Tomorrow And Tomorrow And Tomorrow

Stardate 1581.2: La’an’s day goes from bad to worse when an unknown intruder suffering from a bullet wound suddenly materializes aboard the Enterprise. He hands her a device and warns her to get to the bridge. A sudden surge of energy seems to put the red alert, and when La’an arrives on the bridge, she finds that the Enterprise is under the command of Captain James T. Kirk of the United Earth Fleet. In private, she explains the sudden shift in reality to him, but when he tries to take the device to inspect it, they both find themselves in 21st cebtury Toronto with no idea why they’ve been brought there.

No sooner have La’an and Kirk sorted out basic matters of inconspicuous clothing, money, food, and lodging than a newly-constructed bridge is brought down by some kind of deliberate sabotage. A quick glimpse of the debris reveals technology that shouldn’t exist on Earth in this time period. A fortuitous meeting with a local enthusiast of conspiracy theories yields surprisingly significant information in the search for those responsible for destroying the bridge. But the woman La’an and Kirk have met is not there by coincidence. As the two travelers from Earth’s future are trying to repair history, their new acquaintance is there to undo it in a way that will have very direct consequences for La’an.

written by David Reed
directed by Amanda Row
music by Nami Melumad
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds main theme by Jeff Russo

Cast: Anson Mount (Captain Christopher Pike), Ethan Peck (Lt. Spock), Jess Bush (Nurse Christine Chapel), Christina Chong (Lt. La’an Noonien Singh), Celia Rose Gooding (Ensign Uhura), Melissa Navia (Lt. Erica Ortegas), Babs Olusanmokun (Dr. M’Benga), Rebecca Romijn (Commander Una Chin-Riley), Paul Wesley (Captain James T. Kirk), Adelaide Kane (Sera), Carol Kane (Pelia), Dennis Barham (Chess Player #1), Noah Lamanna (Chief Jay), Caden Lawrence (Security Ensign), David Leyshon (Chess Player #3), Luke Marty (Police Officer), Sean Meldrum (Denobulan Cadet), Brian Quintero (Store Security Guard), Robin Schisler (Woman in store), Randy Singh (Institute Guard #1), Desmond Sivan (Young Khan), Mish Tam (Chess Player #2), Allisan Wilson-Forbes (Agent Ymalay), Christopher Wyllie (Grey-Suited Man)

Notes: Pelia was the proprietor of an antigue store in Vermont in the 21st century, but was not yet an engineer; in the 23rd century, Pelia does not appear to remember encountering La’an and Kirk in the past (or at least isn’t saying anything about it if she does, which may be a wiser course of action). The Denobulan involved in the argument in the transporter room is the first live-action Denobulan seen since Dr. Phlox was last glimpsed in the closing scenes of Star Trek: Enterprise (though animated Denobulans have been seen in both Star Trek: Lower Decks and Star Trek: Prodigy). The events in this episode would appear to take place not long after the “Project Khan” folder was glimpsed in Adam Soong’s lab at the end of season two of Star Trek: Picard, so Soong’s aughments either grow at an accelerated rate, or “Project Khan” was already further along than previously implied. The Department of Temporal Investigations – last seen following up on the events of the Deep Space Nine episode Trials And Tribble-ations – seems to have its own time-travel gear and a more directly interventionist stance than implied in that previous appearance; clearly this is the Department from a later period in history, possibly the 27th century in which Starfleet has time travel (Voyager: Relativity). Though it’s less ornate, the Department’s hand-held time travel device shares some distinct functional similarities with the Omni from the 1980s time travel series Voyagers! – namely, that history is still affected, and thus the user is forbidden to leave that time period, as long as the light is red. The fact that the Romulan agent in the 21st century is aware that “entire temporal wars have been fought” indicates she may be a participant in, or an occupant of a time after, Star Trek: Enterprise’s Temporal Cold War. She also mentions that these events were meant to happen in 1992, leaving her trapped on Earth for 30 years trying to prevent them, an acknowledgement of Khan’s history having been shifted in the Star Trek timeline from the 1990s (Star Trek: Space Seed) to the 21st century (Deep Space Nine: Doctor Bashir, I Presume). Desmond Sivan becomes only the third actor to portray, in live action, a famed Star Trek character previously played by Ricardo Montalban and Benedict Cumberbatch.