History Recap / StarTrekStrangeNewWorldsS1E01StrangeNewWorlds

* SciFiWritersHave/NoSenseOfDistance: Kiley 279 is stated to be less than 1 light-year from the Xahea system, allowing the Kileans to have observed the battle in "[[Recap/StarTrekDiscoveryS2E14SuchSweetSorrowPartTwo Such Sweet Sorrow, Part 2]]" without faster-than-light technology. While this isn't as bad an example as some in ''Franchise/StarTrek'' (the math at least works this time), it's still practically spitting distance by astronomical standards: some of the two stars' outer satellites would probably be orbiting inside the other star's heliosphere, and [[http://www.ifa.hawaii.edu/info/press-releases/WideBinaryStars/ theoretically]] they could even be a [[BinarySuns binary pair]].

* MyGodWhatHaveIDone: Pike is ''not'' happy to learn that their battle to save the future had the side effect of negatively influencing the development of Kiley.
-->'''Una:''' They weren't ready for warp. Not by a long shot.\\

** The Klieans have a "My God, What Did We ''Almost'' Do" moment when Pike shows them footage of Earth's past nuclear war in hopes of getting them to stand down and peacefully resolve their issues.

* CanonImmigrant: The U.S.S. ''Archer'' is a ''Hermes''-class, first seen in the ''Starfleet Technical Manual'' and used as picture fodder in ''Film/StarTrekIITheWrathOfKhan'' and ''Film/StarTrekIIITheSearchForSpock''. This is the first time an ''actual'' ''Hermes''-class is seen on screen.

* WeComeInPeaceShootToKill: Una's crew on the USS ''Archer'' went to make FirstContact with a civilization they thought was testing its first warp drive, and were immediately taken prisoner because the Kileans were actually testing a warp ''bomb'' for use in internal wars. Fortunately nobody dies and it all works out once Pike clears up the mess.

-->'''Pike:''' Captain's log, Stardate 2259.42. Earth-- the dust and sky-- is my hearth. But Enterprise is my home. We can go forward together, knowing that whatever shadows we bring with us, they make the light all the brighter. I am... a lucky man.

With the ''Enterprise'' in Spacedock getting some repairs and refits, the crew has scattered. Spock is on Vulcan, celebrating his engagement to his new fiancée T'Pring, while Captain Pike hides out in Montana with a BeardOfSorrow, unsure whether he wants to get back in the chair. He isn't given a choice: Admiral Robert April tracks him down and orders him back out. His NumberTwo, [[NoNameGiven Number One]], has gone missing during a FirstContact mission gone wrong.

Pike boards the ''Enterprise'' and meets his senior staff: Spock as Science Officer, Lt. Erica Ortegas as AcePilot, Dr. M'Benga in Sickbay with Nurse Christine Chapel at his side, Cadet Nyota Uhura at Communications, and Lt. La'an Noonien-Singh as Chief of Security and acting [[NumberTwo Number One]]. (Lt. Kirk, whom Pike requested specifically, has been delayed for a week, and so has the new Chief Engineer.) As they travel to the planet where Number One went missing, Kiley 279, he and Spock catch up with each other: Spock is still haunted by losing his adopted sister, Cmdr. Michael Burnham of the USS ''[[Series/StarTrekDiscovery Discovery]]'', and Pike with the visions he saw while captaining ''Discovery'' a year ago in which he learned of his fate (''[[Series/StarTrekDiscovery DSC]]'': "[[Recap/StarTrekDiscoveryS2E12ThroughTheValleyOfShadows Through The Valley of Shadows]]"). Pike is starting to second-guess himself, something a captain cannot allow themselves to do.

* EarlyBirdCameo: In a blink-and-you'll-miss-it moment, there's an all-saucer starship in a drydock next to ''Enterprise''. We'll be seeing her (or one of her sister ships) before the season finale.

* LoopholeAbuse: Admiral April manages to get the ''Enterprise'' crew out of a court martial because the classified nature of the Battle of Xahea made Starfleet unwilling to directly confront the mess, so they just wrote it off instead while also doubling down on the newly renamed Prime Directive.

** Number One served aboard the U.S.S. ''Martin Luther King Jr.'' as an ensign when the ship rescued La'an years ago. [[UsefulNotes/MartinLutherKingJr Dr. King]] is famous in Star Trek history for convincing Creator/NichelleNichols to continue portraying Lieutenant Uhura for the racial symbolism her role held when she was having second thoughts about continuing with it.

* NotSoDifferentRemark: Pike steps in on a contentious talk between the two main factions of Kiley 279 and offers the perspective that Earth suffered numerous internal wars, much like the Kiley are experiencing now, but adds that those wars culminated in WorldWarThree and 30% of the population being wiped out. Though Earth recovered and prospered, he contends that it's a lesson that doesn't need to be learned at so high a price if it can be avoided.

* AlienNonInterferenceClause: The show starts with one of ''Star Trek''[='s=] most classic tropes: the species that they can't interfere with because it isn't technologically advanced enough to possess FasterThanLightTravel. A major plot point is that the species nonetheless ''does'' have FTL technology, and the episode's DrivingQuestion turns out to be figuring out how that even happened and how to stop them from destroying themselves. They discuss their protocol as General Order 1, and at the end of the episode Admiral April says they are looking to rename it the Prime Directive. [[ItWillNeverCatchOn Pike doubts that name will catch on]].

* CallToAgriculture: Pike spends his downtime at a cabin in Montana, preferring to ride his horse in the snow and debating if he wants to go back to the Enterprise.

* TakeMeToYourLeader: Pike goes with the classic line for his first open contact with the Kileans, with a tone hinting that he's aware of the contextual irony of his saying it. He is, indeed, taken to the planetary leader (a change of approach on their part, as the previous team were simply imprisoned).

* MeaningfulName:
** The ship Number One served on that found and rescued a young La'an Noonien-Singh was the USS ''UsefulNotes/MartinLutherKingJr''.
** The ship Number One commanded in the ill-fated first contact mission to Kiley 279 was the USS ''Archer'', likely named after Jonathan Archer, [[Series/StarTrekEnterprise the commander of the original NX-01]] ''Enterprise''.

* TakeMeToYourLeader: Pike goes with the classic line for his first open contact with the Kileans. He is, indeed, taken to the planetary leader (a change of approach on their part, as the previous team were simply imprisoned).

* NoodleIncident: "Delta Scorpii Seven" sounds like it refers to a location, but seems to be a code phrase of some sort to indicate "Person from Pre-First-Contact race came out of sedation and is now running loose". This may not be the first time such an incident occurred while Ortegas had the conn.