As a prequel series approaching its predetermined endpoint, Season 4 faces familiar struggles. But as a return to the franchise's fun, curious, episodic storytelling, it's also making the most of the time it has left.

Season four, episode one, sends the crew of the 'Enterprise' to an unexpected place.

After three seasons on Paramount+, the throwback Strange New Worlds has carved out a distinctive identity within the astonishingly venerable TV franchise — which turns six decades old in September — d...