Hiya!

I’ve mentioned before how much I love musical episodes. It doesn’t really matter if I’ve been watching the series from the very start or if I even like the series in the first place. If there’s a musical episode, you can bet your darndest I’ll be watching it! Well, it turns out Star Trek: Strange New Worlds has a musical episode, aptly titled Subspace Rhapsody.

I knew from the outset this episode was going to be very divisive between fans but, from someone who likes but doesn’t live Star Trek, I really enjoyed Subspace Rhapsody. The “previously on…” gave a quick wrap-up of most of what I needed to know going in and, most importantly, a lot of the songs were a blast! I said “a lot” because, like with all musicals, some of them were much better than the others.

So, in that vein, let me go rank all of the songs used during the Star Trek: Strange New Worlds musical episode!

“Private Conversation”

Well, it was short, at least.

Out of all the songs from Subspace Rhapsody, I can say, hands down, Private Conversation, which is pretty much Captain Pike’s only real song from the episode, is the worst of the bunch. For one thing, I don’t think Anson Mount, the guy who plays Captain Pike, has the pipes to sing for real. I can even detect a hint of auto-tune from him, which might have been for the best.

That’s not the only reason why I put Private Conversation at the bottom. The song itself is bad in the lyrics department and just doesn’t flow. It get downright repetitive by the end and I was relieved when they cut off the transmission before it got any worse.

“Keeping Secrets”

I totally forgot this song was in here when I was preparing this list!

Keeping Secrets has Una, the second-in-command of the ship, giving advice to La’an, the security officer, on how to handle her feelings for James Kirk, who has joined the Enterprise for training. There’s a whole backstory involving time-travel and parallel worlds but, since I haven’t been watching Strange New Worlds, I’m just giving the barebones explanation.

Anyway, I do like the sentiment behind the song, with Una not acting as a superior officer but more like a mentor or even a parental figure. The song itself, however, comes off a little too sugar-saccharine for my liking. It’s also pretty forgettable in the grand scheme of things as there isn’t any real powerful imagery to help this already tonally bland song.

“Connect To Your Truth”

Back-to-back songs from Una? Sadly, yes.

Connect To Your Truth is actually a cute little ditty, involving the current first officer of the Enterprise, Una, and the future captain of the Enterprise, James T. Kirk, with the former giving advice on how to lead a starship. The problem is it feels like filler. It does lead to one of the better songs I’ll talk about later. However, in the grand scheme of things, this just came across as something the writers put together as they needed to fill in some time.

It does have some redeeming value as there is a short dance number between the two and the singing is actually adequate. Unfortunately, in a musical episode with such musical stunners such as this one, “adequate” makes it just below average.

“I’m the X”

Yes, Spock can sing, I guess.

I’m the X is Spock’s solo number in Subspace Rhapsody. It’s more on Spock dealing with the fact Nurse Chapel is breaking up with him to pursue her dream of joining a group called the Fellowship. It’s him trying to get to grips with the breakup, why it went wrong and, even though he still wants to be with Nurse Chapel, he doesn’t want to interfere with her happiness. It’s also a reprise of one of my favorite songs from the episode

So, why is I’m the X so middle of the road for me? Well, it connects to the fact that it is a reprise of one of my favorite songs from the episode. As I’m the X borrows a lot from the other song (it is a reprise, after all), having it become a downer when the original was so upbeat just didn’t click for me. It’s not terrible and Ethan Peck, who plays Spock, shows off his singing prowess well here, it’s just not up to the high bar the original song set.

“Keep Us Connected”

Of course, the communications officer can sing, natch.

This is where things get a little muddled as I kept bouncing around between the next 3 songs regarding their placement on the list. One of them had to gee 3rd place and I had to put Keep Us Connected there. It’s definitely one of the better songs in the episode and Celia Rose Gooding, who portrays Uhura, probably has the best singing voice so far.

So, why did I place Keep Us Connected below the rest of the songs I’m about to mention? Well, it’s because I don’t fully understand the meaning of the song. Based on the lyrics, it’s all about Uhura feeling sad with always being alone and then accepting the fact she’s always alone as it helps her with her job? It just feels weird. Maybe if I knew more about the character, I would get it.

“We Are One”

The climax always has to be a big show number. We Are One certainly delivered.

There’s a lot to like about We Are One. From the opening bit which is carried over from Uhura’s Keep Us Connected solo song to the dance number involving the entire crew of the Enterprise to the Klingons performing a quick “boy band” interlude, We Are One has a lot to like.

My problem with We Are One is it just felt it could have gone bigger. The point of this big show number is to overload whatever energy is causing them to sing. So, if they really need to do that, they should go over the top. Do things with flashing lights or fireworks. Sure, the song and dance is fun but it just lacks the oomph of a crazy performance I felt was necessary to really elevate We Are One into the levels it needed to hit.

“How Would That Feel?”

Sometimes, a song just gets you in the feels. Ironically, How Would That Feel? really hit me hard.

How Would That Feel? has La’an singing about having to suppress her feelings for James Kirk and not revealing the weird time travel/parallel universe adventure they went on and where she developed feelings for him. However, the song is much more than that as it also focuses on her not being able to show weakness, having to be strong all the time. She was trained to be in control all the time and she wants to just let loose… but she just can’t.

What I really like about How Would That Feel? is it wouldn’t feel out of place in a Disney animated musical. It would tonally fit. Also, it helps how well the lyrics are written as you don’t need any real connection with the character to understand how she feels. It’s ambiguous enough to suit someone who feels the same way as there aren’t any details specifically related to La’an. The song can stand on its own. Oh, it certainly helps Christina Chong has a really powerful voice as you can feel the pain she feels. It’s just great.

“Status Report”

Yep, the first song takes 2nd place.

For me, the point of any opening number in any musical is to set the story up. The opening song has to give you enough information of the situation. Status Report does this in spades as it not only has everyone burst into song but asking themselves why they’re breaking into song in the first place.

It also helps that Status Report is extremely catchy. It has a good rhythm to it and is such an earworm. It’s also an ensemble song, much like We Are One, but everyone in the main cast has their own part to sing. Sure, Captain Pike and the helmsperson Ortegas are auto-tuned but even with that, the singing is really good. What’s really impressive about Status Report are the lyrics as there are some really clever rhymes here while also inserting Star Trek lingo into the lyrics seamlessly.

I’m Ready

The. Best. Song.

I’m Ready isn’t the best performed song as Jess Bush, who plays Nurse Chapel, isn’t a professional singer as far as I know. The song itself is rather simplistic. However, this is also why I’m Ready is the best song in Subspace Rhapsody. The writers took Jess Bush’s vocal range into consideration and composed a song which she can nail. What’s great is they saw she has a more raspy and smoky voice, and went in that direction. This is different from the singing styles of the other songs from the episode, making I’m Ready stand out even more.

This is also an earworm because of how boppy I’m Ready comes off. It’s a really happy tune and the overall presentation of everyone in the mess hall just dancing around really hits the feeling hard. I also love the end where Nurse Chapel realizes she has to leave Spock in the lurch in order to join the Fellowship but she’ll do it because she has to follow her dream. It adds a tinge of melancholy to bring some reality into this upbeat feeling. I’m Ready is just the best.

Byee!

What was your favorite song in Star Trek: Strange New Worlds’ musical episode? Let me know in the comments section below!