What a brilliant episode Star Trek: Strange New Worlds has given me, finally!
Normally I've been getting disappointed with this series because it had promised to be more episodic and attuned to the spirit of the original series, under due reservations.
However, S02E09, "Subspace Rhapsody" I enjoyed it immensely. It may well have the opposite effect for others, but for me it was a delight, perhaps because aside from Sci-Fi, I've always had a special fondness for musicals.
Yes, arguments aside, Star Trek has always been sci-fi, and this episode could be categorized somewhere in the middle between soft and surreal CF, right in the uncanny valley of fantasy series.
[Source](https://www.tvinsider.com/1101769/star-trek-strange-new-worlds-season-2-finale-scotty-crew-gorn/)
The work they took to create an entire musical melodrama, inspired by the Great American Songbook and supported by a vague scientific resource, is practically Emmy worthy, or Hugo Award worthy, in the latter inaugurating the Outstanding Dramatic Musical Presentation.
Like most of the great CF/Fantasy concepts, the script is not exempt from a certain struggle that borders on the ridiculous when it comes to explaining the phenomenon, but the emotionality generated by the development of the story and the effect achieved, fully justify it. "Improbability" was the saving key word, in this case.
[Source](https://www.tvinsider.com/1101769/star-trek-strange-new-worlds-season-2-finale-scotty-crew-gorn/)
The performances, the direction, the songs, the voices (perhaps mostly lipsyncing) and the naturalness of the numbers together produced a memorable episode. The last one I remember committing a similar audacity was Lucifer's S05E10 "Bloody Celestial Karaoke", which also had its own thing going on.
Anyway, while Strange New Worlds hasn't to me surpassed any other series in the franchise, this installment could easily sneak into the top 20 best episodes in Star Trek history.
