Star Trek: Strange New Worlds appears on many top TV lists of 2023 and, considering all the risks the series took that paid off in Season 2, I'm not surprised. Of course, some decisions may live on in infamy with sections of the fandom, as the first musical episode caused a bit of debate, specifically due to the Klingons bursting into a brief K-Pop song and dance number. Now, on the heels of an alternate scene surfacing, Anson Mount is going to bat for the silliness and justifying why it was the only option for "Subspace Rhapsody."
Anson Mount and other members of the Star Trek: Strange New Worlds cast participated in a Q&A in support of the SAG-AFTRA foundation and talked quite a bit about Season 2. CinemaBlend previously learned from director Dermott Downs that there were mixed opinions about the Klingon scene. And in this latest chat, Mount added some additional context regarding just how much convincing it took to sell others on the idea of Klingons singing K-Pop:
Speaking of the Klingon boy band, so when you do a show, you're getting a lot opinions coming in at you from every direction. And this network, I have to say, has been really, really amazing about leaving us mostly alone to try these crazy things. But the Klingon boy band was one thing where they went, 'Whoa, hold on. Hold on. Could it be something a little bit more serious? That is more Klingon-like, like opera.' We were like, 'Klingons have opera.' The plot point is that they're embarrassed. So why would they be embarrassed of doing opera? We actually had to shoot two different versions of that scene to show them that one worked and the other one just kind of didn't. And so when they saw it, they let us get away with the boy band thing.
Since Season 2's run concluded, the alternate cut Anson Mount described above has been released via the physical media release. As someone who still isn't the biggest fan of the K-Pop Klingon moment, I will concede that the opera scene doesn't quite convey the embarrassment of the Klingons in the same way. As such, I can learn to live with the original scene in "Subspace Rhapsody," especially seeing as myself and other Paramount+ subscription holders can't change how we view it when rewatching the installment.
With Strange New Worlds Season 3 currently in production alongside other upcoming Trek shows, fans may be less concerned about Klingon dance numbers and more eager to know when we'll get the follow-up to the massive Season 2 cliffhanger. Unfortunately, now that the filming schedule for SNW Season 3 has been revealed through reports, it's looking like that next chapter may not arrive until late 2024 or sometime in 2025 at the earliest.
If there's any upside, it would be that a number of fans were apparently fine with the Klingon moment, and I'd say the negative responses likely won't deter the show's creative team from continuing to push the envelope in the upcoming season. I may not agree with every decision made, but I certainly prefer that a show take risks as opposed to playing it safe and becoming stale.
Watch Seasons 1 and 2 of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds on Paramount+ right now. Now might be as good as a time as any to rewatch "Subspace Rhapsody," as it feels like one of the more festive episodes of the series that could loosely be associated with the holiday season. (I would certainly recommend it over something darker like "Under The Cloak Of War" for sure!)
