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As we get caught up about the mysterious and the dangerous in the realm of Paramount+’s “Star Trek” universe, we can sometimes forget to appreciate the mundane and the silly as is the case of this week’s Strange New Worlds episode Spock Amok. There are multiple arcs to delve into, but the primary focus is a diplomatic mission that the Federation is trying to close on a new ally. This is your minor spoilers warning.
The first of many arcs is when Spock (Ethan Peck) is visited by his Vulcan wife T’Pring (Gia Sandhu) and they attempt to engage each other intimately. One Vulcan ritual later, there are some… changes, and now both aren’t themselves in a literal “Freaky Friday” sense. Naturally, in the true comedy-of-error fashion, both are later needed for their expertise. Another arc focuses on the diplomacy being engaged by Capt. Christopher Pike (Anson Mount) and Adm. Robert April (Adrian Holmes) as they look to make sense of the R’ongovians in an attempt to recruit them to the Federation.
The third spotlight shines on Una-Chin Riley (Rebecca Romijn) and La’an Noonien Singh (Christina Chong) watching a couple of cadets engage in a ship-centric game of Bingo before trying it themselves to prove they’re not old and lame. Finally, things take a much-needed personal turn as Chapel (Jess Bush) tries to make sense of her dating life while Dr. M’Benga (Babs Olusanmokun) goes fishing. Directed by Rachel Leiterman & written by Henry Alonso Myers and Robin Wasserman, “Spock Amok” is largely meant to give the viewers opportunities to get to know our crew in various scenarios, and serious joy was had watching Peck and Sandhu swap roles. And then there’s the matter of the episode title, a not-so-subtle reference directly back to The Original Series with the second season episode Amok Time. Instead of Kirk fighting Spock, we get the Strange New Worlds version of Spock’s human side fighting his Vulcan half getting that familiar battle music. Star Trek: Strange New Worlds “Spock Amok” proved worthy to be in the conversation with that classic.
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 1 Episode 5 “Spock Amok”
Review by Tom Chang
7.5/10
Directed by Rachel Leiterman & written by Henry Alonso Myers and Robin Wasserman, “Spock Amok” is largely meant to give the viewers opportunities to get to know our crew in various scenarios, and serious joy was had watching Peck and Sandhu swap roles. And then there’s the matter of the episode title, a not-so-subtle reference directly back to The Original Series with the second season episode Amok Time. Instead of Kirk fighting Spock, we get the Strange New Worlds version of Spock’s human side fighting his Vulcan half getting that familiar battle music. Star Trek: Strange New Worlds “Spock Amok” proved worthy to be in the conversation with that classic.
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