59 Years Later, Star Trek Finally Reveals The Deadly Weapon Klingons Used On Nimoy’s Spock

Warning: SPOILERS for Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 4, Episode 4 - "A Case Of Chiaroscuro"After 59 years, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds finally reveals the Klingons' deadliest weapon from Star Trek: The Original Series' 23rd century era. Directed by Meera Menon and written by Skylar Ojeda and Dana Horgan, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 4, epsiode 4 is a film noir ode to Casablanca, stranding the crew of the Starship Enterprise on a world occupied by the Klingons.

In Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 4, episode 4, "A Case of Chiaroscuro," Commander Una Chin-Riley (Rebecca Romijn), Dr. Joseph M'Benga (Babs Olusanmokun), and Ensign Nyota Uhura (Celia Rose Gooding) must go undercover during the Klingon occupation of Mat'aar XII. Una poses as her doppelgänger, Nevette, a Klingon collaborator who secretly leads Mat'aar's resistance.

However, Uhura is apprehended by the Klingons and questioned by Ma'taar's occupying governor, Commander Kor (Demore Barnes). Strange New Worlds retcons Kor, who is the same Klingon warrior played by John Colicos in Star Trek: The Original Series season 1's "Errand of Mercy," which was the first appearance of the Klingons in Star Trek.

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Finally Reveals The Klingons’ Mind Scanner

In a surprise, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 4, episode 4 finally showed the Klingons' mind scanner. Commander Kor (John Colicos) spoke with pride and reverence about the Klingons' sinister weapon in Star Trek: The Original Series' "Errand of Mercy." Here's how Kor described the mind scanner in 1967:

"It's a mind-sifter or mind-ripper, depending on how much force is used. We can record every thought, every bit of knowledge in a man's mind. Of course, when that much force is used, the mind is emptied. Permanently, I'm afraid. What's left is more vegetable than human."

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds reveals that the mind scanner is a desktop-sized device, although "Errand of Mercy" described a specialized "examination room," with lights refracting and sounds emitting as the victim's mind is probed. Amusingly, the edge of the mind scanner pointed at its target has ridges that resemble Geordi La Forge's (LeVar Burton) VISOR in Star Trek: The Next Generation.

Despite Commander Kor's hype about the mind scanner, it was never seen in "Errand of Mercy," and it was not mentioned again after Star Trek: The Original Series. The Klingons were redesigned in Star Trek: The Motion Picture, which continued in Star Trek: The Next Generation. Now a warrior culture with their own code of honor, the Klingons hewed less towards weapons like the mind scanner.

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 4 takes place about 5 years before "Errand of Mercy," so it's now established that the mind scanner was in use throughout that period, specifically by Commander Kor, its biggest fan. However, "A Case of Chiaroscuro" also plants the seed for why the Klingons abandoned the mind scanner.

Strange New Worlds Retconned Uhura Meeting Commander Kor Before Kirk & Spock

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 4, episode 4 establishes that Ensign Uhura survived the Klingon mind scanner about five years before Mr. Spock (Leonard Nimoy) did the same in Star Trek: The Original Series. Uhura also faced Commander Kor and gained the Klingon leader's respect for enduring the mind scanner.

"Errand of Mercy" established that Spock survived the Klingon mind scanner because of his Vulcan "mental disciplines." Kor implies that the Klingons sicced the mind scanner's higher settings on Spock, to no avail. However, it's much more surprising that Uhura beat the mind scanner.

As seen in "A Case of Chiaroscuro," Uhura's interrogation required her to identify objects, which she consistently claimed were a "tree." Uhura leaned into Dr. M'Benga's advice to create a false identity for herself that is based on truth. Thus, Uhura told the truth that she wasn't part of the resistance and gave honest details about her past, and it was enough to satisfy Kor and the mind scanner.

Yet it doesn't seem like Kor used the mind scanner's highest settings on Uhura and decided the girl didn't have the information he was looking for. However, given that Uhura beat the mind scanner in Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, followed by Spock doing the same in Star Trek: The Original Series, perhaps this led the Klingons to ditch the mind scanner as a failure.

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 4's new episodes premiere Thursdays on Paramount+