Star Trek: Strange New Worlds marks the first-ever musical episode in the Star Trek franchise history and it’s one of their strongest episodes. It is also the longest episode of the season with a 62-minute run time.

Paramount+ was wise to avoid sending the musical episode prior to the season. I mean, obviously, it’s a very entertaining episode but it also runs the risk of spoiling fans weeks before its airdate. It’s a risk that comes with writing a review of the season rather than individual reviews. What I can tell you is that I think it’s fun to resolve a few of this season’s storylines by a way of a musical episode. But now that some of those storylines are resolved, what does this mean for the season 2 finale? Also, how is it already almost time for the season 2 finale? The second season of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds is going by so fast!

Spoiler alert: spoilers will follow below the photo.

There are ten Emmy-worthy songs with music and lyrics by Kay Hanley and Tom Polce. It’ll be a shame if the studio doesn’t push some of the numbers here. The two best ones by far are “Status Report” and “We Are One” That being said, every character gets their own standout moment or moments to shine. Roberta Campanella handles the choreography.

It takes a few minutes to go into musical form after the Enterprise investigates a fold in subspace. Uhura (Celia Rose Gooding) suggests beaming it with music and next thing you know, Spock (Ethan Peck) starts singing and then the crew starts singing. Captain Christopher Pike (Anson Mount) is looking on as if he doesn’t know why his crew is starting to seek. Of course, the episode is even better with the inclusion of James T. Kirk (Paul Wesley) as he just happens to be on the ship this season. It also reaches peak comedy because of how emotion plays a role in their singing. Pike can’t even have a private conversation with his girlfriend, Captain Batel (Melanie Scrofano). Hell, the Klingons are like a boy band!

I love how they’re utilizing Kirk this season and they also touch on the earlier time travel episode with Kirk and La’An Noonien-Singh (Christina Chong). Despite the feelings she has for Kirk, he is in a relationship as the off-screen Carol is pregnant with his child. If you’re going to do a musical, it’s hard to ignore Spock’s feelings with Nurse Christine Chapel (Jess Bush) but the series must stay true to canon. We know that Chapel leaves the Enterprise at some point and becomes engaged to Robert Korby. But anyway, Spock’s feelings and their recent relationship will be impacted by her applying for the Starfleet fellowship. If Strange New Worlds sticks to canon, Jess Bush will not be a series regular during the third season. Time is running out for her to fall in love with the professor.

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds isn’t afraid of taking risks. Last season brought about a comedic episode in the form of a costume drama. There’s also been the body-swapping episode. Of course, the prequel series sticks with a different genre and tone for each episode, much like The Original Series. This year has seen both the crossover and the musical episode. Personally speaking, they offer the two best episodes of the season.

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds goes the unique route of tying up loose ends with a musical.

CREATORS: Akiva Goldsman & Alex Kurtzman & Jenny Lumet
SHOWRUNNERS: Akiva Goldsman and Henry Alonso Myers
DIRECTOR: Dermott Downs
EPISODE WRITERS: Dana Horgan & Bill Wolkoff
EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS: Alex Kurtzman, Akiva Goldsman, Jenny Lumet, Henry Alonso Myers, Aaron Baiers, Heather Kadin, Frank Siracusa, John Weber, Rod Roddenberry, Trevor Roth
CAST: Anson Mount, Ethan Peck, Jess Bush, Christina Chong, Celia Rose Gooding, Melissa Navia, Babs Olusanmokun, and Rebecca Romijn
SPECIAL GUEST STARS: Paul Wesley
GUEST STARS: Melanie Scrofano, Dan Jeannotte, Bruce Horak, and Carol Kane

New episodes of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds premiere weekly on Paramount+. Episode 9 – Grade: 5/5

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