Deron Generally
Deron GenerallyStar Trek: Strange New Worlds
Paramount Plus
Season 1 Episode 9
All Those Who Wander
The U.S.S Enterprise crew comes face-to-face with their demons – and scary monsters too – when their landing party is stranded on a barren planet with a ravenous enemy.
The episode begins with Uhura making her final log on the Enterprise and there is already a sense of foreboding to the moment. I love the fact that the episode mentions Starbase K7. As a Trek fan, I continue to be a fan of the callbacks to other adventures. I also really enjoy the humor in the opening. It does a great job of making Pike a unique and interesting character and Anson Mount continues to impress.
An emergency crash landing of another Starfleet ship forces the Enterprise to split up with a landing party heading to the planet to rescue any survivors while the Enterprise completes a mission to resupply K7. Once down on the planet, the ominous nature of the episode continues with the landing party being cut off and the dark, snow covered landscape adding to the tension. As the investigation continues, we get our first indications of the return of the Gorn.
The series continues to do a great job of making the Gorn scary by bathing everything in shadow and not revealing them right away. The Captain, La’an and Uhura discover an alien and another human among the remains of the ship after listening to the final log of the Captain. At the same time, there is another series of moments between Hemmer and Uhura as well as Spock and Chappell. Other members of the party find themselves dealing with their personal issues including La’an and M’Benga.
As the crew continues to make repairs to the ship, the danger increases. Especially when Chappell discovers something about the alien during an examination. The scene is definitely reminiscent of Ridley Scott’s Alien with the alien bursting through and what happens afterwards. Chappell has a badass moment as she recreates a scene from Aliens with the little girl that they rescued subbing for Newt. La’an starts doing her best Ripley impression as she finds herself dealing with her own trauma and using it to connect with the little girl.
The rest of the crew regroups in sickbay after Hemmer is attacked. La’an briefs them on the Gorn as they begin working on a plan. We also get a great moment from Sam Kirk and some character conflict from Spock that is really interesting. La’an continues to be a badass as the landing party works on their plan and there’s some well shot action throughout the episode. The episode culminates in another bittersweet moment for the crew that showcases the danger inherent in their missions with the loss of one of the series leads. It’s a wonderfully intense moment that leads to something interesting with Spock.
After the levity of the last episode, episode nine showcases how the series is beautifully finding its voice. The tone of the episode has some great elements of tension, humor, terror and tenderness. The characters continue to shine as they grow and evolve while dealing with their own internal and interpersonal issues. I really loved the dark tone of this episode especially and how it utilizes its enclosed setting and shadows to convey danger. A great looking episode with a lot of bittersweet moments and heart among its horrors.
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds S01XE09
