H
Una faces questioning
Ad Astra per Aspera
| Series: | Star Trek: Strange New Worlds |
|---|---|
| Episode Number: | 202 |
| Production Number: | 112 |
| Original Air Date: | |
| Directed By: | Valerie Weiss |
| Written By: | Dana Horgan |
Number One faces court-martial and imprisonment, Pike visits an Illyrian colony to find an Illyrian attorney to represent Una.
| Casting Type | Actor | Character |
|---|---|---|
| Guest Star | Yetide Badaki | Neera Ketoul |
| Recurring | Adrian Holmes | Robert April |
| Recurring | Melanie Scrofano | Marie Batel |
| Guest Star | Nicky Guadagni | Admiral Javas |
| Guest Star | Graeme Somerville | Vice Admiral Pasalk |
| Guest Star | David Benjamin Tomlinson | Tellarite Judge |
Captain Batel offers Una a plea deal, please guilty and get a dishonorable discharge but be spared a prison sentence. Una's defender from JAG thinks it is a good deal, but Una doesn't like the deal.
Meanwhile, as hinted in the previous episode, Captain Pike is traveling to the Vaultera Nebula to seek hiring Counselor Neera Ketoul to be Una's legal council, even though Ketoul has been ignoring the requests.
The rest of the episode plays like a courtroom drama, something Star Trek is no stranger to.
Star Trek is at its best when it makes you think about modern-day issues through a science fiction lens. For that matter, Star Trek is at its best when it blurs the lines between science fiction and other genres. One genre that Star Trek has returned to multiple times over the years is that of the legal or courtroom drama.
It returns to that genre over and over, because it very often works. Some of the best episodes of Star Trek have been courtroom dramas, especially ones that deal with civil rights cases from unusual lenses.
Ad Astra per Aspera sits shoulder to shoulder with some of the best of these types of episodes. I am reminded of The Measure of a Man, Death Wish, and The Managerie, all great episodes of Star Trek, all that makes people think about not just the injustices the characters are experiencing, but the injustices in the world today that can be just as unjust.
Ad Aster per Aspera handles concepts of immigration, racism, and classism with grace and dignity.
Unfortunately, the one negative this episode has isn't really the episode's fault, but the fault of what series it is in and this series place in the timeline.
The best way for this episode to end would be to have been for new caselaw to be established that would have given justice for all Illyrians, but because Strange New Worlds is set in the 23rd century, and we know the ban on genetic manipulation survives well into the 24th century, the episode has to end with some way to get Una off without allowing genetic manipulation.
Regardless, this episode is still one of Strange New World's best. Una, Pike, La'an, Spock all get massive moments to shine here, as do recurring Betel and April, but the best performance of the day easily belongs to Yetide Badaki as Counselor Neera Ketoul. Yetide gives a masterful performance as the Illyrian attorney who defends Una.
This episode easily ranks Admiral on HD3's ranking scale. It should be considered essential viewing for every Star Trek fan, just like The Measure of a Man.
HD3 Episode Rank:
Admiral
(S Tier)