Review: Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, "Charades" | Season 2, Episode 5
Spock is overcome by his human sides, which leads to some wacky complications
Oh thank god, an episode I had legitimately complicated feelings about, and not just another “well, I guess they knocked it out of the park again this week!” Not that I don’t love the latter, but I do appreciate getting a chance to write about a qualified success. There’s a lot to like about “Charades,” and even a bit to love, but the episode is held back somewhat for me by a main storyline that leans too heavily on the conventions of farce. The hour ultimately works by focusing its climax on affecting emotional reveals and character growth, but you have to sit through a lot of silliness to get there, some of which is delightful, some of which is, uh, not.
Just how much of that silliness falls flat is a matter of personal taste. Can we at least agree that it’s odd that this is the second episode where Spock and T’Pring’s relationship is threatened by some kind of comical mishap? Season One’s Spock Amock” had our favorite pointy-eared science officer inad…