One of the really fun things about Star Trek: Strange New Worlds being set in a timeline that's long before James T. Kirk and the rest of the crew of the enterprise that fans know so well take the helm, is that space can be portrayed as a kind of wild west. Of course, this particular time, the space of Strange New Worlds is more like a Pirates of the Caribbean or even Guardians of the Galaxy movie. In fact, the seventh episode of this season, titled "The Serene Squall" looks quite a bit like the last Guardians of the Galaxy movie with all the pirates that were involved.
There was also a comedic element to some of this episode of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds that might have actually worked a little better because GOTG came before it. The episode is most fun because the gang of pirates that briefly take over the Enterprise is a truly eclectic group that all look a bit weird. They are also clearly not all that smart, which is also why the episode doesn't work quite as well as one would hope when it comes to an episode of Star Trek. GOTG was fun because it was supposed to be a comedy. Strange New Worlds is supposed to be a bit more grounded and less slapstick.
The crew of the Enterprise starts off the episode believing they are going on a rescue mission after a spunky doctor tells them that she was with a group of colonists that were attacked by pirates. However when the crew ends up going to where the colonists were, Captain Pike and the rest of the away team are taken prisoner, while another team of pirates are able to seize control of the Enterprise in what is actually a pretty good plan.
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Of course, the pirate takeover is only part of a bigger plot that involves what is starting to look a bit like a love triangle between Spock, T'Pring and Christine Chapel. What makes the love triangle all the more interesting is that it doesn't appear that anyone involved is following what has become a rather tried, true, and boring script where a woman decides she wants to take the man away from a woman that the audience then feels sorry for as the story unfolds. This time around, the fact that all of those involved are likable enough that it's hard to really pick a side or decide that the audience wants to see someone win out.
In fact, Strange New Worlds has done an excellent job of making it plausible that Spock and Chapel are indeed falling for each other, while also making it a bit of a surprise. Until this episode of Strange New Worlds, they appeared to be nothing more than friends, though it becomes obvious by the time this installment is over, it's clear that there's more than just friendship on both their minds. And then there's T'Pring, who has done a good job of not being the harpy that audiences are simply rooting against. She seems like a good woman who is trying to make things work. When her heart sinks near the end of the episode, it's believable and it's not hard for viewers to feel bad for her. This is a kind of tightrope that other shows have tried to walk, and ended up falling off.
It's also worth pointing out that Strange New Worlds does a very good job of focusing on Spock being torn between humanity and his Vulcan side. If this wasn't done better, it could be boring simply because Spock is a character that is very well known. The show has been introducing the intricacies of each of the new cast members so far this season, but Spock is certainly one that doesn't really need to be reintroduced. However, Strange New Worlds does a great job of his struggling with his two sides still seem interesting. The love triangle is certainly one way the series does that.
That doesn't mean everything was absolutely perfect with this episode. There are certain things that are getting a bit old and the series would do well to take a break from for a week at the very least. It's clear that Spock living apart from T'Pring is a stresser for both of them but it isn't the kind of thing that needs to be reiterated every week. The show can take a break from the will they-won't they work aspects of Spock's story. There was a large part of this episode where it felt like it could have been left out entirely. Especially the way it dealt with things towards the end of the installment.
This is also the kind of episode that never really feels like there's going to be any serious danger to any member of the crew. The show has been at its best when it really did feel like someone might be in real danger of losing their life. There's no problem with being a bit more light-hearted, but the plot that was behind the pirates taking over the Enterprise in the first place was actually not all that light-hearted. In fact, it was apparently actually supposed to be rather foreboding. At least that's what the writers seemed to have wanted people to have understood with its conclusion.
However, because the pirates that managed to seize the ship were far more slapstick than intimidating, because they seemed like something out of GOTG, they certainly didn't seem like a group that was actually going to be a threat to Captain Pike and company. Obviously, everyone knows that many of the main characters are going to come out of each episode in one piece, but some of the previous episodes of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds have done a good job of still making it appear as though the crew could actually be in danger. To some degree, it feels like this episode didn't really know what it wanted to do in that regard.