‘Star Trek: Strange New Worlds’ Season 4 Episode 8 Review: An Episode Worthy of Trek History
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 4 Episode 8, “Orders of Magnitude,” is one of those episodes that reminds me why I love Star Trek. There are questions of duty and honor, difficult decisions, threats of mutiny, broken oaths, sacrifice, plenty of tension and enough twists to keep you wondering exactly where this story is going next. By the time it was over, I knew this was getting five stars from me.
Before we even get into the story, I have to mention the cold open. Seeing the different Star Trek starships represented in the opening graphics, including the U.S.S. Athena from Starfleet Academy, was a wonderful touch for the franchise's 60th anniversary. Happy 60th, Star Trek! I loved seeing that acknowledgment of how much history there is in this universe before we jumped into another chapter of it.
And what better way to celebrate than with James T. Kirk back aboard the Enterprise? Kirk claims he's making an unscheduled stop for a medical checkup with Dr. M'Benga, but come on, we know there's another reason. La'An is aboard, and Kirk is very interested in whether she joined Pike's landing party. Meanwhile, Ortegas sees right through La'An's excuses about why she stayed behind. I enjoyed those lighter character moments because they give the episode some room to breathe before everything becomes much more serious.
The episode splits its attention between Pike's landing party investigating an SOS signal inside a cave and the Enterprise dealing with the arrival of Admiral Simon Reeger. I was happy to see Pike and Una together on a landing party for the first time this season, and the cave sequences give us some striking imagery. Once Pike, Una, Uhura, Chapel and Cadet A'Sha enter the cave system, they lose communications and transporter access, immediately making what looked like a routine mission much more dangerous.
Then Admiral Reeger arrives, and Joe Morgan makes an entrance. Reeger is a living legend within Starfleet, and you understand immediately why the crew reacts to him the way they do. La'An practically fangirling over him was fun to watch, while Reeger's knowledge of the crew makes him even more impressive. He knows M'Benga, recognizes Ortegas' heroism during the war and walks aboard the Enterprise carrying himself like someone accustomed to commanding a room.
But Star Trek has taught us many times that we shouldn't automatically assume an admiral knows best.
Reeger brings news of a terrifying threat to the Federation: an enemy ship believed responsible for the Vaardan massacre, which killed millions of civilians. The vessel possesses technology that seemingly makes it impossible to track, but Reeger has found another way to follow it. With Pike and Una unavailable, Spock initially has command of the Enterprise until
Reeger realizes someone aboard technically outranks him, Lieutenant Commander James T. Kirk. Kirk isn't even a member of the Enterprise crew, but suddenly he's serving as Reeger's acting first officer. He accepts the responsibility eagerly, and I loved watching him step into a position that gives us another glimpse of the captain he will eventually become.
This is where “Orders of Magnitude” becomes much more than a chase after an invisible ship. The episode starts asking what happens when following orders conflicts with your own reason, intelligence and sense of honor. How far does duty extend when you believe the person giving the orders may no longer be making sound decisions? And when millions of lives could be at stake, how much time do you really have to figure it out?
Those questions lead to some of the episode's best moments. Kirk questioning Reeger's perspective and cognitive abilities puts him in an incredibly difficult position, and things only get messier from there. La'An arrests Kirk, Kirk stunning her is all kinds of wrong, and yet the whole situation feels very much like Star Trek's particular brand of drama. We get threats of mutiny, piracy, military deterrence, sacred oaths being broken and honor eventually being restored.
I also loved seeing the Andorians. Even when they're bad, they're still among my favorite Star Trek aliens, and their involvement adds another layer to an already complicated situation. Uhura helping an enemy in order to save a crew member is exactly the type of moral decision I want this franchise to wrestle with. The best Star Trek stories aren't simply about defeating the enemy. They're about deciding what kind of people these officers are going to be while doing it.
Then there are the Kirk brothers. James and George Samuel “Sam” Kirk bring another emotional layer to the episode, and I loved their camaraderie, strong bond and brotherly shenanigans. Beneath that relationship are old truths about their father that finally come to the surface. Watching these brothers coordinate with each other while also dealing with those revelations gives the episode a personal story alongside all of its larger questions about duty and command.
There is a lot happening in “Orders of Magnitude,” but it works because the episode never forgets its characters. Some rise to new heights, some fall short before changing course, and others are willing to sacrifice everything. Promises are made and kept in ways you may not expect, while characters are repeatedly forced to decide whether following an order is the same thing as doing what is right.
The performances make all of it work. Joe Morgan is outstanding as Admiral Reeger, giving us a character whose reputation carries enormous weight before the situation begins to unravel. Paul Wesley continues to show us pieces of the James T. Kirk we know is coming, while the entire ensemble rises to the material as the episode moves through one tense turn after another.
“Orders of Magnitude” gave me reason, intelligence, duty, honor, valor, sacrifice, brotherhood and some very difficult choices. In other words, it gave me Star Trek. This is an exceptional episode and one I believe deserves to go down in Star Trek history.
Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
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