Star Trek: Strange New Worlds‘ latest outing, “Lost in Translation,” spotlights the uber-talented Celia Rose Gooding and their gorgeous portrayal of Uhura. Season 2 Episode 6 also brings Uhura and Kirk (Paul Wesley) together for their first meeting before Star Trek: The Original Series. Funnily enough, Kirk immediately calls her by her surname as he does in TOS, while everyone else on Strange New Worlds calls her “Nyota.” The ending of this episode made me giddy, seeing Uhura, Kirk and Spock (Ethan Peck) spending time together.
“Lost in Translation” is a moving meditation on grief with stellar performances from Gooding and Wesley. It also deftly balances drama and comedy while delivering terrifying, horror-inspired visuals and an allegorical narrative on colonialism.
In honor of today’s Uhura-rrific episode, here are my favorite quotes from “Lost in Translation.” Energize!
PELIA: “I know. He was one of my best students … I’m sorry, I just said that because he’s dead. Actually, he was just okay. But look at what he made of himself.”
Carol Kane is a comedy queen. Pelia is such a fun character, too, made all the better because of her impeccable comedic timing and deliveries. Pelia’s occasionally brutal honesty impedes her from beating around the bush or simply telling someone what they want to hear out of propriety. Hey, honesty is the best policy.
NUMBER ONE: “You’re sloppy, okay? You don’t respect protocols; you’re too loose with discipline; you don’t follow orders unless you feel like it, and you have crumbs on your uniform. When did you even eat? You’re like … a space hippie.”
I love Una Chin-Riley (Rebecca Romijn) and Pelia’s dynamic in “Lost in Translation.” For the majority of the episode, it’s a hilarious verbal tug-of-war. However, by the outing’s end, Pelia dives deep into the heart of our Number One’s anti-Pelia campaign: she misses Hemmer. So much of this episode tackles the grief process while honoring Hemmer’s sacrifice. Regarding the above quote, watching Romijn let loose comedically is fun. Methinks Pelia really took the “space hippie” insult as a compliment.
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UHURA: “A few years ago, I lost my parents and my brother in a shuttle accident. I wasn’t there when it happened. I never saw the crash site, but … after they died, it felt like every time I closed my eyes, I’d see it. The crash. Their final moments. Got so bad I couldn’t even look at pictures of them. … The truth is, I’ve never been able to face death. Everyone has some way of dealing with it — moving on — but I just … I don’t know how. How can I be a Starfleet officer if I can’t handle death?”
Oof. Uhura’s monologue about struggling to handle death profoundly resonates with me as one still grieving. It’s so easy to shove that box of photos under your bed to avoid facing the fact that your loved ones are gone. I’ve lost someone when I wasn’t present for their death, and I can relate to Uhura’s knee-jerk urge to replay their final moments in my head incessantly. Celia Rose Gooding knocks this out of the park. They beautifully convey the complexity and nuance of these common feelings about death that make us entirely human.
KIRK: “Look, I could tell you some comforting fairy tale, but we both know the truth. Our job puts us up against death — more than is fair. And we might not like it, but we do have to face it. Right now, death is winning. It claimed your family; it claimed your friend. It convinced you to forget them because it’s less painful than holding onto your memories. Now, you can let death win, or you can fight back. Hold onto them.”
Kirk offers poignant, thought-provoking words on not letting death steal our memories of our loved ones. There’s something so empowering about reclaiming those memories and refusing to allow death to erode them. We can accept death for what it is without it overpowering what little we have left of those who leave us. Paul Wesley’s delivery is subtle yet emphatic and impactful.
RELATED: Catch up on the Enterprise fun with our Star Trek: Strange New Worlds recaps!
What are your favorite quotes from “Lost in Translation”? Sound off in the comments below.
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds streams new episodes every Thursday on Paramount+.
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What I do: I'm GGA's Managing Editor, a Senior Contributor, and Press Coordinator. I manage, contribute, and coordinate. Sometimes all at once. Joking aside, I oversee day-to-day operations for GGA, write, edit, and assess interview opportunities/press events.
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