Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 2 has garnered diverse opinions from fans across the Internet, though there's one thing that most can seemingly agree on. The franchise's latest "courtroom episode" is one of the its best and maybe a top-tier Star Trek episode in general. And we may now know one of the key reasons that contributed to that eventual acclaim. CinemaBlend recently learned during a conversation with the episode's director that the installment, "Ad Astra Per Aspera" was influenced by past iconic trial moments from the franchise history in some key ways.
The story in question centers on the trial of Una "Number One" Chin-Riley, who faces possible imprisonment and dismissal from Starfleet. I had a chance to speak to director Valerie Weiss about her episode of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds and asked whether previous episodes inspired her approach in any way. Weiss confirmed that she spotted a couple of devices used in those episodes that she specifically requested for her own, including one she felt was vital for elevating the story's stakes:
