Star Trek: Strange New Worlds’ “Tomorrow And Tomorrow And Tomorrow” is a perfect homage to “The City on the Edge of Forever”

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds’ “Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow” pays great homage to “The City on the Edge of Forever”.

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds’ episode “Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow” did an amazing job highlighting La’an Noonien Singh as a character. The episode was truly a character profile in a way, that highlighted the deep and complicated emotions that the character has for herself, her lineage, and those around her.

It also, somehow, brilliantly paid respect to the classic original series episode, “The City on the Edge of Forever”.

In the original episode, James Kirk and Spock go back in time to prevent Leonard “Bones” McCoy from screwing up the timeline by accident. In trying to prevent McCoy’s mistake, Kirk falls in love with Edith Keeler. Keeler happens to be the focal point of the time stream, as she was supposed to die after getting struck by a car. McCoy would go on to save her, and thus a chain of events would unravel, allowing the Nazis to take over the Earth, and in doing so, would cause the Federation to never exist. So in order to make sure that the timeline is restored, Kirk has to let Edith die.

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds’ did a great job tying “The City on the Edge of Forever” to “Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow”

In Strange New Worlds’ “Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow”, La’an Noonien Singh falls in love with an alternate reality’s James Kirk. The two go back in time to try and figure out why the timeline is all screwed up. They find out that in Kirks’ timeline, Romulans from the future destroyed Toronto in a first strike against Earth, to prevent the United Federation of Planets from forming.

As in the original series episode, the main character of the episode falls in love with someone destined to die. Kirks’ death in the timeline forces the Romulans to change their plan from blowing up Toronto, to killing La’an’s ancestor, Khan Noonien Singh. This plan is also thwarted. While Kirk’s death changed plans, it doesn’t seem like it was destined to happen like Edith’s. Yet, it was.

Kirk states in the early portions of the episode that he isn’t going to help La’an because if he did, the future he knows, himself included, would cease to exist. Yet, when finding out that his brother, George Samuel Kirk is alive in her timeline, he decides to help her, knowing that at least this way his brother would make it.

Both Kirk and La’an know that if they’re successful, this Kirk will be erased. So right before his fatal shooting transpires, La’an tries to convince Kirk she can save him by bringing him back with her to her timeline. That would cause serious issues to the timeline, but La’an like the older Kirk in the original series, is in love and will do what she must to protect Kirk.

Sadly, she never got the chance. The other Kirk dies, the timeline is restored and no one but her is aware of the profound loss she carries. The similarities between the two episodes are striking and profound. It is a great sequel to the original series and did it justice.