Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 4, Episode 4
"A Case of Chiaroscuro"
Writers: Skylar Ojeda & Dana Horgan
Director: Meera Menon
Cast: Anson Mount, Ethan Peck, Jess Bush, Christina Chong, Celia Rose Gooding, Melissa Navia, Babs Olusanmokun, Martin Quinn, Rebecca Romijn
Presented in black and white, "A Case of Chiaroscuro" sees newly appointed commander Una Chin-Riley (Rebecca Romijn) sneaking a shuttle into Klingon space to retrieve a malfunctioning probe. Detected by a D-7 battlecruiser, Una—with Dr. M'Benga (Babs Olusanmokun) and Uhura (Celia Rose Gooding) in tow—heads for the planet Mat'aar to hide, triggering a warning barrier in the process.
On the surface, they discover a bustling Metropolis under Klingon occupation. As they make their way through the smoky streets in the sort of sartorials that would make Sam Spade smirk, Una is mistaken for Nevette, a local café owner and known Klingon collaborator who has been missing. Taken to a local club, Una is tasked with interrogating a resistance member. However, when a group of Klingons show up, the woman poisons herself after relaying a cryptic message.
The traitor’s death displeases the Klingon commander, Kor (Demore Barnes), but Una is able to keep her cool. Unfortunately, plans to leave are soon derailed when Uhura gets arrested at a checkpoint for failing to produce ID. As she is taken into custody, Ja'lem (Albert Chung), the bartender from the club, intercepts Una and Joseph, revealing that Nevette is actually the leader of a local resistance cell.
Meanwhile, Kor interrogates Uhura with a mind scanner, but thanks to some tricks picked up from Dr. M'Benga, she's able to convince the Klingon that she's not a member of the Resistance. Back at the café, Una and Joseph find Nevette's hidden office—along with her frozen body and information on a bomb plot that would've served as her final mission. Eventually, the Resistance springs Uhura, but not before she learns that the Klingons plan to turn the planetary alarm into a force field that will trap the locals. The real Nevette's bomb plot was supposed to stop it, but she was never able to secure a detonator.
Back aboard the Enterprise, La'an (Christina Chong) investigates an anomaly within the defective probe—a loose data chip with some missing information. Launching an investigation with the approval of Captain Pike (Anson Mount), she questions everyone from Cadet A'Sha (Bianca Nugara) to Scotty (Martin Quinn), who reveals he actually modified the probe to track the D-7 battlecruiser blocking their path. Still sensing something is amiss, La'an eventually talks with Nurse Chapel (Jess Bush), who confesses she was the one who erased the data to conceal information on a medical ship that snuck into Klingon space responding to a distress call—something that would’ve spelled a lot of trouble for a lot of people. Who's paranoid now, Spock?
Back on the planet, Una gets Kor to admit his plan against the locals, then sneaks into a munitions factory and secures a detonator. Here, she is confronted by Roman (Andy McQueen), the real Nevette's right hand and the one responsible for killing the Resistance leader in the first place. After Una lets him go, he runs off to snitch to the Klingons, but ends up being double-crossed when the detonator is found in his pocket. The device goes off, triggering an EMP that knocks the shield offline, allowing residents to escape. Before heading for home, Una hands control of the Resistance to Ja'lem, while La'an decides to keep Chapel's secret under wraps.
As someone who thoroughly enjoyed the two-tone presentation of Spider-Noir earlier this year, "A Case of Chiaroscuro" was a welcome return to form that offered a kaleidoscope of character in a world where color was lacking. While Una and La'an grapple with moral quandaries that remind us not everything in life is black and white, the backdrop is a beautiful bit of noir-soaked sci-fi that somehow manages to tip its hat to both the timeless serials of yesteryear and wartime melodramas like Casablanca.
No, it won't be for everyone. In fact, I'm more than certain there are some fans out there ready to put this one back in the pattern buffer and never pay it mind again. However, at least for this writer, "A Case of Chiaroscuro" will forever be seen as a masterful bit of monochromatic magic that follows in the footsteps of classic Trek episodes like "A Piece of the Action” and “The Big Goodbye.”
Stylish, inventive, and just plain fun, this is the kind of a bold Star Trek swing that reminds me why I love this franchise so much in the first place. Throw another win up on the big board, because Strange New Worlds is on a roll!
