Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Review: The Serene Squall (Season 1 Episode 7)
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 1 Episode 7, “The Serene Squall,” contemplates the duality of expectations in the midst of a pirate takeover.
Something that Star Trek has often played around with is this idea of identity as it is found in relation to Starfleet and the Federation but, in particular, humanity. The two often get conflated together to an uncomfortable extent so it’s best just swerve into that skid.
In very few cases has this been more strongly explored than in Spock’s case, who exists as both Vulcan and human, but also neither. He understands and practices emotion in his everyday life but also has an undercurrent of emotion that he is never able to get away from.
His is a character who must constantly ask himself whether he is comfortable with where he is on the proverbial line between his cross-species status. Is he too Vulcan or not enough? That is a question where an answer can never be found, by its very nature.
Ultimately, the episode doesn’t have big answers to offer in that regard, either. The greatest answer being that, perhaps, there is none. The entire point is that there can’t be an answer. For that to exist, you would have to buy into the binary. Vulcan or human.
It shouldn’t be lost on anyone that the one championing for Spock to find a middle ground, to not be either of the species that make up his genetic profile is Captain Angel (Jesse James Keitel) identifies as neither female nor male. They are non-binary and are a good example of one part of the character informing other parts.
If you’re working on an Enterprise Bingo sheet at home, you can cross off “the ship gets taken over by an outside force.” This a tried-and-true trope not just within Star Trek but with science fiction television in general. The good thing is that it is a trope that almost never gets old.
This can be for any multitude of reasons but with “The Serene Squall” it is that it is grounded by a really dynamic character and performance with Captain Angel and Keitel, respectively. They have all of the makings of a great Star Trek villain going forward and it’s fascinating to see where the show might take them, especially considering their supposed connections.
Keitel does some excellent work throughout the episode, dialing back her performance until the episode is ready for her to unleash and go from Dr. Aspen to Captain Angel. Once that happens, she cranks it all the way up for a deliciously campy turn and eats up virtually all of the scenery.
It’s also worth noting the fun hijinx that the rest of the crew gets up to on the pirate’s ship by pulling the single dumbest con they can and come away victorious. All of that is a masterclass in highly enjoyable shenanigans that we’ve come to expect from this series.
What did you think of this episode of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
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Star Trek: Strange New Worlds airs Thursdays on Paramount+.
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Drew Koenig
Drew has an ongoing, borderline unhealthy obsession with pop culture, but with television in particular. When he's not aggressively trying to get out of a perpetual state of catching up, he can be found passionately defending the ending of Lost. More of his online work can be found at The Lost Cause and he also co-hosts The Lost Cause Pod.