Warning! Spoilers ahead for Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 4, Episode 10, “Tomorrow’s Enterprise.”Star Trek: Strange New Worlds is making the gap between itself and The Original Series progressively smaller as the Paramount+ prequel continues. While I heavily doubt that the void between the two shows will ever be fully accounted for, Strange New Worlds Season 4’s finale, “Tomorrow’s Enterprise,” provides some exciting reveals that the rest of the show would probably never have been able to pull off. On the other hand, it’s not necessarily as straightforward as accepting 100% of “Tomorrow’s Enterprise” as part of Star Trek‘s Prime Universe canon. The premise of the Strange New Worlds Season 4 finale revolves around two versions of Lt. Uhura (Celia Rose Gooding), one of whom exists 1 year into the future when lined up with the show’s “present-day” events.
During that time, the Enterprise and its crew have become even more like their Original Series counterparts, although the entire episode is still set before the franchise’s first-ever project. Furthermore, there are a few subtle clues, like Captain Pike’s (Anson Mount) off-screen promotion to Admiral, that suggest this near future is not the exact one experienced by William Shatner’s Captain Kirk and company. That said, I think it’s safe to say that it’s pretty darn close, and as such, can be mined for information about an era in the life of the USS Enterprise that we’ll probably never see for real. It’s important to bear in mind, though, that this near-future in “Tomorrow’s Enterprise” may not be strictly adhered to when the time comes.
Why You Should Trust Me: I’ve been writing professionally about movies and TV since 2023. During that time, sci-fi has been one of my main beats, which includes a heavy focus on the Star Trek franchise. I’ve also been a Trekkie for as long as I can remember.
Scotty & Uhura’s Confusing Romance Didn’t Come From Nowhere
It Feels Far More Authentic Now
1989’s Star Trek V: The Final Frontier raised more than a few eyebrows upon release with its sudden emergence of an implied off-screen romance between Scotty (James Doohan) and Uhura (Nichelle Nichols). It was brief and never referenced again in later Star Trek projects. While it’s been theorized that the shift in dynamic was due to the psychic influence of Spock’s (Leonard Nimoy) half-brother Sybok (Laurence Luckinbill), that’s never been confirmed or denied.
So, Strange New Worlds‘ reveal that the pair, now played by Martin Quinn and Celia Rose Gooding, do have a canonical romantic past allows that strange Final Frontier subplot to feel more authentic and less forced. It was a little jarring when Scotty suddenly started showing interest in Uhura in “Tomorrow’s Enterprise,” but I suppose their shared arc needed to begin somewhere. What remains to be seen is if Scotty and Uhura will ever reach the point their near-future counterparts do in the Season 4 finale and actually become an item. If they decide to keep things casual, then that infamous Final Frontier tease feels even more logical.
Erica Ortegas Doesn’t Die Before ‘Star Trek: The Original Series’
The USS Enterprise’s Former Pilot Will Shift Career Trajectories
Melissa Navia’s Star Trek character was only introduced when Strange New Worlds premiered in 2022. So, I was one of the horde of Trekkies wondering what happened to her by the time of The Original Series and why Sulu (George Takei) would go on to replace her at the helm of the Federation flagship. A leading theory is that she will meet her end before Strange New Worlds ends, but “Tomorrow’s Enterprise” offers up a less macabre alternative.
The episode reveals that, one year into the future, Ortegas is no longer stationed aboard the Enterprise. She is, however, still part of Starfleet. Paul Wesley’s Captain Kirk requests Ortegas’ talents to pilot the shuttle approaching the black hole for analysis. “I can see why you settled on the Starfleet teaching gig instead of commercial piloting,” says Uhura. This might be paying off the cryptic “space madness” tease from “Like Chronitons Through the Hourglass,” which implied Erica was struggling psychologically with the pressure of being the Enterprise’s primary pilot. Even if not, “Tomorrow’s Enterprise” does at least provide a clear path for her to head for the exit.
He’s Previously Only Been Promoted to Fleet Captain
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Paramount+
This one really made my eyebrow shoot up in Spock-style intrigue. Although Anson Mount’s Captain Pike has been depicted as an Admiral already, it was in an alternate future that was implied to be scrubbed from the timeline by the end of the episode. The highest rank Pike has ever been revealed to hold in the Prime Universe is Fleet Captain. He briefly held the position when required in Strange New Worlds Season 2’s “Lost in Translation,” and Sean Kinney’s injured version of Pike from The Original Series‘ “The Menagerie” was also confirmed to have been re-promoted to Fleet Captain at some point.
Yet Future Uhura constantly refers to Mount’s character as Admiral Pike in “Tomorrow’s Enterprise.” This would explain why he’s no longer the ship’s commanding officer, but it doesn’t make sense considering what we already know about Pike from established Star Trek lore. As I mentioned earlier, I think this is probably a coy wink to the fact that the future in “Tomorrow’s Enterprise” is not the exact one that will come to pass in the Prime Universe, or maybe there’s something that’ll happen to alter Pike’s rank after becoming an Admiral. It could also be a gentle and understandable retcon, retroactively making Pike an Admiral in “The Menagerie” rather than a Fleet Captain. Given his lack of even one command, let alone multiple, Admiral makes more sense.
Dr. Boyce Served Under Captain Kirk
This Had Never Been Fully Confirmed
John Hoyt originally played Dr. Phil Boyce in The Original Series‘ rejected pilot, “The Cage,” which was later repurposed to form the flashbacks of “The Menagerie.” So, it’s long been known that he was the Enterprise’s CMO for a time under Captain Pike, but it’s always been unknown whether he ever served under Captain Kirk. “Tomorrow’s Enterprise” proves that he did. Not only that, but we also now know that Dr. McCoy (DeForest Kelley) was on board at the same time, as Future Scotty mentions that he likes both doctors, but misses Dr. M’Benga (Babs Olusanmokun).
The Expanse​​​​​​’s Thomas Jane has been cast as Dr. McCoy for Strange New Worlds Season 5.
Paired with this reveal is the less solid filling in of M’Benga’s backstory. Played by Booker Bradshaw in The Original Series, M’Benga was an incredibly minor character who was almost entirely defined by the fact that he was a specialist in Vulcan medicine. This trait has been doubled down on in Strange New Worlds, and “Tomorrow’s Enterprise” solidifies M’Benga’s Vulcan expertise by explaining that he’s been spending “more and more time on Vulcan,” and that it looks like McCoy will be “taking over full-time.” This could mean that Boyce will once more become CMO, with McCoy serving under him. Then, when the time comes, Boyce will move on and eventually leave McCoy as the Enterprise’s primary physician. Alternatively, maybe Boyce ever regains his CMO position aboard the Enterprise.
Spock Wasn’t the Only Alien Aboard Captain Kirk’s Enterprise
Paul Wesley’s Captain Kirk Has a Much More Diverse Crew
Star Trek: The Original Series was filled with alien characters, but Leonard Nimoy’s Spock was the only member of Kirk’s (William Shatner) crew who wasn’t 100% human. This created zero issues at the time, but later Star Trek installments have focused far more on making Starfleet feel like an organization that’s welcoming to members of countless alien races. This feeling of progression is perhaps less pronounced in the 23rd century, but not totally absent. For instance, Strange New Worlds corrected things slightly by introducing Hemmer (Bruce Horak) and Commander Pelia (Carol Kane) to Pike’s crew.
By contrast, and through no fault of its own, Kirk’s crew now looks borderline xenophobic in The Original Series. “Tomorrow’s Enterprise” does a lot of heavy lifting in this respect, revealing that Paul Wesley’s Captain Kirk had a crew that was far more diverse. Bolians, Tellarites, and even Caitians can be spotted as background characters going about their duties. It stands to reason that the crew manifest was just as rich with alien life in The Original Series, but that we just never saw these sorts of characters, as they were hard at work in other areas of the ship. It’s not a perfect solution, but it is a cool way to acknowledge the quirk.
“Tomorrow’s Enterprise” Shows Captain Kirk’s Earliest Mission in Command
‘Star Trek: Year One’ Finally Gets a Minimal Outing
Paul Wesley’s James T. Kirk has been shown in Strange New Worlds as a Captain in two drastically different futures, as well as a First Officer in the Prime Universe. “Tomorrow’s Enterprise” may also be an alternate future, but it’s so similar to the one that will come to pass that it’s not unreasonable to call it a glimpse of the earliest stages of Kirk’s canonical career as a Starfleet Captain. Plus, the time-loop nature of the mission all but confirms that some version of the same adventure will occur shortly after Kirk takes command of the Enterprise in the Prime Universe, presumably one year after the events of this episode.
In other words, William Shatner’s Captain Kirk, in all likelihood, also led the charge while helping the mysterious space-dwelling species birth its offspring. That was the sort of wild stuff that always happened in The Original Series, so it’s not a huge leap to imagine this taking place with the classic 1960s aesthetic. Plus, with how firmly episodic most of the first-ever Star Trek show was, it’s fine to just accept that none of the crew chose to talk about the “space baby,” just as other missions are rarely discussed in episodes where they didn’t occur.
