If he can’t shag his way across space, let him do it through time instead. This is another episode with Onitra Johnson listed as staff writer, plus David Reed who is best known for the likes of The Boys, The Magicians, and a lot you don’t care about. Directed by Doom Patrol, The 100, Nancy Drew, and more’s Amanda Row, “Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow” is our second time traveling adventure for Strange New Worlds. It is also the second episode with Paul Wesley’s Tiberius Kirk. If I’m not moaning about the pointy-eared one, I’m going to complain about his boyfriend.

Weeks on from “Ad Astra Per Aspera,” we’re following La’an as she processes being part of the family that caused the fear that Starfleet has over genetic modifications. At least until some bloke in a grey suit covered in claret time jumps in, tells her to take the magic button, and her Enterprise becomes Kirk’s. Specifically the “United Earth Fleet ship Enterprise,” as the bloke in a grey suit warned that someone is back in our time playing wibbly wobbly and creating forks in the road. A squabble between Kirk and La’an leads to them pressing the button, punting them back into whatever proceeding year we’re calling it now before the Eugenics Wars.

I wish it was all simple and easy like that. What proceeds is your typical trope-heavy space-based “time travelers on Earth” story. Before you start thinking I hate it, I don’t. I just think someone wanted to add a little too much to an otherwise perfectly fine episode which complicates the time travel broth. All La’an is really told before getting into a shoving match and time-jumping to Canada is “get to the bridge.” Of course, it was a slight bit of misdirection. Simply put, it was so we could have Captain Snogs-a-lot along for the ride and give La’an someone to care about.

It turns out that the regulation uniform isn’t that well adapted to the cold temperatures of Toronto, who knew? This is the fork in the road that doesn’t entirely sit well with me: While stealing Hot Topic chic, La’an gets a glimpse at Tiberius’ stomach, which apparently makes her instantly fall in love. I get two people being stuck in a tricky situation bonding over time, but we’re talking hours here. I don’t typically say this, but after a night in a hotel when he’s saying “why would I help you kill my timeline?” I agree with Kirk.

Maybe I’m not blinded by nostalgia enough, but if La’an is trying to correct the timeline and his timeline is the wrong one, I don’t get where the emotional bond and connection is for him to help her. I think the entire romance subplot of an otherwise typical story is either there for filler or there to strap a rocket to a character’s emotional invulnerability. If you think it is a spoiler that this version of Kirk is gone by the end of the episode, I think you need to seriously reevaluate taking whatever drugs you are using that numb your brain cells. La’an’s future would always be saved.

With me being annoyed by people not getting time travel out of the way, let’s talk about the action set pieces and the rest of the story. As it turns out, the bridge the time traveler was talking about is a fictional bridge that goes from Toronto to presumably Niagara (given its name), which gets blown to bits. This is also where we’re introduced to Kevina Mccalister, as I started calling her. Don’t wear a green jacket with the yellowish sheepskin inlining if you don’t want the comparison. Characterized as a conspiracy nut and gonzo journalist thanks to social media, she’s the only lead La’an and Kirk have.

All in all, the story moves well enough but the strong writing from “Ad Astra Per Aspera” isn’t here. There is also the problem of the shoehorned romance padding out a lengthy episode. The truth is, I want to like “Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow.” I think the mystery, thriller, and time travel thing could have worked, but someone was too scared to even slightly suggest this Kirk could ever be a villain. Paul Wesley’s take on Kirk is quite charming in that idiot-out-of-time way, but his Kirk has no reason to give La’an her present back just as she can’t ask him to give up his willingly.

The through line with Pelia also seemed to be dropped towards the end. Starting the episode with all the stuff she’s “stolen” and expositing the line about the bunker, she’s set up for a later appearance. It turns out the reason our newest engineer happened to take such an extensive engineering course at the academy is due to our plucky time travelers asking for her help here. Sure, it is a fine plot point that got us to the university where the reactor that was going to explode and change the course of history was located, but why doesn’t Pelia say anything at the end?

“Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow” is an episode about La’an and how recent events are affecting her. That’s the closest I can get without spoilers. Sadly, the very good acting in that final portion of the episode feels like an unearned emotional breakthrough for how truncated its setup happens to be. If the emotional breakthrough was maybe framed a little differently such as meeting Khan, actively having to kill someone, or even the fact she’s killing to sow the seeds of Khan’s destruction, I might have let it go. It is not though, and feels like a weight around the neck of the episode.

The reactionary explanation would say that it is the execution of the episode that’s the problem, and there is a small amount of merit to it. Though it just starts at the writing process, not necessarily anything after that. Be it rewrites or whatever to draw thematic cohesion through a portion of the episode, it fails to see the flaw in the time travel story about two people who want the complete opposite to survive. I want to like “Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow,” and on some level, I get a good portion of it. Sadly, it ultimately fell apart.

Wesley, Chong, and Kane’s triumvirate to lead a difficult story to tackle is well acted, and in fact, made me think that this version of Tiberius had some charm. Though I think either through intervention by producers or otherwise, Reed’s (and Johnson’s) time travel tale fails to make sense for the characters or the plot overall. Worst of all things is when we’re doing yet another car chase in Star Trek in the 2020s and it gives me Nam-like flashbacks to a couple of lesbians in Picard doing the same thing, roughly.

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SNW "Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow"

6

Score

6.0/10

Pros

• This time travel is why the Eugenics Wars keep getting pushed back time and time again.
• Kirk seems charming finally, I feel dirty just saying that.

Cons

• Why do we need a rushed romance plot? Jesus!
• Why would he give up his world, his time for anything?
• Stop with the Romulan War, it is boring!
• Outside of Sera's jacket, where's the color?