{
  "id": 8134007,
  "title": "Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 4, Episode 9 Recap and Review - It's Time for La'An Vs. La'An",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/17/star-trek-strange-new-worlds-season-4-episode-9-recap-and-review-its",
  "topic": "culture",
  "section": "Culture",
  "published": "2026-09-17T23:35:04.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "IGN",
    "slug": "ign",
    "url": "https://www.ign.com/articles/star-trek-strange-new-worlds-season-4-episode-9-recap-review"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Spoilers ahead for Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 4, Episode 9, \"Once La'An a Time.\" The episode, directed by Sydney Freeland and written by Onitra Johnson, serves as a sequel to \"The Elysian Kingdom\" from Season 1. In this installment, La'An (played brilliantly by Christina Chong) battles her darker impulses, while also facing the challenges of portraying two distinct characters – La'An and Sir Amand Rauth – on the Enterprise. The episode features a battle against a dragon and includes a return to the original series with a giant hand. Anson Mount's portrayal of Sir Amand Rauth is tiresome and adds little to the overall story. Paul Wesley returns as Prince Dashing, the werewolf love interest of La'An's Princess Thalia. The romance between La'An and Kirk is continued, but the show's attempt to answer how this makes sense in the larger canon remains unanswered. The fate of Pelia and Carol Kane's characters remains unclear, as well as the status of the other doppelgangers and their respective storylines.",
  "summary": "With Episode 9, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds proves it's creeping to the finish line of Season 4 like a starship that’s just come out of a battle with a Klingon fleet.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}