This article contains spoilers for Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 4, Episode 10.
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds wrapped up its fourth and penultimate season in style with "Tomorrow's Enterprise," an episode that — whether by deliberate design or happy accident — serves as a perfect way to celebrate the franchise's 60th anniversary. Not only does it see Pike's Enterprise collide with Kirk's Enterprise, creating a bridge to The Original Series' canon, but it also reveals a surprise link to a memorable character fans haven't seen since 1966.
In "Tomorrow's Enterprise," the ship encounters a rare white hole, which causes a temporal anomaly that switches Nyota Uhura with her counterpart from a year into the future. While Uhura is in the future, the episode teases fascinating hints at what becomes of the Strange New Worlds cast in the TOS era, potentially hinting at storylines to be explored in 2027's fifth and final season. What fans may overlook, however, is a brief exchange that confirms a recurring character on the show has been related to a character from the TOS pilot all along.
When Uhura is sent one year into the future in "Tomorrow's Enterprise," it does not take long for Captain James Kirk to realize she is not "his Uhura." He knows because the younger Uhura is a terrible liar, and Kirk explains that he taught Uhura how to bluff perfectly when they were trapped on Starbase Six for five days and did nothing but play poker with Erica Ortegas and "Gary." When Uhura frowns at that name, Kirk explains, "Mitchell, Jenna's step-brother."
"Tomorrow's Enterprise" namedropping Gary Mitchell is perfect timing, as this episode comes 60 years to the month since Star Trek started airing. Although it wasn't actually the first TOS pilot to be broadcast, the episode "Where No Man Has Gone Before" was produced first, it is where Gary Mitchell makes his only appearance in the franchise to date. Mitchell, Kirk's old friend, is the helmsman of the Enterprise who gained godlike abilities and tragically went "mad" with the power.
Guest star Gary Lockwood plays Gary Mitchell in "Where No Man Has Gone Before," while Rong Fu plays Jenna Mitchell throughout Strange New Worlds' first three seasons.
Jenna Mitchell, meanwhile, has been a recurring presence in Strange New Worlds since the beginning. As a member of the Enterprise crew named Mitchell, fans had long suspected a connection between her and Gary, and this Season 4 finale has finally made that official. Clearly, Jenna is transferred off the ship at some point, and when Kirk takes command, he commissions his old buddy, who happens to be her brother, to fill her spot on the crew. Small galaxy, huh?
The reference to Gary Mitchell is far from the only canon callback in "Tomorrow's Enterprise," as the Strange New Worlds production team clearly went out of their way to include as many Easter eggs and nods to the past (or future) as possible. This was likely done because the episode was originally positioned as a series, not season, finale, before Paramount renewed Strange New Worlds for a six-part fifth season. The fact that it ended up airing in the same month as Star Trek's 60th anniversary is likely just a neat coincidence.
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