An away mission forces colleagues to work together, but what exactly have they unleashed?

I guess it was only a matter of time, but after four very good to excellent episodes this season, we hit the mid-year bump with an hour that falls somewhat flat, and instead of leaning into the nostalgia factor it feels limited by it.

An away team uncover an ancient civilisation, leading them to what appears to be a tomb, but could in fact be something more. As is often the case in Star Trek, we’re warned that taking something at face value is a risky gambit, and that proves to be the case here.

Maybe we can forgive the occasionally reckless behaviour of the crew because of their inexperience, but there’s a definitive lack of best practice on their part. When there was an order of 26 episodes of Star Trek to be made each year, this is the sort of episode you’d describe as a middle-of-the-road filler, but you feel less charitable when this is one of only 10 in a season.

Verdict: It’s the old ‘something ancient has been released’ plot, which impresses visually, but I challenge any Star Trek or indeed genre fan not to be a good two steps ahead of the crew all the way through. 5/10

Nick Joy