In Review: Star Trek: Strange New Worlds (S4 – EP4) A Case of Chiaroscuro

Synopsis: In “A Case of Chiaroscuro,” Una is mistaken for a resistance leader and drawn into a struggle against a Klingon occupation.

The Story

While on a shuttle mission in the Mat’Aar system to repair a piece of Federation technology, Una, Uhura, and M’Benga risk detection when a Klingon D7 battlecruiser enters the system. In order to avoid it, they head down to the planet Mat’Aar XII, where they find a people living under the thumb of a Klingon regime.

Making matters worse, Una is mistaken for resistance leader Nevette, who has been working both with and against the Klingon occupation led by Kor. Wanting to get away without becoming too involved, Una and her team attempt to return to their shuttle. However, when Uhura is arrested, they have little choice but to become involved, forcing Una to assume Nevette’s role. Things become even more complicated when Una learns that the real Nevette has been murdered by one of her own people.

Meanwhile, back aboard the Enterprise, La’An believes she has discovered a hidden communication and begins investigating.

Acting

Rebecca Romijn does a great job of carrying this episode and nicely balances Una with the very different character of Nevette. Celia Rose Gooding also gets a chance to shine, particularly in the scenes where Uhura is interrogated and tortured by Kor. Babs Olusanmokun, meanwhile, does a great job of acting as both a sounding board and a source of wise counsel for Una.

Demore Barnes puts in a strong performance as Kor, who longtime Star Trek fans will, of course, recognise as the same Klingon commander that Kirk encounters in the Original Series episode “Errand of Mercy,” where the character was memorably played by the late John Colicos.

Overall

I was initially thrown by the episode being entirely in black and white, but once Uhura explained that it was a trait of occupying that particular region of space, I made allowances for it. That said, I’m not entirely convinced by the scientific explanation for it, largely because there really wasn’t one.

The production values on this episode were great. I loved the airships on Mat’Aar XII and also really liked the noir-inspired look of the costumes, which worked particularly well with the black-and-white photography.

I also enjoyed the B-storyline, in which La’An’s Spidey-sense starts tingling and her natural paranoia begins to heighten. With so many hints about La’An’s future dotted throughout the series to date, I’m looking forward to seeing how it all eventually pays off.