Though I enjoyed “Children of the Comet,” it wasn’t my favorite. However, Akela Cooper & Bill Wolkoff’s “Ghosts of Illyria,” directed by Leslie Hope, is one of the worst episodes. Probably best known as Teri Bauer of 24 or Kira Meru of DS9, Hope’s directorial work is probably best seen in things like Van Helsing, Lost in Space, Snowpiercer (the show), and things like Law and Order or NCIS. Wolkoff is best known probably for some work on Tron: Uprising and Once Upon a Time, while Akela Cooper most prominently wrote for Grimm. Last year, he co-wrote that horror film everyone bangs on about, M3gan.

With two solid writers, how do you get a bad episode out of them? Well, that’s the issue of a flawed premise. Despite being the worst of Strange New Worlds so far, “Ghost of Illyria” isn’t bad, it is just a very rudimentary story for sci-fi. That has been a theme of the series thus far, simple basic stories with a twinge of something particularly Star Trek. This time it is a story about Una, and despite loving Rebecca Romijn, the story of this XO helming a full-scale lockdown after COVID-19 isn’t the most exciting. It is different from a literal light virus, but not exciting.

While Number One takes care of the ship after the ion storm envelops Hetemit IX, the captain and Pointy Eared McGee are trapped in an Illyrian library on the planet. It sounds like a special parody version of Star Trek when drilled down to that, but it is exactly the premise of “We’re locked in here.” As the ion storm came rolling in, Una and the rest of the away team escaped while Pike and Spock had a Scooby Dooby Do Me romance in the library. Meanwhile, as the ship goes into lockdown, Spock and Pike have to contend with what can only be described as The American Dragon(s).

For the first time in this series, we’ve also got a bit of a C-plot that feeds into later stories. Coming back via transporters, there is an assumption that while the buffers should filter out any containment breaches picked up by the away team, something may have passed those filters via some irregularity. As much as we’ve got a story on Una taking charge and Spock discovering his attraction for male captains, the C-plot is about some negligence on the part of M’Benga, the ship’s doctor, who is trying to maintain something priceless in the buffer of the medical transporter.

Despite being a story of containment, viruses, and command, it is most importantly about the secrets kept within the crew and command. La’an hates augmented people and her last name is Noonien-Singh, which isn’t a secret due to being a descendant of Khan Noonien-Singh. While she wasn’t on Hetemit IX and Una was, her hatred of Illyrians is clearly stated but she doesn’t know Una (Number One) is Illyrian, and no one else does either. M’Benga keeps the pattern of his daughter in the medical transporter because she has a 4-week prognosis, cygnokemia. Of course, this is where I joke that Spock reveals he’s gay to annoy weirdos.

From a technical level, there isn’t much wrong here. From a storytelling standpoint, there is little to poke holes in, but I still think it is one of the poorer episodes of the series as a whole. One of the central themes of the episode is misjudgment. Particularly of the Illyrians and their genetically modified nature, both from the point of Starfleet and from the point of view of the crew. Assuming the (as I’ve termed them) dragons in the ion storm are a “bad omen,” for lack of a better term, Pike and Spock see these flying yellow things in the sky as something to be fearful of.

Fear, judgment, and misunderstanding all play into both a typical episode of TV and human emotions when confronted with something “other.” Yet for some reason, all of this isn’t very exciting. I guess the problem I have with the episode that I keep coming back to is despite taking these big topics in our lives, implanting them into the characters we know so far, and using the world of Star Trek as its host, “Ghosts of Illyria” isn’t a very deep episode. At least not until we get to those latter stages.

The fight between Una and La’an is very shot-for-TV in its scatter-gun approach. Either through Leslie Hope’s direction or the editing by Dana Gasparine, you can tell it is very many takes cut up. There are scarce wide shots to establish the action as a whole, and the choreography is noticeable for two actors who aren’t action stars, experienced in such, or really have chemistry in that form of acting together. It felt like a scene that needed to happen but didn’t have enough time to do it properly. Ultimately, it provides ammunition for the internet to say, “Woke! Making women LOOK strong.”

Yet the build-to and emotion for four particular scenes save an otherwise forgettable episode from slipping the mind completely. When Pike gets back on the ship, Una’s attempt to quit and his refusal to accept is a sign he’s going to be a headache for the admiralty just like Jean-Luc or Sisko. The post-fight scene when Una and La’an act like grown-ups, talking through their differences is great. M’benga breaks down as he realizes it’s his desire (his mistake as he puts it) to keep his daughter in the buffer that almost killed the entire crew. Then Una’s speech as we see M’benga tell his daughter a story caps it off.

It is the last two that strike personally, as I’ve known families with that very real heartache of knowing your kid might/will not survive. Born with Tetralogy of Fallot (the same as Kimmel’s kid), I know if I was born 50-60 years earlier I 100% wouldn’t have survived beyond a week. I know the very stark percentages I had throughout life. The absolute pain and love simultaneously on show by Babs Olusanmokun’s face as Sage Arrindell’s Rukiya (a beam of light and innocence) is what breaks my heart.

Where 90% of Akela Cooper & Bill Wolkoff’s “Ghost of Illyria” actually works is in that closing third once all the action has somewhat dissipated. Everything post-fight and post-ion storm is where I think the episode comes into its own instead of being just another ship containment breach episode. Even Lower Decks has a more interesting virus episode despite being a little more ridiculous. The preceding 30-ish minutes feel like everyone has their head up themselves trying to deal with the situation, while the grown-ups come in towards the end and actually deal with it.

The latter half of the episode does feature the yellow ghostly things from the sky protecting Pike and Spock on the floor of the library as they have a cuddle. Look, if you don’t like the fact Spock is clearly gay for both his captains (present and future), then I shouldn’t be given scenes where the two are holding each other like teenagers that don’t know what comes after kissing. The scene actually has a point that these things are the Illyrians trying to protect the Starfleet officers, but I enjoy the secret relationship that is underneath.

It is another character episode but the important section of the writing is backloaded after what can feel like a magic rather than sci-fi solution, “Ghost of Illyria” didn’t fall in the pit Discovery often did. As a fairly paint-by-numbers episode up until that latter third, the most enjoyment I find coming out of it is the gay relationship that is never stated but is clearly there. Ultimately, not a Chibnall “clock is ticking” episode, but the pace was steady, the characters packed a punch we’ll feel down the line, and it didn’t bore me to sleep.

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Strange New Worlds "Ghost of Illyria"

7

Score

7.0/10

Pros

• The final act is wonderful.
• I absolutely love M'Benga's story being told.

Cons

• The direction/editing during the action scene.
• There isn't much to excite from the word go.