Star Trek Strange New Worlds Season 4 Reaction: Episode 9

Star Trek Strange New Worlds
Season 4 Reaction: Episode 9

Once La'an a Time

After returning to the Enterprise from a Benzite dignitary's wedding (which La'an saved by exposing an Orion diplomat as a spy) the crew encounter an artificially created flat planet.  Beaming down the crew find themselves in a medieval fairytale land, based on as it turs out, the storybook Dr. M'Benga used to read to his daughter.  Only M'Benga remembers the events of the original encounter.  The planet is populated by doppelgängers of the crew.  The Bolzman Brain entity original helped M'Benga deal with difficult issues he was going through, now it is doing the same with La'an who has been dealing with some personal issues.  The crew dress up as their doppelgängers to see the story out.  La'an poses as her doppelgänger, Princess Talia.  Prince Dashing appears in the likeness of James Kirk.  While the away team are imprisoned in a dungeon, Pike and Spock's counterparts beam aboard the Enterprise and masquerade as the captain and science officer.  The away team encounter Uhura's counterpart Queen Neve and convince her that Pelia is Benny Russell, the author of the book on which the fantasy is based.  Queen Neve tries to force Pelia to tell her how to destroy the "Iron Dragon" (the Enterprise).  While Pike and Spock's doppelgängers cause havok on the ship, La'an works with Una and Ortegas doppelgängers to get into the castle and rescue Pike and Spock.  La'an and Prince Dashing don disguises and dance in a costume ball.  When Queen Neve enters the ball, Prince Dashing turn into a werewolf.  The Queen uses a spell to make both La'an and her doppelgänger, La'an herself representing the tough La'an and the Princess representing the soft, loving private La'an, collapse.  She then says that the only way to defeat the dragon is to become the dragon.  Later the two La'ans awaken and fight eachother, while a dragon flies toward the Enterprise.  The two La'ans fight, exchanging feelings.  Pike's doppelgänger takes command on the bridge and orders weapons fired at the dragon.  La'an stops the fight and realizes that if the two parts of herself can work together.  The Enterprise's weapons have no effect on the dragon, only the magic of the wizard (Spock's doppelgänger) is able to affect it.  It turns out the planet is actually a ship.  Pelia stays behind to study the ship, officially leaving the Enterprise.  The Princess gives her dog, Runa to La'an, as the Prince is allergic to dogs.  La'an admits to herself that she's been dealing with internal conflict for a long time.  La'an finally goes on a date with James Kirk in the port galley.

First and foremost the episode is a sequel to season 1's "The Elysian Kingdom" something I would call completely unnecessary.  A fun little period piece episodic jaunt, but completely unnecessary.  Granted it does serve as a turning point for La'ans character and her relationship with Kirk, and is the exit of Pelia from the series, opening the chief engineer position for Scotty.  That said, a sequel to "The Elysian Kingdom" is unnecessary.  Benny Russell is of course a reference to DS9's "Far Beyond the Stars".  The idea of the two sides, the light and dark, of La'an fighting each other, symbolizing her internal conflict is interesting, as her internal conflict is something that's been in the background the whole series.  Overall this episode is ok, if unnecessary.