Of all the Star Trek episodes to throw back to the film noir genre, we didn’t see this one coming. Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 4 Episode 4 “A Case of Chiaroscuro” is giving us Casablanca while also doing its own thing. Get a piece of the action with us in this review of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 4 Episode 4 “A Case of Chiaroscuro.”
Star Trek Goes Film Noir
We’re genre-bending yet again in Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 4 Episode 4 “A Case of Chiaroscuro.” For context, the word “chiaroscuro” is an art term, looking at the treatment of light and dark in art. But it can also refer to, according to Merriam-Webster, “the quality of being veiled or partly in shadow.” That’s the perfect descriptor for this episode. Not just for its quality of being shot in black and white, but also the overall themes of the light and dark choices made by our crew.
There’s a flavor of “A Piece of the Action” from Star Trek: The Original Series in Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 4 Episode 4 “A Case of Chiaroscuro.” The space mobster vibe gives it an interesting flavor, but tying it to the Klingons occupation of a non-Federation planet, and then filming it in black and white really makes it a smoky, film noir piece that stands out in Star Trek canon. I can’t recall another Star Trek episode intentionally filmed in black and white, save for bits of the Star Trek: Voyager episodes with Captain Proton.
I’m of the opinion that if you’re going to play with genre and go film noir, then you better go full film noir and shoot in black and white! Having the scientific explanation for the black and white is something that just makes it Star Trek. It’s simply an added bonus that this is a gorgeously shot episode. Also, just a PSA for all you studios out there, put Rebecca Romijn in your film noir movie. Good grief! She is made for this kind of genre work!
MORE: Catch up with the Strange New Worlds news from SDCC!
Unintentional Undercover Ops
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 4 Episode 4 “A Case of Chiaroscuro” puts our crew in some unintentional undercover ops. This isn’t new territory for our new Commander Una Chin-Riley or Dr. M’Benga, but it is for young Uhura. Undercover is always tricky, but it’s even trickier when Una is mistaken for a resistance leader, previously thought to be dead. This is both helpful and hurtful to their cause.
As Una says, “I’m not going to sit back and watch people suffer just because they had the misfortune to fall on the wrong side of the demarcation line.” It’s risky, and it’s against Starfleet protocol to get involved in something happening in Klingon territory, but Una’s commitment to justice regardless of borders is admirable. And frankly, it’s all too relevant to today’s socio-political moment.
M’Benga’s experience in the Klingon War comes into play here, using his knowledge to help give Uhura a crash course in undercover ops. All things considered, she performs admirably. But if I were put in the same situation, I probably would have reacted the same way she did. I cannot watch idly when people are suffering. Her knee-jerk reaction of empathy and compassion, even at the cost of potentially blowing her cover, are understandable. And yet without that, our crew would never have gained the crucial piece of information, allowing the resistance to fight back against the Klingons. It makes Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 4 Episode 4 “A Case of Chiaroscuro” a wonderfully tense episode.
MORE: Check out our reviews of episode 1, episode 2, and episode 3!
Light and Shadow on the Ship
It’s not just Una, M’Benga, and Uhura who are dealing with light and shadow in Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 4 Episode 4 “A Case of Chiaroscuro.” The rest of the Enterprise crew are as well. La’an, in particular, is no stranger to this battle, constantly feeling at war with herself. Her struggle to trust her own judgment here is apparent. She can’t figure out if she’s being paranoid about this faulty chip or if she is merely doing her job as the security officer. She wants to be thorough, but also feels like it might be overkill. I appreciate the tension she bears and her commitment to security.
But it’s not just La’an who is at war with her own light and shadow. It’s also Chapel. She’s covering tracks for her former commanding officer. She, like Una, refused to follow orders when there were people in need on the wrong side of the demarcation line. I can’t blame Chapel for doing that, nor can I blame the crew of the Yang for their actions to help. It’s an impossible choice they’re making that could have severe consequences. However, I can’t stand idly by and watch people suffer if there’s something I can do to help.
La’an’s ultimate choice to keep Chapel’s secret shows her growth as well. La’an is still very hard-line and principled. That has not changed, but as someone who understands what it’s like to feel helpless and in need of rescue, she appreciates the scenario that put Chapel in that position. She, as Chapel said, has chosen to be a friend, not a security officer at this moment.
MORE: Watch our interview with Ethan Peck, Christina Chong, and Paul Wesley HERE!
Coexisting with Opposing Tensions
Two main ideas come across in Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 4 Episode 4 “A Case of Chiaroscuro.” Those are the tensions between moral right and wrong and between legal right and wrong. Una knows from her own experience the tragic consequences of failing to speak up or intercede for those under oppression. While she has a reputation in Starfleet for being the literal poster child of “by-the-book” when it comes to rules and regulations, it also came at the cost of her true identity.
However, what she has taken from that experience, particularly seen back in the season 2 episode, “Ad Astra Per Aspera,” she knows that it is possible for people and organizations to grow and change. She says to M’Benga, “I know what it’s like to lose, then to hope.” Her actions give these people under Klingon occupation hope and the ability to fight back against their oppressors.
Decisions Not for the Faint of Heart
M’Benga comments as they make their way back to the Enterprise, “Irony notwithstanding, few things are black and white.” This is a man who, as we know from the season 2 episode, “Under the Cloak of War,” understands this concept deeply from his war experience, the lack of justice he saw, and the things he was forced to do. I often think of the author and theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer, who was in the resistance against Hitler during World War II and was executed for it. He says, “Silence in the face of evil is itself evil: God will not hold us guiltless. Not to speak is to speak. Not to act is to act.” Inaction is still action. And even if it is against Starfleet protocol, I admire our crew for taking action.
MORE: Rebecca Romijn chats about being part of Star Trek’s 60th and more, along with Anson Mount and Carol Kane in this roundtable interview!
Final Thoughts
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 4 Episode 4 “A Case of Chiaroscuro” is one more exploration of genre in this fourth season of the series. In analysis, this is the episode that has grown on me the most. Understanding the title, simply enough, is what makes all the difference for me. The black-and-white aesthetic choice, while on a surface level, is perhaps a confusing one considering Star Trek has always been about colorful visuals from day one. However, it works. I would even argue that it is absolutely necessary for this episode.
It’s more than just because we’ve landed on Planet Film Noir. That smoke-tinged atmosphere, the set design, and then the difficult moral decisions literally everyone is forced to make are all enhanced by the black-and-white visuals. Also, casting directors, if you’ve got a film noir coming up and you’ve not considered Rebecca Romijn for your leading lady, what are you doing? Give that woman a fedora and a trench coat.
I hope the message is not lost in the genre aesthetics in this episode. Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 4 Episode 4 “A Case of Chiaroscuro”’s focus on moral ambiguity and right versus wrong regardless of the law is incredible. As mentioned previously, they are also all too poignant for our current socio-political moment. Would that we all have ears to hear and the courage to act.
What do you think of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 4 episode 4 “A Case of Chiaroscuro”? Leave me a comment and let’s talk Trek.
The next episode of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds will air on August 20, 2026, on Paramount+.
