Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 4 Review: The Enterprise Boldly Goes Bigger Than Ever
- Je-Ree
- Jul 22
- 3 min read
The wait is officially over, space nerds. The highly anticipated Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 4 is close to dropping on Paramount+, and it wastes absolutely no time answering that brutal cliffhanger. Co-showrunners Akiva Goldsman and Henry Alonso Myers promised a return to classic, episodic sci-fi storytelling while still taking massive creative swings. For the most part, this new batch of episodes made available to press delivers exactly what fans love: bold adventures, high stakes, and just enough camp to keep things deeply entertaining.
The premiere episode, sets a spectacular tone right out of the gate. Written by Goldsman and Myers, the story lands Captain Pike and his crew right in the middle of a high-stakes crisis involving Earth's neighboring planet, Mars. Visually, the production values have never looked sharper and the episode features a fantastic sequence where Pike gets to indulge his love of horses in a Martian-like desert setting. It is a strong start that immediately reassures audiences that the core heart of the series is fully intact.
Where this season truly succeeds is in its willingness to lean into pure, unadulterated genre experimentation. The creative team completely ignores traditional sci-fi boundaries to deliver concepts that sound fake on paper but work surprisingly well on screen. We get an incredibly stylized, film noir episode that the cast reportedly lobbied hard for, giving everyone a chance to flex their classic Hollywood acting muscles. Later in the season, an away team consisting of La'an and Una finds themselves stranded 65 million years in the past, forcing them to deal with a literal dinosaur threat.
It gets even wilder. The absolute standout of the season’s experimental run is an episode where the entire Enterprise crew is transformed into felt puppets, courtesy of the legendary Jim Henson's Creature Shop. Seeing puppet versions of Spock and Pike attempt to maintain starfleet protocol is a level of delightful absurdity that few other modern franchises could ever dream of pulling off.
There are some character relationships, romantic or otherwise that rub me the wrong way but that is just the shipper in me. Also, I am still holding out for Star Trek: Year One. However, on a character level, the ensemble cast remains the strongest asset on the payroll. Anson Mount continues to anchor the series with his perfect hair and effortless charm as Pike, while Ethan Peck’s Spock undergoes some deeply compelling internal development as he edges closer to his colder Original Series persona.
Rebecca Romijn finally gets more opportunities to shine as First Officer Una Chin-Riley, leading several intense landing party missions that highlight her tactical brilliance. The season also introduces David Marcus, James T. Kirk's son, adding a fascinating layer of lore that builds beautifully on previous character setups. While I feel like we got a touch more of Uhura, there is always room for more. I obviously cannot give anything away but love seeing Paul Wesley get some big things to do this season.
I am definitely feeling a certain way about the news that the show has already been renewed for a fifth and final season to wrap things up in 2027. Knowing that the finish line is approaching gives this season an underlying sense of purpose. While the showrunners opted not to rely on a single, overarching villain like the Gorn this time around, the self-contained threats feel distinct, dangerous and brilliantly paced.
Ultimately, this season proves that the franchise is at its absolute best when it trusts its audience to go along for the ride. It balances intense, emotional character work with a fearless dedication to having fun. Head over to Paramount+ to stream the latest episodes as they drop weekly starting this week.
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