Una is in legal jeopardy for having concealed her "augmented" status as an Illyrian. Pike convinces a talented Illyrian lawyer named Neera Ketoul to take his first officer's case, despite a past grievance between the two women. But the robust defense leads Starfleet to throw the book at Una, and to pursue possible charges against Pike and other Enterprise crewmembers as well.
It's true that there wasn't a lot of "action" (in the conventional sense) in this episode. Yet some of Star Trek's most memorable episodes have been legal dramas, going back to the original series' "Court Martial" and including The Next Generation's superb "The Drumhead" and "The Measure of a Man." (Not that such episodes are always Star Trek's best.) Like those two great Next Gen episodes, "Ad Astra per Aspera" has something to say about civil rights... and goes about it in a way that I think puts it in their esteemed company.
There are, sadly, too many real-world allegories that one can easily map to Una's background of persecution. When she talks about the ghettoization of her people on the planet where she grew up, it sounds very much like the plight of disfavored immigrants trying to succeed in a new country. When she talks about hiding who she is and "passing" for "normal," it sounds very much more like the discrimination faced by the LGBT+ community. (I saw someone online note that the straps holding young Una in the flashbacks has pink, blue, and white stripes -- corresponding to the colors of the transgender flag. Doesn't feel like an accident to me.)
In any case, there are many ways the audience can feel kinship and find common cause with Una in this episode -- and Rebecca Romijn does a great job in giving voice to these themes through her performance in the pivotal scene on the witness stand. And she's not alone in strong acting in this episode; while Pike doesn't have a lot here, Anson Mount makes you want to stand up and cheer in the few scenes he does have. Spock, M'Benga, and La'an have good witness stand scenes of their own, in a cleverly edited montage. (Spock's scene even calls back a fun Short Treks episode.)
As good as the regular cast is, though, it's the guest stars who really get to shine this week. Captain Batel is written on a fine line here, having to prosecute Una on the one hand even as Pike and the audience are meant to believe she's sympathetic with the defense. Melanie Scrofano walks that line perfectly, particularly nailing the scene where Batel demonstrates the sort of legal jiu-jitsu that will await Pike if he tries to take the stand himself.
Then, of course, actress Yetide Badaki is given a feast in the role of Neera Ketoul. It's a testament to Badaki that the role feels as showy as it does, because the character does not rant and rave and pound the table in the expected Emmy-baiting way. (Maybe she knows that actors never win Emmys for Star Trek, no matter how much they may deserve it.) Instead, Ketoul (and Badaki) goes through all the associated emotions while acting within tight constraints of poise and intellectual rigor. It's a real tour de force of "don't overdo it."
Yes, the end of the episode (and the court case) turns on a big gimmick. Legal dramas usually do. But I think it works, especially in the way it takes the "prequel problem" and turns it into a huge dramatic advantage. We know from Deep Space Nine that "Augments" will still be banned from Starfleet a century after this; but we also have to have a win here that frees Una up to continue being on Strange New Worlds. The script carefully threads this needle in a way that feels incredibly true to life in this respect: legal battles for civil rights are won one small skirmish at a time. (And sometimes, as we've been shown quite recently, it feels like a step backward soon follows any meaningful step forward.)
In all, I give "Ad Astra per Aspera" an A-. It's an excellent Star Trek episode, in good company with several episodes of past Trek series.
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