star trek strange new worlds ep 8

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Star trek strange new worlds season 2 episode 8 ending explained.

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds returns to the aftermath of Discovery's Klingon war, in a dark episode that ends with an Enterprise crew divided.

WARNING: Contains SPOILERS for Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 2, Episode 8, "Under the Cloak of War."

• "Under the Cloak of War" explores the lasting effects of the Klingon War on veterans from Star Trek: Discovery, highlighting the division between those who served and those who didn't.
• Dr. M'Benga, once known as "The Ghost" for his hand-to-hand kills, reveals a dark secret of being the true Butcher of J'Gal, leading to his moral conflict and desire for vengeance against Klingon Ambassador Dak'Reh.
• The episode sets up future storylines, including the potential involvement of Section 31 in M'Benga's past and the complications in Spock and Chapel's romance due to the trauma of the Klingon War. The crew of the Enterprise is also divided as they face a possible war with the Gorn Hegemony.

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds continues to explore the aftermath of the Klingon War in a devastating new episode that ends with Dr. M'Benga (Babs Olusanmokun) and Captain Christopher Pike (Anson Mount) on either side of a moral debate. When the USS Enterprise is tasked with transporting the Klingon Ambassador Dak'Rah (Robert Wisdom), it exposes the division between those officers who served in Star Trek: Discovery's Klingon War, and those who didn't. "Under the Cloak of War" is a dark and thematically dense morality play that recalls Star Trek: Deep Space Nine 's explorations of the trauma left by the Cardassian occupation of Bajor. M'Benga and Dak'Rah's scenes crackle with a palpable tension that recalls the very best episodes of DS9 .

The overall theme of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 2, episode 8, "Under the Cloak of War" is that those veterans of Star Trek: Discovery 's Klingon war were profoundly changed by their experiences. It quickly becomes clear that nobody on the outside of the conflict can truly understand how those changes have manifested. This is demonstrated by the shocking revelations about Dr. M'Benga and the complicity of Nurse Chapel (Jess Bush) in a cover-up. By the end of "Under the Cloak of War", Dak'Rah's visit has exposed the interpersonal divisions caused by the Enterprise sitting out the war.

Dr. M'Benga's Dark Secret: He Was The Real Butcher Of J'Gal

Although he's now a diplomat who's turned his back on the Klingon Empire to preach peace, Dak'Rah gained a reputation as the Butcher of J'Gal. Although he authorized the slaughter of Federation civilians including children, it was the Klingons, not Starfleet, who gave Dak'Rah this title. The legend was that, to cover his retreat from the Moon of J'Gal, Dak'Rah slaughtered his own men, an act that seemingly convinced him to embrace peace. However, Dak'Rah wasn't the Butcher of J'Gal, because he left his men behind to the mercy of the true butcher - Dr. Joseph M'Benga.

During flashbacks to the Federation-Klingon War , it was revealed that M'Benga had a reputation of his own. Known for his 90 confirmed hand-to-hand kills, M'Benga was dubbed "The Ghost" by Starfleet special forces. Like Dak'Rah after the war, M'Benga had turned his back on that life and instead pursued a career in medicine, opting to save lives rather than take them during the Klingon war. Tragically, the extent of the violence on J'Gal forced M'Benga and Dak'Rah to swap places. The brutality meted out to children was the final straw that convinced M'Benga that he was the man to topple the Klingon senior staff on J'Gal, and he finally accepted the mission he'd been offered by the mysterious Andorian officer.

Killing Dak'Rah's three captains with a Klingon dagger, M'Benga later watched as the Klingon Ambassador publicly adopted the title of Butcher of J'Gal. It was a good basis for a formerly bloodthirsty Klingon Warrior to preach his message of peace. However, it was also a story that, as a serving officer in the peace-loving Starfleet, M'Benga could never publicly reveal. Dak'Rah's arrival on the Enterprise dredged up M'Benga's suppressed shame and trauma and forced him to confront the man that the Klingon war had turned him into. For M'Benga, the only way to move on was to complete his J'Gal mission and kill Dak'Rah, removing the final reminder of this dark secret.

It's presumably for this reason that he goaded Dak'Rah into a fight, knowing that it would allow him to kill the former Klingon Warrior in "self-defense". As Nurse Chapel (Jess Bush) and the audience see M'Benga and Dak'Rah's struggle through frosted glass, it's left ambiguous who first reached for the Klingon dagger. However, at the very end of the episode, M'Benga realizes that Pike will not accept his old friend's approach to avenging the deaths of children and civilians. And so, M'Benga maintains that Dak'Rah started the fight, but admits that he's not sorry that the Klingon is dead. It's as close as Star Trek: Strange New Worlds will likely get to an admission of guilt on the part of M'Benga.

M'Benga And Chapel's Klingon War Service And Super Soldier Serum Explained

The story of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 2, episode 8, “Under the Cloak of War” unfolds in parallel timelines. In the “present day”, the Enterprise pays host to a visiting Klingon dignitary. In the flashbacks, viewers get to see the first meeting between Nurse Chapel and Dr. M’Benga, when she’s assigned to the Moon of J’Gal as Chief Nurse. While there, the pair form a strong bond and Chapel learns M’Benga’s revolutionary strategy for saving lives using Star Trek’s transporters – something he would later do for his daughter. In the final stages of the battle of J'Gal, Chapel also gets her first taste of the Star Trek super drug that was first seen in the Strange New Worlds season 2 opener.

It’s revealed that M’Benga designed this concoction - dubbed Protocol 12 - for use by Starfleet officers placed in combat zones. A combination of both adrenaline and pain inhibitors, M'Benga tells Lt. Va'Al Trask (Kyle Gatehouse), the enigmatic Andorian special forces officer, that it was discontinued due to the damaging effects of repeated use. When M'Benga refused to accept the mission to kill Dak-Rah and his senior staff, he was instead asked to provide special forces with the serum. It's clear by the end of "Under the Cloak of War", M'Benga regretted not handing over the serum, which is why he avenges the fallen Andorian and his team by taking Protocol 12 himself and going off to complete their mission single-handedly.

Strange New Worlds Continues To Set Up Star Trek 6's Klingon Conspiracy

Both the meal with Dak'Rah, and M'Benga's killing of the Klingon Ambassador aboard the USS Enterprise recall the assassination of Chancellor Gorkon (David Warner) in Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country . The signing of the Khitomer Accords is decades away from Star Trek: Strange New Worlds ' timeline, but it's clear that there are those aboard the Enterprise who are skeptical about peace with the Klingon Empire. Despite M'Benga's belief that it's through the brutality of war that Starfleet can guarantee that others in the Federation can live in peace, he still can't cope with a Klingon Ambassador on the same ship.

Nurse Chapel and Lt. Erica Ortegas (Melissa Navia) also find it difficult to maintain their professionalism while in the presence of Dak’Rah. It’s interesting to ponder where they would both stand decades later when Captain James T Kirk (William Shatner) was framed for the murder of Gorkon. Hopefully, they and M’Benga would have made some peace with the horrors of the Klingon War, and would accept that peace is the way forward. The alternatives – that these beloved Star Trek: Strange New Worlds crew members condone or even participate in the plot of Admiral Cartwright (Brock Peters) and his fellow officers – are too heartbreaking to contemplate.

Strange New Worlds Brings Back Section 31 - Who Try To Enlist M'Benga

Although the Black Ops group isn’t explicitly named, “Under the Cloak of War” subtly sets up Michelle Yeoh’s Star Trek: Section 31 movie in its M’Benga flashbacks. It’s revealed that, while stationed on the Moon of J’Gal, Section 31 made repeated attempts to recruit Dr. M’Benga. “ Tell them to stop sending people ” is M’Benga’s response to Trask's latest offer, but by the end of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 2, episode 8, he’s effectively carried out their mission for them by brutally assassinating Dak’Rah’s senior staff. It’s also implied that M’Benga may have been a former Section 31 operative, having created Protocol 12.

M’Benga’s nickname of “The Ghost”, and his 90 confirmed kills heavily suggests that if he hadn’t worked for Section 31, he had definitely worked for Starfleet Special Forces. However, he turned his back on this military career to pursue medicine, which ultimately made him a perfect all-rounder to run J’Gal’s field hospital. It also explains why he was specifically requested for Pike's return mission to Rigel 7 in Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 2, episode 4. With Starfleet now facing a potential war with the Gorn, it will be interesting to see if Section 31 makes further job offers to M’Benga.

The Klingon War Complicates Spock And Chapel's Romance

In Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 2, episode 8, Lt. Spock (Ethan Peck) explores raktajino recipes and human emotions. Realizing how difficult the presence of Dak'Rah is for Nurse Chapel, he tries to empathize with her and offer her some emotional support. It's a touching moment from the usually repressed Spock, but heartbreakingly it also hints at why he will eventually abandon his exploration of human emotions and romantic relationships. While Spock means well, Christine feels smothered by his concern for her and finds it hard to vocalize her pain and trauma from the Klingon War.

She eventually pushes him away, explaining that because Spock wasn't on the Moon of J'Gal, he can never truly understand what she went through. She immediately regrets rejecting Spock's offer of consolation, and it will be interesting to see how this develops in future episodes. Spock and Chapel's distance helps to highlight the divisions between those aboard the Enterprise who served in the Klingon war, and those who didn't. It also teases a possible reason why Spock and Chapel's romance won't last .

Strange New Worlds' Enterprise Crew Is Divided Before Possible Gorn War

M'Benga's attempts to repair biobed 2 in sickbay are a metaphor for his own mental health. In his Chief Medical Officer's log, M'Benga notes that biobed 2 has been malfunctioning since the Enterprise crew's traumatic encounter with the Gorn. It implies that the trauma of that encounter reactivated "The Ghost" and also teases the potential Gorn war ahead for Starfleet and the crew of the USS Enterprise. In the Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 2 premiere, Admiral Robert April (Adrian Holmes) was seen to be concerned about a possible war with the Gorn Hegemony. And then, in "Lost in Translation", Starfleet authorized the construction of a deuterium refinery on the fringes of Gorn space.

As Starfleet prepare for a possible Gorn war in Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 2, it will be interesting to see how these preparations are impacted by the experiences of the Enterprise crew. "Under the Cloak of War" shows three pairs of close colleagues who have divided opinions on war and morality. The most notable of these is Captain Pike and Dr. M'Benga, two old friends who have very different opinions on notions of justice and second chances. It's an extraordinary scene between actors Anson Mount and Babs Olusanmokun, that drills down into how difficult it is for Starfleet to maintain its ideals during wartime.

Star Trek canon has established that there is no war between the Gorn Hegemony and the Federation. It's therefore highly likely that it will be Pike's Enterprise that averts the recent attacks from snowballing into all-out war. Perhaps the combination of the harrowing experiences of officers like Dr. M'Benga, and the hopeful optimism of Captain Christopher Pike will be what stops the war. It might also allow Dr M'Benga to heal himself by coming to terms with his own traumatic military career in Star Trek: Strange New Worlds ' season 2 finale, ominously entitled "Hegemony".

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

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Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Recap: Life During Wartime

Star trek: strange new worlds.

After last week’s lighthearted crossover episode, the  Star Trek  pendulum swings back with the heaviest episode  Strange New Worlds  has produced to date (even counting that terrifying Gorn Babies episode that ended in Hemmer’s death). In some ways, it’s been a long time coming. As fun an episode as “ The Broken Circle ” — the season-two premiere — is, it’s laced with allusions to M’Benga and Chapel’s time serving together in the Klingon War, particularly their stint on J’Gal. After injecting themselves with an unknown substance — we learn the name in this episode — we witnessed them going into a berserker rage with an assurance that suggested they’d been there before. The Chapel we know is almost unfailingly upbeat, and M’Benga radiates kindness and concern. But it’s been clear for a while that they’ve seen and done some things they’d rather forget.

With this episode, it all comes rushing back thanks to what Pike calls “a special visitor.” Pike clearly sees his visit as a positive. After all, Ambassador Dak’Rah (Robert Wisdom) — “Rah” for short — is responsible for spreading peace throughout the galaxy, most recently in the Prospero system. That Dak’Rah is a Klingon complicates matters, however, in spite of the ease with which he seems to charm Pike. As Pike points out, most of the  Enterprise  crew has no direct experience of the war. But those who do view Klingons, particularly this Klingon, in a different light.

That extends to the bridge, where Rah interrupts Ortegas debating the pros and cons of a Klingon peace ambassador with Uhura (who’s firmly pro-Rah) as their guest joins them on the bridge. Ever the diplomat, Rah pretends not to have heard and tries to win Ortegas over. He even downplays his pain when Spock’s attempt to produce a raktajino burns his hand. That brings him to Sick Bay, where the barely contained fury on M’Benga’s usually placid face instantly expresses the divide between who Rah presents himself as and who M’Benga still believes him to be.

But who is Rah? Is he a true Federation convert, or is that a convenient front? We learn he’s lied about at least part of his defection story, but does that mean he’s dishonest through and through? And, even so, does this matter when balanced against his good deeds? “Under the Cloak of War” never really answers the question. Instead, it stays in a moral gray area up to a series of final scenes that blur what really happens and who’s telling the truth while forcing us to look at Chapel and M’Benga differently. What happens here is undoubtedly going to haunt future episodes.

What drives M’Benga’s (maybe) murderous rage? The episode provides a clear answer to that question via its flashbacks to the Klingon War and M’Benga and Chapel’s time on the Moon of J’Gal, where they meet and form the supportive partnership we’ve witnessed over the course of the show. That meeting takes place, the onscreen text tells us, “a few years ago” and in the midst of wartime chaos shortly after Chapel deploys what’s essentially a Starfleet MASH unit in the middle of a combat zone. Once on the ground, she’s greeted by Commander “Everyone Calls Me Buck” Martinez (Clint Howard), the unit’s chief medical officer and a man fond of malapropisms like, “Apparently, a watched pot doesn’t get the oil.” That’s in reference to the lack of an internal-organ regenerator, a sign of what Buck calls Tent City’s meager supplies that will have dire repercussions later on.

After Buck informs Chapel she’ll be serving as head nurse, he points her toward M’Benga and lets her find her own way as the wounded start arriving via transport. While performing triage, Chapel gets another indication of just how bad things are when she has to decide what to do with a badly wounded soldier in obvious need of an internal-organ regenerator. M’Benga informs her they need to clear the pad but presents a temporary solution to the problem by storing the soldier’s pattern in the transport’s buffer. (Shades of what he’ll later do with his daughter.) It’s a dubious makeshift solution, but at least it’s something. A bit later, we see the partnership gel as they desperately try to save a patient whose heart has stopped while landing on what amounts to a team motto: “We got this.”

Back in the present, Pike pays M’Benga a visit under the pretense of borrowing some Deltan parsley, which is apparently delicious in small measures but deadly in excess. M’Benga sees through the excuse and even seems to take it in stride when Pike tells him that he has orders for Klingon War veterans to make Rah feel welcome. To that end, he’s hosting a dinner for their guest (complete with jambalaya) and would like M’Benga and Chapel to attend. He doesn’t order them to, but it’s clearly important.

This is a dubious directive and one it seems unlikely Pike would try to institute without orders, as fond as he is of hosting his crew for dinner. Just how misguided it is quickly becomes apparent over the course of the meal. “There’s a chance General … Ambassador Rah has genuinely reformed,” M’Benga tells Ortegas before they head in. “Sometimes you pretend something long enough it becomes the truth.” They agree to put on “the Starfleet face” and get through it. But it’s not that easy. While Rah amuses the others with anecdotes about his adventures in diplomacy, Chapel struggles to hide her discomfort. She doesn’t even want to talk to Spock about it.

Spock decides to distract Rah with a comparison between Sun Tzu’s  The Art of War  and Klingon thoughts on the subject, which creates an opening for Chapel and M’Benga to drift away, cueing another flashback, one in which an Andorian agent tries to recruit M’Benga, who has a previously unmentioned background in black ops, for a mission to take out a particularly horrible Klingon leader: Rah.

Back at the dinner, the illusion of politeness breaks down after Rah brings up J’Gal. “My ideals shifted,” he says, part of a pattern of disparaging Klingon ways he’s been engaging in since boarding the  Enterprise . Ortegas isn’t buying it. Recalling the Klingon battle cry of “Remain Klingon” after Rah attempts to toast to J’Gal, she leaves, followed by Chapel, then, after Pike notices his distress, M’Benga, but not before Rah extends the offer to engage in some Klingon martial arts.

If he knew M’Benga’s background, he undoubtedly would have reconsidered. It’s a tense session, one in which Rah proposes an alliance because of the powerful statement it sends. In turn, M’Benga asks if Rah really killed his own men to escape and defect. But he already knows the answer.

His time on J’Gal pushed him over the edge. After having to purge the pattern of the badly wounded soldier from the transporter buffer and watching the soldier he and Chapel saved head off to war, then return a corpse  and  the death of the Orion agent, M’Benga decides to take on Rah himself. Rah earned the name “The Butcher of J’Gal” for taking out his own men, but it was M’Benga who did the killing and would have killed Rah, too, if he had the chance.

When Rah and M’Benga meet again in Sick Bay, M’Benga can’t hide his true feelings. Rah keeps up his plea for M’Benga to join his peace initiative, even after M’Benga confronts him with the fact that he ordered the worst atrocities of J’Gal himself. “I’ve been doing the best I can to make up for my transgressions,” he says before M’Benga reveals himself as the true Butcher of J’Gal. Then the conversation takes a turn for the worse. M’Benga opens a case containing the weapon he used to kill the Klingons under Rah’s command. Rah keeps up his plea for peace. They struggle. Rah is stabbed and killed.

But what exactly happened remains obscured, both to us and Chapel, who witnesses the incident behind a wall of opaque class and then testifies that Rah was the aggressor and grabbed the knife, forcing M’Benga to defend himself. She can’t know this for sure. But she testifies to it anyway. Whether she knows the truth, or even wants to, remains unclear. Pike’s shocked but seems to buy the story because DNA evidence confirms the knife as the property of the Butcher of J’Gal, which is true. But Pike’s assigning that title to the wrong person.

Pike’s no dummy. Talking to M’Benga, he says, “I like to think that if you did instigate the fight with Rah, if it got away from you somehow, you could talk to me. I’d be on your side. I’d work it out.” But, M’Benga insists, he didn’t instigate the fight, and Pike has to take him at his word. Nonetheless, M’Benga throws out a hypothetical. What if he  did  murder Rah, but Rah was a really awful person? Would that matter? Pike, a Boy Scout to the end, can’t sign on to this hypothetical. “You haven’t lived my life,” M’Benga tells him. “You have the privilege of believing in what’s best in people.” When M’Benga tells Pike he’s glad Rah is dead, all his Captain can do is nod and walk away.

So did M’Benga start the fight? We don’t know for sure, which is by design, but little evidence points to Rah snapping and turning combative. Whether he was faking his love for peace or a true believer, he didn’t waver from his message at any point in the episode. (And even if he  was  faking, that doesn’t take away what he accomplished as an ambassador.) But it’s still hard not to see M’Benga’s side. He lived through the unthinkable, and here was the person most directly responsible for the worst of what he witnessed and experienced. Posing ethical questions is something  Star Trek  does frequently, but it rarely leaves them this unresolved, much less raises the possibility that a major and extremely sympathetic character might have crossed a line from which he can never return. The damaged, blinking biobed that M’Benga sees as a metaphor for his own broken state suggests this episode might end, but it’s not really over.

• It’s probably best not to get too hung up on chronology, but when did the events on J’Gal take place? It’s a “few years ago,” yet Pike and M’Benga affirm they’ve known each other for a long, long time. Also, M’Benga and Chapel appear to be roughly the same age now as during the Klingon War. Will we get answers? Does it matter?

• “Protocol 12” is the name of the performance-enhancing drug taken by M’Benga and Chapel. What’s more, we learn that M’Benga is its creator, it has deleterious health effects, and it’s not Starfleet-approved.

• The relentless repetition of “incoming transfer” does as much to establish the oppressiveness of work at the MASH unit as the blood and explosions.

• Clint Howard has a long history with  Star Trek . He’s guested on  Deep Space Nine ,  Enterprise,  and  Discovery.  But his most famous appearance remains his work as Balok, the childish antagonist in the original series episode “The Corbomite Maneuver.” It’s a  Trek  debut for the great character actor Robert Wisdom, most recently seen on  Barry .

• “I am having difficulty watching you experience such obvious distress” is a sweet sentiment coming from Spock. But here, he also learns there are some problems no partner, no matter how caring, can fix.

• This episode is written by Davy Perez, previously responsible for season one’s “Memento Mori” (as a co-writer) and “All Who Wander” (the aforementioned Gorn Babies episode) and this season’s “Among the Lotus Eaters” (also as a co-writer). Those are all intense hours of television, suggesting his name in the credits means viewers best steel themselves. Jeff W. Byrd, an in-demand TV director and producer, directs.

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Star Trek: Strange New Worlds – Season 1, Episode 8

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Cast & crew.

Anson Mount

Captain Christopher Pike

Rebecca Romijn

Science Officer Spock

Babs Olusanmokun

Dr. M'Benga

Christina Chong

La'an Noonien-Singh

Celia Rose Gooding

Nyota Uhura

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Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 2 Episode 8 Recap – who is the Butcher of J’Gal?

We recap the Paramount+ series Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 2 Episode 8, “Under the Cloak of War,” which contains spoilers.

The Enterprise’s chief medical officer Joseph M’Benga takes center stage in episode 8, “Under the Cloak of War.”

Flashbacks reveal his involvement in the Klingon War, fighting alongside Christine ( Jess Bush ) . While in the present day, M’Benga is faced with his old enemy, Ambassador Dak’Rah .

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 2 Episode 8 Recap

This installment begins with a quick summary of the crew’s latest mission. They are transporting the Klingon Ambassador Dak’Rah (known as Rah) to his next conference.

Who is Ambassador Dak’Rah?

Dak’Rah is a feared Klingon General, nicknamed the Butcher of J’Gal, who changed his ways to become a renowned peace negotiator after the Klingon War. Yet his horrifying past still haunts some of the Enterprise’s crew members.

First of all, Erica doesn’t trust him; she believes that Rah is working undercover to steal the Enterprise’s secrets. Uhura defends Rah, though, stating that he is a changed man. Rah is given a tour of the ship; Spock attempts to make him feel welcome.

Another crew member who distrusts Rah is M’Benga. On meeting Rah, he had a panic attack.

Flashbacks explain his complicated history with Rah. We start these flashbacks in the middle of the Klingon War, on the Moon of J’Gal.

How did Christine first meet M’Benga?

Christine is posted into the middle of this conflict to aid the medical department; this is where she first meets M’Benga. The medical staff are placed in the heart of the war, dealing with an endless conveyor belt of injured soldiers that are beamed in.

M’Benga is already scarred by the horrors of war and has lost all hope, but Christine’s optimism inspires M’Benga to try and save every soldier. Christine and M’Benga quickly form a bond, yet the endless stream of new patients is relentless.

It isn’t long before M’Benga is summoned into battle. The resistance is planning to assassinate the Klingon’s leader Dak’Rah.

They have discovered that he is killing anyone who isn’t a Klingon soldier; this means civilians and even children. M’Benga declines the offer, though.

Back in the present, the angry crew members struggle to hide their true emotions. Pike wants to give Rah the benefit of the doubt, but the others are growing impatient.

Rah doesn’t help matters when he gloats about his achievements.

Spock is unable to appease Christine, who is also filled with rage. Christine asks for some time away from Spock. This decision may have been spurred on by Brad’s future talk and then intensified by the sudden appearance of Rah, but it doesn’t look good for the couple.

Rah then asks to spend some time with M’Benga; they spar with each other. J’Gal is discussed. Rah wants M’Benga to join him at his next peace conference, but M’Benga wants to know the truth. He asks if Rah actually killed his own men.

Why does M’Benga decide to fight in the Klingon war?

The Ambassador admits that he did kill his own men. He was appalled by the army’s decision to kill innocent people, and he chose to take a stand. After this encounter, M’Benga has traumatic flashbacks, remembering the bodies of dead children during the war. This motivated M’Benga to finally join the fight on J’Gal.

Una senses a drop in the crew’s morale, so she decides to shorten Rah’s trip to counteract this negativity. Rah visits M’Benga after discovering this change, of course.

Rah wants to make amends with M’Benga, but the chief medical officer doesn’t want to forgive him.

M’Benga wants Rah to admit to the truth that he was the one who gave the orders to kill civilians and children. Rah finally admits to the horrifying truth.

Who is the Butcher of J’Gal?

Then M’Benga provides further twists. He was the one who killed Rah’s men, M’Benga was the actual Butcher of J’Gal. M’Benga fought and killed Rah’s men, while Rah escaped. He let Rah take the credit for the murders for all those years. M’Benga is still ashamed of his actions, though.

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 2 Episode 8 Ending Explained

The episode ends with the two enemies arguing. M’Benga wants Rah to pay for his war crimes. They fight, and Rah is stabbed and killed, but the audience doesn’t actually get to see the scuffle firsthand. It is inferred that M’Benga killed Rah.

Christine informs Pike that she witnessed the whole thing. The knife is scanned; it is the Butcher’s weapon. DNA from the knife confirms that the Butcher killed three warlords. Pike believes that Rah is the Butcher and, therefore, he must have attacked M’Benga first. M’Benga is in the clear.

Although Pike does have his doubts still. He meets with M’Benga afterward. M’Benga won’t admit to his actions but brings up the truth about Rah that he ordered the killing of children.

Pike and M’Benga have their disagreements, but M’Benga is happy justice has finally been served.

What did you think of the Paramount+ series Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 2 Episode 8? Comment below.

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Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 2 Episode 8 Review – Under the Cloak of War

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds tries its hand at a war story in an hour that takes us back to the beginning of M'Benga and Chapel's relationship.

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This Star Trek: Strange New Worlds review contains spoilers.

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 2 Episode 8

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds has delighted in subverting our expectations about what a sci-fi adventure series like this is supposed to be and do, embracing wild shifts in tone, genre, and format from week to week and telling what should be familiar stories in fresh new ways. Season 2 has featured episodes that range from a courtroom drama ( “Ad Astra Per Aspera” ) to a trip into an alternate past ( “Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow” ), a relationship comedy ( “Charades” ), and a heartfelt and hilarious crossover with a Star Trek animated series (“Those Old Scientists”).

Granted, “Under the Cloak of War” does make for a particularly jarring tonal shift after the Strange New Worlds meets Lower Decks episode. This installment is…well, it’s pretty darn dark, especially for a show that generally tries so valiantly to find the light and hope in the stories it’s telling. A war story about a fight that’s theoretically over but never truly ends, the hour explores everything from living with the consequences of trauma to questions about the nature of justice. It fully complicates our understanding of two of the show’s best characters, provides some necessary backstory about a particularly dark period in Starfleet history, and ends on the sort of thorny moral choice that will undoubtedly reverberate throughout the rest of the season (and series). This isn’t a fun hour, by any stretch, but it does feel like a rather necessary one, at least in terms of several characters’ larger emotional arcs. 

The story is ostensibly about the arrival of a Klingon Federation ambassador who’s being ferried aboard the Enterprise after helping negotiate a complex multiplanet ceasefire. A former general during the Klingon War who was once known for his vicious brutality, Dak’Rah (allegedly) learned the error of his ways after the devastating Battle of J’gal, defected to the Federation, and has since helped spearhead various trade agreements and peace accords. His presence is fairly upsetting for the multiple crew members who themselves are veterans of the Klingon War, several of whom were participants in the battle that gave the ambassador his dark nickname (the Butcher of J’gal) when he killed several of his own men to cover his escape.

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Earlier this season , we learned a bit about M’Benga and Chapel’s experience serving together, but “Under the Cloak of War” provides a full origin story for their relationship, showing us their first meeting in what is essentially a Starfleet M.A.S.H. unit and allowing us to see how the constant grind of death and loss affects each of them in profound ways that reverberate through to the present day. Though neither of them joined Starfleet expecting to become soldiers—or to perform rudimentary surgery without the benefit of the technological aids of the age—both must learn how to make hard, unorthodox choices in the name of helping as many people as possible. And, through these flashbacks, Strange New Worlds manages to make the Klingon War more emotionally impactful than pretty much the entire first season of Discovery did.

In the present day, M’Benga, Chapel, and even Ortegas (who was a war pilot) attempt to manage their lingering rage and PTSD in the face of a larger Starfleet mandate to welcome the ambassador to the Enterprise , and struggle to articulate the horrors what they experienced to those who were not there. None of them believe Dak’Rah’s platitude-filled claims that he’s trying to make amends or help others heal from the trauma of war—which often come across as nothing so much as a weird kind of personal branding exercise—and there are several uncomfortable scenes in which Pike uneasily tries to keep the peace between their Klingon guest and his crew members who are all feeling the emotional strain of his presence.

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Babs Olusanmokun’s performance is wonderfully complicated, a mix of rage, fear, and dark determination that seems as though it should be deeply at odds with the kind hearted medical officer we regularly see on the Enterprise . (Who…was also apparently a special ops agent at one point?) “Under the Banner of War” firmly colors M’Benga in overt shades of gray in ways that aren’t comfortable for viewers, and Strange New Worlds doesn’t seem particularly interested in policing how its characters feel or picking a side in their dispute.

The episode even ends in such a way that it’s possible to believe that M’Benga is telling the truth, and that the events behind that screen we couldn’t see unfolded as he said. It’s an interpretation I don’t personally ascribe to—I think the good doctor is, in his way, proud of his decision to take matters into his own hands, and the various hypothetical scenarios surrounding Dak’Rah’s death that he postulates for Pike have some distinct If I Did It O.J. Simpson tell-all vibes. But I can see how viewers might at least be able to read that fight scene as ambiguous if nothing else.

The real question here, though is: How are we meant to feel about M’Benga and Chapel afterward? He certainly seems to feel no regret over anything that may or may not have happened, and even outright says he’s not sorry the Klingon is dead. She (probably) lies to protect him—a decision that isn’t that surprising considering what the two obviously mean to one another, but that explicitly sets their bond above their Starfleet ties in an interesting new way. And both have clearly done some dark things in the service of what they see as their duty, actions they obviously both still carry with them now that they’re ostensibly living in peacetime. 

It’s rare that anyone provides such strident opposition to Christopher Pike’s particular brand of sunny optimism—or that Strange New Worlds allows a darker viewpoint equal weight. “Under the Cloak of War” doesn’t come out and say that M’Benga is right and Dak’Rah deserved to die, but it also doesn’t reject that notion either. That the former Klingon general is (or at least was ) a very bad person is evident, and the show hints at various points that he may not be as reformed—or at least as non-violent—as he seems. (And using the bodies of your dead countrymen to advance your personal brand is…certainly a choice!) Even if he had somehow truly changed, does it matter? Does a man like this deserve a second chance after everything he’s done? Don’t the people he harmed—both the dead and the survivors—deserve justice? And what does that even look like in a world that wants to believe in the power and possibility of true redemption? 

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,…

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Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Episode 8 “The Elysian Kingdom” sneak peek + new photos

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 1 Episode 8 “ The Elysian Kingdom ” preview

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds returns on Thursday with the eighth episode of the series “ The Elysian Kingdom ” and we have a collection of new photos and a sneak peek for you below.

Written by Akela Cooper and Onitra Johnson and directed by Amanda Row , the episode premieres Thursday, June 23rd on Paramount+ .

Official synopsis:

The U.S.S. Enterprise becomes stuck in a nebula that is home to an alien consciousness that traps the crew in a fairy tale.

Sneak Peek:

Strange New Worlds stars Anson Mount as Captain Christopher Pike, Ethan Peck as Spock, Rebecca Romijn as Una Chin-Riley (a.k.a. Number One), Babs Olusanmokun as Dr. M’Benga,  Christina Chong  as La’an Noonien Singh,  Celia Rose Gooding  as Cadet Nyota Uhura,  Jess Bush  as Nurse Christine Chapel,  Melissa Navia  as Lt. Erica Ortegas, and  Bruce Horak  as Hemmer.

Stay tuned to TrekNews.net for all the latest news on Star Trek: Strange New Worlds , Star Trek: Discovery , Star Trek: Picard , Star Trek: Lower Decks , Star Trek: Prodigy , and more.

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June 23, 2022 at 9:33 am

To the writer who wrote this episode is a genius,I loved this episode

JohnBlizzard

June 24, 2022 at 11:26 pm

I just saw this on another website. Yowza.

* * * Some far-right nobody named Jon Del Arroz wrote a hit piece about Heath Antos for Bounding Into Comics, claiming she’s a terrible editor. And, well, she’s admittedly a limited editor, that is true. However, Del Arroz’s article is so filled with typos, to a staggering degree, that people all over Twitter are having fun ripping him a new one for being hypocritical, illiterate, and non-self-aware. I almost feel bad for the guy, because his attempt to shame Antos has only resulted in an incredibly cringeworthy self-own. So embarrassing, especially since he claims to be an author. Given how poorly written his hit piece is, I can’t imagine how anyone would ever publish him. He writes like Harry Knowles.

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Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 1, Episode 8, "The Elysian Kingdom," Recap & Spoilers

Doctor M'Benga takes point as the Enterprise is transformed into a fantasy kingdom. Here's a spoiler-filled recap of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds.

The following contains spoilers for Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 1, Episode 8, "The Elysian Kingdom," now streaming on Paramount+.

As the Enterprise continues to venture into the unknown, Doctor Joseph M’Benga has a memorable encounter with a cosmic entity that shakes him to his core. Over the course of this reality-altering ordeal, familiar faces become twisted into strange, fantasy figures while M’Benga moves to learn what is going on and how to restore things to normal. And as with any good fairy tale, M’Benga’s adventure comes with a bittersweet price as he moves to singlehandedly save the day.

M’Benga continues to push himself hard to find a cure for his daughter Rukiya’s genetic condition , accidentally ingesting a chemical compound while performing a medical experiment for treatment. When the Enterprise finds itself mysteriously grounded in a nebula, helmsman Erica Ortegas suffers a severe head wound attempting to warp the starship out. As M’Benga arrives on the bridge to treat Ortegas, he finds it has been transformed into a fantasy world that resembles the story he has been reading to Rukiya, with M’Benga hailed as a king.

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With Pike and Ortegas as rival courtesans attending to him, M’Benga discovers that the Enterprise ’s systems appear to be running as normal and scans himself at sickbay where he similarly learns he is healthy. M’Benga’s analysis is interrupted by La’an Noonien-Singh ( played by Christina Chong ), who appears as a spoiled princess searching for an important relic known as the Mercury Stone. Chief Engineer Hemmer is also aware of the fantastical shift in reality, but is confused for an evil wizard and taken by soldiers who refuse to acknowledge M’Benga’s regal authority.

Suspecting Hemmer is the key to finding the Mercury Stone and using it to restore reality, M’Benga has Pike and Ortegas escort him on a mission to rescue Hemmer from the custody of a rival queen. Along the way, the group encounters Spock and his distinctive eyebrows ; he has been reimagined as a wizard seeking to save his brother from the same queen. The queen is revealed to be an altered vision of Uhura ( played by Celia Rose Gooding ), with Spock leading M’Benga and the others into a trap that gets the group imprisoned after M’Benga fails to produce the Mercury Stone.

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Hemmer explains that his telepathic abilities sensed a lifeform when reality shifted, theorizing that the entity used M’Benga’s story as inspiration to create this world. Using some of his gear, he frees himself and the group from their cell before they are aided in their escape by Number One -- reimagined as a skilled archer allied with Ortegas. Picking up on the noticeable changes to the story he’s familiar with, M’Benga theorizes that the entity actually telepathically drew inspiration from Rukiya, based on his daughter’s preferences about how the story should unfold.

After Hemmer sidelines Uhura and the traitorous Spock with the transporter, he and M’Benga find Rukiya playing with the entity. Speaking through Hemmer, the entity reveals that Rukiya’s condition will return if they allow her to leave the nebula. Rukiya decides to remain with the entity in order for her father to be freed and reality to be restored to normal, appearing moments later as a full-grown adult to assure M’Benga that her life has been great. As activity on the Enterprise returns to normal, none of the crew have any memory of what occurred in the nebula, with M’Benga confiding in Number One about his extraordinary experience to conclude one of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds ' most fantastical episodes.

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

• Cast & crew
• User reviews

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds

A prequel to Star Trek: The Original Series, the show follows the crew of the USS Enterprise under Captain Christopher Pike. A prequel to Star Trek: The Original Series, the show follows the crew of the USS Enterprise under Captain Christopher Pike. A prequel to Star Trek: The Original Series, the show follows the crew of the USS Enterprise under Captain Christopher Pike.

• Akiva Goldsman
• Alex Kurtzman
• Jenny Lumet
• Anson Mount
• Christina Chong
• 1K User reviews
• 38 Critic reviews
• 9 wins & 32 nominations total

Episodes 31

• Captain Christopher Pike …

• La'an Noonien-Singh …

• Lt. Erica Ortegas …

• Una Chin-Riley …

• Nurse Christine Chapel

• Nyota Uhura …

• Dr. M'Benga

• USS Enterprise Computer …

• Lieutenant George Samuel 'Sam' Kirk

• Jenna Mitchell

• Captain Batel …

• Admiral Robert April

• Captain James T. Kirk …

• T'Pring
• All cast & crew
• Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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Did you know

• Trivia Bruce Horak , the actor who plays Hemmer, is legally blind, just like his character's species, the Aenar, who are also blind.
• Goofs There are some rank insignia mistakes. Number One is introduced as "Lieutenant Commander Una Chin-Riley" yet she is wearing the rank insignia of a full commander: two full stripes. A Lieutenant Commander's rank insignia is a full stripe under a thin stripe (in TOS it is a full stripe and a staggered stripe). It is not uncommon for a ship's first officer to be a Lt. Commander if they have not been in the position long. Spock at this point is a Lieutenant but he is wearing Lieutenant Commander's stripes; a Lieutenant just has one stripe. La'an is the ship's chief of security and the ship's second officer. She is also wearing Lt. Commander stripes but is addressed as a Lieutenant, but it would make more sense for her to be a Lieutenant Commander. Either way both of their rank insignia are not matching the rank they are addressed by. Ortegas is addressed as a Lieutenant but is wearing Lieutenant Commander's strips. A Lieutenant Commander may be addressed as a Commander or Lieutenant Commander but never as just a Lieutenant, so either her rank insignia or the manner she is addressed by the rest of the crew is in error.

[opening narration]

Captain Christopher Pike : Space. The final frontier. These are the voyages of the starship Enterprise. Its five-year mission: to explore strange new worlds, to seek out new life and new civilizations, to boldly go where no one has gone before.

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Technical specs

• Runtime 52 minutes
• D-Cinema 48kHz 5.1
• Dolby Digital
• Dolby Atmos

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Star trek: strange new worlds season 2 episode 8 review: under the cloak of war.

Following possibly the most absurd (and awesome!) crossover adventure is an exceptional challenge. With Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 2 Episode 8 , we dive deep into the murkiest moral morays of wartime trauma and truths.

Dr. M'Benga's backstory is full of tragedy and painful choices. His very identity is a compilation of contradictory facts of being. A doctor who cannot heal his daughter. A healer known for his deadly skills. A man who becomes monstrous to fight monsters.

The purposeful ambiguity of the conclusion leaves us with questions, doubts, and complex considerations.

The trope of the good man with a dark past gets a double treatment here between Dak'Rah, a Klingon general and war criminal turned Federation ambassador who publicly tours his brand of truth and reconciliation, and M'Benga, our resident Chief Medical Officer who hides the violence of his past.

The irony that Dak'Rah has built his current life as peacenik and politicker upon M'Benga's act of violence is a sharp commentary on society's allowance for any past misdeed as long as the individual has something to offer in exchange for absolution.

For those who experienced the war, it's not something that can be moved past or "healed" so that the scar does not show or make itself felt.

Ortegas is a great example of someone who isn't completely blinded by her experiences in combat but who cannot sweep past atrocities under the rug for the sake of preserving the peace now.

Ortegas: Trust me I know Klingons. This guy with the peace treaties, that’s not Klingon. Uhura: So, you don’t trust Ambassador Rah because he believes in peace? Permalink: So, you don’t trust Ambassador Rah because he believes in peace?

While M'Benga is able to convince her to join the captain's dinner with the effective combined lure of "Let's Show Him" bravado and the promise of Pike's jambalaya, he struggles to make it through the evening himself.

Ortegas: He’s pretending. I sense it. And I don’t want to play along. M’Benga: Sometimes, you pretend something long enough, becomes the truth. So let’s pretend the war doesn’t bother us. At least, for tonight. Ortegas: Put on the Starfleet face? M’Benga: It’s a good face. Permalink: It’s a good face.

When Ortegas pushes the question of whether Dak'Rah did the things he is believed to have done -- specifically, slaughtering his own commanders so he could escape and defect -- the mood of the evening is irrevocably broken.

Her exit signals the end of niceties. Chapel uses Ortegas as a reason to absent herself from the table. M'Benga holds out longer, but Pike can see the stress he's under and gives him an out as well.

The specific parallels between M'Benga and Dak'Rah are subtle but deliberate.

When the raktajino cup burns him, Dak'Rah resists an instinct to retaliate, to cry out. We see that same restraint and tension in M'Benga when Dak'Rah grabs him suddenly to request they practice Mok'bara together.

Una: On a recent mission, Spock was able to parley with a Klingon captain… Spock: I must admit it has ignited a curiosity in me, a desire to experience more of your culture. Dak’Rah: There’s nothing to experience. They are a war-mongering race, limited by ideology. Permalink: There’s nothing to experience. They are a war-mongering race, limited by ideology.

One wonders if Dak'Rah has tired of the charade he's living and is looking for death by Federation with the way he repeatedly pushes in on M'Benga.

He allows Ortegas to find her own path and doesn't seem to seek Chapel out to "heal," but despite M'Benga explicitly asking to be left alone, he persists in hounding the doctor.

Federation or not, everyone is on their own journey. Una Permalink: Federation or not, everyone is on their own journey.

It's the ultimate test of self-discipline. M'Benga holds back a finishing blow in their Mok'bara session, just as he holds back the truth of his role on J'Gal.

It's honestly surprising how differently people view the Klingon War in terms of effect and proximity.

For M'Benga, Chapel, and Ortegas, it's still a fresh wound, a trauma that hasn't had time to dull, only to be repressed if possible.

Pike: How can we represent a Federation that believes in peace if we say some people aren’t allowed to make up for their past? Una: I agree with you, in the abstract. But the people he hurt – some of them right here on this crew – might not find forgiveness so easily. It isn’t fair for us to ask them to just let it go. Permalink: I agree with you, in the abstract. But the people he hurt – some of them right here on this...

Because Pike and Una were held back from the war -- deployed away from the front with the Enterprise and then with Discovery during the final days of the conflict -- they have a distanced perspective, sympathetic but without the internalized understanding of the quantifiable loss.

War, it doesn’t leave you. It can bury itself, but it’s always there. Chapel Permalink: War, it doesn’t leave you. It can bury itself, but it’s always there.

Chapel does an admirable job trying -- and falling frustratingly short -- of explaining it to Spock.

It's not something that is easily or willingly shared with others, especially people you care about.

War, it makes sense if you’ve been there, but it will never make sense. Chapel Permalink: War, it makes sense if you’ve been there, but it will never make sense.

That divide is difficult for any relationship, and to communicate the purely emotional response to a half-Vulcan who is only just beginning to explore how feelings work would strain any bond.

It's tertiary, but I do feel for Spock. He's clearly trying his best, but there is nothing logical about war trauma.

Speaking of which, how great was Commander Martinez with his malaphor-ridden phrases?

Whatever you need, we probably don’t have it but ask anyway. I’ll run it up the flagpole and see if it quacks. Martinez Permalink: Whatever you need, we probably don’t have it but ask anyway. I’ll run it up the flagpole and...

In the bleakness of Tent City, having some unlikely comedic relief is a strange but welcome distraction. I sincerely hope Martinez survived J'Gal.

So, the ultimate question is: Do we believe M'Benga killed Dak'Rah in self-defense or with intention?

My take here is entirely my own, and, recognizing this is a potentially heated topic, I welcome discussion and disagreement.

I believe it was self-defense.

I looked for you. Now, here you are, using the blood on my hands to make yourself a saint. M’Benga Permalink: I looked for you. Now, here you are, using the blood on my hands to make yourself a saint.

That's not to say that M'Benga didn't want to kill him. He admits as much, but he also tells Dak'Rah repeatedly -- even pleading with him -- to leave the sickbay and to stop talking to him. The Klingon had multiple opportunities to get out of the way.

One might consider this justification for M'Benga to kill him.

But the keen observer will note that M'Benga turns away from the Klingon daqtagh in the kit and even with the glass wall obfuscating the details of their struggle, his silhouette never turns back to the kit. He is always opposing Dak'Rah.

I surmise from this that Dak'Rah reached for the blade, reaching past M'Benga under the pretense of "helping him heal" and attempted to kill M'Benga to keep him from revealing the truth of J'Gal.

Peace is not a destination. It’s a journey. It’s a state of mind. Dak’Rah Permalink: Peace is not a destination. It’s a journey. It’s a state of mind.

Chapel lies in her testimony to protect the truth of M'Benga's actions on J'Gal, but ultimately tells the truth about the self-defense.

Pike: I’m just shocked that Rah would attack him like that. Chapel: I guess, it just goes to show, no one ever really knows what goes on in anyone’s heart. Permalink: I guess, it just goes to show, no one ever really knows what goes on in anyone’s heart.

When TV Fanatic had the opportunity to speak with actors Jess Bush and Babs Olusanmokun , they both commented on how they were challenged and invigorated by the character development in this narrative. As viewers, it enriches our understanding of Chapel and M'Benga, as well as their partnership.

The trust they show in each other on Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 2 Episode 1 makes so much more sense now, as does the super serum. Seeing the crucible of war experiences they undergo together, the losses they suffer, and the brutality they witness, their camaraderie takes on even more nuance and depth.

And as much as J'Gal binds them, it divides the doctor and the captain just as it separates Spock from Chapel, distances Uhura from Ortegas.

We’ve known each other for a very long time. See eye-to-eye on most things. But you haven’t lived my life. You have the privilege of believing in what’s best in people. Me? I happen to know there’s some things in this world that don’t deserve forgiveness. M’Benga Permalink: We’ve known each other for a very long time. See eye-to-eye on most things. But you haven’t...

In another brilliant bit of writing, M'Benga now lives with Pike's suspicion as Dak'Rah lived with an unearned reputation. The narrative echoes are deafening.

Whichever side you come down on with regard to Dak'Rah's demise, we can all consider the remains of war with somber assessment.

There are the survivors, the observers, and the dead.

Some things break in a way that can never be repaired. Only managed. M’Benga Permalink: Some things break in a way that can never be repaired. Only managed.

So, Fanatics, who are the lucky ones?

What does it all mean for M'Benga's future aboard the Enterprise? Will Chapel and Spock manage to bridge this new divide?

Where does it leave Federation-Klingon relations? Will L'Rell make an appearance to address Dak'Rah's death?

Hit our comments with your takeaways!

Under the Cloak of War Review

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 .

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 2 Episode 8 Quotes

Klingons will never admit it, but the Federation has much better ships. Dak’Rah Permalink: Klingons will never admit it, but the Federation has much better ships. Added: July 26, 2023

Ortegas: Trust me I know Klingons. This guy with the peace treaties, that’s not Klingon. Uhura: So, you don’t trust Ambassador Rah because he believes in peace? Permalink: So, you don’t trust Ambassador Rah because he believes in peace? Added: July 26, 2023

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 2 Episode 8 Photos

7/27/23 Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 2 Episode 8 Under the Cloak of War

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Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 1, episode 8 review: "A silly, self-indulgent story"

GamesRadar+ Verdict

Strange New Worlds continues its voyage around classic Trek tropes, and comes unstuck with the now-traditional dress-up episode. The conclusion of the emotionally charged story of Dr M’Benga and his sick daughter deserved better than this otherwise pointless diversion

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Warning: This Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 1, episode 8 review contains major spoilers – many of them set to stun. Boldly go further at your own risk…

With new episodes of Obi-Wan Kenobi , The Boys , Ms. Marvel , The Umbrella Academy , For All Mankind, and many more debuting this month, there’s no shortage of quality TV vying for your eyeballs right now. Perhaps it’s for the best, then, that Strange New Worlds has just rolled out an installment that feels as missable as this one.

Aside from addressing one of the show’s most significant story arcs – namely the fate of Dr. M’Benga’s terminally ill daughter, Rukiya – this silly, self-indulgent story feels like a waste of an episode. 

Your inner red alert siren starts screeching early on, as M’Benga opens up a Princess Bride-like storybook called ‘The Kingdom of Elysian’. Isn’t that kinda similar to the title of the episode, ‘The Elysian Kingdom’? Surely the writers wouldn’t plunge the crew into a live-action roleplay version of the book… would they?

A quick trip to the bridge – where a routine nebula survey is coming to an end – briefly lulls you into a false sense of security. Indeed, when Spock points out that the captain enjoying the uneventful nature of the mission might be tempting fate, everything starts to look a lot more promising. Then the Enterprise finds itself trapped by an unknown force, and Lt Ortegas is injured in the sort of set-quake that’s been afflicting Starfleet crews since the earliest days of the franchise. Could this be a proper Star Trek episode after all?

Er, no, because as soon as M’Benga arrives on the bridge to treat Ortegas’s injuries, he realizes he’s playing the king in what looks like a high school production of a fairytale drama. Is he suffering from hallucinations caused by his exposure to Chemical 3QND in a Sickbay explosion? Or have the writer’s room been overdoing the Romulan Ale and decided to do something very silly indeed? Star Trek has always relished the opportunity to get its crews out of uniform to indulge in a spot of cosplay. These adventures have rarely ranked among the franchise’s finest hours, but even within those parameters, ‘The Elysian Kingdom’ is one to forget. 

Making the wonderful Enterprise interiors look cheap is quite a feat, but the episode achieves the impossible by filling familiar sets with plants and regal paraphernalia. As the bridge becomes a throne room and the transporter room is decked out as a prison, everything about the makeover feels half-hearted. Maybe it was a Covid or budget-related decision, but even in a storytelling context, it makes little sense that an entity strong enough to induce a collective hallucination didn’t work a little harder on the set dressing. Say what you like about Q, but at least when he dumped Picard and co in a Robin Hood adventure in ‘Qpid’ – Worf was not a Merry Man – he made some effort to invoke a convincing Sherwood Forest.

Unfortunately, the fictional ‘The Kingdom of Elysian’ rarely feels like a classic of children’s literature. The characters the Enterprise crew inhabit are too one-dimensional to entertain and it’s remarkable that a show that’s usually so effortlessly funny could become so lumpen when it goes all-in on a comedy episode.

Although the cast clearly relish the chance to try something different, not everyone is well served by their new personas. Melissa Navia has plenty of fun as the king’s all-action bodyguard while Ethan Peck makes a convincing evil wizard, but the usually brilliant Anson Mount seems completely out of his element as a cowardly court advisor. It’s an uncomfortable experience watching such an accomplished, charismatic performer struggle with such an unforgiving – and poorly written – role.

A degree of salvation – both for the episode and for the crew – comes in the form of Bruce Horak’s Lt Hemmer. Like M’Benga, the Andorian engineer is mostly unaffected by the collective pantomime around him, but his trademark world-weary humor lifts every scene he’s in. His telepathic abilities have allowed him to resist the powerful psychic force emanating from the nebula – even though the experience “felt as if my brain were being squeezed through my nose” – and he brings some much-needed scientific reasoning to the second half of the episode.

While it’s easy to explain away a holodeck malfunction – as in Voyager’s Flash Gordon-inspired ‘Bride of Chaotica’ – Star Trek’s other dalliances with cosplay require more creative thinking. ‘The Elysian Kingdom’ plays around with the real-life thought experiment known as a Boltzmann brain to justify everything that’s happened. It turns out that a consciousness lurking in the nebula had noticed Rukiya in stasis in the medical transporter’s pattern buffer, and tried to remedy her loneliness by recreating a familiar book – while also allowing her to shape her own ending.

Similar concepts have been explored on numerous occasions, both in Star Trek and other sci-fi stories, but here it brings some belated emotional resonance to an otherwise disappointing episode. M’Benga is faced with an impossibly heartbreaking choice: keeping Rukiya on the Enterprise in the vain hope of curing her condition, or letting her leave with the nebula entity to live a non-corporeal life among the stars. Babs Olusanmoku plays the moment beautifully, allowing his little girl to leave with an unknowable alien force, even though he knows it means he “won’t be happy anymore”. It’s slightly trite and simplistic when she returns as a grown-up moments later – telling M’Benga about the wonders she’s seen with a nebula called “Deborah” – but the confirmation that the choice was the right one provides some much-needed closure for her father.

One question remains, however: why did such an emotionally powerful story arc have to be resolved in such a lightweight episode? Giving everyone other than M’Benga collective amnesia about the incident – on top of the convenient wiping of the Enterprise’s computers – almost feels like a tacit acknowledgment that the events depicted in this episode shouldn’t be discussed again. So let’s just pretend ‘The Elysian Kingdom’ never happened, and get back to what’s otherwise been a wonderful season.

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds is currently airing now on Paramount Plus. For more, check out our guide to the Star Trek timeline .

Richard is a freelancer journalist and editor, and was once a physicist. Rich is the former editor of SFX Magazine, but has since gone freelance, writing for websites and publications including GamesRadar+, SFX, Total Film, and more. He also co-hosts the podcast, Robby the Robot's Waiting, which is focused on sci-fi and fantasy. 

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Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Episode 8 Review

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Episode 8 takes a big diversion from the rest of the season and while there are some fun moments, it falls flat.

One of the most impressive things about the first eight episodes of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds is that there haven't been many "dud" episodes. Unfortunately, it appears that the series was due. "The Elysian Kingdom" is a bit of a diversion from the rest of the season as the crew suddenly finds themselves donning some rather garish costumes and forgetting entirely who they are. As has been the case with other episodes of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds , the story is very reminiscent of the original series and for that alone, it gets some high marks. The show has done a marvelous job of capturing the feel of the original series and what made Star Trek so popular so many years ago.

However, even the original Star Trek wasn't a home run episode every single week. There were some stinkers, and it appears in even this regard, Strange New Worlds is paying a kind of homage. That doesn't mean that "The Elysian Kingdom" was a particularly bad episode. There were even some touching moments. The episode simply wasn't all that interesting, and there were definitely some rather major plotholes when it came to the science and the medicine involved in the story.

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Things start out innocuously enough, as the crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise is checking out a spacial body that even Captain Pike believes is about as benign as can be. He even makes a comment that he's looking forward to having a nice quiet time after spending several weeks in all kinds of different missions. Of course, as is usually the case, any character that says this kind of thing is bound to jinx the issue. The show does make a rather humorous joke where Spock even comments that it appears Pike did jinx the ship when it suddenly finds that it appears stuck. That humor quickly evaporates when the ship lurches and Ortegas is injured. This leads to a call to the bridge for Dr. M'Benga.

However, when the doctor arrives on the bridge, he finds that it has instead been transformed into his royal court and he has been clothed in the outfit of a character from a book that he and his daughter often read together. That daughter has been a big part of the doctor's story as he's been hiding her from most of the crew. It turns out that the way he was hiding her even affected what happened to the crew earlier in the Strange New Worlds season . This is because he tends to house his daughter in the transporter buffer as a kind of stasis field while he tries to find a cure for her very rare disease.

It is of course always interesting when a Star Trek episode shows some sort disease that even the advanced tech of the far future can't cure. Of course, it's also no longer all that interesting in that every time this kind of plot device is introduced, it's almost a given that the story will head one particular direction. The show did indeed go in that direction this week as well, meaning that the person who was sick was suddenly well again only there was a choice that their loved ones had to make. That choice is almost always "they can be cured, or they can be sick again, but around their loved ones."

It always feels like this particular conundrum is more than a bit contrived. This particular episode certainly had that feel considering at one point, the doctor's daughter was "cured" with no sign of the disease. If that was really the case, if there was really no sign of the disease then she would indeed be all better. However, as it turned out, there was supposedly still the danger should M'Benga make the wrong decision. This is the kind of thing where it feels like the conundrum could have been written slightly different and made more sense. For the most part, the show's writers tend not to be this kind of lazy but they failed that particular test this week.

As far as the crew being engrossed in the story, there were some fun parts, including La'an Noonien-Singh appearing as the over the top princess. While her part was quite small, and she wasn't on-screen much at all, the show did allow her to stretch her wings acting wise a bit. That she walked around carrying a cute little puppy was a nice touch if only because the actual Noonien-Singh would almost certainly do no such thing. Meanwhile, Ortegas gets to be on screen and show off her chops more than she has since the series started.

Likewise, Anson Mount actually has a relatively small role this week as he plays a cowardly and eventually traitorous aide to the king. The positives of this role is that it appeared that Mount was truly enjoying the part. There were others who seemed to be loving being able to depart from their usual personalities and take on totally new. Strange New Worlds also missed an opportunity by not having Spock be one of those that totally left his usual persona behind. Instead, they simply made him a different character with the same character traits.

While it appears that there were several members of the show that truly did enjoy doing something so different from what the season had been, the episode was sadly not all that fun on its own. Whether it was because the plot was rather easily predicted once it was divulged as not being some sort of hallucination, or just because the story in the book wasn't a particularly well fleshed out or interesting one, there was just something missing in this week's episode of Strange New Worlds . The good news is that even when the show isn't putting out a top-of-the-line product, it's still pretty darn good and that's helped along by a cast that is both good at what they do and that seem to have some real chemistry when they are on screen together. That is also quite reminiscent of the original Star Trek .

MORE: Star Trek: Who Are The Betazoids?

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 2 Episode 8 Delves Into The Trenches

In the newest episode of "Star Trek: Strange New Worlds," called "Under the Cloak of War," several members of the Enterprise crew get to openly discuss the consequences of war, and ponder their deep-seated battlefield trauma from the recent Klingon conflict. "Star Trek" has long been a franchise that advocates pacifism, and sees war as — just like in the real world — humankind's ultimate failing. "Cloak" sees soldiers as either brainwashed into mindless, suicidal sacrifice for ideals that don't even exist, or as suffering murderers who are constantly living on the brink of madness and violence. It also sees few avenues for healing; once war trauma has taken hold, no act of justice is sufficient to cleanse one's soul. Everyone gets out stained. 

"Strange New Worlds" has been, up until now, a mostly light, often whimsical show about warm, welcoming people. Occasionally, the characters will be stranded in a crashed ship with vicious monsters stalking them, but even the "monster" episodes — for however much death and violence they contain — end up forcing the survivors together. They work together, they survive together, and they even mourn together. The Enterprise crew gets along and functions as a unit. "Under the Cloak of War" is the first time the series has highlighted some of the characters' irreconcilable differences and fundamental moral disagreements. This is territory ordinarily covered by "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine."  

There's a potent symbol at the center of "Cloak." Dr. M'Benga (Babs Olusanmokun) has a biobed in sickbay that constantly breaks and that he cannot repair. It might seem to function most days, but stops working at random intervals. The bed is Dr. M'Benga. Some days he functions. On other days, the hatred and violence of war shines through. 

One might recall in the recent episode "The Broken Circle," Dr. M'Benga and Nurse Chapel (Jess Bush) found themselves surrounded by Klingons while on a mission on a remote, non-Federation world. They looked each other hard in the eyes, knowing that it was a desperate situation. Dr. M'Benga then produced two vials of mysterious green medicine, and the pair stared gravely at them. They injected themselves with the medicine, and they instantly became battle ready. They were able to charge a group of attackers with violence in their souls. The drug hyped them up and made them more capable of hand-to-hand combat. They both knew this mysterious green drug was a horrible, horrible thing. 

"Under the Cloak of War" explains the origin of this drug, as much of the episode is a flashback to the front lines of the Klingon War, still fresh in most peoples' heads. Dr. M'Benga and Nurse Chapel were stationed at a remote outpost that was pretty much already lost. The Klingons were bombarding them from orbit, and injured soldiers were beaming into the medical facility pretty much to die in front of their comrades. The high-tech medical tools were all damaged, so everything looked more like the trenches of the Civil War than a miraculous "Star Trek" facility. The doctor and nurse suffer trauma after trauma, watching people die. They try to save the more grievously injured soldiers inside a transporter buffer, but memory is running out ... 

Eventually, after witnessing the violence and hearing the vicious orders from the Klingon commanders over his communicator (they don't spare civilians), M'Benga snaps and decides to join the fray. Killing, he finds, is the only metier in wartime. Morality vanishes. Only rage remains. It's a dark place.

Justice during wartime

The flashbacks are all inspired by a visiting Klingon defector named Dak'Rah, played by reliable character actor Robert Wisdom. Dak'Rah's visitation to the U.S.S. Enterprise highlights some of Captain Pike's limitations as a diplomat; when the Klingon walks onto the bridge for the first time, Lieutenant Ortegas (Melissa Navia) is telling a story about how evil Dak'Rah was during the war and that he bore a colorful and violent nom de guerre. It seems Dak'Rath murdered hundreds and gave the above-mentioned order to kill civilians. 

Pike ( Anson Mount ) gives Ortegas a stern look but takes no immediate disciplinary action. Pike may be a warm and friendly commander who invites officers into his personal kitchen for breakfasts, but it seems he is less capable of laying down the law. Pike doesn't know how to deal with the rage and insubordination of his officers. It's weirdly comforting to know that even a Starfleet captain has limitations. Pike just wants the unpleasant things to slide past. 

Pike's limitations are on full display at a later dinner scene. After Dak'Rah has been insulted multiple times via myriad microaggressions, Pike insists a dinner will smooth things over. Despite seeing Chapel and M'Benga's obvious discomfort, and knowing their war history, Pike never steps in. Spock (Ethan Peck) attempts to keep the conversation going by inviting an analysis of Sun Tzu's "The Art of War" to Klingon battle texts. Someone should have given Spock the same advice once given to Basil Fawlty: don't mention the war . 

Eventually, M'Benga and Dak'Rath will be able to lay their hearts bare. The Klingon doesn't want to acknowledge his war crimes. M'Benga is determined to leave morals behind and see that justice is done. 

There's no letting go

The episode will end — chillingly — in an ambiguous fashion. An act of violence will be committed, but the precise circumstances of the act and the motivations of the people involved are left hazy. Quite literally; the act is filmed through frosted glass. Regardless, audiences now know that both Dr. M'Benga and Nurse Chapel are permanently infused with violence. They hate it, but it's something they possess and something they'll have to live with. They also have murder drugs that the Federation doesn't know about. There is a supreme — and completely "Star Trek" — idea at play, in that the ship's two most capable healers are also the ones capable of doing the most harm. They can only hope that Hippocrates wins out over Sun Tzu. 

"Under the Cloak of War" is the headiest, heaviest, bleakest episode of "Strange New Worlds" yet. It's also a whiplash, given that the last episode was a fan-service episode wherein animated characters were thrown into a live-action universe to enact a light comedy story. If anything, "Cloak" reveals a deeper diversity of writing than the show was previously seen capable of. While mostly a friendly comedy show, "Strange New Worlds" has now proven that it can tackle more adult thematic material. Whether or not "Worlds" wants to continue down a more adult path remains to be seen. I do know, however, that one upcoming episode is a musical (!) . 

Notable cameo: Clint Howard appears in "Cloak" as the jaded Starfleet general who introduces Nurse Chapel into the war zone. When he was about 6, Howard appeared in one of the very first episodes of "Star Trek" in 1966. He officially has the longest-spread career in the franchise's history. 

'Star Trek: Strange New Worlds' episode 8 suffers from a clash of styles

This episode marks a welcome return to Trademark Trek Tomfoolery.

Warning: Spoilers for "Star Trek: Strange New Worlds" season 1, episode 8

The inaugural season of "Star Trek: Strange New Worlds" has had its share of genre-bending episodes, from the silly, sitcom-like "Spock Amok" (S01, E05) to the scenes of Captain Pike cooking the crew a luxurious meal in "Children of the Comet" (S01, E02). The eighth episode is no different, veering into fantasy territory throughout a lighthearted episode that nonetheless packs an emotional punch.

This week, the USS Enterprise is on a routine [survey mission] of the [Jonisian Nebula] but when it tries to leave the nebula, it's unable to do so. Spock (Ethan Peck) detects a minor synchrotron flux emanating from inside the nebula and suddenly the whole ship jolts forward sending many of the crew, including Dr. M'Benga (Babs Olusanmokun) flying, or at the very least, severely stumbling. Moreover, the doctor is in the turbolift at the time it happens. When he arrives at his deck and the door makes that signature squeak as it opens, the good doctor is confronted by something very strange. Very strange indeed.

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The bridge has been redressed to look like a medieval throne room and everyone it seems is in cosplay. It takes a few minutes for the doctor to make the connections, but it seems the ship has transformed into the children's fairytale book he has been reading to his daughter Rukiya (Sage Arrindell) throughout the season so far, "The Kingdom of Elysian" by a fictional writer named Benny Russell. 

Interestingly, this fictional author was portrayed by Avery Brooks (as Captain Sisko) from the "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine" episode "Far Beyond the Stars" (S06, E13).

As for the rest of the crew, Captain Pike (Anson Mount) is Sir Amand Rauth, a cowardly weasel attempting to constantly win favor with the King, or even just whoever is currently in power. Science Officer Spock (Ethan Peck) is Wizard Pollux, the guardian of the forest, or in this case, deck six. Nurse Chapel (Jess Bush) is Lady Audrey, a wise medicine woman sympathetic to the King. Lt. Noonien-Singh (Christina Chong) is Princess Thalia, an incredibly annoying and spoilt princess. 

Cadet Uhura (Celia Rose Gooding) is Queen Neve, a deliciously evil individual intent on overthrowing the King. Lt. Ortegas (Melissa Navia) is Sir Adya, bodyguard and ever-faithful servant to the King. And Lt Cmdr Chin-Riley (Rebecca Romijn) is Z'ymira the Huntress, a mysterious, mostly-neutral warrior princess who fights against evil.

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It marks a welcome return to Trademark Trek Tomfoolery™ and at first, you'd be forgiven for thinking that the whole episode will be in this fun format, with no secondary plot set in the real world, as it were. But, as the story unfolds, we realize this isn't the case and while, in its entirety, this is still very much a solid installment, the two very different elements needed to make it work are so different, that they jar a little bit.

That's not to say the highlights aren't great. Anson Mount clearly enjoyed playing his fairytale alter ego, as did the whole cast we would guess. There's also a great little touch where Hemmer (Bruce Horak) is in the turbolift with Pike/Sir Amand Rauth, who naturally assumes that Hemmer, who is blind, has normal vision (because his other senses are so well attuned). It's a small detail, but one that shows attention has been paid to details. Moreover, each character's alter-ego reveal is brilliant and even Lt. Ortegas/Sir Adya finally has a chance to show that her character is more than just a cheeky chappie.

However, Hemmer is slightly different because he is able to block out whatever it is that's causing this pantomime to seem real onboard a Federation starship. Between himself and the doctor, they need to get to the bottom of whatever is going on. Through deliberation and deduction, M'Benga notices his daughter, Rukiya, is nowhere to be seen. She's normally stored in the Enterprise transporter buffer, but she's been removed somehow. So, they set out to find her while a power struggle for the Elysian Kingdom continues between the King's forces and those of Uhura/Queen Neve.

The doctor (whose first name we also learn is Joseph) locates her in his quarters, where she explains the nebula that the ship was attempting to pass through is sentient. ( Nerd Note: The principle of a Boltzmann Brain is mentioned in passing; this is a theory that postulates it might be more likely for a single brain — and as such a single consciousness — to spontaneously form in a void, complete with a memory of having existed in our universe. The hypothesis is used in cosmology to test assumptions about thermodynamics and the state and development of the universe.  In "The Next Generation" episode "Imaginary Friend" (S05, E22) the USS Enterprise-D also encounters a non-corporeal lifeform in a nebula that caused a little girl's fantasies to come true.)

It seems the mysterious entity, that Rukiya has named Debra, scanned the Enterprise and found Rukiya stored in the transporter buffer and understood and empathized with her feelings of loneliness. And it's at this point that the episode takes a dramatic turn for the emotional. Watching this installment for the first time, one almost assumes everything would return back to normal, once some sort of dialogue had been established with…er, Debra. But it doesn't. 

Knowing that Rukiya's time was running out, since she could really only remain in the transporter buffer for so long and the terminal illness she was suffering from would eventually take its toll, M'Benga reluctantly agrees that the best thing for his daughter is for her to join the nebula/entity/Debra, which she does. Naturally, there's lots of emotional discussion and a lot of metaphoric comparison to the events of the story and what is transpiring in the real world now, but ultimately, it's a happy ending, albeit an emotional one.

Rating: 7/10

The first eight episodes of "Strange New Worlds" are now available to watch on  Paramount Plus as is the entire second season of " Star Trek: Picard ." Season 4 of "Star Trek: Discovery" is also available on the Paramount streaming service in the US and on CTV Sci-Fi or Crave TV in Canada. Countries outside of North America can watch on the Pluto TV Sci-Fi channel. Paramount is available in the UK and Ireland both as a standalone service and as part of the Sky Cinema subscription for the UK cable provider.  

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When Scott's application to the NASA astronaut training program was turned down, he was naturally upset...as any 6-year-old boy would be. He chose instead to write as much as he possibly could about science, technology and space exploration. He graduated from The University of Coventry and received his training on Fleet Street in London. He still hopes to be the first journalist in space.

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Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Is Figuring Out the Lines It Can Cross

"under the cloak of war" provides another strength, and a greater challenge, for strange new worlds ' approach to trek storytelling..

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds ’ fondness for exploring old ideas and structures doesn’t just rely on an affection for the original Star Trek. It’s willing to take on tones, ideas, and experiments from across the franchise’s history—and even its most recent past, as is the case this week, as the show takes on Discovery ’s largest unexplored aftermath. But it might be coming to its own limits on just how dark a path it can take some of its heroes down.

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“Under the Cloak of War” acts in some ways as a sibling episode to season two ’s premiere , which tackled the fallout of what came after in the aforementioned Discovery story: the Klingon War. Discovery itself was quick to move on from the aftermath, and then promptly leave it all behind when the show’s titular ship catapulted itself hundreds and hundreds of years into the future. B ut Strange New Worlds has already proven it has an interest in examining the fallout of the war this season, using the unique opportunity that not everybody aboard the Enterprise fought in it. And now, even more so, it’s willing to push those characters that were involved down some fascinating paths.

Those characters in particular this week are Dr. M’Benga and Nurse Chapel—both frontline medics during the war who first met, as we see in flashbacks, on the battlefields of the Klingon moon J’Gal, the site of a devastating theater of war. Instead of, as with the premiere, being asked to confront the abstract idea of conflict between Starfleet and the Klingons threatening to raise its ugly head again,   Christine and Joseph are faced rather literally with their past: the Enterprise is to play host to Federation ambassador Dak’Rah (guest star Robert Wisdom), who as you might be able to tell from the name, is a Klingon. And not just any Klingon, but the former commander of the Empire’s forces at J’Gal, whose actions and eventual defection to the Federation earned him the moniker “The Butcher of J’Gal.” Now the Federation’s most vaunted diplomat, and the symbol of acceptance and tolerance that the Federation champions, Chapel and M’Benga are confronted with asking how much they themselves have changed in the years since the war.

Much of the episode’s tension comes from splitting the Enterprise ’s senior staff, as we dive back and forth between the present of Dak’Rah being hosted aboard the ship and the past on J’Gal, where Chapel, newly assigned to a triage medical station on Starfleet front lines, first meets an already war-weary M’Benga. Despite the conflict happening in the booms and blasts of the background, these flashback scenes are incredibly evocative of Deep Space Nine ’s Dominion War stories, literally and thematically dark, with more than a few shades of the infamous episode “The Siege of AR-558,” which climaxes in the young, recent Starfleet inductee Nog being gravely wounded in a doomed battle. While in the present scenes aboard the Enterprise the tension is left to simmer—as Pike, Una, and Spock try to play diplomatic hosts to Dak’Rah, knowing that they were afforded the privilege of not directly serving on the war’s front lines, and Ortegas, M’Benga, and Chapel tackle the resurgent feelings of their own war experience—these flashbacks let Strange New Worlds get tonally and visually messy in a way it rarely has been, even in high stakes moments of conflict.

The pace is relentless in these moments, one tragedy or ethical compromise for Chapel and M’Benga following another with little time for them to deal with or even acknowledge it. It makes the languid, simmering moments aboard the Enterprise in the present all the more gutwrenching, because just as the flashbacks are barreling towards a grim, inevitable climax, you know that it’s similarly leading to an explosive conclusion in the present. Which is what we get as the straight faces put on by M’Benga and Chapel, the former in particular, start to crack as Dak’Rah increasingly pushes his reformed reputation. After a tense dinner in Pike’s quarters sees Ortegas storm out, you’re allowed for a brief moment to think this is the tension boiling over—M’Benga and Chapel have their excuses to leave the increasingly bad mood of the dinner to go deal with her, Dak’Rah gets a small moment of amelioration where he gets to express regret for the past that lead to this outburst, and Pike and Una come to the conclusion it will be better for everyone if the a mbassador gets off of the Eneterprise as quickly as possible.

But “Under the Cloak of War” has a final knife to twist, and it’s the most complex one Strange New Worlds has yet to wield. Past smashes into the present when, just before he leaves, Dak’Rah approaches M’Benga with an offer previously floated between the two in a tense sparring session: join him in a diplomatic tour to prove that veterans of some of the war’s deadliest theaters can bury the hatchet. M’Benga, however, can’t bring himself to face the lie Dak’Rah has made for his new life in the Federation, revealing that the real butcher of J’Gal is none other than M’Benga. As we see in flashback, it was he who slaughtered Dak’Rah’s lieutenants—amped up by the same psychoactive serum we saw him and Chapel use in the premiere—after the then-general gave the order for Klingon forces to attack civilian as well as Starfleet targets. Dak’rah’s story of honorable turncoat is a lie bathed in the blood of innocents, and then ultimately bathed in his own, when M’Benga reveals he still has the Klingon knife, seemingly one of Dak’R ah’s own, that he used to hunt the g eneral’s forces down on J’Gal. A fight breaks out, and we’re left to see it from Chapel’s perspective in shadows. Dak’Rah lies dead on the s ickbay floor, M’Benga above him—and no one but those two men will ever know how the scuffle ended.

That includes us. “Under the Cloak of War” pointedly keeps the details vague—we don’t see the fight save for the direct outcome, we’re told as the scene cuts away to La’an and Pike discussing with Chapel that ostensibly Dak’R ah attacked the d octor, and there’s enough DNA evidence on the weapon to support that . When Pike follows up with M’Benga, the doctor is hesistant to either defend himself or provide detail even when Pike tries to speak to him not as a c aptain but as his friend: all M’Benga can say is he’s glad Dak’R ah’s dead, and ponder on a perpetually broken biobed as to whether or not some things can ever truly be fixed—or just managed forever.

Did Dak’Rah really start the fight? Are M’Benga and Chapel covering for each other as a way to avenge the trauma they endured on J’Gal? There is no real clear answer by the end of the episode, only a sense of unease. It’s a compelling, morally ambiguous ending for the episode to end on, and much like the flashbacks to the war here echoing “Siege of AR-558, ” it feels like one that wants to echo the similarly dark, complicated mood Ben Sisko takes at the conclusion of “In the Pale Moonlight.” But, for as much as Strange New Worlds wants to play with this “in the moment” storytelling in such a dark way, you cannot really look at “Under the Cloak of War” and what it wants to do with these characters without the context of where this episode sits in the wider season’s structure. Not just in its parallels to the topics touched on in the season premiere is important here; this past weekend, we had the Lower Decks crossover , an episode that, while emotionally sincere at its core, is primarily a lighthearted, knowingly goofy romp. Next week we have “Subspace Rhapsody,” Star Trek ’s first-ever musical episode , and while I’m willing to be surprised, I somehow doubt that episode is going to examine the monsters made of ourselves in the crucible of war.

Star Trek can and should explore a vast tonal array of moods and ideas, and it can and should place those ideas in contrast with each other from week to week. But it also can’t fall into the trap past Trek shows have in doing so—not letting that tonal variance actually impact on its characters. Time and time again episodic Trek has told stories that weigh heavy on the consciousnesses of its heroes, only for that weight to vanish in the next episode. Strange New Worlds has been a series that similarly wants its cake and eat it in this regard in its weaker moments, when heady ideas and big impacts on people are just left to sit within the confines of individual episodes. But it doesn’t have to—in fact, this week is a compelling note that the show is capable of following up on these emotional beats after raising them in the past. Given the nuanced ambiguity “Under the Cloak of War” leaves M’Benga on, there’s hope this isn’t the last we’ll see of this series exploring one of Discovery ’s most fascinating, but arguably most wasted, opportunities. The good will earned here has to matter going forward, otherwise it’ll be just as wasted an opportunity.

Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel , Star Wars , and Star Trek releases, what’s next for the DC Universe on film and TV , and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who .

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‘Star Trek: Strange New Worlds’ Renewed for Season 4; ‘Lower Decks’ to Conclude With Season 5 (EXCLUSIVE)

By Adam B. Vary

Adam B. Vary

Senior Entertainment Writer

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“ Star Trek : Strange New Worlds,” currently in production on its third season, has been renewed by Paramount+ for Season 4. Meanwhile, “ Star Trek: Lower Decks ,” the first animated “Star Trek” comedy, will conclude its run on the streamer with its fifth season, which will debut in the fall.

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“Lower Decks” charted brand new territory for “Star Trek” when it debuted in 2020, as both an animated comedy and a series that focused on the junior officers of the USS Cerritos: Beckett Mariner (Tawny Newsome), Brad Boimler (Jack Quaid), D’Vana Tendi (Noël Wells) and Sam Rutherford (Eugene Cordero). Set in the years following the feature film “Star Trek: Nemesis,” the series has included voice cameos from many beloved “Star Trek” alumni, like George Takei, Jonathan Frakes, Marina Sirtis, John de Lancie, Will Wheaton, Armin Shimerman, Nana Visitor and Robert Duncan McNeill.

Given its premise, concluding “Lower Decks” make sense considering the main four characters all received promotions in Season 4. But in a message to fans, Kurtzman and executive producer and showrunner Mike McMahan left the turbolift doors open for continuing the characters’ stories following their time at the bottom of the Starfleet pecking order. 

The “Star Trek” TV universe, overseen by Kurtzman through his Secret Hideout production company and produced by CBS Studios, has enjoyed a robust expansion since “Star Trek: Discovery” first premiered in 2017. Along with “Strange New Worlds,” the made-for-television movie “Star Trek: Section 31” recently concluded production with star Michelle Yeoh, and the new series “Star Trek: Starfleet Academy” will begin shooting later this year.

“It has been incredibly rewarding to continue to build the Star Trek universe, and we’re so grateful to Secret Hideout and our immensely talented casts and producers,” said Jeff Grossman, executive vice president of Programming at Paramount+. “‘Strange New Worlds’ has found the perfect blend of action, adventure and humor. Similarly, ‘Star Trek: Lower Decks’ has brought the laughs with an ample amount of heart to the franchise across its four seasons. We can’t wait for audiences to see what is in store for the crew of the U.S.S. Cerritos in this final season.”

“‘Lower Decks’ and ‘Strange New Worlds’ are integral to the ‘Star Trek’ franchise, expanding the boundaries of the universe and exploring new and exciting worlds,” said CBS Studios president David Stapf. “We are extraordinarily proud of both series as they honor the legacy of what Gene Roddenberry created almost 60 years ago. We are so grateful to work with Secret Hideout, Alex Kurtzman, Mike McMahan, Akiva Goldsman, Henry Alonso Myers and the cast, crews and artists who craft these important and entertaining stories for fans around the world.”

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'Star Trek: Strange New Worlds' Season 2: Release Date, Trailers, Crossover, and What to Expect

Star Trek's flashiest crew flies into the galaxy with all phasers blazing in Season 2.

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When and where is star trek: strange new worlds season 2 coming out, watch the star trek: strange new worlds season 2 trailers, who are the cast and characters of star trek: strange new worlds season 2, what do we know about star trek: strange new worlds season 2’s story (and the crossover episode), what is the future of star trek: strange new world, who are the creators of star trek: strange new worlds.

The first season of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds was a masterpiece combining nostalgic elements of Star Trek: The Original Series and modern techniques that was a pleasant surprise for fans of all ages. It had an excellent reception from both critics and audiences, mostly because of its amazing cast, and in many ways, it's a return to what fans loved about much of the original series. Season 2 is coming out fairly soon, and we can hope that it will keep up the excellent quality from the first season. It is another chance for us to see what the Enterprise is up to before Kirk and another excellent saga in the Federation's bid to explore the galaxy. Now without further ado, let's get into everything we know so far about Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 2.

Editor's Note: This article was last updated on June 4.

Related: 'Star Trek: Strange New Worlds' Season 2 Character Posters Show the USS Enterprise Crew Ready For Intergalactic Adventures

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 2 will be hitting screens on June 15, 2023 . As of right now, Season 2 has already finished production, and small bits of information have been leaking out to the public via formal and informal channels. As with the rest of the Star Trek franchise, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 2 will be released on Paramount+. The first season of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds was on a Thursday release cycle, running from May 10, 2022, to July 7, 2022, and is available for free on Paramount's YouTube Channel .

Watch on Paramount+

Ahead of the official trailer, we got to see two sneak peeks for the season. The first of these sneak peeks features Lieutenant Erica Ortegas (played by Melissa Navia ) on her way to an away mission. It seems the tempo of the crew has hardly changed even though Number One Una Chin-Riley (played by Rebecca Romijn ) is no longer with the crew. We also have some more pithy wordplay with Spock as he continues to grow his ability to interact more naturally with others.

The second sneak peek is more of a behind-the-scenes look. In the previous series, such as Star Trek: The Next Generation , we often see casual places for the crew to relax around the ships. The showrunners thought the mess hall that we saw in the first season was too sparse and have introduced a new area for the ship. The video features Will Wheaton , formerly TNG's Wesley Crusher, and the production designer Jonathan Lee showing off the impressive new set piece. It looks somewhat familiar to Ten Forward and has that modernized 1960s look. This new set is supposed to feature a lot more intimate conversations between characters and includes a ton of easter eggs. One that was immediately picked up by Will Wheaton was the Saurian Brandy from Star Trek: Picard . We see Guinan and Picard drinking it from a similar bottle in Picard Season 2 Episode 1 "The Star Grazer".

The first trailer for Strange New Worlds Season 2 was released on April 19, 2023. The roughly two-minute trailer serves as a teaser for the events to come. Check it out here:

More recently, we got the official trailer for Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 2 on May 24. The new trailer showcases a lot more of the action to come, and gives us our first proper look at the series' upcoming crossover with a certain other Star Trek show. See the trailer in the player below and stay tuned for more:

We received a clip from the upcoming season of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds . In this clip of Episode 2, Una stands on trial. It's a very entertaining albeit brief video.

Most of the cast from the previous season is returning, which is to be expected given the state the show was left in. Given the events of the last season, the Enterprise will be in need of a new head engineer. The newcomer to the enterprise will be played by the iconic Carol Kane . Kane is well known for roles in the TV series Taxi and Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt as well as various film roles, usually playing a more comedic motherly character. It seems that this time around she will be a no-nonsense engineer, but perhaps we will see some of that comedic side as well.

The full list of main cast members in Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 2 includes Anson Mount as Christopher Pike, Ethan Peck as Spock, Jess Bush as Christine Chapel, Christina Chong as La'an Noonien-Singh, Celia Rose Gooding as Nyota Uhura, Melissa Navia as Erica Ortegas, Babs Olusanmokun as Joseph M'Benga, Rebecca Romijn as Una Chin-Riley / Number One, and Carol Kane as Pelia, among others.

Related: 'Star Trek: Strange New Worlds’ Should Boldly Go in Its Own Direction

One of the major storylines that we can expect to see is what exactly happened to Number One. One of the highlights of the first season was finding out that she was genetically engineered (one of the recurring issues in Star Trek with characters such as Deep Space Nine ’s Dr. Bashier) and that she has been taken away from her position on the Enterprise. Captain Pike and the rest of the crew definitely support her, but with her position unfilled, someone will have to step in to fill her shoes in the interim.

We also have a first occurrence in the Star Trek Universe, a combined crossover episode with the animated series Star Trek: Lower Decks . Tawny Newsome (who plays Ensign Beckett Mariner in the animated show) and Jack Quaid (who stars alongside Newsome as Ensign Brad Boimler) will be making their live-action debut during the new season of Strange New Worlds . Given that Mariner and Boimler both originate from a timeline much closer to that of Star Trek: The Next Generation , we are certainly left with more than just a few questions. So far, we know that the series will have combined animated and live-action scenes. That episode will be directed by Star Trek veteran Jonathan Frakes .

With characters such as Paul Wesley ’s Captain Kirk appearing in Season 2 , there is certainly a lot of potential for a Season 3. And clearly, Paramount+ has taken note, as it has been confirmed that Strange New Worlds will be getting a Season 3 . The show has plenty of storylines left to explore and has proven to be among the more successful shows in the franchise, so this hardly comes as a surprise. From the tension between Spock and Nurse Chapel to Uhura’s hesitation to continue in Starfleet, not to mention La'an’s murky past, there is plenty left to unpack on this amazing show.

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds was created by Akiva Goldsman , Alex Kurtzman , and Jenny Lumet . Henry Alonso Myers and Akiva Goldsman are the showrunners for the season. Season 2's directors include Chris Fisher , Amanda Row , Eduardo Sánchez , Dan Liu , Jonathan Frakes, and Valerie Weiss . The episodes were written by Henry Alonso Myers, Akiva Goldsman, Dana Horgan , David Reed , Kirsten Beyer , Davy Perez , Kathryn Lyn , and Onitra Johnson . The score for Season 2 was composed by Season 1 and Star Trek: Prodigy composer Nami Melumad . Executive producers on the show include Eugene Roddenberry , Trevor Roth , Jenny Lumet, Frank Siracusa , John Weber , Aaron Baiers , Heather Kadin , Henry Alonso Myers, Akiva Goldsman, and Alex Kurtzman.

Strange New Show: S2 E07 "Those Old Scientists‪"‬ Strange New Show: KandM Watch Star Trek: Strange New Worlds

It's the crossover to beat all crossovers. The animated maniacs of Lower Decks are on the Enterprise - and in live action! Keith and Mike take a deep dive into Strange New Worlds and the foxiest of Silver Foxes Captain Pike, Spock and the crew of the Enterprise 1701. Each week they discuss behind-the-scenes trivia with a breakdown of the entire episode ending with awarding it a Self-Sealing Stem Bolts rating!! *This is an audio-only feed of K&M's Video Podcast found here: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLidGSKPjKhVIq_37byuJZ6QElp80T3a7N

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‘Star Trek: Strange New Worlds’ Renewed For Season 4 At Paramount+

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds has been renewed for Season 4 at Paramount+, despite currently being in production on its third season.

On the other hand, it has been revealed that the animated comedy series Star Trek: Lower Decks , will end with Season 5 on the streaming platform. The final season will premiere this fall.

Strange New Worlds centers around Capt. Christopher Pike (Anson Mount) is the USS Enterprise commander at this point in the Star Trek universe. He is joined by younger versions of several legacy characters, including Spock (Ethan Peck), Uhura (Celia Rose Gooding), and Kirk (Paul Wesley).

It debuted in 2022 and had an epic second season that included a musical episode and a crossover episode with Lower Decks , helping it climb aboard Nielsen’s chart of the 10 most-watched streaming original series over multiple weeks.

“On behalf of the cast and crew of ‘Strange New Worlds,’ we are thrilled and grateful to continue our voyages together,” said executive producers and showrunners Akiva Goldsman and Henry Alonso Myers, along with executive producer Alex Kurtzman in a statement according to Variety . “We can’t wait for you to join us and the crew of the Enterprise on another season of exploration and adventure.”

Lower Decks is set in the years following the feature film Star Trek: Nemesis and centers around the junior officers of the USS Cerritos: Beckett Mariner ( Tawny Newsome ), Brad Boimler ( Jack Quaid ), D’Vana Tendi ( Noël Wells ) and Sam Rutherford ( Eugene Cordero ).

The series also featured voice cameos from several Star Trek alumni including George Takei , Jonathan Frakes, Marina Sirtis, John de Lancie, Will Wheaton, Armin Shimerman, Nana Visitor, and Robert Duncan McNeill.

Although some aspects of the storyline make it appropriate to conclude the show, Kurtzman and executive producer and showrunner Mike McMahan are leaving the hull open for future iterations.

“We remain hopeful that even beyond Season 5, Mariner, Boimler, Tendi, Rutherford, and the whole Cerritos crew will live on with new adventures,” they said in a message to fans. “While five seasons of any series these days seems like a miracle, it’s no exaggeration to say that every second we’ve spent making this show has been a dream come true.”

Season 3 of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds is slated to premiere in 2025.