“The Casablanca idea, the noir idea, serves as an [SPOILER] exploration of self.”
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds boldly goes and tackles yet another unique genre in the fourth episode of season 4. This time around, instead of time-traveling, horror, and comedic themes, the crew of the USS Enterprise enters the femme fatale-filled universe of film noir in “A Case of Chiaroscuro,” which clearly places the black-and-white spotlight on Rebecca Romijn’s beloved character Una Chin-Riley, aka Number One.
Strange New Worlds executive producer and co-showrunner Akiva Goldsman addressed the new season’s propensity to warp-speed from one particular genre to another, while also bringing up Una’s importance in “A Case of Chiaroscuro," by saying in an interview (per ScreenRant): “I think that we've always tried to pick and choose in a way that served the storytelling. The Casablanca idea, the noir idea, serves as an Una exploration of self.”
Goldsman continued by saying:
“I think fundamentally, once we pick a thing, we're always at risk of going too far because that's what we're trying to do. We're really trying to reach the very edge of where the genre can tell us more in a Star Trek episode than might traditionally be told. And that's often the trick, right? Bend it, just don't break it.”
In my opinion, the reward far outweighs the risk Goldsman and fellow showrunner Henry Alonso Myers took in the film noir-centric Strange New Worlds episode with Romijn's Una Chin-Riley and the other characters basking in the black-and-white values caused by the infrared blackbody spectra.
Even though Una has been featured heavily in the first few episodes of Strange New Worlds, with my favorite of Romijn’s on-screen moments being when she sang “Total Eclipse of the Heart” in Klingon, she clearly steals the spotlight in SNW’s exploration of the gritty black-and-white film noir world.
In fact, with the exception of Una’s trial for being an Augment in Strange New Worlds season 2’s “Ad Astra per Aspera,” I believe this is the best Number One-centric Trek in quite a while. However, if you haven’t seen the episode yet, both Dr. M’Benga (Babs Olusanmokun) and Nyota Uhura (Celia Rose Gooding) steal some scenes and spotlights of their own.
So, what did you think of Una’s “exploration of self,” as Goldsman put it? Did you enjoy the new film noir episode? Share your thoughts and comments with us on the Redshirts Always Die Facebook and X pages. And Star Trek: Strange New Worlds' episode “A Case of Chiaroscuro,” is now streaming on Paramount+.
Live long and prosper, Trekkies!
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