Where to stream it? Paramount+
Directed by: Amanda Row
Written by: David Reed
Starring: Anson Mount, Rebecca Romjin, Ethan Peck, Jess Bush, Christina Chong, Celia Rose Gooding, Melissa Navia, Babs Olusanmokun, Carol Kane, Paul Wesley
NOTE: This is a spoiler free review. As this episode is filled with plenty of “can’t miss” moments, I will use little plot details unless needed for review purposes.
For the third episode of season 2, Strange New Worlds breaks off the beaten path. It’s less phasers and starships and although it's a much different kind of sci-fi epic, it's one that works well.
This is probably my favorite episode yet of the three that have aired, even if it’s such a marked departure from the previous two. “Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow” takes a focus squarely on Christina Chong’s La’an Noonien-Singh. When a stranger boards the Enterprise, La’an finds herself flung through both time and space, with a mission to stop a terrorist attack sometime in our past.
It explores a lot of different ideas, nothing directly original to the Star Trek mythos, but it takes our small (for this episode) cast and finds them exploring an alternate timeline from the space travel epic we’re used to. And it works, for the most part. As La’an and her mysterious guest star are flung back to the 21st Century, we’re in for a blast.
The idea of Star Trek’s cast being forced to visit our time and reality is so interesting, and this episode’s pacing and writing keeps us on our toes. As she teams up with a surprise cameo (which I really do not want to spoil here), La’an is sent through a whirlwind of action and emotion. And for the challenge of focusing an entire episode on her, Chong really steps up to the plate. She conveys such a range of emotions as well as meets the physical demands of the big action sequences.
Helping to solve the mystery at hand is this week’s main guest star, Adelaide Kane. Her paranoid alien hunter character is a delight. The secrets she uncovers give a fun twist to the show and how she plays off of Chong works very well.
Directing is also a huge asset to this side story. Director Amanda Row handles the individual scenes expertly and commands Christina Chong brilliantly in every individual shot she has with some of her co-stars. Setting the majority of this episode in present day downtown Toronto, while a grand departure from other Star Trek locations, still makes this feel like it’s an episode of the franchise and that’s a bold feat in itself.
There are a few minor issues, however. While I love this episode, it does fail to move the overall show forward. The plot established in episode one has hit a standstill. While it’s completely possible that the explosive finale of this episode and the way it impacts La’an will come into play in the later parts of the season, it fails to gain any momentum.
There’s also a returning guest star from a previous episode. While it’s great to see them again, the way they’re utilized this time just feels more like a gimmick to move La’an and her crew toward their next objective.
But other than those minor problems, this is still a great, action packed episode that explores time travel, alternate realities, and could potentially change La’an and her relationship with the Enterprise crew. It’s wholly possible that once we know the full picture of this season this episode will look even better. But as an individual hour of television, I really was at the edge of my seat the whole time.
