Star Trek's "Strange New Worlds" certainly is so-called NuTrek's best offering, most especially since it returns to the single-episode method of telling a story. Unfortunately, that's not saying a whole lot given other NuTrek series like "Discovery" and "Picard."
Still, two episodes of "SNW" really stand out in its first two seasons. The first season finale "The Quality of Mercy" is a sensational tie-in to the original series' (TOS) episode "Balance of Terror." Pre-Kirk Enterprise Captain Pike knows his final destiny (shown in TOS's "The Menagerie"), but in this episode he believes he sees an opportunity to alter it.
However, a Future Pike suddenly appears to show Present Pike what will happen if he follows through with his attempt to change his fate. What else could possibly change other than the fact that I won't be crippled? Present Pike asks.
Suddenly, Present Pike finds himself in the future at a time past the incident which maims him. He is still in command of the Enterprise, and it is just prior to the events that unfold in "Balance of Terror." In that (excellent) TOS episode, Kirk and a Romulan commander play a game of cat-and-mouse following the latter's destruction of several Federation outposts along the Neutral Zone.
Kirk and his crew ultimately prevail as they cripple the Romulan vessel, and instead of being captured the long-time Earth enemy destroys themselves. Still, before doing so, the Romulan commander (played by Mark Lenard, who also played Spock's father in TOS and "The Next Generation") tells Kirk that in another time and situation they could have been friends.
Present Pike now finds himself at the beginnings of this skirmish, but instead of trying to disable or destroy the Romulans, he attempts to make peace with them (yes, even though they annihilated several Federation outposts!). Enterprise pilot Ortegas now plays the role Stiles had in "Balance of Terror," oozing skepticism about Pike's plan and questioning him at every turn. Kirk still has a major role in this alternative future; he's in command of the Farragut which arrives to assist Enterprise in its efforts to track the Romulan ship.
Such is short-lived, however, as the Romulans severely damage the Farrgut and Kirk, after transporting aboard Enterprise, criticizes Pike's attempts at making peace with their historical nemesis. But Pike is the senior captain, and he persists in his efforts.
Although the Romulan commander is sympathetic to Pike's appeal, his second-in-command is not, and he clandestinely contacts the Romulan homeworld for assistance. Suddenly, a multitude of Romulan vessels appear in front of the Enterprise and demand its surrender. A Kirk-conceived plan forestalls the Romulan attack, but just briefly. The Romulans end up declaring war on the Federation, reigniting the century-old devastating conflict with Earth.
Had Pike taken Kirk's approach from "Balance of Terror" (of which Kirk tries to convince Pike in this episode), the Romulans never would have sought backup ... and their destruction would have maintained the (uneasy) peace.
Speaking of Kirk (competently portrayed by Paul Wesley in "SNW"), he's also part of the second-best episode of the show -- as are the Romulans -- in the second season's "Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow." Enterprise security chief La'an (who is a descendant of Khan -- yes, that Khan ... don't ask) sees an oddly dressed person stumbling about the ship's corridors. When she demands to know who he is, he suddenly disappears and there's a strange flash of light throughout the ship. La'an goes to the bridge and lo and behold Capt. Pike is gone and in the captain's chair sits Kirk -- and the Enterprise is not a Federation vessel, but a United Earth ship. The stranger La'an encountered has altered history somehow.
After a contentious argument with Kirk as La'an is trying to explain what happened to her, the two suddenly find themselves whisked back to 21st century Toronto. La'an realizes just how much the timeline has changed after Kirk informs her he wasn't born in Iowa but in space -- because Earth has long been too devastated by past wars. The pair eventually discover that Romulans from the future have been infiltrating Earth in an attempt to prevent its scientific progress.
Along the way, La'an realizes she's fallen in love with Kirk, and if they're successful in repairing the timeline this alternate Kirk will never have been. That's precisely what happens, and in the conclusion La'an uses a silly pretext about Kirk's brother to contact the real (Lieutenant) Kirk at his current post. Obviously, Kirk has no idea what had happened, but tells La'an that if/when they meet he'll tell her more (about his brother) over a drink. After breaking contact, La'an bursts into tears.
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