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Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 2 Episode 9 Review – Subspace Rhapsody

Star Trek's first musical installment is silly, heartfelt, and perhaps the most fun the show's ever been.

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This Star Trek: Strange New Worlds review contains spoilers.

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 2 Episode 9

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds continues to swing for the fences in its second season, repeatedly going where literally no one has gone before in this franchise. And if you thought that things couldn’t possibly get more delightfully chaotic than the episode that brought several Lower Decks animated characters into the world of live action, you definitely weren’t prepared for the series’ foray into musical storytelling, an installment that is potentially the most purely fun hour of Star Trek I’ve ever watched. Is it silly? Absolutely. Occasionally cringe-worthy? Kind of. But somehow still perfect in spite of it all? 100% yes.

Most viewers likely assumed that the much-ballyhooed Star Trek musical episode would basically be a marketing gimmick, a silly, largely disposable hour with little to offer besides the chance to see our faves sing and dance together. And I don’t know that any of us would have actually minded too much if that’s all it had turned out to be! But instead, “Subspace Rhapsody” is a surprisingly thoughtful exploration of community and connection, an hour that’s not only wildly fun to watch, but that wholeheartedly embraces the format it’s chosen, using the larger narrative framework of traditional musical theater to say something meaningful about its characters and their various journeys this season. 

Life in Starfleet doesn’t often lend itself to overt emotion, which is probably why so many of its members are closet alcoholics. I kid, I kid—mostly—but while Strange New Worlds is a show that literally runs on heart, a certain brand of stoicism does tend to rule the day on the Enterprise . Yes, there are certainly plenty of emotional moments , but getting people freely admitting and talking about their feelings isn’t something that happens particularly often. (I mean, Una basically reverse engineered her own arrest in order to come clean about her Illyrian heritage and her reasons for lying to Starfleet. We just found out about M’Benga’s dark past as a sort of Special Forces assassin last week .) And musicals are made for big, messy, emotions—we sing when we feel so much we can’t keep it inside anymore, when it’s the only way to possibly convey what’s in the depths of hearts. So this is an hour that’s over the top entertainment, yes, but one that’s also full of deep seated and necessary truths. 

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Smartly, Strange New Worlds fully leans into the ridiculousness of the situation the Enterprise crew finds itself in, a phenomenon brought about by a rare subspace fold and the unfortunate application of a classic Cole Porter track. The songs are hilariously peppered with references to deflector shields and phaser banks, simultaneously incredibly broad and hyper specific. And the episode repeatedly underlines how much no one actually wants to be singing their feelings out in front of their crewmates, gleefully giving various characters cringe-worthy and painfully self-aware public confessionals. Anson Mount, truly making a solid case that someone should just cast him in a romantic comedy already, continues to be the show’s MVP when it comes to subtle humor and deadpan reaction shots.

The overall quality of the episode’s musical numbers is…well, it’s a Star Trek musical, it’s about what you’d expect, with songs about connecting to your true self and the importance of trusting one another. The series’ cast is game for anything, and most of them are fairly decent singers, though Strange New Worlds is smart enough to understand that large ensemble numbers can cover a multitude of sins. 

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds “Subspace Rhapsody” Soundtrack and Musical Influences

Strange New Worlds Easter Eggs Call Back to a Major Star Trek: Wrath of Khan Character

Celia Rose Gooding gets the biggest and best solo number, a showstopper of a self-actualization anthem that’s a lovely celebration of how far Uhura’s come since the series began. Christina Chong, also a professional singer, gets a nice introspective piece about La’an’s internal struggle with control. And while Jess Bush doesn’t necessarily have the strongest voice among the crew, Chapel gets one of the episode’s best ensemble numbers as she rediscovers her free spirit while celebrating her acceptance into a three month fellowship with archeological medical expert Dr. Korby. (Who I assume she’s also going to get engaged to sometime in the not too distant future.)

Vocal performances aside, the high drama and heightened emotions of musical theater make for a perfect backdrop for a surprisingly thoughtful exploration of several of season 2’s key relationships, including La’an’s lingering feelings for James Kirk to Chapel and Spock’s nascent connection. Even Pike and Batel’s one step forward two steps back long distance courtship comes under the spotlight. Granted, I’m not sure how truly invested any of us are in that particular pairing no matter how fabulous Melanie Scrafano is, and this hour does nothing so much as indicate that Pike isn’t really willing to put in the work their relationship needs, whatever he says to the contrary. But, hey, at least we confirmed Batel’s first name is Marie.

Viewers knew that the Spock/Chapel relationship was doomed long before Boimler told the Enterprise’s chief nurse the truth about the Spock history will remember, but its doubtful that any of us expected a break-up between them to happen so soon. Happily, the end of their romantic relationship isn’t about Spock’s nebulous future but Chapel’s very real present, and it’s a relief not only to see her choose herself in the end, but to do so with such a total lack of guilt or uncertainty about it. We love a woman who knows her worth. Of course, it seems more than likely Strange New Worlds will revisit these two at some (multiple?) point(s) in the future, and her choice—as well as his response to it—will surely complicate things between them even further. 

Speaking of complicated, this is also the episode in which La’an comes clean about her alternate past history with a different version of James Kirk, fearing quite rightly that the odds of her blurting it out in song at some point are not zero. (Since she so clearly also has feelings for his prime timeline counterpart.) Kirk is surprisingly cool about both the revelation that La’an’s into him and that she watched a different version of him die in front of her , and, to his credit doesn’t take advantage of the opportunity. Instead, he confesses that while he’s drawn to her too for reasons he doesn’t entirely understand, he can’t act on any of those feelings because he has a girlfriend at the moment and said girlfriend is pregnant. Whether this is merely meant to serve as a fun Carol Marcus pseudo-cameo for fans, or if it’s a hint that we might actually get to see some version of this character (and her relationship with Kirk) fleshed out more thoroughly in future episodes, is a question for another day. But why not? I’m pretty sure Strange New Worlds has already proved there’s nothing it can’t do.

4.5 out of 5

Lacy Baugher

Lacy Baugher is a digital producer by day, but a television enthusiast pretty much all the time. Her writing has been featured in Paste Magazine, Collider,…

'Star Trek: Strange New Worlds' Season 2 Episode 9 Recap: A Musical That Ends on a High Note

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Strange New Worlds has officially taken Star Trek where no other series within the franchise has gone before with its very first musical episode. The penultimate episode of Season 2, "Subspace Rhapsody," sees the crew of the USS Enterprise collide with an anomaly that sends the entire federation into an alternate dimension powered by song. As each member of the crew from Captain Pike ( Anson Mount ) to visiting officer Jim Kirk ( Paul Wesley ) begins singing about their innermost thoughts, Uhura ( Celia Rose Gooding ) must race against the clock to reset their reality before the Klingons arrive to destroy the source of their dishonor.

Written by Dana Horgon and Bill Wolkoff , "Subspace Rhapsody," while delivering a whacky off-the-wall musical, still drives several plot points forward as the end of Season 2 draws near, and delivers some truly quintessential Star Trek . The episode is directed by Dermott Downs , who previously helmed the musical crossover for Supergirl and The Flash , as well as several episodes of Fire Country . The ten new songs, which will be available on Spotify and Apple Music, were penned by Letters to Cleo's Kay Hanley and Tom Polce with some stellar choreography from Roberto Campanella . The episode also features an acapella rendition of the show's theme song.

Musical episodes can easily spiral out of control and turn into a cringey mess, but thankfully that's not the case with Strange New Worlds . Star Trek is known for pushing the boundaries and delivering outside-the-box ideas with style and just the right touch of campiness, and that's exactly what "Subspace Rhapsody" does. With a grand range of genres, the episode moves easily between comedic moments and sweeping emotional ballads. Already accomplished singers in their own right, Gooding and Christina Chong are strong standouts as Uhura and La'an deliver the most impactful numbers from the episode. However, the whole cast of Strange New Worlds brings their A-game to "Subspace Rhapsody," locking it in as one of the best episodes in a franchise filled with hits.

RELATED: ‘Star Trek: Strange New Worlds’ Paul Wesley & Ethan Peck on Season 2 and ‘TOS’ Homages

'Strange New Worlds' Season 2 Sets the Stage for a Lyrical Adventure

Uhura opens the episode with a communications officer's log detailing the new subspace fold the crew of the Enterprise has found in the far reaches of Federation space. Spock ( Ethan Peck ) believes that it can be used to speed up subspace communication, but while they experiment on the anomaly, the crew must communicate the old-fashioned way — exclusively through her station. The musicality of Uhura's role on the ship is immediately evident as she effortlessly conducts every bit of communication among the crew.

Pike is looking to move things with Captain Marie Batel ( Melanie Scrofano ) to the next level as the two attempt to plan their first vacation together; however, it's not going very well, as the two clearly have different ideas about what makes for the ideal getaway. Elsewhere, La'an and Una ( Rebecca Romijn ) prepare to welcome Kirk aboard in order to "show him the ropes" before he begins his official commission as first officer of the USS Farragut. Una immediately clocks La'an's unusually flustered nature as the security officer prepares to work with Kirk for the first time since her trip to the past with an alternate version of the future captain .

In Sickbay, Chapel ( Jess Bush ) anxiously prepares to open a message from Dr. Korby — whom TOS fans will recognize as her future fiancé. She's applied to an archeological medicine fellowship to further her career, and this time, she's gotten in. She's over the moon to have gotten into the program which will take her away from the Enterprise for at least three months, but her feelings are muddied when she realizes she doesn't know how to tell Spock she's leaving.

Speaking of Spock, the science officer has teamed up with Uhura and Pelia ( Carol Kane ) in engineering. As their efforts continue to come back fruitless, Pelia suggests that they try sending music through the subspace fold — if regular communications aren't working, perhaps "fundamental harmonics" will do the trick. Uhura chooses a classic from Anything Goes , a fitting sentiment for Star Trek , and as they send the song through it reverberates back throughout the ship. Almost immediately, Spock begins singing uncontrollably as he attempts to give a status report to the Captain. The phenomenon continues through the entire crew as everyone begins to harmonize about their unique roles and positions on the ship. Aside from their sudden theatrical nature, nothing appears to be out of the ordinary.

The Crew of the Enterprise Can't Stop Singing on 'Strange New Worlds' Season 2

The crew gathers for an emergency meeting in the ready room as they try to understand what just happened. Spock explains that sending a song into the subspace field essentially caused the ship to slip into a musical reality, one to which they've become tethered, so their random bouts of singing are likely far from over. Together Uhura and Spock attempt to find a way to fix the problem, and when Spock notices that Chapel has received a response from Dr. Korby. When Uhura realizes that they're dating, he suggests that he ask her about it himself instead of waiting, but he tells her that they've had trouble communicating lately following Chapel's PTSD in the previous episode .

Elsewhere, Kirk and Una tune up the ship while discussing the best way to go about being a first officer in Starfleet. While Una has quite the reputation for keeping her distance, she reveals that lately she's been trying a new, more hands-on approach. Once again, a flight of fancy takes over the pair of officers as Una finds herself in the middle of a Gilbert and Sullivan -style number, referencing her love for The Pirates of Penzance ( established in the Short Trek "Q&A" ). Romijn and Wesley give a delightful performance as they twirl through the hallways, professing the benefits of being their authentic selves.

Having witnessed the moment by happenstance, La'an races to her own quarters as she finds herself overcome with emotion and driven to belt out her own innermost feelings. Chong is outstanding as she shows a more vulnerable side of La'an than we're used to seeing on Strange New Worlds . The lyrics for "How Would That Feel" also really stand apart, working as a beautiful heart-song while effortlessly highlighting elements specific to La'an — like her genetic modifications and her alternate timeline romance . Afterward, she promptly informs the Captain that the sooner they get out of this reality the better, as the uncontrollable urge to sing about their personal feelings could pose a security risk to the ship.

When their attempt to close the anomaly backfires, Batel hails the Enterprise from the Cayuga, immediately showing that their experiments have far-reaching consequences as she engages Pike in a Bad Country-style duet. Proving La'an's point about the anomaly posing a security risk, Pike and Batel sing a rather "Private Conversation" on the bridge, as he confesses his feelings for her in front of the crew.

Music Compels the Crew of 'Strange New Worlds' Season 2 to Confess Their Inner Feelings

In another emergency meeting, they learn that the anomaly has begun to spread throughout the fleet. Uhura suggests that because they're in a musical reality, they're following the logic of a typical musical — when their emotions are heightened, they find themselves compelled to sing about them. Embarrassed by his own emotional confession, Pike promptly (and hilariously) suggests that they blow up the subspace fold. Spock notes that his ridiculous suggestion actually has merit, and Kirk promptly volunteers himself and La'an to test that theory. However, La'an is afraid she's going to confess her feelings to Kirk, prompting her to attempt to refuse the assignment. In the next musical number, Una offers some sage advice to La'an about how suppressing your feelings can actually do more harm than good. It's a smoky piano number that sees La'an and Una floating through space, in a moment of vulnerability that calls back to their Enterprise Bingo adventure from Season 1 .

La'an agrees to work with Kirk and when he tells her they should team up more often, she nearly tells him how she feels. Unfortunately, she's cut off immediately as an explosion reverberates through the entire ship. The test to see if they could simply destroy the fold has also backfired, nearly destroying engineering in the process. Spock explains that if they were to attempt to go through with that plan they would obliterate every ship affected by the anomaly. To make matters worse, they receive a message from the Klingons who make it clear they're on a mission to destroy the fold which they've calculated is the source of their dishonor.

Spock and Uhura go to trigger another song so that they can study elements like frequency and tone that they may be able to use to solve their predicament. Conveniently, they happen upon Chapel celebrating with Ortegas ( Melissa Navia ) and Sam Kirk ( Dan Jeannotte ) in the bar. In a rather inconvenient, and insensitive even, song Chapel publicly breaks up with Spock as she tells him that she's ready to leave him to pursue her career. It's an entertaining number, but their short-lived relationship certainly suffers for it. Though they were a controversial pairing at best , Chapel and Spock's whirlwind romance appears to have ended before it even really began. They're promptly driven apart by the narrative, despite Chapel having pined for Spock for a season and a half before confessing her feelings.

Elsewhere, La'an takes control of her own feelings to explain to Kirk why she's been acting so strange. Despite both of them being fully aware of the consequences of her telling him about the alternate timeline, she forges forward and explains the way that Kirk fundamentally altered her brain chemistry by showing her the potential of who she could be. He made her realize that she could dare to hope, take chances, and make romantic connections with other people. She tells him that while he's not exactly like that version of himself ; this Kirk also looks at her like he genuinely sees her. Unfortunately, as much as Kirk feels drawn to her too, he confesses that he's currently in a relationship with a scientist on Starbase 1. TOS fans will recognize his romantic partner as Carol Marcus, and it just so happens that she's currently pregnant with their son — who first appeared in The Wrath of Khan .

'Strange New Worlds' Season 2 Strengthens the Connection Between Classic Star Trek Characters

Elsewhere, Spock is still reeling from getting dumped, while trying to analyze the data that he gathered with Uhura. Spock's break-up ballad is filled with math puns, as he logically processes his feelings and strengthens his friendship with Uhura by showing her a vulnerability he doesn't share with anyone else. Clearly going through it, he leaves her alone after the song ends, and she swiftly finds herself wrapped up in her own emotional number. Picking up on the tune she was humming at the beginning of the episode, Uhura goes back over her own isolation before realizing the answer lies in connection. Gooding is phenomenal throughout the entire episode, but this particular number gives them a well-deserved spotlight at the turning point of the musical.

Uhura brings her realization to the Captain, explaining that in order to break out of the musical reality, the entire crew needs to rally together for a grand finale in an ensemble number. Pike, known for his own inspiring speeches , opens the channel for her and gives Uhura the courage to be the one to motivate the entire crew to sing together in unison. The final number is as grand as it should be, as Uhura calls upon the connections between them to show everyone that they can accomplish literally anything when they work together. The song features several solo moments and fun references to Star Trek canon, like the Prime Directive and more. In a hilarious twist, we also get a glimpse of why the Klingons are so determined to destroy the anomaly as they hail the Enterprise in the midst of a '90s boy band, K-pop fusion number.

Finally, with every voice on the ship harmonizing as one, they're able to break free, and the crew revels in the elation and endorphins that come from performing together. "Subspace Rhapsody" ends on a high note — despite the emotional turmoil it caused in many of the characters, they're left looking at a brighter future. Though things appear to be over for Spock and Chapel, La'an is ready to let herself take more risks, and Pike is able to communicate more honestly with Batel. However, their vacation is postponed once more as she's assigned to a priority one mission, which may incidentally spell trouble for the Season 2 finale. The episode is capped off with the delightful running gag that the Enterprise's most reliable way to keep the Klingons satisfied is to send Spock in to negotiate over many gauntlets of blood wine.

The Season 2 finale of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds air on Paramount+ on August 10.

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• Star Trek: Strange New Worlds (2022)

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 2 Episode 9 Review: Subspace Rhapsody

By: Author Diana Keng

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There has never been Trek like Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 2 Episode 9 , and there may never be again, which would be a galactic shame.

Ever since Paramount+ released the news at San Diego Comic-Con 2023 that the penultimate offering of the season would be a musical, the fanbase has been split between the canonical stick-in-the-warp-core gatekeepers and those who embrace all that Trek can be.

Haters can just jettison their vitriol now. This is the biggest swing the series — nay, the franchise — has ever taken, and they blast it so far out there they probably broke temporal protocols.

It was always meant to be.

Ever since Una confessed her love of Gilbert & Sullivan to Spock on Star Trek: Short Treks Season 2 Episode 1 , treating him to a performance of the "Major-General's Song" from The Pirates of Penzance, we've itched to know what Spock would sing, given the chance.

But then Strange New Worlds manifested a cast that includes Grammy Award-winning, Tony-nominated Celia Rose Gooding and the unbelievably versatile Christina Chong, who has her debut EP dropping later this month.

Given the depth of talent present on set, the writers and showrunners would've been out of their minds not to do a musical.

Pike: So… That happened. La’an: Reports of musical outbreaks have come in from every deck. James Kirk: Honestly, I thought it was something you had all rehearsed, but I sang too. M’Benga: So did I. And I do not sing. 🔗 permalink: So did I. And I do not sing.

Framing it as the effect of an improbability field is as perfectly Trek as having a demon compelling musical numbers on Buffy the Vampire Slayer .

And just like in "Once More With Feeling," the characters find their secrets exposed and their plotlines advanced as the field effect causes them to sing their truths, driven by emotional spikes and some fabulous orchestration.

If the trolls would settle down for a moment, they'd realize there's more TOS canon here than in any script this season.

Chapel's fellowship is with Dr. Roger Korby, a character played on Star Trek: The Original Series Season 1 Episode 9 by Michael Strong.

Chapel: What if it’s another rejection? Ortegas: Forget those Vulcans and their Science Academy. They don’t deserve you. Chapel: But this fellowship is different. Dr. Korby’s a genius. Ortegas: I’m supposed to know who that is? M’Benga: He’s the Louis Pasteur of archeological medicine. Ortegas: Yeah, no. Still means nothing. 🔗 permalink: Yeah, no. Still means nothing.

Trek lore aficionados will regale you with the #SPOILER that when Chapel joins Kirk's Enterprise in a few years, it's with the secret purpose to find her former professor and fiancé, Dr. Korby, who goes missing while leading an expedition on Exo-3.

If you've been paying attention, Korby's already been mentioned this season. On Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 2 Episode 5 , Chapel's friends drill her on Korby's three principles of archeological medicine in preparation for her interview with the Vulcan Science Academy.

The other canon drop is when James Kirk explains to La'an how complicated his love life already is without having her time-traveling lost love emotions added to the mix.

It's all a bit mind-bendy, but follow me down this wormhole. #SPOILERS below for TOS canon.

James Kirk and Carol Marcus will have a son, David. David grows up to become part of his mother's scientific research team working on the Genesis project.

In the meantime, James Kirk, having no part in David's upbringing at Carol's insistence, brings La'an's ancestor, Khan Noonien-Singh, out of his centuries-long suspension and then makes a mortal enemy of him.

Khan then seeks to lure Kirk to him by attacking David and Carol. Spock dies in the conflict, only to be resurrected by David and Carol's Genesis planet.

So yeah, the idea of Kirk and La'an hooking up is such a canon grenade that there's a collective sigh of relief when that's nipped in the bud.

Besides the Trek canon, there are several cross-references to other television musical episodes.

Spock: Imagine an area of space where quantum uncertainties collapse so rapidly and randomly that new realities are created. In one such reality, people sing… uncontrollably. Pelia: A musical reality. Spock: Indeed. La’an: So what’s next? More improbability? Or will we just suddenly poof into bunnies. M’Benga: I would prefer not to be a bunny either. 🔗 permalink: I would prefer not to be a bunny either.

The mention of bunnies touches on Buffy's "I've Got a Theory / Bunnies / If We're Together" medley, while Una's explanation of how musicals work rings more recently familiar.

Uhura: I have a theory. I think since we’re in a musical reality, we actually following the rules of musicals. Pike: So when do characters in musicals usually begin to sing? Una: When their emotions are so heightened, that words won’t suffice. 🔗 permalink: When their emotions are so heightened, that words won’t suffice.

Let's think about that for a moment, where have we heard something like that before?

Melissa: You’re in a musical. That’s how musicals work. When you’re too emotional to talk, you sing. When you’re too emotional to sing, you dance. Josh: What happens when you’re too emotional to dance? Does it loop back around to talking? Cause I feel like that’s where I’m at right now. 🔗 permalink: What happens when you’re too emotional to dance? Does it loop back around to talking? Cause I…

Right, Melissa has to school Josh in how musicals work on Schmigadoon! Season 1 , when they first land in their own — season-long — improbability field.

Oh, that was a fun summer.

Everyone gets their hearts stomped on as the Enterprise moves through its Act 2.

Pike and Batel have it out in front of their crew.

Batel: I promise you even Julia Child’s boeuf bourguignon itself will not make me forget that you sang about lying to me. 🔗 permalink: I promise you even Julia Child’s boeuf bourguignon itself will not make me forget that you…

La'an has to lower her proverbial shields — although you never know with Augments, she might have real ones — to explain to James Kirk her attachment to Other Timeline Him.

Una: Admiral April’s last message confirmed that the improbability field has now spread to twelve Federation ships. He let me know in a surprisingly beautiful baritone that he wants us to stop this now, by the way. 🔗 permalink: Admiral April’s last message confirmed that the improbability field has now spread to twelve…

Una shares with La'an the life lesson she's learned about keeping secrets while mentoring Kirk on how to be a connected First Officer to his crew. AND singing about Gilbert & Sullivan. She really is amazing. #NumeroUna

Spock and Chapel come to a parting of ways. Spock feels heartbreak for the first time.

(It's fascinating to note that Spock actually gets the first line of song in the whole shebang. Of the entire cast, I was most surprised by how great a singing voice Ethan Peck has. I guess I've just never imagined Vulcans singing.)

And Uhura comes into her own, taking that first step towards the Uhura that will inspire Beckett Mariner enough to fangirl over her on Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 2 Episode 7 .

From orphan to Starfleet prodigy to Hemmer's apprentice to the Voice of the Enterprise, Uhura's path has been one of both personal and professional blossoming.

The finale does everything a good finale needs to do.

It unites the cast — in this case, crew — into a synchronous, harmonized union.

Uhura: That was just a solo with backup vocals. Maybe four voices, max? So we need to do that again but with more, a lot more. Pike: You mean, like an ensemble number? Uhura: Not just an ensemble number. A grand finale. We need melodies and harmonies with tone ratios that achieve both algorithmic and logarithmic balance on a mass scale. 🔗 permalink: Not just an ensemble number. A grand finale. We need melodies and harmonies with tone ratios…

There is a central thematic message that inspires and energizes the audience.

And it brings the house down. Well, in this case, it blows the improbability field up, but for all intents and purposes, those are equivalent effects.

While La'an's solo "How Would That Feel" is the emotional showstopper here, the Klingon dance break is the most inspired bit of musical schtick thrown in to demonstrate the field's spreading effect throughout the quadrant.

Spock: There appears to be an incoming warp signal heading our way fast. The signal has Klingon encryption. Una: The last thing anyone wants is singing Klingons. 🔗 permalink: The last thing anyone wants is singing Klingons.

It's a production that benefits from multiple viewings (and hopefully, a stage adaptation one day), as there are layers of meaning infused into the lyrics, and the music distracts the first time through.

With only the season finale left, chime in down in the comments with what epic adventure you think they'll leave us with.

My money's on the Gorn, but with Chapel and Spock's relationship ending, we may see T'Pring again and her work with Sybok at the Ankeshtan K'til Vulcan criminal rehabilitation center means Spock's half-brother may make his official entrance.

While you're there, be sure to mention which song you'll have on repeat when the soundtrack drops on all the platforms this week, Fanatics! We could call it an ear worm hole ! (But we won't.)

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Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Recap: Stardust Melody

Star trek: strange new worlds.

Hi, I’m Sophie, your guest recapper. Keith will be back to cover the season finale next week, and I’ve promised not to trash the place while he’s away. As they say, both on Broadway and in outer space, on with the show!

The writers of  Star Trek: Strange New Worlds  did not have to go so hard. They could have written a perfectly respectable penultimate episode, where the themes this season has explored — the challenges of navigating collegial, platonic, and romantic relationships; balancing one’s own dreams and ambitions against the dreams of those we love; processing past grief and trauma — would all be folded into an adventure with genuine heart and emotional heft.

Instead, Dana Horgan and Bill Wolkoff took a big swing and ratcheted up the episode’s degree of difficulty for everyone by writing a musical episode. Not even a supersize portion of hand-wavy, “It’s SCIENCE, okay?!” expository dialogue can fray the elegant weave of all of the character arcs and thematic threads that give “Subspace Rhapsody” its narrative sturdiness. The delightful, often moving, and deeply earworm-y songs furnished by songwriting team Tom Polce and Kay Hanley elevate the whole affair. You may recall their work from the effervescent oeuvre of Letters to Cleo and from appearances in films such as  10 Things I Hate About You  and  Josie & the Pussycats .

It’s so fun to watch the crew members being hypercompetent. Uhura’s zipping through the  Star Trek  version of every fun 1940s switchboard-operator montage we’ve ever seen to clear the electronic decks for this experiment and excitement about a naturally occurring subspace fold is matched by Spock’s eagerness to test a hypothesis. What if the naturally occurring subspace fold could triple the speed of subspace communications? They could invent interstellar texting! Uhura’s unconscious humming to herself as she works gives Pelia a brilliant idea: Since the fold operates under a different set of physics laws than they’re used to, maybe a different type of communication will unlock the speed they’re hoping for. Perhaps dynamic harmonics (a.k.a. songs) would work? Pelia is a bit cheeky and is still a somewhat mysterious character. Is she being a sincerely helpful, nearly immortal physics genius, or a trickster? Maybe it’s a bit of both.

The confidence of this episode is further emphasized by its patience: The first song doesn’t arrive until seven minutes in. With the ship reeling from a mysterious wave sent from the fold, Spock, of all people, kicks off the first song with the Spock-iest lyrics imaginable, “The intermix chamber and containment field are stable / I’ll get to the warp core and assess its state when I’m able,” and we are off to the races. It is, as they repeat several times, so peculiar.

Everyone in this cast can sing, and even those with modest vocal gifts acquit themselves well and then make room for powerhouse vocalists like the Grammy-winning and Tony-nominated Celia Rose Gooding and classically trained dancer Christina Chong. Shout-out to Polce and Hanley for writing toward their cast members’ skills. The most surprising new-to-me tidbit I learned on a little dive into their Wikipedia entries is that Rebecca Romijn studied voice at UC Santa Cruz. Actor, supermodel, singer — she can do it all!

Upon returning from the credits — this week featuring a special choral arrangement, a true gift to collegiate a cappella groups everywhere — everyone learns that by sending the fold “Anything Goes” and giving it a taste of the Great American Songbook, the Enterprise prompted the fold to unleash a very unlikely alternate musical-theatre reality. This scene includes a sweet little Easter egg for all the  Buffy the Vampire Slayer  fans out there, with La’an and Dr. M’Benga fretting about being turned into bunnies. Seems unlikely, but at least they’re not terrified of bunnies like  Buffy ’s resident vengeance demon and  leporiphobia sufferer, Anya .

Captain Pike wants solutions, and the team set to work with their first attempt, zipping the fold shut. This leads to a trio of related songs about balancing the responsibilities of leadership with one’s feelings. The first, Number One’s charming waltz with the visiting Jim Kirk, “Connect to Your Crew,” furnishes some genuinely helpful life advice about drawing on one’s authentic self to make and maintain meaningful relationships. It’s a tiny slice of Rodgers and Hammerstein in the midst of an episode that leans far more toward the (also lovely) contemporary style of  Waitress .

Throughout this song, the camera keeps panning to La’an, crouched behind a hallway buttress. Her face is a picture of jealous anguish as she observes her hero-friend, Una, casually sharing confidences with Jim, for whom she harbors feelings she’s obliged not to name due to space-time reasons. She’s been trapped in this ” Conceal, don’t feel ” place for too long, and as she puts it in her big number, as valuable as being cool, methodical, and responsible is, “it might be time to change [her] paradigm / if only [she] can let go of the wheel.” Can La’an merge the parts of herself that keep the watch — her one memento of “ Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow ” — under a double lock and key with the part that conjures a little flight of fancy where she and Kirk are in love and she can let herself be vulnerable and happy? Is it any wonder that La’an raises the alarm about the crew’s emotions being a security threat?

She knows she needs to nip the possibility of singing to Jim in the bud, but to do so is also to come clean about how she knew Alternate Timeline Jim. Number One, opening up to La’an in exactly the way she’d hoped for earlier, counsels a Marie Kondo approach to her skills and habits. They’re not in a desperate struggle for survival anymore, so perhaps it’s time to thank secret-keeping and emotion-crushing for their valuable service and let them go. Wanting to avoid the whole thing coming out in the form of a 17th-century sea shanty (for the record, I would  love  to hear that), La’an does what she must, leading to the episode’s best scene. Kudos to Christina Chong and Paul Wesley for leaning into the maybe-next-lifetime of it all. In lesser hands, this scene could have been kind of maudlin, but they transform it into well-earned heartache.

All that honesty may be for naught, though. The musical logic anomaly’s expansion across the entire subspace communications network could overwhelm the entire fleet’s logical thinking and drive them to the brink of war. The threat of total communications annihilation grows more intense now that even the Klingons are affected. General Garkog cannot abide “the abominable source of our dishonor” and intends to destroy it immediately upon arriving at the fold in about two hours.

Spock’s next gambit, generating a song-prompting moment, leads into another pair of songs: Chapel’s big ensemble number, followed by his own response song. Chapel’s is the most fun song of the episode so far, and yet it also raises some questions. She’s usually pretty easygoing, and perhaps some of that easy-breeziness is as much a survival tactic as Number One’s secret keeping. Her song underlines the professional ambition that led her to apply for (and get) another prestigious fellowship with a leading archaeological medicine specialist. She’s ready for what the future holds, even if it includes leaving Spock behind entirely, though I note that she’s still keeping her rationale a secret from everyone. Spock’s response song, back in the emotionally safe space of Engineering, uses the same melody as Chapel’s, and is every bit as lovelorn as hers is (mostly) triumphant. It’s such a bummer to see Spock describe his behavior in their relationship as “dysfunctional, weak, and emotional” when that relationship prompting him to let his human side take precedence seemed to be a boon for him.

Thank goodness for Uhura, whose song is the barn burner of the episode, making the most of Celia Rose Gooding’s gorgeous voice and presence as she sings about finding patterns in both data and in her heart. As a person who’s always been devoted to helping everyone else maintain their connections, can she marshal those skills to include herself in that everyone and find a way out of the potential impending disaster as a member of a team? Uhura is the youngest member of the Enterprise crew, and the degree to which they rely on her is  staggering .

She leads the crew to the unified emotional heights they’ll need to scale to reverse the effects of the improbability field with a  Back to the Future –style jolt of emotion of 344 giga electronvolts. The grand finale works because Uhura is able to inspire all 200 or so crew members to sing together. As ever, teamwork makes the dream work, and each person contributes all they can — including dancing! — in spite of the real challenges they’ve been singing about. The triumphant climax of the song is delayed a tiny bit by a check-in from the Klingons, who are led in song by General Garkog, who … can’t possibly be familiar with  T-Pain’s oeuvre , but who nonetheless delivers a flawless impression of the greatest practitioner of Auto-Tune. A+ silliness by Bruce Horak, who played Hemmer last season.

The song does the trick, and everyone on board is relieved to get back to their new normal of being more in touch with their feelings and chance-taking. They’re still sensitive enough to be struck with momentary dread when Uhura hums the tune of Chapel’s and Spock’s songs, but it passes, as every feeling does.

Space Tidbits

• As JTK is about to arrive, Number One tells La’an, “You have … an energy. You came in hot. On fire. It’s making me sweat.” I love this line delivery so much and have been waiting all season for it.

• Musical Pun Watch: Pike tells Uhura and Spock, “You’re applying old rules to a new reality. I suggest you find a different tempo.” LOL.

• A prize for the best bit of business in the background goes to Sam Kirk’s tiny body rolls, which I’m pretty sure only Uhura notices.

• Does the grand finale include an homage to  The Muppet Show  theme song? You be the judge: The crew sings that “We’re unbreakable, unshakeable, improbable, unstoppable, sensational, ovational, we, the fully explorational crew of the Enterprise!” Their Muppet forebears always sang about “the most sensational, inspirational, celebrational, Muppetational / This is what we call  The Muppet Show !”

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Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 2 Episode 9 Recap – what causes the crew to burst into song?

We recap the Paramount+ series Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 2 Episode 9, “Subspace Rhapsody,” which contains spoilers.

No, I didn’t have a Star Trek: Strange New Worlds musical episode on my 2023 Bingo card either. But here we are, with episode nine of the second season, titled “Subspace Rhapsody,” the first-ever musical-themed installment from the Star Trek franchise.

In the penultimate episode, the Enterprise crew members are overcome by dance fever, breaking uncontrollably into song thanks to an accident with an experimental quantum probability field. Don’t you just hate it when that happens?

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 2 Episode 9 Recap

The musical episode begins with the discovery of a naturally occurring subspace fold. This unusual phenomenon could help the galaxy with record-breaking communication speeds.

During this discovery, Uhura is inundated with extra work. Pike organizes his first vacation with partner Batel . La’an finds herself working with James T. Kirk once again, and Christine celebrates her successful fellowship submission.

Early on, Spock struggles to communicate with the subspace fold. Pelia suggests using music to make a connection. Uhura fires a song directly into the subspace fold’s direction, which immediately results in a strange reaction.

A ripple effect causes everyone in the Enterprise to break out into song. The explanation may be complicated, but who cares? Let’s just enjoy the musical, shall we?

What causes the crew to burst into song?

The crew quickly checks that all of the systems are stable. They appear to be safe and largely unaffected by this strange phenomenon, except for the uncontrollable show tunes, of course. There are reports of musical outbreaks throughout the entire ship. Spock believes their song has unlocked an improbability field, linking the Enterprise with a musical realm.

Pike wants to close this improbability field immediately, although they are seemingly tethered to this field regardless. Spock investigates the data further. Uhura uses this as a chance to probe Spock about his love life; he is shocked that Christine hasn’t told him her good news.

More musical incidents follow. Una gives James advice on leading his crew via a musical number. And La’an sings a heartbreaking ballad, pondering her complex relationship with James.

La’an thinks that expressing one’s deepest emotions could actually be a security threat. They need to close the field right away.

What causes the improbability field to expand?

They fire a deflector into the field, but this causes an energy surge instead. The musical disease spreads, and the improbability field starts to expand, affecting other ships in the fleet, including Batel’s. Pike and Batel share an awkward musical sequence together, arguing about their vacation in front of an embarrassed Enterprise crew.

After this incident, the crew suggested blowing up the subspace field. Spock runs some simulations, discovering that this option could be catastrophic.

To make matters worse, the Klingons have been infected by the musical bug and plan to destroy the field anyway.

Uhura and Spock research the phenomenon, instigating further musical numbers so that they can analyze the data from them.

Meanwhile, La’an confesses to James about their time-travel romance. James has his own confession to make: he is in a relationship with another woman, and she is pregnant with his child. La’an is heartbroken by this news.

Spock is also struggling with his own messy romance, upset by Christine’s sudden change in behavior. His heartache clouds his judgment as he is unable to find any patterns in the data.

Uhura analyzes the data on her own, noticing that the data spikes during the musical numbers. She concludes that they’ll need a serious showstopper tune to shatter the field entirely.

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 2 Episode 9 Ending Explained

Pike puts his trust in Uhura to rally the troops and pull off the most powerful grand finale musical number ever to break the field completely. Uhura’s song manages to unite the entire ship, and even the Klingons join in, providing their own comical interlude.

The subspace field explodes as their musical number reaches its crescendo.

After the grand finale, Pike and Batel discuss their vacation again. They choose to trust in each other and be more open going forward. La’an tells Una about her conversation with James. She’s glad that she told him the truth and took a chance, even if it ended in heartache. The episode ends with the Enterprise going back to normal; all is well once again.

What did you think of the Paramount+ series Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 2 Episode 9? Comment below.

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• Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 2 Episode 10 Release Date
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Article by Adam Lock

Adam Lock is a highly experienced Freelance Entertainment Writer who has written for Ready Steady Cut since January 2022. He is passionate about all things film and TV-related and has devoted his time to tracking streaming content on his social media.

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Star Trek: Strange New Worlds – Season 2, Episode 9

Subspace rhapsody, where to watch, star trek: strange new worlds — season 2, episode 9.

Watch Star Trek: Strange New Worlds — Season 2, Episode 9 with a subscription on Paramount+, or buy it on Fandango at Home, Prime Video, Apple TV.

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Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 2 Episode 9 Review – ‘Subspace Rhapsody’

August 3, 2023 by Chris Connor

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

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds  has tinkered with the Star Trek formula across its two seasons, with an episode where a storybook comes to life, several alternate reality based storylines and a comedic crossover with Lower Decks . Perhaps the most radical departure yet is a full blown musical that oddly enough succeeds at exploring some of the core emotional beats from across the two seasons, developing a number of central relationships and driving the narrative forward, all while acting as a musical interlude that could quite easily be dismissed as a throwaway gimmick.

The scenario arises after Uhura and some of the crew listen to the old Jazz standard Anything Goes , creating an improbability field where the Enterprise crew spontaneously start singing about their emotions. This seems to mirror the events of a musical. Rather than make light of what is a seemingly preposterous plotline, all involved double down on the story-beats and how to integrate this into the overarching themes and narratives of the season.

Spock learning of Nurse Chapel’s research fellowship and La’an and Kirk’s relationship are addressed through the medium of song but handled in a way that feels natural and handles the difficult nature of both sets of relationships that have been lurking in the background across the season, in a sensitive and fun manner. It helps that the cast have clearly put their heart and soul into performing the songs and the associated choreography making them hugely entertaining and not awful musical numbers meaning their subtext for each of the crew doesn’t suffer.

It is another hugely inventive episode that is the latest in a long line for this particular stretch of the Trek universe and the most ensemble episode of the season to date. While this means we get closure or further developments for a number of sub plots, the only slight drawback is a more limited amount of screentime for Anson Mount and his compelling work as Christopher Pike, something that will hopefully be addressed in the in-development third season.

‘Subspace Rhapsody’ is a terrific musical episode of Star Trek and far from being a betrayal of Trek or a departure too far, feels wholly at home in the more expansive and experimental second season of the show.  What could quite easily have been a horrid misfire, excels due to its performances and the commitment of the crew to make this radical experiment, live up to its maximum potential. Fans will no doubt wait with anticipation for what the next genre episode might be and how this stellar series will wrap up with its finale.

Chris Connor

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Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 2, Episode 9, 'Subspace Rhapsody,' Recap & Spoilers

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The following contains spoilers for Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 2, Episode 9, "Subspace Rhapsody," now streaming on Paramount+.

The crew of the USS Enterprise indulges in a little song and dance on a mission that seems like a humorous and light-hearted musical at first, but quickly grows into a high-stakes mission over the fate of Starfleet. And the musical interlude comes at a personal crossroads for Spock and Christine Chapel, along with Christopher Pike and Batel. By the time the final song has been sung, several members of the crew walk away with a better understanding of themselves -- albeit not all in the happiest of ways.

While investigating an anomaly, Spock and Nyota Uhura try out a new communications system, routing messages through subspace to increase the speed of their transmission. This coincides with Jim Kirk visiting the Enterprise on a temporary assignment to build up his potential as an eventual command candidate. Frustrated by difficulties with the communications system, Pelia suggests transmitting music through the system because of the difference in its harmonics. This accidentally prompts the anomaly's probability field to overtake the Enterprise , causing its crew to spontaneously break out into musical numbers.

RELATED: Star Trek: Strange New Worlds - Jeff W. Byrd Brings Fiery Intensity to Season 2

Spock theorizes that the anomaly runs the risk of expanding the probability field if the Enterprise attempts to leave its immediate vicinity, effectively forcing them to stay until the problem is resolved. Kirk and Number One examine how the anomaly may have affected the ship's systems -- realizing that the singing causes them to vocalize their innermost inhibitions without any self-control. After her own self-reflective song about her crush on Kirk, La'an Noonien-Singh warns Pike about the confessional nature of the field's effects. He dismisses her warning until he has an emotional duet with his girlfriend Batel.

Puzzled as to why Batel would also sing, Spock quickly deduces that any Federation vessel connected to the Enterprise 's new communications system is affected by the anomaly -- which is confirmed by Admiral Robert April. Noonien-Singh admits her feelings for Kirk to Number One in a duet, then agrees to work with Kirk after venting her emotions. To make matters worse, the probability field expands into the Klingon Empire. A Klingon battle cruiser threatens to destroy the anomaly, which would inadvertently eliminate all the affected Federation and Klingon ships by an explosive chain reaction.

RELATED: Strange New Worlds' Dinner Party Echoes a Key Moment in the Star Trek Movies

Working together to find a way to stop the Klingons from attacking the anomaly without triggering another war, Noonien-Singh tells Kirk about her time-travel adventure with an alternate version of him, even though Kirk is in a relationship with Carol Marcus. Elsewhere, Spock learns Chapel has been accepted into a prestigious fellowship headed by her future husband Roger Korby that would take her away from the Enterprise , and is upset that she kept it a secret from him. As Spock and Uhura work out the harmonic pattern to reverse the field’s musical effects, Spock musically declares that he will never let the emotions of his human side leave him hurt again in the wake of Chapel's career decision.

Uhura calculates that the entire Enterprise crew needs to sing in thematic unison to shatter the probability field, with Pike trusting Uhura to lead the crew due to her connection with all of them. With added help from the uncontrollably singing Klingons, the Starfleet officers are successful in shattering the probability field and restoring all the ships to normal. But Spock and Chapel remain estranged and Noonien-Singh is left deeply disappointed her romance with Kirk never took off. She resolves to be more proactive with her personal life as the Enterprise continues toward the end of Strange New Worlds Season 2.

Created by Akiva Goldsman, Alex Kurtzman and Jenny Lumet, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds releases new episodes Thursdays on Paramount+.

• Star Trek: Strange New Worlds (2022)

Screen Rant

Strange new worlds season 2's mysterious episode 9 teased by star trek's christina chong.

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Enterprise Becomes Star Trek’s Only Ship Again In 2025 

Scott bakula star trek: enterprise callbacks were my favorite part of strange new worlds’ crossover, i want strange new worlds to break star trek canon & save captain pike.

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 2's mysterious episode 9 is starting to get some buzz, and the episode's inception is thanks to star Christina Chong. As Lieutenant La'an Noonien-Singh, Chong and Paul Wesley's Captain James T. Kirk anchored the romantic and tragic Strange New Worlds time travel episode, "Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow." Strange New Worlds season 2 is already hitting multiple highs since episode 3 follows up the stellar legal drama of episode 2's "Ad Astra Per Aspera."

In an exclusive interview with Screen Rant , Christina Chong revealed that the idea for Strange New Worlds season 2, episode 9, titled "Subspace Rhapsody," came from her. The penultimate episode of season 2 has been hinted to be one of the "big swings" Star Trek: Strange New Worlds is making, but there's been silence surrounding its content. Read what Christina hinted about Strange New Worlds season 2, episode 9 below:

I did ask for this thing. From season 1, any writer who would listen, I was like, "Hey, what about this? And then this could happen, this could happen and..." But I do tend to pitch ideas to them all the time about things. l'm always trying to think of what we could do... This episode, which is episode 9, is basically one of the things that I've always wanted to do career-wise. And they said, "Oh, we were actually already thinking about that." So I just pushed it even harder. (laughs) I basically kept forcing it. And then [showrunner] Akiva [Goldsman] told me one day [they were doing it], and I almost broke into tears. I was that happy.

Could Strange New Worlds Episode 9 Be Even BIgger Than The Star Trek: Lower Decks Crossover?

Whatever Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 2, episode 9 consists of, it's almost impossible to imagine the idea could be even wilder than the upcoming crossover with Star Trek: Lower Decks . Directed by Jonathan Frakes, the crossover titled "Those Old Scientists" features guest stars Tawny Newsome and Jack Quaid bringing their animated 24th-century Ensigns from the USS Cerrtos to live-action. The crossover also has dialogue written by Lower Decks ' creator Mike McMahan, is rumored to also be partly animated, and is a flat-out comedy. The crossover would seem hard to top, but Strange New Worlds episode 9 might just do so.

La'an Noonien-Singh is a stern, duty-driven Starfleet Officer but behind the scenes of Strange New Worlds , Christina Chong is a wealth of ideas for the genre-hopping, episodic series. Other members of Strange New Worlds ' cast , as well as co-showrunners Akiva Goldsman and Henry Alonso Myers, have also dropped hints about episode 9, "Subspace Rhapsody," and the season 2 finale, "Hegemony," but they've remained silent about what those episodes entail. Odds are strong that they are among the creative "big swings" Star Trek: Strange New Worlds is taking in season 2 that will pay off the way "Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow" did.

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

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How Strange New Worlds pulled off the first-ever Star Trek musical episode

To boldly go...

by Dylan Roth

Throwing an hour of light comedy into the middle of a 10-episode arc with galactic-level stakes could derail an entire season, but Star Trek: Strange New Worlds dances gracefully from week to week between courtroom drama, time-travel romance, and its latest wild swing: a musical episode.

In “Subspace Rhapsody,” the crew of the USS Enterprise encounters a strange cosmic phenomenon that induces them to break into song and reveal their innermost feelings. The episode features 10 original songs by Kay Hanley and Tom Polce (of Letters to Cleo fame) and highlights the vocal talents of the cast, including Tony nominee and Grammy winner Celia Rose Gooding and singer-songwriter Christina Chong.

Executive Producer Alex Kurtzman, who heads up the franchise at Paramount, has been teasing the possibility of a Star Trek musical since 2020. But at the time, his only venue for bizarre genre experiments was Star Trek: Short Treks , a short subject anthology series that filled the gaps between Discovery and Picard . Short Treks eventually became the launchpad for Strange New Worlds , whose tone has proven equally elastic. After the warm reception to its first season, which contained everything from a screwball body-swap comedy to a grim political drama involving child sacrifice, it was time to set phasers to “sing.”

• Star Trek has truly reinvented itself
• Star Trek needs less logic and more crying

According to the episode’s director, Dermott Downs, Chong was the cast member who pushed the hardest for a musical episode. Chong, whose debut EP Twin Flames is also out this week, confesses in her Spotify bio that her screen acting career began as a way to raise her profile as a singer and stage actor. “Subspace Rhapsody” would seem to be an important landmark in her career, as she features heavily on the soundtrack, including the solo ballad “How Would That Feel?”

(Chong is unavailable for comment due to the conditions of the ongoing SAG-AFTRA and WGA strikes, as is the rest of the cast and the episode’s writers, Dana Horgan and Bill Wolkoff. Songwriters Kay Hanley and Tom Polce also could not be reached via Paramount publicity.)

Indeed, one of the interesting challenges of producing a musical episode of an established television show is tailoring the music to suit the talents of the existing cast. Who’s a belter? Who’s a crooner? Who’s funny? Who might not be comfortable singing at all? The tools at hand impact not only the distribution of the songs, but the shape of the story. The narrative and emotional weight of a musical has to fall on the shoulders of the cast members most prepared to carry it.

So, it’s no surprise that, while “Subspace Rhapsody” gives nearly every regular cast member an opportunity to show off, the heart of the story is Ensign Nyota Uhura, portrayed by Celia Rose Gooding. Gooding’s performance as Frankie in Jagged Little Pill , a Broadway jukebox musical featuring the songs of Alanis Morissette, garnered them a Tony nomination for Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical, as well as a Grammy for Best Musical Theater Album (shared with the rest of the cast). Gooding sings the episode’s 11 o’clock number, “Keep Us Connected,” an undeniable earworm that showcases their impressive vocal range and power. Gooding’s Broadway bona fides bring a level of legitimacy to “Subspace Rhapsody” that’s lacking even in top-tier TV musical episodes like Buffy ’s “Once More, With Feeling” and Community ’s “Regional Holiday Music.”

This also isn’t Downs’ first crack at a musical episode, as he also helmed “Duet,” a crossover between The Flash and Supergirl that reunited former Glee castmates Grant Gustin, Melissa Benoist, and Darren Criss. Downs used this experience, as well as his long resume as a music video cinematographer, to secure the “Subspace Rhapsody” gig from the list of episodes in development for Strange New Worlds ’ second season. Combined with his fondness for the original Star Trek , the possibility of working on Trek’s first musical episode was too exciting to pass up, despite the obvious risks.

“There was a great potential to jump the shark,” says Downs, “because if you’re this grounded show, how are you going to do a musical in outer space? And to their credit, they crafted a great story. Once you understand the anomaly and how music pushes forward all of these interior feelings through song, then you have the potential for so many different kinds of songs.”

However, the prospect of singing for the viewing audience was not immediately appealing to every cast member, a fact that is lampshaded within the framework of the episode. Much of the Enterprise crew fears the subspace anomaly’s ability to make them spill their guts through song. Captain Christopher Pike (Anson Mount) is afraid of getting into an argument with his girlfriend, Captain Marie Batel (Melanie Scrofano), and the pair ends up airing out their relationship issues on the bridge. (This song is, appropriately, entitled “A Private Conversation.”) Mount’s singing role is simpler than his castmates’ on a technical level, but leverages his comedic talents and awkward, boy-next-door charm.

“He crushed it,” says Downs. “It was like a country ballad gone wrong.”

Babs Olusanmokun, who portrays the multifaceted Dr. Joseph M’Benga, sings the bare minimum in the episode, and his character makes a point to tell his shipmates (and the viewer) that he does not sing . For his part, Downs cannot comment on any studio magic that may or may not have been employed to make the less seasoned vocalists in the cast more tuneful, but a listener with an ear for autotune will definitely detect some pitch correction.

Downs says that Ethan Peck, who portrays the young Lieutenant Spock , was among the more apprehensive cast members, but if anything, this becomes an asset to his performance in the episode. Spock has spent this season actively exploring his human feelings, even entering into a romantic relationship with Nurse Christine Chapel (Jess Bush). Spock’s solo “I’m the X” sees Spock retreating into his shell, and the actor’s shyness feeds into the character’s conflict. Peck’s performance of the song, which was written for his smooth baritone, was the production’s most pleasant surprise. The temp track of the song that the crew worked with (until Peck recorded his version over a weekend, like the rest of the cast) featured a bigger, more conventionally Broadway vocal, but Peck performs it in character — superficially steady, but with strong emotional undercurrents just below the surface.

On a character level, however, the musical format might be most revelatory for Rebecca Romijn’s Commander Una Chin-Riley, aka Number One. Una began the series as a very guarded person harboring a secret that could end her career. Even as far back as her appearance in the 2019 Short Treks episode “Q&A,” her advice to new arrival Spock was to “keep your ‘freaky’ to yourself,” in this case referring to her love for Gilbert and Sullivan ( inherited from Romijn herself ). Since then, her much more consequential secrets have been revealed, and she finds herself unburdened, and uses the opportunity presented by the musical anomaly to encourage her mentees to do the same. Una’s songs, “Connect to Your Truth”’ and “Keeping Secrets,” see her offering advice to rising first officer James T. Kirk (Paul Wesley) and her protege La’an (Chong), respectively, about the futility of withholding your full self from others.

“Subspace Rhapsody” concludes with an ensemble number about the crew’s common purpose and fellowship — an appropriate sentiment not only for a musical episode but for Strange New Worlds . Star Trek has always been about friendship and cooperation, but no previous incarnation (save, perhaps, for Deep Space Nine ) has granted each member of the cast such even amounts of attention and importance, from Captain Pike to Ensign Uhura. Previous Trek series could perhaps have sustained a musical episode (Ronald D. Moore even pitched one for DS9 back in the ’90s). For a series sold to fans as a return to “old-school Star Trek,” Strange New Worlds has taken some wild creative risks. While the show has resumed its time-tested episodic “problem of the week” format, its writers and producers have used this structure to experiment in ways that its sister shows, Discovery and Picard , could never have gotten away with. As corny as it might be, on Strange New Worlds it feels particularly appropriate to close a story with the entire crew singing about their trust in each other, in perfect harmony.

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SNW Season 2

This page contains information specifically pertaining to the second season of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds , whose episode premieres were consecutively streamed on Paramount+ in those territories where the streamer was available as such, and on CraveTV in Canada. It became streamed with a one-day delay in those foreign territories where SkyShowtime , of which Paramount+ was a part, was available.

• 2 Background information
• 4.1 Main cast
• 4.2 Guest starring
• 6 External links

Episodes [ ]

Background information [ ].

• It was revealed on 23 July 2022 at San Diego Comic Con 2022 that Strange New Worlds Season 2 will have a crossover episode that will feature characters from Star Trek: Lower Decks . [1]
• On 19 April 2023 , Paramount+ launched a season two teaser trailer , which featured the 2003 song "Such Great Heights" by The Postal Service. [2] A second season two trailer without the song was released on 24 May 2023 , but did feature the two Lower Decks crossover characters, Beckett Mariner and Brad Boimler . [3]
• In 2023 , it was announced that as of 1 August 2023 , the streaming rights for Star Trek were to be rescinded for CraveTV with the temporary exception of Strange New worlds , still streaming its second season at the time of the announcement. A little over a month later however, on 9 September 2023 , it was removed from the service as well after all. It left Crave entirely devoid of Star Trek on top of making the series truly a Paramount+ exclusive, as the Canadian platform had been the only one anywhere in the world, besides Paramount+/SkyShowtime, to stream the series. [4] [5] .

Reception [ ]

In 2023 the rating agency Nielsen started recording ratings for original streaming programming, with resulted in that both Star Trek: Picard and Strange New Worlds have made the Top-10 (Original Programs) Streaming Chart since then. After season two debuted, Strange New Worlds has managed to occupy Nielsens original streaming top-ten listing for nine straight weeks in a row, with a seventh spot as it highest ranking. during its inaugural streaming run. [6] It must be understood that the Nielsen streaming rating are not based on (individual) season two (episode) views alone as is commonly, but mistakenly, believed by a substantial part of the US populace, reviewers included, but on those of the show in question in its entirety, thus in this particular case including episodes from the first season as well – an understandable misconception though, as traditional broadcast Nielsen ratings are based on individual television production viewings.

Credits [ ]

Main cast [ ], guest starring [ ], see also [ ].

• SNW Season 2 performers
• SNW Season 2 4K Ultra HD
• SNW Season 2 Blu-ray
• SNW Season 2 DVD

External links [ ]

• Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 2 at Wikipedia
• Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 2 episode reviews  at Ex Astris Scientia
• 1 Bell Riots
• 3 Daniels (Crewman)

Star Trek's Most Popular Show Is About To Rebuild TOS Canon

Will we see Bones and Sulu again very soon?

With a possible reboot “origin story” feature film in the works and a new future-tense Starfleet Academy series focused on brand-new characters, the original 1960s continuity of Star Trek might seem very distant from the current franchise offerings. And yet, in Star Trek’s most popular show — Strange New Worlds — the canon and vibes of TOS are suddenly more prominent than ever. Going into Season 3 and beyond, it seems that Strange New Worlds is readying to redefine the backstory not just of Spock, Uhura, and Kirk, but the rest of the classic gang, too.

Speaking to multiple outlets, and as reported by TrekMovie , following San Diego Comic-Con, Strange New Worlds showrunners, cast, and crew have laid down quite a bit of information about what’s to come in Season 3 and, hypothetically, the already-greenlit Season 4. For serious Trekkies, the biggest development isn’t that Strange New Worlds will hint at or reference TOS a bit more. Instead, this prequel show is basically going to “drive right into” the start of the first Trek ever.

Scotty becomes a regular — Bones and Sulu next?

Martin Quinn as Scotty in the finale of Strange New Worlds Season 2.

While many Strange New Worlds fans were probably aware that Martin Quinn’s take on Scotty would return for SNW Season 3, it was recently confirmed that Quinn would be part of the regular cast, not just a recurring character. (I.E. Paul Wesley’s James T. Kirk is not a regular cast member of SNW , despite appearing in three episodes of Season 2.) Scotty’s appearance at the end of Season 2 in the cliffhanger “Hegemony” was a well-kept secret in the Star Trek camp, which makes fans and pundits wonder if new versions of Hikaru Sulu and Dr. Leonard “Bones” McCoy are next.

While not confirming Bones and Sulu appearances in Strange New Worlds Season 3, co-showrunner Henry Alonso Myers told Variety :

“These characters are not the people that they will become when we get to The Original Series . They are still younger. They are going through things. They have a lot of life and lessons to go through. They have some growth to do so you don’t see them exactly the way that you would see them later on.”

While the Prime Universe version of Pavel Chekov will be canonically far too young to appear in Strange New Worlds , Bones, and Sulu are very good bets. In two episodes of TOS , Bones works side-by-side with Dr. M'Benga, who in SNW is the current chief medical officer of the Enterprise . M’Benga was a guest character played by Booker Bradshaw in TOS , but Babs Olusanmokun’s performance has utterly redefined the character. So looking at the way SNW handles the rest of the legacy characters (like Paul Wesley’s Kirk and Celia Rose Gooding’s Uhura) is probably a good indication as to how a young Sulu and Bones could appear.

One fun canon note on Bones in Strange New Worlds : If he does appear, it could create a Deep Space Nine crossover. In the 1996 DS9 episode “Trials and Tribble-ations,” Jadzia Dax(Terry Farrell) insinuated one of her previous Trill hosts, Emony Dax, was romantically involved with Bones when he was a younger man. So via Bones, could we get a retro version of Dax?

How Strange New Worlds Could Become the new TOS

Kirk (Paul Wesley) and Uhura (Celia Rose Gooding) strike a very classic pose in Season 2.

The biggest takeaway from the various post-San Diego Comic-Con interviews with Henry Alonso Myers and Akiva Goldsman is that Strange New Worlds is not shying away from its fidelity to The Original Series . Nurse Chapel’s former fiance turned-robot in TOS, Roger Korby, will appear in SNW Season 3, now played by Cillian O’Sullivan. Both Goldsman and Myers noted that his relationship with Chapel (Jess Bush) will be complicated in Season 3, and that “[he] is going to travel a long path before he gets to be the Roger Korby that you see in The Original Series .”

With Season 4 already in the planning stages, Myers and Goldsman know that they’re getting closer and closer to the timeline of The Original Series, around the year 2265. Season 2 of Strange New Worlds was firmly in 2260, which suddenly feels much closer to the classic era than Discovery Season 2 did when it introduced Pike (Anson Mount), Spock (Ethan Peck), Number One (Rebecca Romijn) and the Enterprise in the year 2258. So as SNW keeps going, even if fictional years don’t pass every single season, the showrunners are very aware that they’re inching closer and closer to that classic era.

Speaking to Collider , Goldsman said, “Left to our own devices, which really means if Paramount will, we’ll keep going into the TOS era.”

This notion that Strange New Worlds could overlap with TOS has a massive canon precedent. Chronologically, the very first regular episode of The Original Series (not counting the unaired pilot “The Cage”) is “Where No Man Has Gone Before,” which takes place in 2265. But the funny thing is, all the other Season 1 TOS episodes mostly take place in 2266, meaning that not only do we not know what happened in the years leading up to Kirk taking command of the Enterprise , but we also know almost nothing about what happened during Kirks’ first year, other than that one episode.

Outside of providing great standalone episodes of Star Trek, this detail is perhaps the most interesting for longtime Trekkies. Because at some point, Strange New Worlds could turn into The Original Series Year 1.

Or, as Goldsman told Variety, “We will continue on for as long as Paramount lets us. We will drive right into The Original Series .”

Star Trek: The Original Series and Star Trek: Strange New Worlds both stream on Paramount+.

• Science Fiction

• Cast & crew
• User reviews

The Broken Circle

• Episode aired Jun 15, 2023

A distress call from Lt. Noonien-Singh compels Spock to disobey orders and take the Enterprise and its crew into disputed space on a rescue mission. A distress call from Lt. Noonien-Singh compels Spock to disobey orders and take the Enterprise and its crew into disputed space on a rescue mission. A distress call from Lt. Noonien-Singh compels Spock to disobey orders and take the Enterprise and its crew into disputed space on a rescue mission.

• Chris Fisher
• Gene Roddenberry
• Akiva Goldsman
• Alex Kurtzman
• Anson Mount
• 56 User reviews
• 15 Critic reviews

Top cast 28

• Captain Christopher Pike

• Nurse Christine Chapel

• La'an Noonien-Singh

• Nyota Uhura

• Lt. Erica Ortegas

• Dr. M'Benga

• Una Chin-Riley

• Admiral Robert April

• Burly Inspector

• Jenna Mitchell

• Captain D'Chok

• USS Enterprise Computer

• Kr'Dogh

• All cast & crew
• Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

Did you know

• Trivia Includes an in memoriam message for Nichelle Nichols , who played Uhura in the original Star Trek (1966) series and movies and who passed away on July 22, 2022 at the age of 89.

Dr. M'Benga : [At Spock's quick departure from the Medical Bay] Fascinating.

Dr. M'Benga : [Sad, but trying to be funny] Isn't that his line.

• Connections Featured in The Ready Room: Strange New Worlds Season 2 Sneak Peek Special (pre-show) (2023)

User reviews 56

• Jun 14, 2023
• June 15, 2023 (United States)
• United States
• Official Site
• CBS Stages Canada, Mississauga, Ontario, Canada (Studio)
• CBS Television Studios
• Roddenberry Entertainment
• Secret Hideout
• See more company credits at IMDbPro

Technical specs

• Runtime 53 minutes

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