One of the most well-regarded shows in the streaming era has been Strange New Worlds, which takes viewers back to The Enterprise just a few years before William Shatner’s tenure at the helm with Anson Mount’s Christopher Pike. Mount first played the role memorably on Star Trek: Discovery.
While Strange New Worlds is set to conclude with its fifth season, there is still the small matter of its fourth to deal with first, surely laying the foundations for a memorable swansong. This particular show has managed to balance both overarching narratives with bottle episodes and wild genre swings, and this season is no exception.
Genre Swings and Horror Elements
The second episode, “The Griffin Incident”, incorporates elements of a ghost ship story and horror, something the show hasn’t shied away from previously. It is these wild genre stories and shifts in tone that have captivated viewers, familiar and new to the Star Trek universe. Along with the horror elements, there are moments of comedy and an episode made with Jim Henson’s Creature Shop, combining two iconic names. Previous seasons have seen musical episodes and a live-action crossover with the animated show Lower Decks.
For all the praise this has brought, there is a sense of frustration that the show doesn’t always have a concise, clear identity. Again, at points in this season some characters are better served than others. Rebecca Romijn’s Una Chin-Riley can feel like she serves little purpose, a frustration given she has the potential to be among the show’s most interesting.
Cast and Character Focus
With such a sprawling cast, inevitably there will be some characters pushed to the periphery. Captain Pike, sometimes a side character in his own show, is given plenty to do while Christina Chong remains a delight as La’An Noonien-Singh, grappling with her heritage increasingly as the show progresses – the iconic villain Khan of the original series and Wrath of Khan, a direct descendant.
This season of Strange New Worlds does impressively build on narrative strands from across the show as we move towards a point where the ship and crew are as they were found in 1966 while giving this cast the sendoff they deserve. It’s a delicate balancing act to make a show that feels like an homage and extension of the original series while pushing the franchise in bold new directions, no easy task for a show that’s been on air on and off for 60 years.
Verdict
Even when it’s stumbled with some of the risks it has taken, the show should be applauded for continuing to expand the franchise’s fanbase and not simply play it safe. This season again contains some wild swings; they might not all land, but at its best this is an advert for what Star Trek should be in 2026.
This season has all the ingredients that have made this one of the best Star Trek shows of recent years; the cast is on top form, the genre mashups keep the audience on their toes and at its heart is that sense of fun and escapism that brought The Enterprise and her crew to the masses. It might be a different cast playing the crew now, but the show still has the Gene Roddenberry spirit and plenty more besides. Days with this particular iteration of The Enterprise crew might be numbered, but they continue to boldly go where no one has gone before in style.
