Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, Season 4, Ep. 8 - Taking Kirk a Bold Step Further
By John Kirk
Rating: B-
Episode 408, titled “Orders of Magnitude” has a bit of weak premise. But in the end, we get an episode that typifies why James T. Kirk (Paul Wesley) is not just my favourite character (I know, big surprise) but the favourite of many other Star Trek fans.
It’s a story that rests on a few frail notions actually. The first is that the USS Farragut just happens to be in the same locale as the Enterprise. So, First Officer James Kirk arranges to visit Dr. M’Benga (Babs Olusanmokun) for the ostensible reason of following up on his injuries. Gotta love those reverse interstellar house calls.
The crew of the Enterprise trepidatiously ‘welcomes’ an emergency replacement captain.
The Enterprise also intercepts an SOS from a nearby planet. Pike (Anson Mount), First Officer Chin-Riley (Rebecca Romijn), Ensign Uhura (Celia Rose-Gooding) and Uhura’s protégé form an away party to investigate. Sadly, the planet’s caves will block all communications and transporter activity.
Finally, while the away team is occupied with their investigation, the legendary Admiral Regar (Joe Morton) of the Klingon Wars arrives unexpectedly to take command of the Enterprise to hunt for a Klingon Battlecruiser using a new detection technique. Time being of the essence, he takes command immediately, drafting Kirk to serve as his First Officer and abandoning the landing party on the planet.
Every long-term, die-hard Trek fan is going to cry havoc at the obvious breach of procedure this show rests upon. Of course, even if fans don’t complain, there’s an obvious weakness in the story in that this very premise just seems to defy common sense, never mind whatever imaginary Starfleet protocol. The rest of the crew going along with it just seems to make this dumb idea even worse. Leave the away team?
Admiral Regar however, is a legendary battle commander. This loose thread is what ties the whole episode together. He flatters Kirk by telling him that his father, George, served with him on board the USS Constitution during the Klingon Wars. And while this is still pretty weak, it opens the door for more insight in the developing nature of this Kirk’s character.
While it lacks some of the dramatic moments of conscience that Star Trek is famous for in its storytelling, this episode does serve to remind us of those moral quandaries. While Admiral Regar may not be the hero that he claims to be, we know that James Kirk is. This is one of those moments when the audience can ask: “What would James T. Kirk do?” and the answer they get would be acceptable.
Meanwhile, the landing party has its own hands full. Again, while loyal fans of this franchise would question why they would be left by themselves on the planet while the Enterprise is off hunting cloaked Klingon Battlecruisers, this sub-plot gives Uhura a chance to showcase her own development. After all, both she and Kirk are two of the formative characters who will show up in TOS. Backstory in this series is critical.
Observant fans will also notice a couple of developmental things as well. Admiral Regar’s uniform is of the Discovery brand. Clearly there’s a phasing in of the Discovery-era items to ease into regular canon. Also, George Kirk lived in this version of the franchise, severing any notion that the TV Star Trek is connected to J.J. Abrams’ cinematic Kelvin Universe.
Phew.
Fans will also notice that the method of detecting the mysterious (and unidentified) Klingon Battlecruiser is similar to one that was already used in a TOS film. I won’t say which, but I’ll ask astute fans to comment in response to this review and perhaps win a no-prize.
However, the big take-away is the continued development of James Kirk. Kirk’s character is dictated by honour and a strong sense of morality. We know he will violate the Prime Directive to do the right thing. We have seen Kirk follow his own conscience. These are moments that matter for this character’s growth.
Sure, he may be just a mere Lieutenant-Commander at this point, but we all know where he’s heading and this is a chance for the writers of this series to have some fun with his back-story.
Just don’t screw it up please? That’s all I ask.
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, Season 4, Ep. 8. Directed by Anna Kokoza. Starring Anson Mount, Ethan Peck, Jess Bush, Christina Chong, Babs Olusanmokun, Celia Rose-Gooding, Melissa Navia, Rebecca Romijn, Martin Quinn, Paul Wesley, Dan Jeanotte, Currie Graham, Joe Morton
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds streams on Paramount Plus and can be seen on CTV’s Sci-Fi Channel on Thursdays.