Star Trek: Strange New Worlds is the newest entry into the franchise that has been going on for decades and it's been clear from the jump that the new series is wanting to go back to the franchise roots. While some of the attempts to do that has been a bit over the top, for the most part the show seems to have found the perfect balance. Strange New Worlds is technically an offshoot of Star Trek: Discovery but it's definitely looking like it's trying to find a way to blaze its own path.
Anson Mount appears to be done with the MCU and he's now ready to travel through space as Captain Pike. Star Trek fans know the character as the man that was seen as a kind of father figure for captain James T. Kirk, though it turns out this particular version of Pike is around before fans are introduced to this universe's version of Kirk. That doesn't mean there aren't some characters that fans of the franchise aren't going to recognize in this new offshoot. In fact, as the USS Enterprise shoots through space, there are three very memorable characters that are going to be front and center of Strange New Worlds. The second episode of the new series spent quite a bit of time focusing on one of those characters and the show did it in a way that was both interesting, entertaining and had just the right mix of focus on backstory and the new adventure ahead.
One of the most beloved characters in the Star Trek franchise has long been Nyota Uhura, though at the same time, there isn't a great deal that was known about the character. The original series didn't really know how to delve in her life before she was serving on the bridge alongside Captain Kirk so Strange New Worlds has now given them the ability to do that.
While the original Lieutenant Uhura broke quite a few boundaries over the years, there was still bit of mystery as to where she came from and what she was doing before she became the character that everyone knew. Quite a bit of this episode focused on the young Uhura as she talked about where she came from and why she's ended up where she is now. Certainly the fact that Celia Rose Gooding is a very good actress helps, but the show has also done a very good job of making her indeed seem like she might be a younger version of the beloved character.
She certainly is a bit more timid than the older version that people know better, but that should of course, be the case. She's brand new to the enterprise and hasn't found her footing yet. At the same time, she's someone who isn't going to hold back when she has something to say. That particular character can actually come off as a bit annoying if it's not done right, but Gooding seems to be able to walk that tight rope better than others have been able to do. It helps that the people in Strange New Worlds are already feeling like they are a family together. Even when there are new additions to the ship, the veterans of the group are welcoming and allowing people to feel as if they're part of the Star Trek family.
Uhura was the focus of the show for more than one reason. It wasn't just about shedding light on her backstory. There was also some filling out of the character in the hear and now. In the process, the show did a very good job of making sure that Star Trek fans get to see why she's as important to the original Star Trek cast as so many of the others that routinely went on dangerous missions and saved the galaxy. The show manages to illustrate that the young Uhura has really earned her position with Star Fleet and on the Enterprise. In fact, it turns out in this particular episode, the crew likely would have been blown off the map.
That mission, by the way is all about a comet heading towards a much more primitive planet that doesn't have anything close to space travel capabilities. The civilization is on the cusp of being wiped out and the enterprise has decided it's going to try and step in and stop the comet. However, it turns out that things aren't as easy as they thought it was going to be when they fire a couple of torpedos at the thing in order to try and get it to change direction. However, it turns out that the comet has a force shield around it and that wasn't the only thing that went wrong. Because it's Star Trek there also happened to be an alien race that was involved that was both a protector of the comet and that was quite a bit more powerful than the Enterprise.
While the new Star Trek shows have been seen as quite a bit more militaristic than the original and even The Next Generation was when it came to dealing with their problems. There have been more than a few fans that have voiced their displeasure that the shows have taken on more of a Star Wars feel to them rather than using diplomacy and futuristic technology to solve the many problems that often pop up.
While the excuse of being more militaristic is that even if Star Fleet doesn't want to go to war, the people they run up against do. However, Strange New Worlds seems to have found a way to make it clear that violence is going to be an absolute last resort. That could actually feel as though it was a little too hokey if that wasn't done the right way. However, so far, through the second episode, the show has actually been very good about skirting around the need to fire off its blasters at another ship in anger. The show feels wholesome and fun because of as it seems to have gotten the formula exactly right so far.
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds airs every Thursday on Paramount Plus