“A Case of Chiaoscurro”

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds removes all colour and delivers two detective‑noir mysteries.

Format shifts can be refreshing when they reveal something new about the characters or the world, but Strange New Worlds leans on them so often that the show barely has a baseline. It has tried a musical, a fantasy quest, several flavours of comedy and now a black‑and‑white noir. Variety isn’t the problem. Execution is. The series keeps adopting bold stylistic gimmicks without doing anything meaningful with them, and the result is a collection of episodes that look different without saying anything different.

This episode is another example of Strange New Worlds failing to make its gimmick matter. The crew lose the ability to see colour because of a nearby star, which is a thin excuse for the black‑and‑white presentation. Star Trek has used far flimsier explanations, so the problem isn’t plausibility. It’s the lack of meaningful use. The episode offers one strong moment when Uhura imagines green trees during her interrogation, knowing the locals have never seen colour. It shows she understands her surroundings and uses that knowledge to survive. Beyond that, the absence of colour is little more than a visual flourish.

The episode splits its attention between Una on the occupied planet and La’an investigating interference with a probe on the Enterprise. La’an’s plot extends her fear of becoming a tyrant like Khan. She spends the episode worrying that she’s too suspicious and seeing threats everywhere. Her investigation leads her to colleagues who tampered with the probe for personal reasons, and Chapel’s explanation ties directly to her trauma from the war. La’an has to decide whether to report them or trust their motives. She chooses to support her friends, which shows she isn’t becoming the cold, ruthless figure she’s afraid of turning into.

This ties directly into Pike’s response. He sees that she isn’t being entirely honest when he reviews her findings, but he trusts her judgement and leaves the door open if she wants to talk. It’s a good example of leadership that avoids micromanagement, even if Pike’s relaxed approach to discipline has become a pattern in the series. In this case it works because La’an is his security chief and he believes she wouldn’t hide anything that threatens the Enterprise or the Federation. The episode could have explored this boundary more clearly, but the moment still fits their dynamic.

La’an’s investigation also takes up far more screen time than the substance justifies. The early scenes establish her rising paranoia, but the episode keeps repeating that beat without adding new information. The result is a stretch of busy work that delays the plot instead of developing it.

This problem carries into Una’s plot. The episode leans on its noir style to create atmosphere, but the scenes themselves don’t have much substance. Conversations are loaded with subtext to maintain the mood, yet they rarely advance the story or deepen the characters. As a result, the point of the plot drifts until the episode finally states it outright. Una can’t ignore the suffering of people under Klingon occupation simply because their planet falls outside Federation borders. The idea connects to “Hegemony, Part Two,” where Pike was frustrated by the same jurisdictional limits, but the episode takes too long to reach it and never builds the theme with any real momentum.

Una and Pike both believe deeply in the Federation’s ideals, so watching them confront Starfleet’s decision to ignore suffering outside its borders should be compelling. The episode doesn’t explore it. Strange New Worlds has a recurring problem where characters break orders without facing any consequences, which means these choices carry no real weight. Admiral April consciously turned a blind eye to Pike’s actions in “Hegemony, Part Two,” and it’s unlikely Una’s decision here will matter beyond this episode. Acting on personal principles that align with the Federation’s values is a strong foundation for a story, but without follow‑up it becomes meaningful only in the moment and never costs the character anything.

It makes sense that Una sees doing the right thing as more important than following protocol. Her history with Starfleet taught her that the organisation is aspirational but imperfect, and she’s lived through those imperfections. She admires the intent even when the execution falls short, and she wants to push the institution toward its ideals from within. In this situation she sees people who are suffering and knows she can help, so she’s willing to ignore the rules. She focuses on the lives directly in front of her rather than the regulations written by people who never face the consequences of those decisions.

Una’s history of living a double life is literalised when the locals mistake her for the resistance leader, Nevette, because they look identical. M’Benga explains the coincidence by saying the universe is vast enough that doppelgangers should be common, which is a flimsy excuse the episode doesn’t linger on. It exists only to clear up the resemblance so the plot can move forward, and the story doesn’t use the idea for anything more substantial.

The real point of Una’s story is that she walks in these people’s shoes and chooses to help them rather than escape. She becomes invested because she gets to know them and realises she can’t leave while they’re being persecuted by the Klingons. The episode takes far too long to reach that moment. It would be easier to forgive if the supporting characters were memorable, but they fill obvious roles and never rise above them. The thin writing makes it hard to care about their situation, and the slow pacing and repeated scenes drain the tension the episode is trying to build. The result is a plot that meanders without urgency.

Una ultimately helps the resistance launch a decisive attack on the Klingons and becomes the inspiration they need to keep fighting. She urges them not to lose momentum and leaves the choice in their hands, knowing she belongs elsewhere but wanting them to hold on to hope. It’s a strong note for her arc to end on. She’s satisfied that she made a difference and showed them they don’t have to accept Klingon rule, yet Rebecca Romijn plays the moment with a heaviness that acknowledges the cost. Una knows the road ahead will be long and violent, and she’ll have to live with what she set in motion, but she accepts that giving them a chance at freedom is better than leaving them with none.

In the closing moments, Una wonders if she did the right thing. She talks about how she followed the book when she joined Starfleet because making fewer waves meant fewer questions, and the episode earlier reminded us that she genuinely loves rules. Her choice to break them links neatly with La’an’s plot, where another rule‑following character decides that protocol isn’t enough. Una relates to Nevette’s hidden life, protecting others by concealing who she is, and M’Benga tells her that understanding answers her doubt. His earlier story about his first posting, where his skills forced him into actions that opposed his instinct to heal, reinforces the idea that the right choice often feels wrong. He invites Una to see that she acted in line with what she stands for, and that this has to count as the right thing for her. It’s a strong scene with powerful ideas, but the episode’s slow, repetitive journey to reach it drains its impact.

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Verdict

A meandering episode that buries its character ideas beneath a style that smothers the substance.

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