“It was a real honor to share the screen with him.”
Paul Wesley returned to Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 4 as Lt. Commander James T. Kirk in the must-see episode “Orders of Magnitude.” And in a show brimming with incredibly talented series regulars, this year’s eighth episode was clearly a platform for two guest stars to take the spotlight: the aforementioned Wesley and the incomparable Joe Morton.
Morton portrays the latest incarnation of Star Trek’s formidable “Badmirals” (bad admirals) in “Orders of Magnitude,” and Wesley gushed over working with the star of Scandal, Eureka, and Terminator 2: Judgement Day. Wesley said (per ScreenRant): “I knew I really needed to bring my A-game for this episode."
"And I loved the way it was written," Wesley continued. "It was a real honor to share the screen with him. When he came to set, he never once looked at his lines. He knew everything. It’s like he somehow had it locked in his brain.”
Wesley, who has played James T. Kirk since the character first appeared in the Strange New Worlds season 1 finale “A Quality of Mercy,” added during the same sit-down:
“He [Morton] sat on set in between takes. He never once looked at a cell phone. He was constantly just in the moment, in character. He's such a force, and he has such gravitas, and I knew that I had to step up my game if I wanted to go head-to-head with him.”
Morton, who portrays Starfleet’s highly decorated Admiral Simon Reeger, is out for revenge after his family is killed by a mysterious vessel. However, when push comes to shove, the only way Reeger can destroy the cloaked enemy is by also killing over 5,000 innocent people on the planet in which the ship landed.
In my opinion, Wesley and Morton share some of Strange New Worlds’ most memorable scenes (ever) together in this one episode, as Kirk is forced to defy Reeger and mutiny in order to save the planet’s inhabitants.
I loved not only the performances both actors brought to the table, but I enjoyed seeing classic Kirk, who doesn’t believe in no-win scenarios, even before he eventually takes command of the USS Enterprise years later.
For my money, I don't know how anyone will forget that moment on the bridge when Kirk bluffs that he's changed the power distribution codes, so that if Reeger fires on the planet... the Enterprise will be destroyed. Morton plays the desperate admiral as a violently insane officer, who begins punching Kirk in the face to try and acquire the codes.
However, when Reeger grabs that phaser, points at Kirk’s head, and threatens, “Give me those codes, or I will burn a hole through your skull,” I was fully invested — even knowing Kirk can’t die! And the suspension of disbelief I felt was all thanks to the unforgettable performances put on by Morton and Wesley in that harrowing moment.
What did you think of Morton’s performance as Badmiral Simon Reeger? Did you enjoy the episode as much as I did? Share your thoughts and comments with us on the Redshirts Always Die Facebook and X pages.
And for those who haven’t seen it yet, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 4’s “Orders of Magnitude,” is now streaming on Paramount+, which I can't recommend enough.
Live long and prosper, Trekkies!
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