12 Streaming Era Star Trek Episodes We're Adding To 'The Classics'
4. A Quality Of Mercy
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds' first season finale walked a fine line between a remake and bringing something new to the table. It introduced Paul Wesley as this series' version of James T. Kirk, while showing an older Admiral Pike in an updated Monster Maroon uniform. Through time travel, Captain Pike gets to see what would happen if he managed to avoid his upcoming accident and all hell breaks loose.
The weaker moments of the episode centre on lines of dialogue lifted wholesale from Balance Of Terror, but they are few. The direction, lighting, and tension throughout serve to show most of the cast at their best, or worst, in Ortegas's case. Having her, already a war veteran after the Klingon War, seethe with such hatred for Romulans is both disappointing and realistic. It's hard to like her here, which is, of course, the point.
Anson Mount pulls double duty as both versions of Pike, fully committing to his fate by the episode's close. The first year of Strange New Worlds teased the audience with the potential for Pike to avoid the chair. As the episode ends, he knows that there are far worse things in the universe if they are given a chance to come into being.
It serves as the show's strongest finale to date and a powerful end to a strong first year.