘Star Trek: Strange New Worlds’?

In addition to the principle forged, the present additionally options André Dae Kim, Gia Sandhu, Adrian Holmes, Melanie Scrofano, Dan Jeannotte, and notably Paul Wesley as a sure Captain James T. Kirk.

(L to R) Christina Chong as La’an and Paul Wesley as Kirk in season 2 of ‘Star Trek: Strange New Worlds,’ streaming on Paramount+, 2023. Photo: Michael Gibson/Paramount+.

Is ‘Star Trek: Strange New Worlds’ price watching?

Live-action ‘Star Trek’ within the present TV has been led by the moody and critical ‘Discovery’, which, whereas it does have its flashes of humor, is rather more targeted on the drama facet. ‘Star Trek Picard’ managed to search out its footing when it comes to mixing laughs and motion in its third season, however it’s ‘Strange New Worlds’ that has emerged because the champion of mixing an old-school ‘Trek’ really feel with a extra modern storytelling fashion.

Partly all of it works so effectively due to the casting –– it is a crew that you just actually consider truly desires to spend time collectively, and that transfers over on to the viewing expertise. These are folks you’d be completely happy to only hang around with, even when they weren’t additionally coping with thrilling area adventures.

Anson Mount as Capt. Pike in ‘Star Trek: Strange New Worlds,’ streaming on Paramount+, 2023. Photo: Michael Gibson/Paramount+.

Related Article: Rebecca Romijn and Anson Mount Talk ‘Star Trek: Strange New Worlds’ Season 2

Mount continues to play Pike with a profitable mixture of gravitas and relatability –– when he’s not barking orders, he’s cooking or spending time with fellow captain Batel (Scrofano), a mannequin of act as a grown up in a relationship you nearly want the longer term Captain Kirk had been taking notes on.

Peck’s Spock continues to be a powerful, worthy tackle the long-lasting character, the actor in a position to play all of the completely different shades. If the romantic reference to Bush’s Nurse Chapel isn’t all the time as genuine because the present desires us to consider, it doesn’t, at the very least, hurt both character. And he’s additionally a part of a comic book spotlight of the season thus far.

Rebecca Romijn as Una in ‘Star Trek: Strange New Worlds’ season 2, streaming on Paramount+, 2023. Photo: Michael Gibson/Paramount+.

Around them, the remainder of the forged continues to excel. Some of the characters who had spotlights final season take one thing of a again seat right here (it’s absolutely not spoiling something to narrate that Number One’s trial ends favorably, however after that she has rather less to do), however the sharing of airtime is a welcome one, giving a number of the junior officers extra to do.

New this 12 months is star of stage and display screen Carol Kane, who slots in completely as new, alien chief engineer Pelia. A being with a startlingly lengthy lifespan, a novel perspective to life in Starfleet and an uncommon method about her feels prefer it was written for Kane to painting. The solely draw back is we don’t get to have her work together with the remainder of the crew practically sufficient, at the very least within the six episodes of the season’s 10 supplied to critics.

Carol Kane as Pelia in season 2 of ‘Star Trek: Strange New Worlds,’ streaming on Paramount+, 2023. Photo: Paramount+

And speaking of surprising characters, we’re additionally promised a crossover with animated ‘Trek’ sequence ‘Lower Decks’ as Tawny Newsom and Jack Quaid embody the live-action variations of Ensigns Mariner and Boimler that they voice on the opposite present. That episode wasn’t on the record of these on provide, however let’s be sincere; if any ‘Trek’ sequence can deal with a crossover with a joke-heavy cartoon present with out struggling, it’s absolutely ‘Strange New Worlds .

The missions are a combined bag –– some, reminiscent of in episode 1, ‘The Broken Circle’, permit for lots of enjoyable (Spock and a number of the different crew stealing the Enterprise to assist one in every of their very own riffs on ‘Star Trek III: The Search for Spock’), whereas others ‘The Lotus’ Eaters’ memory-resetting planet looks like a well-used trope that isn’t given fairly sufficient of a spin right here.

But on the entire, ‘Strange New Worlds’ continues its spectacular juggling act, the dramatic and warmly comedic sides nonetheless sitting comfortably in alignment. And it’s reassuring to know that there’s, nowadays, a mode of ‘Star Trek’ to go well with so many tastes. Long could these voyages proceed.

‘Star Trek: Strange New ’ receives 8.5 out of 10 stars.

(L to R) Jess Bush as Chapel, Celia Rose Gooding as Shura, Ethan Peck as Spock, Anson Mount as Pike, Rebecca Romijn as Una, Babs Olusanmokun as M’Benga, Christina Chong as La’an and Melissa Navia as Ortegas of ‘Star Trek: Strange New Worlds,’ streaming on Paramount+, 2023. Photo: Pari Dukovic/Paramount+.

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