10 Greatest Star Trek Season Finales
4. A Quality Of Mercy - Strange New Worlds Season One
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds brought the franchise away from the serialised storytelling of both Discovery and Picard, returning to the more familiar episodic adventure of the week. Therefore, when it came to the first season's finale, audiences weren't quite sure what to expect. It's safe to say that having two Pikes - one slightly older, greyer, and monster marooner, was unexpected.
The episode also served to introduce James T. Kirk, as played by Paul Wesley. It would go on to serve as both a soft remake of Balance Of Terror, while also solidifying the fact that, despite Pike's affable nature, and boyscout-like charm - that he was exactly the wrong captain to be the one facing the Romulans.
It serves to help Pike and the audience, come to accept the fact that Pike's fate is sealed. However, it manages to balance that with the good that will come from it. We know that he will end up in the chair, as does he. What Pike doesn't know is that, by the time of The Menagerie, he will return to Talos IV and live a life, though illusory, but one of love.
If one of the main themes of the show's first season was Pike coming to terms with his fate, then this episode manages to achieve that perfectly, setting the stage for a second season where Pike was free to explore other storylines, free of that weight.