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Captain Kirk of the United Earth vessel Enterprise grapples with this new interloper has he turns down a request for aid from Captain Spock (Ethan Peck) of the Vulcan ship Sh’Rel   — but it’s La’an, with her strange badge and stories of an alternate reality that command his focus and disbelief. La’an is convinced that she –- and Kirk — must go back in time to fix history. Kirk isn’t convinced, however, and wants to inspect the grey-suited man’s device, which is the last thing La’an wants.

A brief “struggle” results in them both being tossed back into the past without any preparation: no phasers, no communicators and no tricorders. Despite Kirk’s frustration with this predicament, he agrees to help, and together they explore 21 st century earth; no, not New York City, but Toronto (home, of course, to Star Trek: Strange New Worlds and Star Trek: Discovery production).

Through theft from a Roots store, chess hustling and the purchase of some hot dogs at the Toronto Harbourfront, we learn more about Kirk and his reality — where Earth is a battle-scarred wasteland and humanity lives scattered amongst the solar system; no Iowa, no sunsets and no Canada. Tragic, really. La’an begins to warm to him a little, and why wouldn’t you? Wesley’s Kirk oozes quiet, affable charm in half smiles and shrugs, while also still having that flair of bravado and intelligence that we have learned to expect from the inventor of fizzbin — or a premier 2D chess hustler.

The sequences are nice, but as they drag onto into evening and morning — via a rather tortured “I can’t sleep, so I’ll watch the other person sleep” moment — the whole thing gets a little tired. We do, eventually, get to the crux point of their differences on “what is the correct timeline,” the classic time travel debate: one that makes clear how Alt-Kirk’s United Earth is merely surviving on the edges of the solar system, paling in comparison to the prime timeline’s paradise: where La’an’s version of Earth still has sunsets, and Kirk’s brother Sam is still alive.

This crucial point is interrupted by the dramatic (and far less interesting) explosion of the Lake Ontario bridge, which has collapsed in a massive explosion.

The duo race to scene, where they discover that the bridge was blown up with photonic weaponry (certainly not available in this time period) ; the evidence is carted off by a mysterious black van, which leads to a reasonably entertaining car chase through Toronto. Listen, I know we all love the whole “Jim Kirk can’t drive” thing, but the car chase just actually lasted too long, with two acts and a bad musical cover. The most interesting bit was the argument over Kirk’s middle name, which leads to the discovery that this Kirk does not recognize the name Noonien-Singh at all.

It’s a mysterious portent and a little titbit of something interesting within a few minutes of Dodge Challenger product placement.

Eventually, the police catch up with Kirk and start to arrest them; only for the photographer from earlier, Sarah (Adelaide Kane) to ward them off with a phone livestream and accusations of police harassment. This, erm, rather light touch nod to the current state of attitudes to the police (especially when compared with Picard Season 2) is only really here as a segue to introduce the woman, who has also been tracing the mysterious debris to its black-site home.

Then again, as we learn in a diner, Sarah isn’t a complete conspiracy nutjob, because she’s got photos of a Romulan warbird, and knows of a cold fusion reactor in Toronto that is probably at the same secret location. Only now does Kirk remember that this reactor is about to explode and destroy Toronto as part of a Romulan first strike: a detail that he (and the writers, honestly) should have informed of us earlier instead of making us do all that stuff with the bridge that is immediately forgotten.

Instead, we now get treated to the third side-quest of the episode, as La’an and Kirk go in search of someone who could discretely make them a device to find the reactor: none other than Pelia, who has holed herself up in a warehouse in Vermont during this point in history.

This is a cool connection, and reasonably well foreshadowed; but they could have done this a) earlier in the episode and b) with a bit of linkage into the general plot than yet another stage on the mystery box circle of doom. I like Carol Kane! I do! She’s great here, especially as she bumbles about trying to work out why they’ve come to her for engineering help when she isn’t an engineer (whoops).

But it’s really contrived; and we’re nearly 45 minutes into the episode and we’re still chasing…what? A cold fusion reactor that might explode? And we’ve only now found out it’s probably the Romulans? When we could have found that out about 20 minutes ago?

Even this sequence — where La’an devises a cold fusion reactor finding-device out of an old wristwatch — is really laboured. Everything just goes on about three of four minutes longer than it should, and the character interactions that are enjoyable are just surrounded by fluff. Even when they return to Toronto for a nighttime walk beside the wonderfully identifiable architecture of the Royal Ontario Museum, the semi-flirtatious banter between La’an and Kirk just goes on too long.

Sure, we get this moment of La’an letting her defenses down up, and explaining why she feels the need to be so guarded, but I was watching it and wondering how exactly there was still 20 minutes to go.

They also, of course, find the cold fusion reactor, which is inside of the “Noonien-Singh Institute” — I guess the ROM is renting to eugenicists now? — which is great – until Sarah shows up with a gun, revealing that she is also a time traveler… and a Romulan agent. She’s come back to alter the future and prevent the Federation from existing, which seems to happen a lot to the old UFP, doesn’t it? In typical Kirk fashion, Jim believes that she’s bluffing, and attempts to talk her down.

Until she kills him, which is a nice way to undercut the character trope. Good thing this isn’t our Jim Kirk, eh? La’an gets little time to mourn -– I say little, but the moment drags on long enough to kind of kill the tension –- before Sarah drags her into the black site, killing anyone in their way before reaching her target: the locked quarters of a young Khan Noonien-Singh. Yes, that’s right folks, it’s “kill baby Hitler” time. Hooray.

Sarah begins monologuing , and explains her whole rationale to La’an. The Romulans have a “time altering assessment computer” (presumably it came free with the cloaking device) that they use to assess nudges in history, and getting rid of Khan is a surefire way to stop the Federation forming. Sarah also shares her frustrations with the whole plan, and the increasing complications that the Temporal wars are causing as they shift the timeline, and time “pushes back”. Apparently, this was all meant to happen back in 1992.

Good news for Bill Clinton, I suppose, but bad news for this Romulan agent, who has been stuck on earth waiting for 30 years. But now, she’s going kill pre-pubescent Khan, and she’s doing her best to convince La’an to help. They’re both aware of the horrors Khan will inflict on earth, and that La’an knows she must let it happen.

After stopping Sarah, La’an comes face to face with her young ancestor, Khan Noonien-Singh (Desmon Sivan). Making the descendent of a mass murder meet their hated ancestor and then having her tell him “He’s in the right place” is mental. It feels abhorrent to say and accept that La’an just must let him live, but’s that the “kill baby Hitler” philosophical debate all over. The “right” course of history must be protected, which despite everything is kind of the point.

Returning to the Enterprise,  La’an finds that all is well and back to normal… only to find  to find Department of Temporal Investigations agent Ymalay (Allison Wilson-Forbes) waiting for her.

La’an does confront Ymalay with the correct view on it, which is that they — whether they intended to or not — made her make a horrifying choice to protect the timeline. Ymalay does sympathize, but only a little. This whole incident was a mistake on their part, and one that La’an fixed. Which, of course, means she never gets to talk about it again. Go time travel! With time restored and the 29 th century device returned, La’an calls up the correct-timeline Lieutenant Jim Kirk — just to see that he is alive and well, before collapsing with emotion.

So, Paul Wesley’s back for round two as James T. Kirk: how did he do? I think he did very well here. With a lot more screentime than in “A Quality of Mercy” — and some good story beats to bounce off of — Wesley is clearly coming into his own as the inheritor of one of science fiction’s greatest characters. This Kirk increasingly feels like his character, and not a pale imitation of either William Shatner or Chris Pine, but there are still instinctive actions, phrases and expressions that make this indisputably Jim Kirk.

The confusions around the revolving door, the attempted bluff with Sarah, the unique and Shanterian delivery of “My God…” when the bridge explodes — it’s all James T. Kirk. I’m looking forward to more of it, but next time, will the “real” James T. Kirk please stand up?

OBSERVATION LOUNGE

• The grey-suited man’s time travel device utilizes the same TCARS interface system seen aboard 29th century Wells -class Starfleet vessels. This computer system was introduced in the 1999 Voyager episode “Relativity,” and was revived by Strange New Worlds graphic designer Timothy Peel.
• This episode marks the first appearance of agents of the Department of Temporal Investigations since its origination in 1996’s “Trials and Tribble-ations.” (The agency did, however, have its own series of tie-in novels chronicling the adventures of Agents Dulmer and Lucsly.)

• La’an calls Toronto “The biggest city in what used to be called Canada,” indicating that the country’s name (or its existence as a regional identity) has changed since the 21st century era.
• La’an breaks up a dispute between Transporter Chief Jay (Noah Lamanna) and a Denobulan cadet in the start of the episode; while they’ve been seen in animated form in Lower Decks and Prodigy , this is the first live-action Denobulan seen since Dr. Phlox in Star Trek: Enterprise.
• Kirk refers to his grandfather Tiberius as the source of his middle name; this piece of Kirk family history was established in the opening moments of the 2009 Kelvin Timeline  Star Trek film.

• According to its alternate-reality dedication plaque, the United Earth Fleet UEF Enterprise was build at the Luna Shipyards — since there’s no San Francisco left in this dark 23rd century.
• Somehow, La’an’s handprint was able to unlock the secure area of the Noonien-Singh Institute. If that was possible due to her Khan-sourced DNA, how likely is it that the Institute would let one their lab-created children have access to the site’s security system?
• The Torontonians amongst the viewers will no doubt have enjoyed the various on-location shots at Yonge-Dundas square, the Harbourfront and the Royal Ontario Museum, which were fun moments for those of us familiar with the city. The joke about Kirk thinking they were in New York is also a delightful nod to the Canadian city’s role as a stand-in for the Big Apple in a great deal of television and film.

“Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow” is a good concept for a time travel episode, but the execution was just a bit flat. This is no “Yesterday’s Enterprise.” It’s certainly no “City on the Edge of Forever.” It’s got a lot more in common with  Enterprise’s “Carpenter Street” in many ways. Chong and Wesley are really good actors, and I can see why they were paired together; the chemistry is good, but it’s not really romantic chemistry in my view.

There’s a certain veneer of a fan-fiction pairing to them that I think should’ve stayed on the cutting room floor, and the fact that the romantic tension is very limited before they kiss speaks to that. This is a standout episode for Christina Chong, and though she’s excelled for every moment she’s had in Strange New Worlds , and she once again proves that she is one of the best parts of this show.

Overtly tying the Temporal Cold War of Enterprise back into canon as an explainer for differences in timeline — after learning about the War’s future impact to the  Discovery era — was clever, but that was kind of it for plot moments I enjoyed.

Still, it was a good advert for the Ontario Tourist Board, so give them that. I would recommend visiting Toronto in the summertime, however: it’s warmer, and there are significantly fewer time travelling Romulans to worry about.

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds returns with “Among the Lotus Eaters” on Thursday, July 6 on Paramount+ in the U.S, the U.K., Australia, Latin America, Brazil, France, Italy, Germany, Switzerland and Austria.

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Strange New Worlds Got Its City on the Edge of Forever

"tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow" put a modern spin on star trek 's most iconic time travel tragedy—and sold it in a storming performance by christina chong..

Strange New Worlds is always going to be playing with fire when it brushes up against a legendary episode of the original Star Trek . The nature of its place in the series’ timeline, its wheelhouse in remixing spins on classic tropes, the comparisons will always be there. Last season, it proved it could play in those spaces . This season, it’s already proving it can go toe-to-toe.

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If “A Quality of Mercy” was Strange New Worlds going right into perhaps the greatest original Star Trek episode of all time , “Balance of Terror,” then just three episodes into its second season “Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow” is the show making its own version of the other greatest original Star Trek episode of all time, “ City on the Edge of Forever .” And there, it might just eke out “Quality” as Strange New Worlds ’ best episode yet , because instead of simply taking that classic story and mixing up a few characters, here we get a modern spin on “City” that smartly advances one of the series’ most fascinating original characters: Christina Chong’s La’an Noonien Singh.

“Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow” opens with a pretty sharp veer sideways: La’an, going about her duties, suddenly finds a dying temporal agent bleeding out in a corridor of the Enterprise in front of her. Given a mysterious device before he perishes, she not only finds herself bef ud dled by the event but immediately thrust into an alternate timeline: one where Earth’s space forces stand alone in the galaxy, the Enterprise is unwilling to help Vulcan ships (even one captained by Spock)… and Paul Wesley’s Jim Kirk is in the c aptain’s chair, not Pike. This guy can only show up in parallel realities!

This immediately puts La’an and Kirk together in a pairing that Chong and Wesley mine for all its worth, immediately bickering like kids with each other as they try to figure out whatever temporal weirdness has put them together. One fight later brings the duo through time to the location of the problem they need to solve: their very own 21st century city on the edge of forever… better known to us as Toronto, Canada. I mean, it’s not quite as romantic as ‘30s New York, but hey, it’s local to filming, which in and of itself is a very well-worn Star Trek trope.

Anyway, as La’an and Jim acclimatize to our modern Canada—from clothes shopping to hot dogs, and a bit of c hess-based money acquisition—we get to see more of the charming spin Wesley has on the legendary Captain Kirk, but it’s one that’s touched by a tragedy that the actor excels at communicating behind his swagger. This isn’t our Kirk, but an alternate who se history has shaped him into something askance of the man we know. In this Jim’s history, Earth is an irradiated wasteland, torn apart by wars that have le d the remnants of humanity into the solar system not out of curiosity but out of survival, untrusting of the other races of the galaxy. To La’an, 21st c entury Toronto is a playful historical curiosity at first, but to Jim it’s a past he never knew, a home he could never touch. It disarms his braggadocio in such a way that makes us, and La’an in turn, immediately connect to him on a level she rarely connects to people in the timeline she desperately wants to get back to.

It’s only as this connection flourishes, as the duo try to figure out just why they’re in Toronto in the first place—it turns out blowing up a bridge with future tech is just the start of an increasingly unhinged conspiracy theory full of supposedly mad believers, nuclear reactors, and a Romulan or two—that the real emotional heart of the episode hits you. If this is to be Strange New Worlds ’ spin on “City,” then someone has to be Edith Keeler. And it’s not La’an, because, well, of course it’s not going to be, even if Strange New Worlds has already showed it won’t back away from bumping off a main cast member. It has to be Jim, and the fact you can peg it well before La’an can just adds another twist and tragedy to their fateful, burgeoning relationship.

Which is why what works in “Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow” is Jim’s “shock” death, rather than the other “twist” of an already twisty episode. With a little help from the Pelia of this time (a cute payoff to the nods that her long-life has seen her hiding out on Earth for centuries before Starfleet was a thing for her), La’an and Jim figure out that a secret n uclear facility is the source of the t emporal disturbance they have to prevent to fix the former’s timeline—a fact the latter has come to accept, warming up not just to La’an but the promise of a better future her utopian present offers compared to his own. Only, of course, twist! The conspiracy theorist that led them in that direction in the first place is none other than a Romulan temporal agent, who has been waiting decades to access the other secret facility alongside this fusion reactor: a Noonien Singh- operated research institute the Romulan is there to infiltrate.

So suddenly, the tragedy of the episode—that one way or the other La’an and Jim’s burgeoning relationship is going to be dramatically cut short, either by the destruction of his timeline or, as we end up getting, the Romulan agent calling his bluff and shooting him dead—that would’ve made “Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow” an all- timer instead of simply great is burdened with another layer of trauma for La’an. The loss of her romantic connection to another person isn’t enough; apparently, she has to confront the real temporal mission: protect a young Khan Noonien Singh from being baby Hitler’d.

It shouldn’t work—especially as, after doing so and being returned to her in tact timeline, we get to hear La’an rightfully and furiously articulate to a waiting temporal agent just what an extremely messed up thing this was to do to her. And that’s even before you acknowledge that this late game “twist” in the episode dramatically undercuts the actual emotional tragedy that takes up most of its runtime, setting up and then breaking apart the La’an/Kirk relationship. But even though it’s played fast and loose (so fast and loose that, uh, La’an leaves a loaded gun in kid Khan’s room at this facility he’s being experimented on in??? That’s bad opsec, Chief of Security!), this sideswipe of a reveal is saved by a barnstorming performance by Christina Chong. This episode was already La’an on a level we’ve never really seen her before, even when she’s been in the spotlight in similarly tragic circumstances given her history with the Gorn in season one . W e get to see emotional sides to her that she’s previously closed off from the people around her, and we then get to see her deal with having that trust taken away from her cruelly by circumstances of fate.

Chong sells the fury, the confusion, the innocence, and the sadness of it all, whether she’s cradling the dying Kirk or trying to comfort the ancestor she knows will one day cause unspeakable pain to the entire world. We see it in the aftermath when she’s back aboard the Enterprise , furious that she was used in such a way but also deeply, emotionally compromised as she tries to make a brief connection with “our” Jim Kirk, only to realiz e he truly has no idea who she is. It feels like a wall has come crashing down for La’an as a character that we in turn as an audience will see her emerge from behind in new and more interesting ways.

It’s in Chong that “Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow” saves itself from its own shortcomings to deliver what is, even with some caveats, a more than worthy Strange New Worlds spin on an all time Trek classic. And it’s in Wesley’s Kirk too—I joked earlier that all we’ve gotten to see of him in this legendary role is through the artificial lens of alternate reality versions of Kirk. But maybe that’s the best space Strange New Worlds can play with this part of its own inevitable future right now. It lets Wesley be Kirk on his own terms, and lets the show explore the character on its own terms—and more crucially, lets it explore Kirk through Strange New Worlds ’ own original characters, to further explore them through their relationships with him, rather than falling under the shadow of his place in the canon.

Even if “Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tommorrow” stumbles at the climax, if Kirk’s presence in Strange New Worlds means more episodes like this and “A Quality of Mercy,” I’m willing to put aside those minor stumbles along the road, at least.

Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel , Star Wars , and Star Trek releases, what’s next for the DC Universe on film and TV , and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who .

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Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Recap: Back From the Future

Star trek: strange new worlds.

It would be hard to guess where “Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow” is headed from its opening scenes, which play a bit like the  Star Trek  equivalent of the classic Richard Scarry children’s book  What Do People Do All Day?  By the episode’s end, we’ve had time travel, scenes of a budding romance (albeit one nipped before it can really blossom), and a variation on a classic moral dilemma. But first, the episode offers a glimpse of La’an Noonien-Singh’s everyday duties as chief of security.

It’s not a boring job. La’an has dealt with squabbling officers, a noise complaint against Spock, and a visit to Pelia’s quarters that suggest she has a felonious habit of appropriating precious artifacts for her personal collection, including at least one painting wanted by the Louvre despite her claims of it being a fake. (Did no one notice she was bringing all that aboard?)

That glimpse of Pelia’s quarters is a funny gag that will later (or, more accurately, earlier) play a crucial part in the time-twisting outing. So will the sense established by these scenes that La’an is (a) quite good at her job and (b) pretty stressed out. Dr. M’Benga says as much during their sparring session, but any self-care will have to wait after La’an encounters a stranger in the hallway: a man in 21st-century garb who’s been grievously wounded by a bullet. This is not an ordinary occurrence, even on the  Enterprise . Nor is what happens next: As he dies, the stranger gives La’an an unusual device and tells her she has to “get to the bridge.” She follows what she believes to be his advice by going to the bridge of the  Enterprise  only to find it helmed by … Captain James T. Kirk (Paul Wesley)?

Something is clearly off, and we see just  how  off after the credits roll. Kirk meets Spock, here a Vulcan captain who unsuccessfully pleads for Earth’s help in fighting the Romulans. Ortegas and Uhura are there but don’t recognize their friend. La’an immediately susses out she’s been transported to an alternate timeline, her own having been wiped out by some event she now has to prevent. To his credit, Kirk treats her theory as plausible. (Unless, of course, she’s crazy, which he does not rule out.) But when La’an presses the button on the odd device, theory becomes practice. In a blink, she and Kirk are transported to 21st-century Toronto.

Episodes that draw  Star Trek  characters back to our present (or thereabouts) are a tradition (and a budget-friendly one at that), and  Strange New Worlds  finds some fun twists on the device. Kirk has never been to Earth at all (it’s pretty unpleasant in his timeline), so it’s more than just time travel that throws him off. But he’s pretty good at shoplifting (thanks to La’an’s trick) and he’s  really  good at (“old-fashioned, two-dimensional”) chess, which allows them to pick up enough pocket money to keep the hot dogs flowing and pay for a nice hotel room. Their mission might be urgent, but they need their rest.

It’s there that it becomes obvious to both that the contentious chemistry they’ve had since meeting might be more than just a flirtation. That, however, will have to wait. They have a timeline to save even if, as Kirk quickly realizes, saving it will mean wiping out the timeline he knows as reality. La’an’s counterargument is, in short, that his timeline sucks. He’s supposed to be an explorer, not a soldier. When Kirk learns that his brother, Sam, is still alive in La’an’s timeline, he seems on the verge of being persuaded. Then the newly constructed bridge outside their window blows up. So  that’s  what “Get to the bridge” meant!

They weren’t, however, supposed to save the bridge, which was fated to be destroyed in both their timelines. So what  were  they supposed to do? Photos taken by a photographer at the scene — we’ll later learn her name is Vanessa (Adelaide Kane) — offer a clue in the form of some distinctive charring that La’an knows is from the future. After discovering that Kirk’s skills include mastery of the Vulcan nerve pinch and good-enough driving skills to allow them to trail the van carrying the bridge wreckage, La’an also discovers that Kirk has never heard her infamous last name. Whatever happens in the diverging future, Khan’s life assuredly takes a different course.

Pulled over by the Toronto police while still in pursuit, Kirk and La’an only avoid arrest because Vanessa shows up on the scene to film the arrest and threaten a scandal. It’s enough to scare off the cops and for them to start to trust Vanessa, who’s also  quite  interested in what’s in the van — and who has some thoughts about meddling aliens, international cabals, and other conspiracy-theory staples. When Kirk tells her that his “wife” was once abducted by aliens, they form an alliance. (Or so Kirk and La’an believe.)

La’an suggests their new friend is “unhinged,” but then she shows them what appears to be a legit picture of an alien spacecraft that Kirk recognizes as Romulan. And it’s this detail that allows them to figure out what they have to change. In Kirk’s timeline, Romulans destroy an experimental cold-fusion reactor, wiping out Toronto. In La’an’s, none of this happens. Time to save the reactor!

But first, they’ll require a tricorder, a piece of future tech they’ll need an engineer to create. Fortunately, La’an remembers that Pelia lived in Vermont years ago and, as a skilled engineer, she  should  be able to help. The catch: Pelia’s no engineer, at least not yet. In the 21st century, the Lanthanite runs a (somewhat suspect) antiques shop. Over beers, they concoct a plan to create a makeshift tricorder, or at least a doodad capable of finding a hidden reactor made from an ’80s watch.

Doing so involves taking a romantic nighttime walk through the streets of Toronto where Kirk reveals he’s now fully onboard with saving La’an’s timeline at the expense of his own; La’an suggests maybe he could join her in her timeline, and both realize they can’t hide that they’re into each other anymore, a realization sealed with a kiss. When the watch begins glowing, however, the moment is cut short.

Putting duty first, they sneak into the building housing the reactor. There they discover the headquarters of the Noonien-Singh Institute. But before they can step inside, they’re confronted by Veronica, who’s  not , it turns out, a paranoid conspiracy theorist but a Romulan from the future sent to keep them from altering the timeline. She means business. When Kirk tells “Veronica” to call his bluff after saying that shooting them would alert security and foil her plan, she shoots him in the chest, wounding him fatally.

Kirk wasn’t bluffing, though. Veronica’s assault alerts security, but she remains undeterred, forcing La’an to help her at gunpoint by pushing her down to the building’s genetics lab, which is also home to young Khan Noonien-Singh. As it turns out, killing Khan will  also  prevent the Federation from forming, thus making the future far more Romulan-friendly. Veronica tempts La’an with the pleasures of killing the ancestor whose bad reputation has haunted her her entire life, but it’s a no-go.

They fight, and La’an wins, saving the future in the process. Still, La’an is drawn to visit young Khan, but if the moment echoes the classic theoretical question “Would you kill baby Hitler?” La’an never even considers it, telling the frightened future tyrant, “You are right where you need to be.” Then, with some regret, she zaps herself back to the  Enterprise , which is now the  Enterprise  she remembers — and where Pelia is still arguing that she has every right to her cache of treasures.

In her quarters, she’s visited by Agent Ymalay (Allison Wilson-Forbes), an agent from the Department of Temporal Investigations. (“You haven’t heard of us because we don’t exist yet.”) Ymalay swears La’an to secrecy, retrieves her device, and disappears, leaving a shaken La’an behind and still wearing her ’80s watch. This inspires her to reach out to Kirk with the flimsy excuse of needing to know Sam’s place of birth. After a brief conversation, La’an breaks down. What she just experienced never happened, but it still left its mark.

Another strong episode in a so-far terrific season, “Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow” mixes a neat time-travel story mixed with fish-out-of-water comedy, gives La’an a spotlight episode, and introduces a potential romance that could play out alongside Spock and Nurse Chapel’s ongoing pas de deux (unless it’s limited to this episode).

Christina Chong certainly rises to the occasion. La’an’s default mode is all business, but she leaves the episode looking like a much more complex character than we’d previously seen. She’s well matched by Wesley, whose Kirk gets more screen time than ever before. He’s deftly comic without losing Kirk’s essential gravity. His Kirk doesn’t always closely resemble the Kirk we first met in the original series, but he definitely feels like Captain Kirk. Will we see more of him? Will La’an? The episode lets those questions linger.

• “I’m from space” is actually a pretty good excuse for not being able to use a revolving door.

• The Department of Temporal Investigations was first introduced in the fun  Deep Space Nine  episode “Trials and Tribble-ations.” (It was also the focus of some  Star Trek  novels.) It’s put to a more serious purpose here and in a way that suggests we haven’t seen the last of the DTI.

• The DTI agents in that  DS9  episode had names that were rough anagrams of “Mulder” and “Scully.” Is “Ymalay” similarly an anagram? I keep staring at it without coming up with one.

• This episode was directed by Amanda Row, who helmed last season’s “The Elysian Kingdom,” and written by David Reed.

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Published Jun 30, 2023

RECAP | Star Trek: Strange New Worlds 203 - 'Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow'

They're on a mission to protect something beautiful - the future of humanity.

SPOILER WARNING: This article contains story details and plot points for Star Trek: Strange New Worlds.

StarTrek.com

In the previous episode of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds ,' " Ad Astra per Aspera ," Commander Una Chin-Riley is acquitted of the charges against her, which included falsifying records, violating Starfleet's code on genetic modification, and two counts of sedition, and granted her request of asylum.

While staying aboard the U.S.S. Enterprise ahead of trial, defense lawyer Neera Ketoul got to know Una's crew as well as their thoughts on the Eugenics War, Augments, and their ship's first officer. Sensing La'An Noonien-Singh's internal shame, Neera assures her that "genetics is not destiny." She wasn't born a monster; just "born with the capacity for actions, good or ill."

In " Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow ," La’An travels back in time to 21st Century Earth to prevent an attack which will alter humanity’s future history. — and bring her face-to-face with her own contentious legacy.

• La’An Noonien-Singh
• Dr. Joseph M'Benga
• James T. Kirk
• Nyota Uhura
• Erica Ortegas
• Sera, photographer
• Khan Noonien Singh
• Christopher Pike
• Una Chin-Riley (Number One)

• U.S.S. Enterprise
• United Earth Fleet ship Enterprise
• Sh'Rel
• Toronto, Canada, 21st Century
• Archaeology Department, Vermont, United States, 21st Century
• Noonien-Singh Institute for Cultural Advancement

As the U.S.S. Enterprise cruises through space, Lt. La’An Noonien-Singh deals with a number of minor crises on the ship, ranging from an argument between a Denobulan cadet and Chief Jay to a noise complaint against Spock and his Vulcan lute. La’An also investigates relics with “suspicious provenance” in Commander Pelia’s possession — one of which boasts a tag declaring it the property of the Archaeology Department, though the chief engineer credits living through every type of natural disaster and economic calamity for turning her into a packrat. Pelia even maintains a bunker she previously resided at in Vermont in case the “whole no money, socialist utopia thing” turns out to be a fad. A security officer brings a painting to La’An’s attention, but Pelia protests that it is a fake and the Louvre must stop calling her.

La’An vents her frustration in a sparring session with Dr. Joseph M’Benga, who notes the security chief didn’t attend the party for Una in the captain’s quarters. Feeling lonely, La’An leaves and wanders the corridors until she sees a bright flash followed by a man in a grey suit stumbling. Wounded by a bullet, the stranger explains that there has been an attack in the past and La’An must stop it. He hands her a piece of tech and tells her to get to the Bridge as a shimmering wave ripples through the hallway. Suddenly, the klaxon siren resonates across the deck, signaling the ship is at Red Alert. The man dies, then disappears; La’An heads to the Bridge — only to discover James T. Kirk in the captain’s chair.

"Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow"

At a loss for words, La’An looks on as Ensign Nyota Uhura announces an incoming hail from a Vulcan ship. Spock appears on the viewscreen, and Kirk identifies himself as captain of the United Earth Fleet ship Enterprise . In command of the vessel Sh'Rel , Spock requests Earth’s assistance in Vulcan’s fight against the Romulan Star Empire. Without Earth’s support, Vulcan faces certain defeat, but Kirk regretfully replies that humanity can’t fight a war on two fronts. Uhura closes the channel, and the Bridge crew stares at La’An until she asks Kirk for a discussion in private.

In the Ready Room, Captain Kirk reacts in disbelief to the notion that La’An is from an alternate timeline. She hypothesizes that the attack mentioned by the man in the grey suit must have changed the future. The security chief brandishes the device he gave her and presumes it protected her from the shifting reality. Believing the stranger wanted La’An to seek out this version of Kirk for help, she denies the captain’s appeal to study the device.* As Kirk attempts to grab the tech, La’An presses a glowing green button — the two vanish in a burst of light…

…and find themselves in a cluttered alley. Now red, the device’s button no longer functions. Kirk is puzzled and panicked, but La’An focuses on the task at hand — preventing a time-traveling assassin from succeeding. Lacking a tricorder, communicator, or phaser, the two enter a crowded square in the middle of a city. Kirk thinks they’ve landed in mid-21st Century New York City, but La’An observes they’re in Toronto, the largest city in what was known as Canada — home to maple leaves, politeness, and poutine. Admitting he’d never been to Earth, the captain reveals he was born on the U.S.S. Iowa . In his time, Earth was left in ruin.

The chilly temperature sends the pair to a nearby department store, where Kirk is befuddled by the concept of a revolving door. They switch their uniforms for suitable casual wear, but their lack of currency proves problematic. La’An slips an item into another shopper’s bag; the unwitting shoplifter sets off alarms as she exits, allowing the two time travelers to sneak out. Back on the street, Kirk employs his “marketable 21st Century skills” in a series of outdoor chess matches to obtain a pile of cash. Afterward, the captain classifies the game’s old-fashioned, two-dimensional version as “idiot’s chess.”

Spotting a food cart, James orders two hot dogs as La’An tries to figure out their next step. Unsure of how to proceed, the pair stumble across a majestic sunset which captivates Kirk. He compares the view to videos from his version of Earth which show clouds of ash that won’t clear for 1,000 years. His timeline also boasts underground lunar habitats that have no view of the sun at all. James laments for another moment before declaring that one shouldn’t skip good hot dogs when you can get them. La’An suppresses a smirk, while a single bite from the hot dog prompts Kirk to head back to the stand and order a second snack for himself.

Settled into a hotel room for the night, La’An tosses and turns in bed, finally casting the sheets aside and walking over to the living area. She gazes silently at James, who appears to be fast asleep on the couch. The security shief lingers, departing just before Kirk stirs and turns toward where she had stood. The next morning, La’An writes a list of 21st Century historical events in the hope of figuring out what has changed. She asks Kirk to do the same, though he seems more interested in the hotel’s shower and mini-bar. La’An pressures him to focus, and James’ mood immediately becomes serious. Considering his knowledge of temporal mechanics, he knows this is a fork in the road — if they fix La’An’s timeline, they will destroy his . She counters, claiming his timeline isn’t supposed to exist.

Kirk believes it’d be best for him to enjoy this century’s comforts and then find a way home. His reality is not ideal, but humans have made the stars their home. Settlements are located on the moon, Mars, Venus, and Europa— La’An interrupts, outlining her Earth’s colonization of dozens of worlds and its vital membership in a Federation of species. The argument escalates, with Kirk asserting other species are needed for survival and La’An questioning whether merely surviving is enough. La’An admits that things got bad in her 21st Century, but first contact with the Vulcans ushered in a utopian era and allowed Earth to help the galaxy. She explains that James could be an explorer, particularly as she had heard stories about him from his brother Sam. This revelation catches Kirk’s attention, as Sam had died in his reality. The debate is interrupted by a thunderous explosion; the two look out the hotel’s window to see a section of the Lake Ontario Bridge consumed in fire and crumbling.

La’An realizes the grey-suited man’s “get to the bridge” comment probably referred to this structure rather than a starship’s command center. An hour later, police officers and rescue workers are on scene as reporters and civilians watch the scene in horror. Despite the tragedy, La’An and James agree that this event occurred in both of their timelines. The security chief notices a suspicious piece of wreckage and asks a nearby photographer if she can inspect her pictures. After spying charring on a piece of debris that she interprets to be a photonic bomb’s tell-tale signature, La’An notes that Earth isn’t supposed to have that technology for another 100 years.

As the burned wreckage is loaded into a van, Kirk jumps into action. He subdues a civilian with a Vulcan nerve pinch to confiscate a sporty red car. James spent six months in a Denobulan prison camp, and his cellmate was a Vulcan. He smiles as he informs La’An that he also learned how to make Plomeek soup in the toilet. James initially struggles with the vehicle, but he works out the issues and drives after the van. La’An emphasizes the need for discretion, and he replies that ‘discreet’ is his middle name. La’An remarks that his personnel file indicated his real middle name was some insane — Kirk interjects, saying that Tiberius was also his grandfather’s name. Calling it the least discreet moniker possible, La’An sarcastically asks if Sam’s full name is “Sam Aurelius Augustus Benedictus Kirk,” but James states Sam is his middle name — most people call him George.

The conversation turns to La’An’s family, and James mispronounces her surname as “Noonien-Soong.” She registers that he never heard of her infamous ancestor, Khan Noonien-Singh. The car chase intensifies — James speeds up to keep track of the van. His wild maneuvers draw unwanted attention from a police officer, who calls in reinforcements to aid him in pursuing Kirk and La’An’s vehicle. The police cars block James’ route, leading to his arrest. Suddenly, the photographer from the bridge crime scene calls out from the sidewalk. She is streaming the encounter from her phone and accuses the officers of purposely pulling over a famous civil rights attorney. As a ruse, the photographer identifies James as a doctor who defends victims of tyrannical law enforcement overreach. Uninterested in the attention, the officer agrees to let Kirk go with a warning.

The police vacate the area, and the photographer introduces herself as Sera, while La’An and James call themselves Vanessa and Jim. She discloses that she was also following the van. She hopes to prove her personal theory that the bridge - a symbol of international cooperation - was destroyed so humanity would keep fighting each other rather than the real threat — aliens! James awkwardly gestures toward La’An and notes that “his wife” had been abducted in the past. The three continue their chat as they walk the streets, and Sera describes an international cabal of world governments that she thinks maintains a facility to study alien tech. She has even heard this group has a cold fusion reactor somewhere in Toronto which powers their entire operation. The photographer hypothesizes that many disasters — the Chernobyl meltdown, Tunguska event, John F. Kennedy’s assassination, and many more — are all intended to slow down human progress.

The three grab a bite to eat at a restaurant, and the two time-travelers confer while Sera is away from the counter. La’An remains skeptical and perceives the young woman as being unhinged, but Kirk credits the photographer for her ingenuity. Sera returns and shows off a series of mysterious images she retrieved from the internet, one of which features a vessel traversing the sky. James glares at the photographer’s tablet in recognition, his suspicions increasing when she displays surveillance footage of the man who hauled off the wreckage waiting near the bridge 15 minutes before the explosion.

Exiting the building, Sera voices her appreciation for La’An and James hearing her out and not telling her she was crazy. She walks off, allowing Kirk to tell La’An why the picture of the ship sparked his interest — it’s a Romulan Bird-of-Prey. James confirms that there is an experimental cold fusion reactor residing somewhere in the city, because a Romulan first strike destroyed the facility and wiped out Toronto in his timeline. None of that happened in La’An’s version of history, but how can they locate and defend the reactor without a tricorder? Kirk playfully wonders if she had taken any engineering extension courses and was capable of building a cold fusion detector from scratch. The pair pass a television as it delivers a weather report about Vermont, reminding La’An that she might know someone living in that state.

Sometime later, La’An and James exit a taxi outside of a small building ensconced in Vermont’s snowy backcountry. The shop's name, The Archeology Department Antiques & Rare Finds , is spray painted on its forward wall, and Pelia answers the door. The security chief recounts their journey — bribing a border guard, taking a cab, riding four buses — and surprises Pelia by revealing the engineer’s name. She lets the two into her shop, which happens to be cluttered with artifacts — some of which accumulated in Pelia’s collection on the Enterprise . She divulges that she knows Pelia is a Lanthanite, an ancient sect of beings who live impossibly long lives and had fit in amongst humans for thousands of years. La’An points at the painting she saw on the Enterprise and professes Pelia stole it from the Louvre.

Pelia is visibly confused and curious as to how La’An learned this information. La’An confesses she knew Pelia had worked somewhere called “The Archeology Department,” though she initially assumed it had been an actual archaeology department. A search of universities proved fruitless, but they stumbled upon a guy at an electronics store who taught James how to use an internet search. La’An struggles to detail her exact relationship to Pelia without influencing the timeline, finally settling on outlining her goal to protect humanity’s fragile future. Since they all have brain-melting secrets, Pelia agrees to help. However, she’s not an engineer — she works retail! Pelia has not taken a math class since Pythagoras “made the crap up.” She commiserates with James and La’An over beers, insisting she thought cold fusion was pretend, just like Bigfoot or lasers. Frustrated, Kirk states that lasers are also real. Pelia is insulted, but La’An reasons that they need to search for the reactor’s byproducts — excess heat, neutrons, and tritium.

Pelia associates the term tritium with old divers’ watches from the 1980s. She pulls one off of a shelf, claiming the watches lit up until the tritium ran out after 20 years. La’An continues the train of thought — tritium gives off a small amount of radiation, and the watch’s dials must be coated with something that reacts with it, possibly phosphor. James mentions tritium’s short half-life causes it to decay, and La’An deduces it would leave behind residue of the reactive material. She removes the watch’s glass face with excitement, certain that its hands will glow when near a source of tritium. Pelia ponders the notion of becoming an engineer and making an honest living for a change — not that any of her store’s items were stolen, of course.

Back in Toronto, La’An and James have wandered for hours without seeing the watch indicate the presence of tritium. The security chief concedes that she would never have gotten this far without Kirk’s help, and the two share a laugh until James makes his own admission — if they can only save one future, he thinks it should be La’An’s. They pause under the city’s lights, and La’An deliberates over whether they could bring James to her reality.** She lets her guard down, acknowledging that personal barriers often cause her to feel lonely around others. However, James is different. Genuinely unaware of her controversial last name, James initially pretends not to recognize La’An’s references to Nathaniel Hawthorne’s writing or the Old Testament’s mark of Cain. Realizing his prank, she starts to object, but James moves forward and kisses her. Breathless, she kisses him back.

The watch’s glow halts the tender moment, and the two ascertain they must be near the cold fusion reactor. Their impromptu detector guides them into a building where they witness a man having his hand scanned and proceeding through a security door. La’An notices the establishment’s sign — Noonien-Singh Institute for Cultural Advancement — and risks placing her hand on the scanner. The door unlocks, and La’An surmises that it perceived a marker in her DNA. La’An and James spin around at the sound of a voice and see Sera aiming a gun at them. Kirk blocks La’An from attacking and reasons that the “photographer” is actually the time-traveling assassin for whom they have been searching.

Embarrassed that she did not identify him sooner, Sera knows of Captain James T. Kirk’s legacy. The story she told them was true, at least to an extent. Her people — the Romulans — had been slowing humanity’s progress, but she believes they should have gone further than blowing up labs and bridges. Disguised as a human, Sera shocks them by shooting James. Alarms ring as he collapses from the chest wound, using his dying breath to request that La’An say hello to his brother for him. La’An barely restrains her sorrow and rage as the Romulan leads her through the security door.

Sera kills several guards, but she is not heading to the reactor. That had been Plan A, but she decides to alter her approach by seeking out the genetics laboratory. They arrive in a hall covered in a child’s drawings, and the Romulan urges La’An to open a door with a single word written upon it — Khan. The spy requires La’An’s handprint to gain entry, but the security chief discerns that Sera is there to assassinate Khan Noonien Singh.*** The Romulan’s cabal built computers to predict how certain changes would alter the timeline. Although Khan becomes a brutal tyrant, she states that killing the boy will prevent the Federation from forming and rivaling Romulus.

Many have tried to influence history, and entire Temporal Wars have been fought over it. Sera's frustration grows as she recounts time’s seemingly relentless ability to push back, allowing events to reinsert themselves after each incursion. This was all supposed to happen in 1992, and she has been trapped here for 30 years. La’An defiantly declares that her real name is La’An Noonien-Singh and Khan is her ancestor. The Romulan argues that the device La’An was given will protect her from changes to the timeline, so executing Khan will free her to live a life away from the ghosts of his deeds. La’An momentarily considers it, instead choosing to use the opportunity and disarm her opponent.

During their struggle, Sera manages to place La’An’s hand on the scanner and opens the door to Khan’s room. The fight resumes, but La’An obtains the gun and shoots the Romulan, whose body disintegrates when she presses an implant in her neck. The button on the device which brought La’An here once again shifts its color back to green, though La’An opts not to return just yet. Summoning her courage, she paces through the doorway and finds a boy hiding behind his bed. He asks if La’An is going to kill him. La’An shakes off her uncertainty and assures him that he does not need to be scared of her. She sits with Khan and wipes away his tears. A photo with other children hangs on the wall, so La’An understands that Khan is not the only one of his kind in the facility. La’An tells him that, while it may never make sense, Khan is where he needs to be.

Hearing voices approaching, La’An touches the device’s button and is transported back to a corridor aboard her Enterprise . She visits the Bridge, exiting the turbolift as Pelia insists to Captain Pike that the statute of limitations for an alleged crime had passed decades ago. Noticing La’An, Pike consults her for her opinion. Remembering Pelia’s assistance in the 21st Century, she encourages him to let the issue slide.

Certain that things have returned to normal, La’An goes to her quarters, only to find Agent Ymalay from the Department of Temporal Investigations**** awaiting her in the shadows. A division of the Federation that investigates and repairs damage to the timeline, the department does not exist at this point in the 23rd Century. Ymalay thanks La’An for completing the mission; though she emphasizes that La’An must not share her experience with anyone. Emotions run high, and a tearful La’An reflects on watching the alternate James die in order to protect a mass murderer. Ymalay warns La’An that telling anyone about what transpired could undo everything she accomplished. The agent retrieves the department’s tech from La’An and disappears in a flash.

Taking a seat, La’An glances at the diver’s watch that remains on her wrist. She clutches a PADD and opens up a channel to Lt. James T. Kirk. La’An introduces herself as the Enterprise ’s security chief, prompting James to wonder what his brother did. La’An calms his fears and claims she just needs a place of birth for Sam’s security file. James says that it is the same place he was born — Riverside, Iowa. Smiling, La’An specifies that he was referring to the Iowa on Earth. James confirms the information, offering to tell her the real dirt on George Samuel Kirk if she buys him a drink the next time they’re on starbase together. Kirk closes out the communication, and a wave of uncontrollable grief overwhelms La’An.

* " The City on the Edge of Forever " - In a similar episode, Captain Kirk and Spock travel to the past via the Guardian of Forever's time portal to save not only Dr. McCoy, but their timeline.

** " Yesterday's Enterprise " - On the Enterprise -D, Captain Picard sends the Enterprise -C back to its proper time believing it will divert two decades of war. This episode also sees an alternate Tasha Yar surviving her timeline's erasure.

*** " Space Seed " - Captain Kirk and the Enterprise will meet the warlord Khan Noonien Singh after discovering his spaceship.

**** " Trials and Tribble-ations " - The Department of Temporal Investigations was first introduced in this Star Trek: Deep Space Nine episode, where two DTI investigators track down the Orb of Time and its involvement in an assassination attempt on Captain Kirk's life in the past.

• "This Is It" - The Home of Happy
• "Modern Art" - The Black Lips

• Written by David Reed
• Directed by Amanda Row

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Jay Stobie (he/him) is a freelance writer, author, and consultant who has contributed articles to StarTrek.com, Star Trek Explorer, and Star Trek Magazine, as well as to Star Wars Insider and StarWars.com. Learn more about Jay by visiting JayStobie.com or finding him on Twitter, Instagram, and other social media platforms at @StobiesGalaxy.

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds streams exclusively on Paramount+ in the U.S., U.K., Australia, Latin America, Brazil, South Korea, France, Italy, Germany, Switzerland and Austria. In addition, the series airs on Bell Media’s CTV Sci-Fi Channel and streams on Crave in Canada and on SkyShowtime in the Nordics, the Netherlands, Spain, Portugal and Central and Eastern Europe. Star Trek: Strange New Worlds is distributed by Paramount Global Content Distribution.

Screen Rant

What "tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow" means in star trek strange new worlds.

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 2, episode 2 borrows its title from one of the most famous speeches from William Shakespeare's Macbeth.

WARNING: This article contains SPOILERS for Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 2, Episode 3, "Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow." Star Trek has often borrowed phrases from Shakespeare for episode titles, and Star Trek: Strange New Worlds adds another title to that list with season 2's "Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow." This quote comes from William Shakespeare's Macbeth Act 5, Scene 5, just after the titular character has been told that his wife, Lady Macbeth, has died. As he mourns, Macbeth expresses his view that everything he has done thus far in his life has been pointless. A bit bleak for Star Trek , but "Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow" suggests that everyone's life has significance and every choice made actually matters a great deal.

"Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow" follows a classic time travel Star Trek plot, as La'an Noonien-Singh (Christina Chong) and an alternate universe Captain James T. Kirk (Paul Wesley) find themselves in the past, fighting to save the future. Strange New Worlds season 2, episode 3 ends on a sad note, but the story gives La'an a chance to open up to Kirk, who she falls in love with. While La'an and Kirk fight to ensure the existence of their tomorrow, James also ensures they take time to stop and enjoy the experience, including sampling some street hot dogs. "Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow" ultimately celebrates the connections people form, and gives La'an a chance to reckon with her connection to the cruel dictator, Khan Noonien-Singh.

Related: Star Trek’s Khan Noonien Singh Strange New Worlds & TOS History Explained

What "Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow" Means In Star Trek: Strange New Worlds

Interestingly, Macbeth's speech that begins with this phrase is about the futility of life. Just after the death of his wife, Lady Macbeth, Macbeth claims life to be "a tale told by an idiot [...] signifying nothing." But Star Trek: Strange New Worlds concludes quite the opposite. The actions and accomplishments of La'an and Captain Kirk in this episode are anything but futile. They restore the proper utopian timeline and prevent the Romulans from altering the future, saving countless lives. La'an and Kirk manage to save La'an's tomorrow and secure a better future for Kirk and his brother , Sam (Dan Jeannotte).

Unfortunately for this version of Captain Kirk, their success in stopping the Romulan assassin means that Kirk and his timeline cease to exist. But that doesn't mean that his life signifies nothing. Not only was his participation instrumental in saving the day, but he also made quite an impression on La'an. She will certainly not forget him and that alone makes his life (and death) significant. Still, just like Macbeth when he delivers his famous speech, La'an ends the episode alone. As the episode comes to a close, La'an cries in her room over the death of her Captain Kirk and the fact that she can never tell anyone about him.

Star Trek Has Quoted Shakespeare Many Times Before

Not only have many Star Trek episodes used Shakespearean quotes as titles, but Star Trek characters have been known to regularly quote Shakespeare's plays and sonnets. Patrick Stewart's Captain Picard was particularly fond of referencing Shakespeare and often turned to the Bard when delivering his famous speeches. Considering Shakespeare remains one of the most famous writers over 400 years after his death, it's not surprising that people would still be quoting him in the 23rd century. In fact, the exact speech "Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow" takes its title from also inspired another Star Trek episode title with Star Trek: The Original Series episode "All Our Yesterdays."

Despite its heartbreaking ending, "Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow" proves that life is more than "a walking shadow." This episode turns Macbeth's words on their head, and demonstrates the massive impact one or two people can have on the course of history. Macbeth comes to regret his villainous choices because he lost everything in the end, but La'an's actions helped save the future, so, despite her losses, she doesn't regret them. With wonderful performances from Christina Chong and Paul Wesley, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds' "Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow" is a welcome addition to the long list of Star Trek episodes with nods to Shakespeare.

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 2 streams Thursdays on Paramount+.

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Star trek: strange new worlds season 2 episode 3 review: tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow.

Oh, the layers of meaning and nuance on Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 2 Episode 3 are truly impressive.

For an offering that could easily be written off as a buddy-romcom time travel side adventure, there is a plethora of character development for La'an and multiple on-ramps for future plotlines, including the intriguing potential of a La'an-Kirk romance.

Bringing the Temporal Wars into the mix is a ballsy move; as we all know, messing with the space-time continuum always leads to shenanigans.

The timing of La'an's adventure is awfully on the nose, seeing as she's still struggling with Una's revealed identity as an Illyrian, a perceived betrayal in light of the name La'an carries.

Her sparring session with M'Benga underscores the emotional baggage she can't unload, while her personal logs indicate her isolation in her role as Chief Security Officer.

Where Hemmer and Uhura had a lot of bonding time on Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 1 , with Hemmer providing Cadet Uhura with guidance and the opportunity to find her direction, Pelia could be the catalyst for La'an's emotional breakthrough this season.

With her extreme longevity and unique perspective on humanity's development over the centuries, Pelia affords a particular wisdom unlike any La'an is ever likely to run across again.

Once you have lived through every natural disaster and economic calamity in human history without becoming a packrat, then you can judge me. Pelia Permalink: Once you have lived through every natural disaster and economic calamity in human history...

Furthermore, she's had to hide her identity for nearly all of her existence. With Una and La'an, she forms a type of triumvirate of identity and disclosure.

Una is Illyrian and hid it until she couldn't. La'an has lived her entire life with the specter of her genocidal ancestor as public knowledge. Pelia has concealed her identity for much longer than either officer has been alive, but, in her case, disclosure carries no punitive consequence.

I love that Pelia is both a brilliant engineer and a pragmatic hoarder. I'd defend her liberation of Louvre artwork as an extreme devotion to souvenir collecting. Just my hot take, but don't bother fighting me on it.

Needless to say, Carol Kane is a fantastic addition to the crew, interested in the work but, even more so, interested in the people.

Well, both having brain-melting secrets is I guess a good enough reason to help someone. Pelia Permalink: Well, both having brain-melting secrets is I guess a good enough reason to help someone.

Pelia's natural curiosity and willingness to lean in when the call to adventure comes is probably why she seeks out the new and novel with such enthusiasm. It's an elegant balance to La'an's analytical and cautious approach.

Kirk: You’re … not an engineer. Pelia: I work retail. Does this look like an engineer’s engineering place? I haven’t taken a Math class since Pythagoras made the crap up! Permalink: I work retail. Does this look like an engineer’s engineering place? I haven’t taken a Math...

It's amusing that La'an's reluctance to trust Sera because of her conspiracy-theorist roots doesn't extend to Pelia despite the Lanthanite's even less reliable resources.

However, as with most organized packrats, Pelia has what they need when needed. And La'an is able to track her down because of a seemingly innocuous comment about Vermont when she's searching Pelia's belongings on the Enterprise. And DuckDuckGo.

Come to think of it, the shape of the narrative is a thing of beauty. Everything relevant to La'an's mission is seeded into the opening scenes.

It is a well-known fact that people love it when you bring them bad news…. And quite frankly, who doesn’t find having their belongings searched endearing? La’an Permalink: It is a well-known fact that people love it when you bring them bad news…. And quite frankly,...

Mind you, I don't think anyone expected Toronto, Canada, to play such a large part in Star Trek history.

And I'm skeptical that a bridge across Lake Ontario will ever be necessary. I'd really like to know where it goes to. Rochester? Oswego? Besides the symbolism, what would be the point?

A couple more semantical questions: How much money did Kirk win at chess that they could afford that hotel room, pay for the busses to get to Vermont, AND have enough to bribe a border guard? Also, they had to get back to Toronto using the same route, and Canadian Border Services are way bigger sticks in the mud, so how'd they manage that?

Kirk: Seems to be New York City. Mid 21st Century. La’an: What? It’s Toronto. The biggest city in what used to be called Canada? Y’know, maple leaves, politeness, poutine… Take it you’ve never been. Permalink: What? It’s Toronto. The biggest city in what used to be called Canada? Y’know, maple leaves,...

Space-born Kirk is now the second alternate Kirk we've seen Paul Wesley portray, the first being on Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 1 Episode 10 .

His initial response to La'an's explanation for her presence on his ship seems reasonable.

Kirk: So you’re telling me that there’s an alternate timeline where I’m not the captain of this ship. La’an: All I know is that ten minutes ago, I was on my ship with my captain and now I’m here. Kirk: And everything’s changed. La’an: Yes. Kirk: Our scientists have theorized that such a thing could be possible. A far simpler explanation is you’ve lost your mind. Permalink: Our scientists have theorized that such a thing could be possible. A far simpler explanation...

Time travel shenanigans abound. They not only shoplift their clothes and steal a car, they leave their clothes from the future (but presumably not their com badges?) in a trash bin. They illegally cross an international border TWICE and shark many chess players. And then, there's Kirk's dead body left lying in the lobby of the Noonien Singh Institute for Cultural Advancement.

All this happens before the fork in the timeline, so it's now history. Unless, of course, Temporal agents go around collecting the clothes and retconning everyone La'an and Kirk interact with. And maybe dematerializing Kirk's corpse.

La’an: In my timeline, humanity has spread across dozens of worlds. We’re a part of a federation of species. Kirk: You don’t need anyone else’s help to survive. La’an: And just surviving is good enough for you? Kirk: Oh, and I suppose you come from some sort of a utopia? La’an: My Earth still has sunsets. Permalink: My Earth still has sunsets.

It's curious that Agent Ymalay remembers to take back the Temporal Agency equipment but doesn't feel the need to take La'an's watch or shoplifted clothes.

That final focus on the watch solidly foreshadows that the timey-wimey stuff isn't gone for good.

La’an: Never seen a revolving door before? Kirk: I’m from space. Permalink: I’m from space.

The title, "Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow," refers to Shakespeare's Macbeth and a soliloquy that Q infamously appropriates on Star Trek: The Next Generation Season 1 Episode 9, when he and Picard debate the futility of the human existence.

In La'an's case, it seems more fitting to recall that "all our yesterdays have lighted fools / The way to dusty death" as it accurately describes Sera's demise. Also, would space-born Kirk then be the poor player with his hour upon the stage, to be heard no more?

La'an's time with space-born Kirk reminds me of Star Trek: Picard Season 2 Episode 2 when Seven wakes up and discovers she is Annika, having never been assimilated.

Spending time with someone who has no idea who Khan Noonien Singh is lifts the weight off La'an, just as Seven finds freedom in life without the stigma of being an X-B.

People are usually… difficult for me. There’s always been a barrier and it can get lonely. La’an Permalink: People are usually… difficult for me. There’s always been a barrier and it can get lonely.

Perhaps, now that La'an's experienced that spiritual liberty, she'll remember how it felt and look for a way to free herself again back in her own timeline.

My real name is La’an Noonien Singh. My ancestor is Khan Noonien Singh and his legacy is genocide, torture, and ME. La’an Permalink: My real name is La’an Noonien Singh. My ancestor is Khan Noonien Singh is Khan Noonien Singh...

Or maybe, having met Khan as a young child and choosing to let him live, she is more accepting of the idea that his choices do not mean that she'll make the same ones or that she must continue to pay penance for his sins.

Sera: Time is like a black box. It’s too complicated to leave to intuition, so we built computers that will tell us the results of certain changes. La’an: And this was your answer? Sera: Khan becomes a brutal tyrant. Maybe humanity needs the dark age that he brings in to usher in their Age of Enlightenment. Or maybe it’s just random. Doesn’t really matter though. See, if I kill him, the Federation never forms and the Romulans lose their greatest adversary. Permalink: Khan becomes a brutal tyrant. Maybe humanity needs the dark age that he brings in to usher in...

La'an is confident in her skills, ability, and knowledge as a Starfleet officer, but under that veneer of polish and protocol, her insecurities as a person are immense.

Will the bud of romance that sprouted between space-born Kirk and her affect how she and the Earth-born Kirk get to know each other? And, really, do we want it to?

Now that she's in the know about Temporal agents, will she be tapped again when needs must? How will that watch play into the next mission?

La’an: I’ve been carrying something around for a long time, something in my heritage. Kirk: You come from a long line of ax murderers? La’an: Oh, no. We never use axes. Permalink: Oh, no. We never use axes.

The possibilities are vast, and because our tomorrows are not written yet, La'an could use her new experiences to take any number of paths.

Will it make her wiser? Softer? More understanding? Or will she seal herself off even more than before?

Hit our comments with your best guesses and biggest takeaways!

Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow Review

Diana Keng was a staff writer for TV Fanatic. She is a lifelong fan of smart sci-fi and fantasy media, an upstanding citizen of the United Federation of Planets, and a supporter of AFC Richmond 'til she dies. Her guilty pleasures include female-led procedurals, old-school sitcoms, and Bluey. She teaches, knits, and dreams big. Follow her on X .

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 2 Episode 3 Quotes

Once you have lived through every natural disaster and economic calamity in human history without becoming a packrat, then you can judge me. Pelia Permalink: Once you have lived through every natural disaster and economic calamity in human history... Added: June 27, 2023

It is a well-known fact that people love it when you bring them bad news…. And quite frankly, who doesn’t find having their belongings searched endearing? La’an Permalink: It is a well-known fact that people love it when you bring them bad news…. And quite frankly,... Added: June 27, 2023

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6/29/23 Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 2 Episode 3 Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow

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Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 2 Episode 3 Review – ‘Tomorrow, Tomorrow and Tomorrow’

June 28, 2023 by Chris Connor

Chris Connor reviews the third episode of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 2…

Strange New Worlds has further cemented its place with the opening couple of episodes of its sophomore season going in some unexpected directions and focusing on its ensemble cast. Episode three is structured in a similar fashion to the finale of the opening season with an alternate version of James T. Kirk front and centre.

Christina Chong’s La’an Noonien-Singh, a highlight throughout the show to date, here takes centre stage alongside the alternative Kirk. Thrust into a timeline in which Starfleet doesn’t exist and none of her crew are aboard the Enterprise, La’an has to find a way to correct the timeline before it is too late and a major catastrophe occurs.

The alternate timeline brings with it some fun variations on Trek canon with Spock not acquainted with Kirk and Kirk born in space rather than Earth. The bulk of the episode takes place on 21 st Century Earth, offering a fun fish-out-of-water scenario for this Kirk and La’an, similar in a fashion to The Voyage Home with the original crew.

The episode builds on the reoccurring theme of La’an’s heritage, descended from the classic villain Khan from The Original Series and The Wrath of Khan film sequel. Chong captures La’ans disdain for her heritage but also desire to do good and protect those she cares about.

Paul Wesley reprises his role as Kirk from the first season, funnily enough, both alternate versions of the character, and while he is not quite the spitting image of William Shatner, he is solid in the role.  The interplay between La’an and Jim does much of the work in this episode with the pair sharing fine chemistry and La’an’s knowledge of Earth, funnily juxtaposed with this Kirk’s lack of it.

The core concept of the episode plays out almost like the classic Doctor Who serial Genesis of the Daleks and the idea of stopping a monster before they go on to commit atrocities. It offers some clever moral questions and again takes the series in some new directions, making it all the better for it.

‘Tomorrow, Tomorrow and Tomorrow’, is another stellar episode in Strange New Worlds ’ second season, largely a two-hander between Paul Wesley and Christina Chong who make it constantly engaging as with previous episodes it never feels its runtime with and is an incredibly enjoyable watch. Again there is a welcome focus on other members of the enterprise crew and Paul Wesley continues to impress as Kirk, who we can only assume will have a meatier role in future.

The moral questions raised are handled delicately and the Earth and 21st Century settings help differentiate from previous Trek adventures, while Christina Chong once again proves how effortlessly she has captured La’an’s psyche and internal conflict.With such a strong run of episodes fans will surely hope season 2 is able to maintain this high quality level for the remainder of its ten episode run.

Chris Connor

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Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Showrunners Discuss That Big Khan Surprise, And What Makes It Special For All Audiences

Here's why he appeared in that way.

Warning! The following contains spoilers for the Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 2 episode "Tomorrow And Tomorrow And Tomorrow." Read at your own risk!

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds made some major changes to the universe's timeline in the Season 2 installment "Tomorrow And Tomorrow And Tomorrow," and as we predicted, the changes came with a surprise appearance from Khan Noonien Singh . The character made famous on the big screen by Ricardo Montalbán was back again, but in a way that we'd never seen him before. After the reveal, the showrunners shared some insight with CinemaBlend regarding that surprise appearance, and what makes it special for all audience members.

This Khan, played by younger actor Desmond Sivan, was only a child when his descendant, La'an, met him after traveling back in time to Toronto in the 21st century. CinemaBlend spoke to showrunners Henry Alonso Myers and Akiva Goldsman about the reveal, which effectively confirmed the Eugenics War and World War III won't happen until decades after the original series previously stated, and Goldsman talked to me about the beauty of the reveal, and how it's something that works for all audiences regardless if a viewer is a Trek veteran or new to the franchise. In his words:

So if you know, you know, right? You’re like, ‘Oh fuck, that’s Khan.’ But if you don’t know, it’s a little boy, right? And so the story doesn’t require you [to know Khan], but it is extra special if you do. And that’s what we always try to do. We try to make the story work without canonical knowledge. But with canonical knowledge, we think it’s deeper or sometimes just funnier or more special.

One goal of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds , according to Akiva Goldsman, is to make the franchise's lore both accessible and deep at the same time, depending on who is watching with their Paramount+ subscription . Viewers unfamiliar with the films would at least understand enough about La'an's background to know Khan is a big deal, and hardcore fans would understand how tempting it'd be for La'an to take the offer of a fresh start at life. 

Khan is the latest major Star Trek villain to show up in Strange New Worlds , though obviously with the twist of him being much younger. Henry Alonso Myers said that detail was part of the reason it was so enticing to both bring that character back while also featuring the Augment once again. Here's how he put it:

And that one, no one’s ever seen Khan like that. This is a Khan that you’ve never seen on television before. That was exciting to us.

Will we see more more recognizable villains returning in the future? Fans of the original series were thrilled in Season 1 when it was revealed that the new villain Angel was the lover of Spock's half-brother and The Final Frontier villain Sybok . 

Considering Star Trek: Strange New Worlds brought back Khan and even recast Captain Kirk, it's natural to wonder if anyone is off limits in this universe. I had to put that question to Henry Alonso Myers, especially after seeing that reveal, and got a pretty definitive answer.

CINEMABLEND NEWSLETTER

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I think it’s fair in saying no one is off the table.

If it wasn't obvious by now, it would appear that Star Trek: Strange New Worlds has the green light to pull in just about any character provided they can explain it logically. This even includes characters from shows in the future, as we'll see Boimler and Mariner from Lower Decks wind up on the Enterprise later in Season 2. I'm excited to see who else may show up, and if another Khan appearance could happen in future seasons. 

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds streams new episodes on Paramount+ on Thursdays. Catch up on what has been a great season so far, and be sure to check out what other great shows are up on the platform to stream. 

Mick Joest is a Content Producer for CinemaBlend with his hand in an eclectic mix of television goodness. Star Trek is his main jam, but he also regularly reports on happenings in the world of Star Trek, WWE, Doctor Who, 90 Day Fiancé, Quantum Leap, and Big Brother. He graduated from the University of Southern Indiana with a degree in Journalism and a minor in Radio and Television. He's great at hosting panels and appearing on podcasts if given the chance as well.

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Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow

La'an travels back in time to the 21st century Earth to prevent a attack which will alter humanity's future history.

Paul Wesley

Adelaide Kane

Noah Lamanna

Allison Wilson-Forbes

Brian Quintero

Robin schisler.

Caeden Lawrence

Cast appearances.

Anson Mount

Rebecca Romijn

Celia Rose Gooding

Babs Olusanmokun

Christina Chong

Melissa Navia

Episode discussion.

Das gefiel mir mal echt gut!!!!!

@bebop-cola wrote: That was an alternate universe tho.

It was alternate universe in the future but when they traveled to the past it wasn`t different as they prevented that attack that would change the future and create alternate universe.

@TomislavMuskovic wrote: It was a great episode. Time travel episodes in Star Trek are always special in their own way.  But i just didn`t like that they retconned the timeline for Eugenics Wars.

That was an alternate universe tho.

It was a great episode. Time travel episodes in Star Trek are always special in their own way.  But i just didn`t like that they retconned the timeline for Eugenics Wars.

Another amazing episode. They are knocking it outta the park so far this season. I'm still all about Nurse Chapel but La'an wasn't someone I expected to care about this much.

I fucking love La'an.

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Strange New Worlds – “Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow” Easter Eggs

Star Trek Time travel episodes are always fun, right? That’s what I love about Strange New Worlds . One week it can be a serious courtroom drama, and here it’s an entertaining (if imperfect) time travel adventure. But whenever a show goes to the past, it’s certain to look to its past. Especially with Captain Kirk ( Paul Wesley ) in this week’s Strange New Worlds “ Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow “ . There were tons of nods and references to the franchise’s past.

Join me today as we dissect the “ Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow ” Easter Eggs, and get some potentially massive hints as to where the rest of the series could be headed. Plenty to talk about and no time to waste!

A Normal Archaeologist

The “Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow” Easter Eggs begin from the very first scenes! New engineer Pelia ( Carol Kane ) is found with centuries of priceless artworks. We learn that as a Lanthanite, she probably collected it all herself. Her age is a bit of a mystery, though. She mentions learning from Pythagoras. Assuming that’s not a joke, that would make her at least 2700 years old on the USS Enterprise. She’s clearly led a very long varied life. Between maths, art collecting, and being an engineer aboard a starship, she really has done it all.

By the time we meet up with her on the Enterprise, she’s managed to acquire quite the collection! Among the paintings is an actual stolen artwork – Johannes Vermeer’s “The Concert”. It’s perhaps the most valuable missing item in the world, and Star Trek implying that Carol Kane is responsible is very funny. A big missed opportunity was not including the other artworks stolen in the same heist, which would just make it even funnier.

Another painting we can see is The Monet Family in Their Garden at Argenteuil by Edouard Manet. This one’s currently safe and sound in New York. So perhaps Pelia’s thieving habit wasn’t quite over after the events of this episode. Speaking of her lifestyle changes, we don’t know what made her want to become an engineer again, but there is a chance it was her encounter with Kirk and La’An ( Christina Chong ).

In Some Other Lifetime, Captain Kirk

The big drawcard for this episode was the first non-cameo appearance from Captain Kirk in the series. We’ve all been waiting in anticipation to see what they’d do with him, and there’s not enough here for me to see Paul Wesley as Kirk yet. I feel we need to spend more time with him, in the prime timeline, to care. On the bright side, the United Earth Fleet is hardly the Terran Empire, and there is a little common ground.

For starters, Kirk’s still not a great driver. We first saw his inability to drive a car in “A Piece of the Action” , and we get a small callback to that as he again puts the car in reverse here. Before he gets into the car, he also does the iconic Vulcan nerve pinch, which doesn’t feel right without a Spock ( Ethan Peck ) in his life. However, we remedy this with a reference to time spent in a Denobulan prison with a Vulcan cellmate. This is where referencing Sybok wouldn’t have gone amiss for me, making the most of an alternate timeline.

We also see Kirk briefly interact with Spock at the beginning, but it’s clear these versions aren’t familiar with one another. This other Kirk also mentions serving with a female first officer, who I assume was Number One (Rebecca Romijn), but this is not specified. Together, Kirk and this mystery first officer played 3-D chess. We were first introduced to Kirk and Spock playing chess together in “ Where No Man Has Gone Before “, in the first scene of the first episode.

“Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow” Easter Eggs didn’t have as much to say about modern society as Deep Space Nine’s “Past Tense”. Outside of a short scene about police issues, which was far better done in the second season of Picard, there’s not much in the way of social commentary. It does, however, have quite a lot to say about the increasingly complex Star Trek timeline, trying to rewrite some of the history we’ve learned over the years.

The 1990s are over, and we’re now in the 2020s. There has, as of yet, been no World War 3 or Eugenics Wars. All of this is supposed to be happening around now. So Strange New Worlds is using time travel to move these events forward. While we don’t know exactly when Kirk and La’An landed, it looks to be around now, and Khan is now a child. The debate around killing baby Khan, as well as the utopia that would grow from the ashes of his reign of terror, is perhaps the most Star Trek thing in the episode.

The whole thing makes for some lovely character moments for La’An. She’s an intriguing character, and her connection to her ancestry has made for some cool viewing in the past. It’s obvious from her attitude in the sparring scene at the start (where you can actually see what looks to be a Federation issue Bat’leth!) that she’s bothered and feeling isolated. I hope her decision not to protect the young Khan here has gone some way to help her accept all of who she is.

Temporal Investigations

New Trek is no stranger to time travelers. We’ve had Time Crystals in Discovery and earlier episodes of Strange New Worlds. Season 2 of Picard also featured the Travellers, the same group as Gary Seven ( Robert Lansing ) in The Original Series. The time traveler at the start of this episode ( Christopher Wyllie ) is dressed similarly to Seven. However, he’s got a holographic device that tells us he’s connected to something far deeper.

And more great “Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow” Easter Eggs in the shape of the TCARS system, similar to the LCARS operating system. This was first seen in an episode of Voyager called “ Relativity “. Given the USS Relativity from that episode was based in the 29th century, it follows that these agents are from around that era as well. I really wish we got more specific timeframes of when Kirk and La’An landed and where the agents are from.

At the end of the episode, these agents are revealed to be working for the Department of Temporal Investigations. Like TCARS, they also have their roots in 90s Trek . This time though from Deep Space Nine in “ Trials and Tribble-ations “. Given the appearance of Agent Ymalay ( Allison Wilson-Forbes ) at the end and the lore dump that followed, I wouldn’t be surprised if we see them again.

A New Temporal War?

While we don’t know if this is the same war from Enterprise , as I mentioned earlier, it’s not explicitly mentioned when these agents are from. I would love some eventual closure on Future Guy from earlier episodes of the series. While the showrunners have since stated that the intention was for this character to be Archer ( Scott Bakula ), this never materialized onscreen. It’s entirely possible, if this is the same war here, that Future Guy is a Romulan.

The inclusion of the Romulan Sera ( Adelaide Kane ) here was an interesting one. I’d love for this character, despite her disintegration, to hopefully get a little more depth. When dealing with time travel, anything’s possible, and this is definitely a plotline worth keeping an eye on. Interestingly, her killing of the alternate Kirk could be read as a mirror of the “ Balance of Terror “. Where despite Kirk’s attempts at diplomacy, he is killed, as opposed to the eventual respect earned between Kirk and the Commander ( Mark Lenard ) in TOS .

It’s worth noting that Kirk is set to have a recurring role this season, and there’s no real place for prime Kirk on the Enterprise as it stands now. We got a small glimpse of him at the end of this episode, but the writers have to be very careful to keep continuity when it comes to using him. What if this temporal war is eventually fought over him becoming the captain of the Enterprise? This could also feed into the series arc of Pike’s looming fate as well, perhaps becoming overwritten slightly.

Looking Forward to “ Among the Lotus Eaters “

This week’s new episode looks to be playing with memory, which could lead to some interesting character moments for the away team. Speaking of the away team, the costume design for them really looks next level. It’s a bit more realistic than the more fantastical costumes we got last season, but it’s a breath of fresh air compared to the regular Starfleet uniforms.

There’s something about a castle as well, with the Starfleet insignia as well. Just what Starfleet has to do with the events here raises a lot of questions. We know that Reed Birney is guest-starring as Luq. He could be the ghost from Pike’s past mentioned in the synopsis. I’m not sure how it all blends into an hour of television, but it looks like an absolute delight.

That was everything I noticed in the latest episode of Strange New Worlds “ Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow “. While it was imperfect, with an underdeveloped romance and unrealized potential for social commentary, it was more than watchable. What did you make of the episode? Was there anything I missed? I’m looking forward to talking about next week’s episode a lot. Playing with memory and a medieval-style setting is bound to be a lot of fun.

Where to Watch

Season 2 of  Star Trek: Strange New Worlds  airs on Thursdays exclusively on Paramount+. New episodes drop weekly on Paramount+ in the United States, United Kingdom, Australia, Latin America, France, Germany, Brazil, South Korea (via Tving), France, Italy, Germany, Switzerland & Austria. As well as CTV Scifi / Crave in Canada, and TVNZ in New Zealand. It also airs on SkyShowtime in the Nordics, the Netherlands, Spain, Portugal, and Central and Eastern Europe.

More From Trek Central

📰 – REVIEW: Strange New Worlds: “Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow”

🔥 – Star Trek: Strange New Worlds – ‘Ad Astra per Aspera’ Easter Eggs

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