Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 4 Episode 9 Review: Once La’An a Time

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, Season 4, Episode 9, “Once La’An a Time,” sees La’An face her inner demons on a bona fide fantasy planet. It’s a sequel to Season 1’s “The Elysian Kingdom,” and in this season’s tradition of each “gimmick” episode paying homage to a genre or specific film, it’s a loving nod to iconic comedy The Princess Bride. (Pelia even says “As you wish” at one point.) 

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, “Once La’An a Time” 

La’An’s overarching internal conflict has always been about her familial connection to Khan. Like Spock’s tug-of-war between his human and Vulcan identities, La’An desperately suppresses her emotions, particularly her anger, for fear that she’ll eventually become Khan. 

“Once La’An a Time” tackles an age-old struggle for women, no thanks to the patriarchy: Should we be soft or strong? If we’re too soft, we’re seen as “weak.” If we’re too strong, we’re seen as “aggressive” and “unbearable.” Few shows have addressed this cleverly (The Magicians is the best example I can think of), but this outing navigates it deftly, even if it’s a bit on-the-nose. 

Fantasy Heals All Wounds

As M’Benga puts it, the purpose of revisiting the Elysian Kingdom (which now has its own planet) is for La’An to work through her trauma and the complicated emotions enveloping it. It’s how we face our inner demons in the real world; we use stories to recognize and embrace the messy parts of ourselves. 

Sure, La’An literally fights herself, which is far from subtle, but it works within the context of the narrative. This fantasy world is the opposite of subtle, so it makes sense that the lesson we glean from it is equally in-your-face.

Christina Chong delivers a compelling performance, and her love for this character seeps through her work. It’s also satisfying as all get-out to see La’An reach the next stage of healing. She learns through this experience that she has a close circle of friends she can rely on, and having Runa become her emotional support animal, as it were, is so true to life (animals are the best).

I’d be remiss if I omitted mention of her finally asking Kirk out on a date. I’ve been an avid La’An/Kirk girlie since “Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow.” Chong and Paul Wesley’s chemistry reads better on screen to me, and there’s something about them being drawn to each other across multiple timelines/worlds that speaks to the romantic in me. I’ll be curious to see how the writers develop their relationship with only seven episodes left of the series. 

As You Wish

Everyone kills it on the acting front in “Once La’An a Time,” especially playing their doppelgängers, but Ethan Peck and Anson Mount had me in stitches. It’s hilarious watching Spock and Pike’s doppelgängers infiltrate the Enterprise (or the Iron Dragon) and try to blend in.

All The Princess Bride references made me giddy, too. Pelia deciding to remain behind because she fell for a cook named Max? Absolute perfection (although I hope that’s not the last we see of the inimitable Carol Kane). It’s not the best episode of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds by any stretch, but it’s enjoyable, campy, and cheesy, with some much-needed character movement for La’An. 

Stray Observations: 

• Fun fact: Runa is Christina Chong’s real-life pup. Adorable. 
• Paul Wesley really leaned into his former Vampire Diaries heartthrob status for Dashing. 
• Celia Rose Gooding looked incredible in this episode. Those outfits! 
• I love that we keep adding on to Pelia’s lore with every new episode. She’s the Mr. Johnson of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds. 
• I’m so envious of La’An’s perfect cat-eye makeup. I’m a Millennial in my 30s, and I still haven’t mastered it. 

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Star Trek: Strange New Worlds streams new episodes every Thursday on Paramount+. 

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