Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 2 Episode 6 Review: Lost in Translation
Diana Keng
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Grief is a hard thing to talk about and an even harder one to confront. On Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 2 Episode 6, we finally have the opportunity to deal with Hemmer's tragic and horrific death from Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 1.
Pelia is in the unenviable position of replacing him as Chief Engineer, where her style and approach will invariably be compared (and found lacking) to Hemmer's. Her interaction with Una illustrates this vividly.
Meanwhile, Uhura's relationship with the late Chief Engineer was one of both professional and personal mentorship. That bond can resemble a parent-child connection, and it's not surprising that his death reminds her of the loss of her family.
There are a lot of backward glances at previous missions seeded throughout the narrative and one very significant nod to a future working relationship we all know is coming.
For those keeping track, this is the third appearance of Paul Wesley's James T. Kirk but only his first as the James T. Kirk who will one day command the USS Enterprise on Star Trek: The Original Series.
On Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 1 Episode 10, Wesley's Kirk appears as an alternate Kirk in a future where Pike evades the accident that cripples him.
On Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 2 Episode 3, Wesley portrays a Kirk in a timeline where the Romulan temporal agents in the 21st Century manage to foil the formation of the Federation.
James Kirk: Sam!
Sam Kirk: Jimmy, welcome to the Enterprise.
James: Helluva ship. And they let you work here?
Sam: What can I say? Captain Pike asked for the more handsome Kirk brother.
Here, we get James T. Kirk at the height of his ambitious career climbing in Starfleet, very much the picture of the accomplished officer and the bane of his big brother's existence.
Recently promoted to first officer, the youngest person ever to reach that rank, James is both the captain we will come to know and a man whose emotional baggage even surprises him at times.
To be fair, Sam's personal grievances with his brother seem petty to the onlooker.
If xenoanthropology is his chosen field, it seems unfair to hold James at fault when their father approves more of the command climb than scientific research.
For someone visiting the Enterprise for the first time, James would probably be surprised by how well some of the non-familial crew think they know him.
There's a lot to be read into the microexpressions on Pike and La'an's faces as they encounter this version of a man they've spent so much time thinking about.
For Uhura, though, he is simply Sam's brother. Who is overly friendly at the wrong time. And whom she punches out while in the throes of another hallucination. And who deals pretty well with being punched out by an ensign.
It's not something that's ever occurred to me before, but the relationship between Uhura and James makes a lot of sense because they share the double-edged distinction of being seen as prodigies in their fields.
The truth is I’ve never been able to face death. Everyone has some way of dealing with it and moving on, but I just … I don’t know how. How can I be a Starfleet officer if I can’t handle death?
Uhura
When you're really good at what you do, people forget you have challenges too.
When you're a rising star in the command ranks, no one considers the effects of having a high-profile father who spent his time helping others instead of his family does to a kid.
You know, the irony’s not lost on me. The communications officer who can’t communicate what’s wrong with her.
Uhura
When you're a genius with languages, it would never occur to anyone that communicating important personal things could be difficult.
If Uhura is "chosen" by the deuterium life forms for her ability to listen, James becomes involved because of his inability to walk away from someone in need.
It's a seed of what will become a complex and powerful partnership as they both actualize the potential of their innate abilities.
Of course, the key to Uhura solving the mystery of the noise-triggered visions is Hemmer, which is so perfect it chokes me up. Talk about reaching out from beyond death to take care of the people you love.
Hemmer's death on Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 1 Episode 9 stands out as the singularly most traumatic moment in the inaugural season.
It's taken half of another season for the show to make the space to address how his sacrifice has affected his crewmates.
While Pelia appointed herself to the vacant position of Chief Engineer on Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 2 Episode 1, we had no idea she knew her predecessor.
Uhura: Hemmer was our Chief Engineer before you.
Pelia: I know. He was one of my best students. I’m sorry, I just said that because he’s dead. Actually, he was just okay.
It is notable that Uhura hasn't sought her out since she became a part of the crew since the ensign was the one who identified her as Lanthanite during that first mission.
Una's own issues with Pelia are pretty deeply buried too.
Pelia: What exactly is your problem with me?
Una: I don’t have a problem with you. I have a problem with the situation.
Pelia: That is malarky and you know it.
Una: You’re sloppy, okay? You don’t respect protocols. You’re too loose with discipline. You don’t follow orders unless you feel like it. And you have CRUMBS on your uniform! When did you even eat?
The stages of grief -- denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance -- are all represented in the narrative. Additionally, they are shown in the variation that can occur. Uhura throws herself into her projects and work, while Una represses and retreats into the comfort of protocol.
We never see what Ramone experiences in his hallucination messages from the lifeforms, but he takes the action they want of him. He may not be able to articulate what needs doing, but he receives the message. He doesn't understand why he's doing what he's doing, but he knows it's what they need.
Uhura is still cognizant of how her perceptions are diverging from reality and, once she realizes it's a form of communication, is able to apply her understanding of general linguistics to interpret the lifeforms' message.
Captain, you told me the point of this station was to help us find new forms of life. But what is the point of exploring if we’re just gonna kill what we find?
Uhura
Each time the mission has centered on Uhura, she has emerged from the crucible with a clarified vision of her future, more confidence in her abilities and perceptions, and a better understanding of the change she is capable of affecting.
In addressing the grief over her family's demise and Hemmer's death, she can once again access all her memories of them and their legacy to her.
With James Kirk's support, she takes a real step toward being the self-reliant and self-assured Nyota Uhura we know from Nichelle Nichols's portrayal on Star Trek: The Original Series and the films.
Speaking of the "future" of these characters, who else got chills when Spock and James shook hands? Seeing them sitting with Uhura in the closing moments is such a sweet tease.
Will James Kirk hang around? Is it now canon that he and Spock first bonded over their mutual irritation with Sam?
Chapel: Relationships, at least for humans, can be quantum things. Like Schrodinger’s Cat. They exist or they don’t depending on who’s observing them.
Spock: That is…
Chapel: … not how quantum superposition actually works? Yeah, I know. It’s a metaphor, Spock. A messy one. Just like whatever this is.
Wait, has he met Chapel yet? Ooooh, between non-synthesized cookies and a brilliant and beautiful medic, will he ever return to the Farragut?
How will Chapel and Spock reconcile their Schrödinger's Cat of a relationship dilemma?
Will Sam's paper on the newly discovered life forms bring him the life satisfaction and parental approval he craves?
Hit our comments with your burning questions and hottest takes!
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.
