It’s sometimes hard to catch a break when you’re in Star Trek. So when you’ve had a long day on the Enterprise, what better time for calamity to strike then right before you’re clocking out? We’ve all had days like that at work, but hopefully nothing quite like what we’ve got on Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 4 Episode 6 “Off-Hour.”
This is an episode filled with medical trauma, difficult decisions, and a good helping of interpersonal drama to go with it. Brace for impact and take a deep breath as we dive into Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 4 Episode 6 “Off-Hour.”
Right Before Quitting Time…
Opening Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 4 Episode 6 “Off-Hour” with a countdown timer is a little ominous. It calls to mind other sci-fi shows that have us “on the clock.” Notably, Battlestar Galactica’s “33 Minutes” or Babylon 5’s “The Rock Cried Out, No Hiding Place” come to mind, though the latter is significantly less frenetic than the former, but almost as ominous.
Even so, I’m sure many of us have experienced the anticipated relief of a weekend, only to have that dashed away by a work emergency in the last hour of a Friday afternoon shift. But this is no ordinary work emergency. This is life or death, and the tension built in this episode is exquisite. It’s not enough that we’re up against the clock. It’s also that we’re dealing with interpersonal drama right before the chaos starts.
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 4 Episode 6 “Off-Hour” has our two favorite medical officers experiencing a red alert in their friendship. M’Benga and Chapel have a deep and longstanding work relationship and friendship, stemming from their wartime service together. They have seen some things and are close, but at the same time, each is afraid of loss, even keeping each other at arm’s length. These dire circumstances are going to force these two to reckon with this problem. More on this later.
Every Time I Have the Conn…
Way back in the pilot episode, “Strange New Worlds,” Erica Ortegas says, “Every time I have the conn…” referring to some shipwide shenanigans occurring while she is in the Captain’s chair. If she thought that was bad, what’s about to go down in Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 4 Episode 6 “Off-Hour” is significantly worse. A common complaint I’ve seen of Pike in recent memory is that he doesn’t seem to take the lead as much in his own show.
That cannot be said of this episode. Pike telling Ortegas she has the conn and doing the only logical thing—activating shields—but electrocuting himself in the process is the quick, selfless action a Captain should take. While Pike’s getting the medical assistance he needs, it’s great to see my girl in the center seat.
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!
Mentor/Mentee Miracle Working
One of the things I enjoy the most about the Star Trek universe is that everyone seems to have the support they need to do their jobs well, especially in the area of mentorship and supportive co-workers. Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 4 Episode 6 “Off-Hour” does a great job of highlighting these types of relationships. Aforementioned is the dynamic between M’Benga and Chapel. Chapel’s stubborn refusal to leave M’Benga is admirable.
She can’t leave her friend and mentor in his time of need, even if the odds of his survival are next to impossible. I could not have done anything else in her position. Watching her perform the impossible not only saves M’Benga, but proves that M’Benga’s research is far more than theoretical. The two of them together find the necessary means to save the ship, and even each other. I’d call that a miracle.
MORE: Catch up with the Strange New Worlds news from SDCC!
The Enterprise is (Not) a Lemon
Pelia makes a wonderful point in Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 4 Episode 6 “Off-Hour.” She says, “Life never gave us lemons! We demanded them!” referring to the origin story of the lemon. Scotty is trying his best to navigate this impossible situation and make lemonade, so to speak, without succumbing to a full-blown panic attack.
The pep talk from Pelia helps center him: “You have to be a miracle worker!” No pressure, right? Scotty in The Original Series is always able to pull something from thin air in order to get the Enterprise out of a jam. It’s nice to see that this is where he learns it, from the coaching of a great teacher. His engineering feats, combined with the heroic actions of his crewmates, are nothing less than a miracle.
Star Trek can sometimes be described as “competency porn,” in the way that everyone on the crew is at their absolute peak performance, but they’ve got to get to that peak somehow. These tender character moments between mentors and their mentees hit me square in the feels and help me to feel as confident as they do, not just in their abilities, but in each other. The icing on the cake here is Scotty touching the ship in the style of James Doohan. Miracle worker, indeed.
MORE: Check out our reviews of episode 1, episode 2, and episode 3!
New But Familiar Faces
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 4 Episode 6 “Off-Hour” introduces a new character this week, or at least a new-to-this-series character. Dr. Boyce is the chief medical officer in the original pilot for Star Trek: The Original Series, “The Cage.” Originally played by John Hoyt, Boyce in this iteration is played by Brian Markinson, a veteran character actor with roles in Star Trek: The Next Generation, Voyager, and Deep Space Nine.
Boyce’s addition is an interesting one, as we know that Dr. M’Benga only returns in two episodes of TOS, and isn’t in “The Cage.” As Chapel says, Boyce won’t like playing second fiddle to M’Benga. Markinson’s portrayal of Boyce is on the money. He’s direct, and perhaps does not have the bedside manner of M’Benga or Chapel, but he is a good doctor.
His gruff demeanor will make him an abrasive figure, but a little friction here won’t be bad. However, what we don’t see here is the same man who will eventually make Pike a martini, hand it to him, and say, “Sometimes a man’ll tell his bartender things he’ll never tell his doctor.” I hope we see more of Dr. Boyce for the rest of the season.
MORE: Read our reviews of episode 4 and episode 5!
Final Thoughts
We’ve had a bumpy ride in Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 4 Episode 6 “Off-Hour.” Our crew’s encounter with the slipstream wormhole makes me ask the question that every Star Trek fan has asked at least once: can we just install seatbelts? Even with seatbelts, that wouldn’t be enough to contain all the insanity of this episode. Just look at Una doing a crawl over broken glass a la John McClane in Die Hard.
It is both brave and painful to watch. It’s the same with Spock braving a warp-speed spacewalk and La’an going out to look for him. Additionally, the multi-frame shots in this episode remind me of Brian De Palma’s work in Carrie and Phantom of the Paradise. It’s a good stylistic choice for this episode where there are multiple intense situations to follow.
Finally, on a couple of completely silly notes, Scotty’s difficulties in the turbolift are the trials of all of us with distinct accents that our virtual assistants can’t understand. Speaking as a southern person with a gentle Appalachian lilt, Siri, Alexa, or I’d wager, even the Enterprise Computer has difficulty understanding me.
And for my final aesthetic note on Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 4 Episode 6 “Off-Hour,” Pelia is looking fabulous and groovy in her nightgown and bathrobe. As always, Bernadette Croft and our costume department are doing a bang-up job. This episode is a solid addition to Star Trek canon.
MORE: Watch our interview with Ethan Peck, Christina Chong, and Paul Wesley HERE!
What do you think of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 4 Episode 6 “Off-Hour”? Leave me a comment and let’s talk Trek.
The next episode of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds will air on September 3, 2026, on Paramount+.
