Warning: SPOILERS for Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 2, episode 2 – "Ad Astra Per Aspera"Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 2, episode 2 delivered a classic courtroom drama on par with one of Star Trek: The Next Generation's best episodes. Strange New Worlds season 2 continues the adventures of Captain Christopher Pike (Anson Mount) and the crew of the USS Enterprise on their five-year mission, picking up where season 1 left off. In doing so, the early episodes of have had to wrap up a handful of storylines left hanging, such as the return of Lt. La'an Noonien-Singh (Christina Chong) to the Enterprise, and most importantly the fallout of Commander Una Chin-Riley's (Rebecca Romijn) arrest in the season 1 finale.
As an Illyrian, genetic modification is a part of Una's culture, but genetic enhancements were outlawed by the Federation after the Eugenics Wars, causing Pike's Number One to be arrested when her race was discovered. Of course, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 2 needed to deal with Una's trial, and did so in episode 2, airing a dramatic courtroom episode the likes of which have not been seen in the Star Trek franchise for some time. Besides being a well-constructed piece of storytelling in its own right, SNW season 2, episode 2, "Ad Astra Per Aspera" bears some striking similarities to an iconic episode from Star Trek: The Next Generation.
