Strange New Worlds is a breath of fresh Star Trek air. Perhaps owing something to the inspired "Orville" take on ST, this series takes us back to the best qualities of starship adventures, negating the lesser values of "Discovery" and the tepid first season of "Picard."
However, this episode falls flat. It takes place mostly in a courtroom and involves endless dialog, a sure sign of a weakened episode in the annals of ST. Worst of all, one of the most important questions of the episode is never resolved, leaving a question in the viewers' minds. Was this an oversight? It doesn't help that Una's lawyer is overacting to a sometimes embarrassing degree. In the past, especially with "Next Generation", episodes involving trials are exceptional, especially with Patrick Stewart's eloquence and skill.
Luckily, this episode is an outlier, perhaps created to present a more "adult" aspect to the series. That may be, but it doesn't work as well because it ignores the strengths that makes "Strange New Worlds" such a compelling show. Seeing the pitfalls of the past two ST series, this stumble worries me about the quality of the rest of the episodes.
However, this episode falls flat. It takes place mostly in a courtroom and involves endless dialog, a sure sign of a weakened episode in the annals of ST. Worst of all, one of the most important questions of the episode is never resolved, leaving a question in the viewers' minds. Was this an oversight? It doesn't help that Una's lawyer is overacting to a sometimes embarrassing degree. In the past, especially with "Next Generation", episodes involving trials are exceptional, especially with Patrick Stewart's eloquence and skill.
Luckily, this episode is an outlier, perhaps created to present a more "adult" aspect to the series. That may be, but it doesn't work as well because it ignores the strengths that makes "Strange New Worlds" such a compelling show. Seeing the pitfalls of the past two ST series, this stumble worries me about the quality of the rest of the episodes.