Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 4 Finale

The Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 4 finale is finally here. “Tomorrow’s Enterprise” finds Uhura navigating two timelines one year apart as she and her future self fight tooth and nail to save Scotty from a deadly accident.

It’s a beautiful blend of heart and humor, bolstered by solid performances across the board. The most exciting aspect is seeing the homage to Star Trek: The Original Series and what the future has in store for these beloved characters. It’s a delightful finale.

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Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow…

“…creeps in this petty pace from day to day.” This isn’t the first time Star Trek: Strange New Worlds has dealt with time travel and all the timey-wimey shenanigans that ensue. Pike has seen his own future. La’An travels back to the 21st century with an alternate version of Kirk and meets her infamous ancestor as a child, Khan Noonien Singh. It only makes sense that Uhura, in both timelines, seeks out these two for guidance.

One of this show’s prevailing (and deeply resonant) themes is living life like there’s no tomorrow. Our characters, particularly Pike, La’An, and Uhura, are encumbered by their past and their respective futures. Pike kicks off his journey in Strange New Worlds armed with the knowledge of his inevitable tragic fate, but he learns to embrace the present. Traumatized by her childhood and terrified that she’ll become Khan at some point in her future, La’An struggles to focus on the now.

Uhura lives with her own grief after losing her family on Earth. It’s still early on in her Starfleet career, and she’s grappling with her identity. Who is she? Uhura throws herself into her work, only thinking about how it’ll shape her future. As someone perpetually stuck in the past and future, sometimes simultaneously, I found Uhura’s story to be quite profound.

She’s afraid to be uncomfortable, fearful of the awkward, so she tries to be as prepared as she can for every possible outcome. I dare anyone not to find Uhura utterly relatable in “Tomorrow’s Enterprise.” This finale zeroes in on what Star Trek does best – it delivers a hard-hitting lesson wrapped in a compelling, engrossing narrative.

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Nods to the Past (and the Future)

The two timelines are separated by only one year in the Strange New Worlds season 4 finale, but Future Uhura’s time boasts so many changes. I loved the nods to Uhura and Chapel’s looks in Star Trek: The Original Series, from their uniforms to Uhura’s sleek bob. In the future, Scotty is dead but, of course, we know he inevitably survives. He’s got plot armor there. Pike is now an admiral, on course to fulfilling the future he saw in Star Trek: Discovery. Ortegas is a flight instructor, an intriguing pivot from piloting the Enterprise.

M’Benga is apparently spending time on Vulcan, so Dr. Phillip Boyce, who was introduced in “Off-Hour,” is now the Chief Medical Officer. Kirk is getting comfy in the captain’s chair. Side note: I loved seeing M’Ress in the background, the Caitian officer aboard Enterprise in Star Trek: The Animated Series. Uhura and Scotty also mention Bones, AKA Dr. Leonard McCoy. That made the Trekkie in me happy.

Missing from this glimpse into the future are La’An and Una. Kirk’s reaction to Present Uhura mentioning La’An is heartbreaking, and I hope it doesn’t mean that she’s dead by the time that Pike hands the keys to the Enterprise to Kirk. We know Una will live, but La’An has been the enigma of this overarching, multi-season story. Season 4, in particular, has hinted at her “losing control.”

However, the penultimate outing shows her turning over a new leaf and learning to lean on her trusted circle of friends. She even asks Kirk out on a date. The logical part of me (thanks, Spock) doubts that the series would build her up this much just to “fridge” her to bolster Kirk’s growth.

Still, the finale certainly gives us plenty to chew on while we wait for season 5.

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Visual Spectacle

“Tomorrow’s Enterprise” is one of the prettiest episodes of Strange New Worlds, especially for fans of space aesthetics. The production values are out of this world (sorry, I had to). I loved the scene in the third act where both Uhuras are standing outside the black/white hole as they try to “deliver” a space baby (bet that’s a sentence you never thought you’d read in your life). The visuals really immerse you in a futuristic world where the possibilities of the universe are endless.

Nami Melumad’s score is in top form in the finale, with some of her best work during that aforementioned scene. It’s one of those cinematic moments when everything coalesces into an emotionally impactful climax that really drives the story home.

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Perfect Performances

Celia Rose Gooding delivers one of their strongest performances in “Tomorrow’s Enterprise.” I’ve been waiting for another Uhura-centric episode in Strange New Worlds, and Gooding gets to dig deep into our favorite communications officer’s complexities in a way we haven’t seen before. Gooding spreads their acting wings and shows us what they’re capable of.

Paul Wesley is always a pleasure as Kirk. There’s something special about watching him step up to the captain’s plate. Even though we know he’ll eventually helm the Enterprise, it’s still exciting, nonetheless. He never tries to do a William Shatner impression, either, which is refreshing.

Martin Quinn is charming as Scotty, and Jess Bush has a blast playing Future Chapel, who definitely feels more in tune with her TOS self.

Really, Gooding steals the whole damn thing, and I’m glad that Uhura’s development here brings her one step closer to the Uhura we know and love.

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What This Means for the Final Season

Fun fact: Uhura and Scotty have a brief off-screen romance in Star Trek V: The Final Frontier, so their budding relationship in Strange New Worlds shouldn’t be too out of left field. If anything, this provides more context for their future dalliance. I, for one, think they’re cute together. I’m guessing that season 5 will see their bond flourish in some way as Uhura learns to live in the now.

I imagine that we’re probably past any major character growth, since the first four seasons did that legwork already. I’m sure the “gimmick” episodes are behind us, too, since only six episodes remain to wrap up the series and lead us into TOS (or the much-desired Star Trek: Year One spinoff, should the Paramount gods be good). We’ll definitely see Pike’s promotion to admiral. Perhaps Pike will recommend Kirk to captain the Enterprise, and since La’An and Kirk are a thing, he’ll have a good reason to accept the post.

The final season will also need to organically move Ortegas toward becoming a flight instructor and leaving the Enterprise, along with M’Benga deciding to try Vulcan on for size. Future Spock in “Tomorrow’s Enterprise” feels the closest to his TOS self, so perhaps the season will continue nurturing his rekindled bond with T’Pring.

The season 4 finale sets the stage for what’s on the horizon, and I can’t wait to boldly go into the last season, whatever that might bring.

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What did you think about the Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 4 finale?