Vulcan Hello (An aftershow for new Star Trek)

Once upon a time, there was a fantasy kingdom in a “Star Trek” episode. Twice upon a time, they revisited that story and tried to bring La’An’s seasonlong struggle with herself to a conclusion. Is double the crew double the fun? Is Spock a wizard or a Vulcan, and does he wield magic or logic? We break down the penultimate episode of the penultimate season of “Strange New Worlds!”...

In this fantastic episode, a “badmiral” takes control of the Enterprise and teaches (randomly on the ship) Jim Kirk some important what-not-to-do lessons about command. Jim and Sam Kirk have a surprising, emotionally resonant conversation about their father. A coffee fetish meets Chekov’s Cordrazine*! And in the B plot: caves! (Which, for the record, we also like very much.) Pop pop! * Ask your doctor if cordrazine is right for you. Side effects include paranoia, accidentally bringing Hitler to power, and serious cardiovascular complications. Do not take if you are pregnant, thinking of becoming pregnant, or are allergic to cordrazine....

Don’t catch the Space Madness, because it’s time to talk about the latest episode of “Strange New Worlds,” in which Trelane puts the Enterprise (except Pike) into a soap opera! Once again, we’re genre hopping—but is “Q episode” not a tried-and-true Trek genre? And does this not emotionally serve Pike, who recently survived a “life-in-a-day” episode of his own? Get your popcorn ready and watch out for evil twins....

This week’s episode has everything: Broken bones and crushed torsos; a detailed look at the past, present, and future of the ship’s medical org chart, a remote control Mind Meld, and the start of the most important character pair in the history of Star Trek: Scotty and the Enterprise....

It’s the muppet show!!!!! [kermit flail]...