‘Strange New Worlds’ Just Had Their Own ‘In the Pale Moonlight’ Episode

As I listened to Dr. M’Benga’s speech at the end of Season 2, Episode 8, “Under the Cloak of War”, it was hard not to feel echoes of “I can live with it … ” from Captain Benjamin Sisko of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. This current season of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds proves that Star Trek is often at its best when it remembers that even fans’ favorite characters are still soldiers.

We see this in the latest episode, in flashbacks to when Dr. M’Benga (Babs Olusanmokun) and Nurse Chapel (Jess Bush) were stationed on the moon of J’Gal during The Klingon War and the horrors they witnessed together. In the present, Federation Ambassador Rah, formerly General Dak’Rah (Robert Wisdom) is aboard the Enterprise, which creates quite a bit of tension for the crew who served during the war. Referred to as “the Butcher of J’Gal” for killing his men to escape, M’Benga, Chapel and Lieutenant Ortegas confront Rah and their inability to let go of the atrocities of the war.

This episode reminds viewers that M’Benga had the highest number of hand-to-hand confirmed kills in Starfleet before becoming a doctor. Both this episode and Deep Space Nine‘s Season 6, Episode 19 “In the Pale Moonlight” are focused on the cruelty of war and the terrible decisions people are forced to make in hopes of peace. We even get some continuity about the pattern buffer trick M’Benga uses in season 1 for his daughter, now used for wounded soldiers who might have a better chance of surviving if their bodies are stored in the transporter buffer.

Except we also see M’Benga purge that same soldier from the buffer once more wounded need to be sent in, and the transporter can’t function to bring in more wounded soldiers without the logs being purged. And we learn that the chemical cocktail made to help humans fight Klingons (now named Protocol 12), was designed by M’Benga himself, if the Andorian soldier is to be believed.

By far, though, the biggest reveal comes at the end, when we learn that the “Butcher of J’Gal” is M’Benga himself. He took up a mission to kill Rah as J’Gal was being evacuated and was barely held back by the other Klingons he killed. In an out-of-focus struggle between M’Benga and Rah in the present, M’Benga takes out a dagger he’s been holding onto (which is later confirmed to have the blood of other Klingon warlords on it), and stabs and kills Rah.

It could very likely be that we’re seeing the start of Strange New Worlds‘ explanation for how Dr. M’Benga is no longer the Chief Medical Officer on the Enterprise at the start of the original Star Trek, despite still serving on the ship. The log M’Benga writes at the end of the episode is chilling, whereas the opening of the episode simply briefly mentions that “Biobed two has shut down again. Ever since the Gorn attack at Finibus Three, it hasn’t been the same.” The parallel ending of “Biobed Two is working again. At least for now. But I know it’s only a matter of time before it shuts down again. Some things break in a way that can never be repaired. Only managed,” holds the weight of a man who knows how much pain he’s caused and that he can never come back from it.

(featured image: Michael Gibson/Paramount+)