Draft:Children of the Comet

"Children of the Comet" is the second episode of the American science fiction television series Star Trek: Strange New Worlds. It was written by Henry Alonso Meyers and Sarah Tarkoff, and it was directed by Maja Vrvilo. The episode was released on the streaming service Paramount+ on the May 12, 2022.

Plot
Cadet Nyota Uhura is invited to a meal with other crewmembers in Pike's quarters, where she reveals that she is unsure about her future in Starfleet because she only joined as a way to escape from the pain of her parents' deaths. The Enterprise crew attempt to alter the course of a comet that is set to kill all of the inhabitants of a desolate planet, however they are stopped when the comet creates a force field that prevents this. Uhura joins an away team that transports to the comet's surface and discovers that the comet responds to music. A starship of "shepherds", who are escorting the comet, position themselves between it and the Enterprise; they believe it is a being named M'hanit, who is an ancient arbiter of life.

The Enterprise distracts them to allow Spock to alter the comet's course and, as it passes by the planet, it releases water vapor into the atmosphere, allowing for greater plant growth and with it, the potential for societal development. Uhura decodes music from the comet which indicates that it had expected this interference and Pike ponders the origins of the comet and whether this was more than coincidence. He also considers the lives of the cadets that he is destined to save by sacrificing himself.

Reception
The episode received a rating of 8/10 stars on IMDb based on 5000 user votes.

The episode was also praised for its use of its ensemble cast, and for its treatment of Pike in the episode. The episode was also noted for its treatment of Uhura.

Screen Rant noted that this episode made the Strange New Worlds season two episode, "Subspace Rhapsody", the first full-on musical episode in the series, "inevitable".

The episode was praised for being a much simpler Star Trek plot about communication with aliens, as opposed to the more political preceding episode.