Star Trek: Strange New Worlds: Season 2

   

Based on: 

spin-off of Star Trek: Discovery (2017), which is in turn a spin-off of Star Trek the original series (1966)

Created by: 

Akiva Goldsman, Alex Kurtzman, Jenny Lumet

Written by: 

Akiva Goldsman, Henry Alonso Myers, Dana Horgan, David Reed, Kirsten Beyer, Davy Perez, Kathryn Lyn, Onitra Johnson, Bill Wolkoff

Starring: 

Anson Mount (Captain Pike), Ethan Peck (Spock), Jesse Bush (Dr. Chapel), Christina Chong (La'an Noonien-Singh), Celia Rose Gooding (Nyota Uhura), Melissa Navia (Erica Ortegas), Babs Olusanmokun (Joseph M'Benga), Bruce Horak (Hemmer), Rebecca Romijn (Una Chin-Riley)

Strange New Worlds season 2 trailer:

My attitudes toward season 2 of Strange New Words ("SNW") have been very similar to how I felt about its premiere season, which I also reviewed when that aired. My biggest complaint remains: the series feels like it tries too hard to be modern. Instead of just letting itself be, it seems to strive to earn its place and connect with today's audiences, as if it's yelling "I deserve to be here! No really, I do!" It's the same sense, no more and no less, that I felt in the first season, so I'll let the previous review (linked in this paragraph) do the explaining. I'll just summarize that it has to do with an overly futuristic bridge, edgy hairstyles, and too-modern lingo. 

The bridge in SNW, with its dark atmosphere and twinkling, colorful displays that I maintain are part of its excessive efforts to feel modern 

The actual writing and production value of this season have maintained quality. Even though Star Trek as a franchise seems to revolve around episodic, non-serialized stories (as in, each episode largely stands alone), each episode does a good job with developing characters on an individual basis and carrying forward season-long story arcs that are based around the individual. Something I've admired in every iteration of Star Trek, new and old, is the sheer imagination in developing intriguing sci-fi concepts. In this season, a couple concepts that impressed me were a planet where the characters forget who they are and another episode that confronts genetic prejudice within Starfleet itself. (Admittedly not sci-fi, but still an intriguing concept.) 

A young James Kirk (Paul Wesley) who guest-stars in multiple episodes this season 

A new character this season, Pelia (Carol Kane), who becomes chief engineer; her snarky attitude and extensive experience make for quirky and fun situations 

Another interesting thing that Star Trek does as a whole and that this season emphasized was moral ambiguity. I remember several episodes of various Star Trek seasons where I was left genuinely wondering whether our honor-bound main crew did the right thing. In "Under the Cloak of War," the Enterprise hosts a Klingon who fought savagely against Starfleet in an earlier war, but is now recognized as an honored ally. To exacerbate the already-conflicting sentiments surrounding his presence, several crewmembers were involved in battle against him in an earlier war and were directly affected by his brutality. These individuals harbor ongoing trauma related to the war and his actions, and treating him as a guest does not come easily. The episode brings up ideas of processing the past, forgiveness versus resentment, and whether people truly change. The end of the episode presented an outcome that truly angered me, and despite the episode's resolution, I felt that justice was not done. However, I don't mind having these lingering feelings-- I think they're a mark of a well-written episode that truly engaged me. 

A couple other episodes stood out to me for both positive and negative reasons. "Those Old Scientists" presented a very unique crossover with another currently-airing iteration of Star Trek, the animated and comedic Lower Decks. Although I haven't watched much of Lower Decks, I was really impressed by how they managed to crossover a live action with an animated series, and even more so, how they managed to balance the tone between the respectively comedic and self-serious series. The other standout was "Subspace Rhapsody," which was.... musical. *Sigh.* I definitely enjoy a good musical; I love me some Disney and Broadway, and whatever other media that incorporates musical numbers. But SNW I just couldn't do. This series has a serious and dramatic tone, and I couldn't bring myself to accept these characters simply breaking out into song, no matter how they reasoned around it in the episode (and they did try). I gave it a tiny chance and then just skipped the episode when I couldn't break through cringe. 

Beckett and Brad from Lower Decks in their live action counterparts on SNW, played by their voice actors in the former, Jack Quaid and Tawny Newsome

Overall, I just can't quite bring myself to enjoy SNW as much as other Star Trek iterations I've watched due to that sense of "trying too hard" that I touched on in the first paragraph. The sense that the characters are fighting for my attention and affection comes back every episode, and blocks the show from organically setting itself up in my mind as just a fun, good show. Despite this, each episode has a great plot, and the writing is on par with the rest of the franchise, all of which more than keeps my attention.