Warning! The following contains SPOILERS from Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 4 episode 8 “Orders of Magnitude.”
A powerful medicine from one of Star Trek’s most beloved episodes was more than simply mentioned in Strange New Worlds season 4’s “Orders of Magnitude.” No, rather than simply being an homage for a cheap callback’s sake, the infamous drug Cordrazine plays an integral role in the fall of Badmiral Simon Reeger (Joe Morton).
“Two drops of Cordrazine can save a man’s life,” Captain James T. Kirk (William Shatner) warns in the The Original Series episode, “The City on the Edge of Forever.” However, for those who might be new to the fandom, Dr. McCoy (DeForest Kelley) is accidentally injected with 100 times that amount, which leads to a temporary madness during that classic installment.
While under the influence of the Cordrazine, McCoy doesn’t recognize any of his friends and shipmates like Kirk and Mr. Spock (Leonard Nimoy). In large doses, the drug also causes wild paranoia.
However, at the beginning of the eighth episode from Strange New Worlds season 4, “Orders of Magnitude,” Dr. M’Benga (Babs Olusanmokun) is using the Cordrazine in a very small dose to help Lt. Kirk (Paul Wesley), who continues to recover from his injury during “The Griffin Incident.”
Now, after Kirk realizes Admiral Simon Reeger is medically unfit to command the USS Enterprise, which he has commandeered, the future captain of the Federation flagship controversially drugs the Badmiral with enough Cordrazine to bring out his true nature.
Overly angry and aggressive from the Cordrazine, Reeger reveals that he is willing to sacrifice 5,000 innocent lives to kill those aboard the ship responsible for the murder of his wife and two children — regardless of ethics. Kirk’s ploy works, and Dr. M’Benga quickly steps in to declare the Badmiral unfit to command the Enterprise.
I love the callback to Cordrazine, which was first introduced in one of my favorite TOS episodes, “The City on the Edge of Forever.” However, Kirk using the drug to prove the admiral’s inability to command a starship raises so many ethical questions.
Yes, Kirk was right in committing mutiny to save those 5,000 lives. However, he won’t face the consequences of drugging Reeger. At the episode’s conclusion, the Badmiral figures out that Kirk spiked his coffee with Cordrazine. However, realizing the gravity of the situation and the need to save Kirk’s career, M’Benga steps in and takes credit for the incident.
I couldn’t have been more caught up in this particular scene because Morton, Olusanmokun, and Wesley’s acting skills took the already brilliant storytelling to another level. Truly, this is one of my favorite moments from all of Strange New Worlds season 4, and I don’t see how any critics or fans are going to disapprove of “Orders of Magnitude.”
It might not be quite as good as what is often cited as Strange New Worlds' best episode ever (season 1’s “A Quality of Mercy”), but “Orders of Magnitude” definitely ranks in my own personal Top 5 now. How about you? Share your thoughts and comments with us on not only the callback to Cordrazine but the new episode itself via the Redshirts Always Die Facebook and X pages.
And Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 4 episode 8 “Orders of Magnitude” is now streaming on Paramount+.
Live long and prosper, Trekkies!
Add us as a preferred source on Google