Some people around social media had harsh words about the puppets and silliness in season 4, episode 5 of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds ("Level-Five Transporter Accident"). While it was an episode that seemed more like something from a Jim Henson project than one from Star Trek, it still had a clear message about protecting your mental health. Furthermore, viewers couldn’t have asked for a better person to learn this lesson than Spock.
After "Level-Five Transporter Accident", the creative team understood that the fans deserved an intense episode as a palate cleanser, and that’s exactly what they got. The crew of the USS Enterprise goes through their most dangerous mission since they travelled back to the time of the dinosaurs in the season 4 premiere.
*** This article contains major SPOILERS from Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 4 episode 6. Don't read on if you would prefer it wasn't spoiled for you. ***
"Off-Hour" is a compelling hour of television that places all of the Star Trek: Strange New Worlds characters in very interesting places. The crew of the USS Enterprise are pulled into a stripstream wormhole which instantly raises the stakes for one of the most fun shows on TV show - and everyone on the crew had to step up and be smarter, tougher, and more resilient than ever.
For example, Una Chin-Riley broke her leg crawling to fix the gravity in their area, Spock had to travel on the ship while in the stripstream wormhole, and Christine Chapel had to save Doctor M'Benga's life in below-0 Fahrenheit. All of this was a recipe for disaster, and the crew only escaped it thanks to the miracle of science fiction.
Stardate 04.06 review
This episode was the epitome of science fiction nonsense, and that’s a good thing. A show like Star Trek: Strange New Worlds gives creators an opportunity to do ridiculous things in order to save the day. There was no way the crew should have survived this event, and they did. However, no matter how fantastical it was, the episode was so good it’s doubtful that anyone wasn’t on the edge of their seats.
The biggest takeaway from "Off-Hour" was Scotty’s evolution as a character and an engineer. Star Trek fans know that he becomes one of the most recognized fictional characters ever, but it had to start somewhere. After everything that just happened, the viewers will be able to look back at this episode and see that this was the moment where Scotty found his stride. What may fly under the radar is how much Commander Pelia contributed to that.
Commander Pelia has been an underrated character throughout the series, but particularly since Scotty showed up. She’s been helping him find his voice, so to speak, with tough love, jokes, and reminding him that he’s better than he believes he is. Without her, Scotty wouldn’t have helped save the USS Enterprise and its crew.
This was the perfect episode to really up the ante as the show marches towards the season 4 finale. It was exciting and left even this writer wondering if the characters you know will be in later series actually survive. Don’t forget, even in a show that’s a prequel to series that come later, nothing is promised. Stay tuned to Bam Smack Pow to find out if the future of Star Trek is set in stone.
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