by Tim Gordon
Strange New Worlds S4 E9 Recap: La’An Finally Confronts Herself
Strange New Worlds S4 E9 Recap puts La’An Noonien-Singh at the center of an adventure designed to confront the emotional conflict she has carried throughout the season.
After weeks of wrestling with feelings she would rather suppress, La’An finds herself trapped inside a storybook world where light and darkness become literal versions of herself. What begins as another imaginative Enterprise mission forces her to consider that healing doesn’t require defeating the darkness inside her.
It requires accepting that it’s part of who she is.
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 4 streams on Paramount+.
Read our recap of “Like Chronitons Through the Hourglass” here.
Explore the complete Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Series Hub.
La’An Isn’t Herself
The crew has noticed a change in La’An.
After watching her struggle with a complicated mix of emotions, they task Pike with checking on her. He encourages La’An to visit sickbay, but her examination reveals nothing physically wrong.
Whatever is troubling her isn’t something a tricorder can diagnose.
Before she can dig deeper, the Enterprise encounters something stranger: a planet has appeared where no planet should exist.
Naturally, they investigate.
The Enterprise Finds a Storybook World
The landing party discovers a storybook seemingly brought to life, including a sword-wielding man who looks exactly like Dr. M’Benga.
The real M’Benga recognizes what’s happening.
The Enterprise has encountered this phenomenon before, when characters from his daughter Rukiya’s favorite story came to life through members of the crew. That adventure centered on something M’Benga needed to confront.
This time, he suspects the story has chosen La’An.
Pike insists they continue investigating.
La’An Discovers She’s a Princess
According to the story, La’An’s counterpart is a princess, an identity the hardened security officer struggles to accept.
The crew is soon captured and taken before the Queen, who looks like Uhura. She reveals a prophecy: whoever wishes to rule the kingdom must gain control of the Iron Dragon.
Then the Enterprise appears overhead.
It’s the Iron Dragon.
Strange New Worlds S4 E9 Recap transforms the starship into part of La’An’s fairy tale, turning her emotional struggle into a literal battle between darkness and light.
Prince Dashing Looks Like James T. Kirk
La’An is mistaken for the Princess, and her supposed savior arrives.
Prince Dashing looks exactly like James T. Kirk.
For La’An, who has spent much of the season suppressing her feelings for Kirk, the situation is painfully awkward.
The two travel to the castle to rescue the imprisoned crew, only to discover the real Princess in the dungeon.
She looks exactly like La’An.
Meanwhile, storybook versions of Pike and Spock reach the Enterprise using Kirk’s phaser. They magically disguise themselves as crew members and attempt, rather badly, to blend in aboard the “Iron Dragon.”
The Queen Takes Control of the Story
Back on the planet, Pike discovers that Pelia is the author of the story.
The Queen demands that she continue writing while magically imprisoning Pike and Spock inside paintings.
La’An, Prince Dashing and Adia search for the Key of Consequence, which could help them break into the castle and recover what has been lost.
But La’An is beginning to realize the real quest is about her.
Eventually, she dresses as the Princess and confesses to Dashing that she believes there is darkness inside her.
He tells her he accepts all of her.
For La’An, that’s almost more frightening than rejection.
La’An Goes to War With Herself
As La’An and Dashing dance at the ball, the Queen summons a full moon and reveals Dashing’s true form.
He’s a werewolf.
The Queen then draws upon the opposing light and dark energies of the two La’Ans and transforms into a dragon.
The two versions of La’An begin fighting each other, but the Princess gradually takes on characteristics of the hardened security officer.
That’s when they understand.
Neither side can defeat the other because neither is complete alone.
Strange New Worlds S4 E9 Recap makes the metaphor clear: La’An doesn’t need to eliminate her darkness. She needs to stop dividing herself into pieces she considers acceptable and unacceptable.
The two La’Ans stop fighting.
They choose balance.
The Spell Is Broken
As the Dragon Queen attacks the Enterprise, the storybook counterparts prepare for one final battle.
The alternate Spock uses the last of his magic, while the two La’Ans combine their efforts to restore balance.
The spell breaks.
The Queen is defeated, the Enterprise crew returns to normal and the storybook world releases them.
But La’An returns changed.
Strange New Worlds S4 E9 Recap Ending Explained
Back in sickbay, the emotional cloud surrounding La’An has begun to lift.
She even returns with a souvenir from the adventure: the Princess’ pet.
But the real gift is perspective.
La’An has spent years allowing trauma, her family name and fear of vulnerability to determine how much of herself she allows others to see.
The Princess isn’t the opposite of La’An.
She’s part of her.
So is the darkness.
So is the vulnerability.
And so is the woman who wants to be loved.
La’An Finally Chooses Kirk
That realization changes how La’An approaches James Kirk.
Instead of burying her feelings, she invites him on a date.
Kirk accepts.
After a season spent circling their connection, the two decide to give romance a chance.
The significance isn’t simply that La’An chooses Kirk. It’s that she finally allows herself to choose happiness without immediately preparing for its loss.
For once, La’An isn’t reacting to her past.
She’s moving toward her future.
Final Thoughts
After a season of building La’An’s emotional journey, “Once La’An a Time” delivers the breakthrough she needed.
Unfortunately, the episode itself doesn’t entirely live up to that journey.
Season 4 has repeatedly transformed ambitious genre experiments into revealing character studies, moving through psychological horror, comedy, noir and even a cosmic soap opera.
The fairy-tale concept should have been another perfect vehicle.
Instead, “Once La’An a Time” feels like the weakest episode of the season.
Its central metaphor works. La’An literally battling opposing versions of herself effectively reflects a character who has spent years compartmentalizing trauma, love and vulnerability. Prince Dashing also gives physical form to feelings for Kirk she has struggled to acknowledge.
But the resolution feels too simple for an emotional journey built across the season.
Strange New Worlds S4 E9 Recap reaches the right destination for La’An without quite finding the narrative spark that has distinguished Season 4’s best experiments.
La’An gets the breakthrough she needed.
I just wish “Once La’An a Time” had found a little more Star Trek magic getting her there.
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