Pike and his crew welcome a Klingon defector aboard the Enterprise, but his presence triggers the revelation of some shocking secrets.

Programming this dark episode after the frothy nonsense of Those Old Scientists is a master stroke, highlighting just what range the show’s premise allows.

A Klingon defector is a special guest on the Enterprise, but his actions during previous bloodshed have earned him the nickname of the Butcher of J’Gal, and not everyone is finding it easy to forgive him. While we’d like to think that we’d be the better person in moments like this (and it’s certainly the behaviour that Pike is expecting from his senior officers), Ortega, Chapel and M’Benga were on the front line in direct conflict with the belligerent Klingon, and struggle to forgive him.

Robert Wisdom is excellent as the charismatic protagonist, managing to push everyone’s buttons in this murky arena. Can or should we forgive him? And how much do we actually know about him? This is Babs Olusanmokun’s finest portrayal of M’Benga to date, and isn’t it wonderful that a character who had so little screen time in TOS now gets to play out the best role in an episode.

Verdict: An excellent episode that asks big questions and has no easy answers. 9/10

Nick Joy