Warning: SPOILERS for Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Episode 8 - "The Elysian Kingdom"
Episode 8 of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds exemplifies what Star Trek has been missing since the franchise's heyday over 20 years ago. Strange New Worlds episode 8, "The Elysian Kingdom," is a fantastical episode where a powerful cosmic entity in the Jonisian Nebula transformed the crew of the USS Enterprise into characters in the fairytale story Dr. M'Benga (Babs Olusanmokun) reads to his terminally ill daughter, Rukiya (Sage Arrrindell). The fanciful romp of "The Elysian Kingdom," which contained a heartwarming message about being able to "write your own ending," is the latest example of the wonderful variety of storytelling genres and styles Strange New Worlds season 1 has presented.
Strange New Worlds brought back the classic episodic format pioneered by Star Trek: The Original Series and Star Trek: The Next Generation. The "problem of the week" style is beloved by fans for the sheer variety of storytelling possibilities it affords Star Trek. Star Trek: Deep Space Nine was ahead of its time by utilizing a more serialized and character-driven format, but every other Star Trek series has involved the starships USS Enterprise and USS Voyager traveling to a new planet or meeting a new alien nearly every episode. When Star Trek: Discovery abandoned the episodic format to bring the franchise in line with Peak TV serialized series like Game of Thrones and The Walking Dead, many Trekkers weren't best pleased, although Discovery and the similarly serialized Star Trek: Picard did bring new eyes to the franchise and expanded what Star Trek could be. But Discovery, especially, is an action-packed thrill ride that careens from crisis to crisis as the galaxy is in existential danger every season.
In Strange New Worlds episode 8, Captain Christopher Pike (Anson Mount) mused to Spock, "I could get used to this. No battles, no chaos." It felt like a meta moment where Pike vocalized how Trekkers feel about how well the series has executed the episodic format. Indeed, it was a quiet moment for the Enterprise as Pike's crew completed a scientific survey on the Jonisian Nebula. Of course, Pike spoke too soon as the Nebula was sentient and quickly turned the Enterprise crew into fantasy characters from "The Kingdom of Elysian" book. But even then, Strange New Worlds episode 8 was a refreshing change of pace that was purely character-driven and non-violent. "The Elysian Kingdom" joins Strange New Worlds episode 5, "Spock Amok," as hilarious comedy episodes that are wonderful tonal shifts from the Enterprise's intense space battle against the Gorn in "Memento Mori" and the ethical conundrum of "Lift Us Where Suffering Cannot Reach."
When looking at the expanse of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 1 as it nears its end, it's clear that its episodic format is really working and delivering the kind of Star Trek stories audiences have been starved for since the early 2000s. Ever since J.J. Abrams' Star Trek movies refocused the franchise on riveting space battles and galactic threats, Star Trek lost the mere cerebral stories that many Trekkers loved. Discovery and Picard have touched upon different storytelling styles but not consistently. Strange New Worlds has brought the best aspects of episodic stories back as well as the delightful variety of episodes where you never know what to expect with each episode.
Further, what neither Discovery nor Picard is doing is exploring the galaxy, which is the tenet at the very heart of Star Trek and is Strange New Worlds' literal mandate. Before Strange New Worlds premiered, the animated Star Trek: Lower Decks brought back the episodic format and recaptured the spirit of TNG with its heightened comedy and lovable characters. But the live-action side of Star Trek was sorely missing the franchise's ability to embrace any and all kinds of sci-fi stories until Strange New Worlds. Episode 8, "The Elysian Kingdom," is the latest example of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds proving that constant universal threats and eyepopping space battles aren't really what Star Trek is about. There's now a Star Trek series for every type of fan but Strange New Worlds has truly recaptured the original spirit Star Trek was built upon.
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds streams Thursdays on Paramount+.