Best Lines From Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 4 Episode 5, “Level-Five Transporter Accident”

Yes, this was the Star Trek: Strange New Worlds episode that may as well have been titled “Puppets in Space.” And yes, the puppets were AWESOME.

Beyond that, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 4 Episode 5 was a delightful and exciting episode that forced Spock to make choices amid major changes in his life.

And just because they were puppets doesn’t mean this cast couldn’t deliver some comedic gems and emotionally sparkling lines. In fact, their puppet visages probably conveyed even more than they would’ve IRL.

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds “Level-Five Transporter Accident”

Before the whole puppet transformation, several key plot elements were introduced, while also setting the light-hearted tone of the episode.

Spock reaches out to T’Pring for help finding his way back to Logic.

T’Pring: I must return to Vulcan. Your current route will pass by me. If you provide transit, against my better judgment, I will aid you in further discussion of logic. 

Spock: I would be grateful, T’Pring.

T’Pring: I have a further request. I will only return to your ship if you assure me: No hijinks. Of any kind. 

Spock: I shall… do my best.

T’Pring: Your lack of a promise is… very Vulcan. 

Although she agrees to help, her impression of the Enterprise has not improved over time.

Scotty: Mr. Spock, Lil Ricky is ready to fly!

Spock: I will be there soon, Lieutenant.

T’Pring: I do not know who Little Ricky is, but have you considered perhaps your struggle with logic could stem from serving on a ship of chaos?

Keep in mind that T’Pring is, in essence, Spock’s inner Vulcan voice unfettered by human tact.

On the bridge, the still-physically-human captain extols the joys of his new chair. Una is more preoccupied with potential Orion pirates but is set straight about the priorities.

Una: Captain, I’ve received reports of recent Orion pirate activity on our current route.

Pike: Not a concern, Number One.

Una: Not even a small one? Maybe extra shields? Alert the Alpha crew? What’s going on?

Pike: I finally have my new chair.

Una: Your new chair? Not a concern because you have a new chair?

Pike: Engineering just installed it an hour ago. Watch this. [sits down] Pelia designed it herself. It’s fully biometric and the first of its kind in Starfleet. I can run different parts of this ship with just the touch of my hand and some voice controls, of course. [activates controls] Oh, hear that? That hum says, “I AM Captain Pike, captain of the starship Enterprise.

Una: That hum says all that, huh?

Once everyone except Spock has become a puppet, there is a protocol to follow.

Reporting to Admiral April proves more straightforward than one would expect.

April: A Level-Five transporter accident? I’ve never even heard that before.

Pike: You’ve never heard of a whole crew turned into puppets either, Bob?

April: So who’s controlling you?

Pike: I’m controlling me. We’re all controlling ourselves.

April: So you’re not “puppets” puppets, but you’re all still puppets.

Come to think of it, that should’ve been Spock’s first clue that this was all in his head.

April: I’ll send a ship to help you ASAP, but the closest is two days away, so lay low. Don’t let anyone know that you’re … puppets.

Pike: That is my deepest desire, sir.

Real or dream, A+ to the puppet maker who sculpted Pike’s Peak.

Logic is the Rhythm of Your Katra

Perhaps the most successful comedy shtick is the crew trying to solve problems while being puppets.

Una: The bigger problem is, now that we’re puppets – most of us, anyway – we can’t do anything we usually do on the ship. 

La’an: I can’t operate phasers or control any of the ship’s weapons.

Uhura: My communications console doesn’t recognize my fingers.

Ortegas: Nothing recognizes our fingers!

Una: So… all the jobs on the ship.

In fact, every department is determined to approach the situation from an analytical and LOGICAL perspective.

M’Benga: It’s not just an engineering problem. It’s also a medical problem.

Ortegas: As in… What the hell did we just turn into?

Chapel: And what parts of our genome work or don’t work?

Engineering is tasked with a large part of fixing the problem everyone feels they need to blame on Scotty.

However, Pelia and Scotty are still dependent on Spock to do most things.

Pelia: Engineering to Lt. Spock. We could use your help about now, if we’re not currently getting blown up or you’re in the bathroom.

The first hint that puppet play by different rules occurs in Engineering, but no one catches it then.

Spock: You are no longer stuck underneath the torpedo.

Scotty: Huh. I guess not.

Spock: You were capable of getting out from under there the entire time?

Scotty: Well, I realize that now. I’m still learning how this whole puppet thing works.

Spock’s instinct to help everyone proves counterproductive when he’s torn between different stations.

Always cutting to the chase, Ortegas offers some blunt direction.

Uhura: Spock, how much longer? We need coms back up. I can’t do anything over here.

Ortegas: Fly the ship first. Talk to people second. Enterprise is a ship, not a telephone.

It’s Not Easy Being Green… Unless You’re Orion

Una’s early mention of Orion pirate activity in the area actualizes when the Vo’Nee, captained by Ch’Rol (Lucifer‘s Rachael Harris), approaches, intent on showing their “concern.”

Pike: This is Captain Pike of the USS Enterprise. Why is your ship approaching ours?

Ch’Rol: This is Captain Ch’Rol of the Orion ship, Vo’Nee. We were on an ordinary and completely unthreatening pass through this territory when we came across your ship. Scans revealed only one crew member aboard. We were obviously just… concerned. 

Pike: Whether you realize it or not, we have a full complement aboard, though none of this is any of your business. 

Pike’s ploy of keeping communications audio-only works until it doesn’t, and the visual pops up, allowing Ch’Rol and her Second-in-Command, Ejachi (Brooklyn Nine-Nine‘s Joe Lo Truglio), to see the bridge crew in their puppet glory.

Ch’rol: Captain Pike, are you a puppet?

Pike: No.

Ch’rol: But your mouth moves as you speak, and you look like a puppet.

Pike: So, a Level-Five transporter accident may have altered us slightly, but this is a fully armed Federation ship run by a full crew! 

Ch’rol: All of whom happen to be puppets. 

Pike: Do not mistake my temporary physical form for weakness.

Ch’Rol jumps at the chance to capture the Enterprise and fires quickly.

Spock does what he can as the only person who can control the ship’s systems, but it’s not enough.

Spock: Shields up.

Pike: How much damage?

Ch’rol: A lot. Get ready for more.

Not sure that Orion’s “work” pirating isn’t more fun than they let on.

Just Surrender

When the Orions capture Spock, he steels himself for extreme interrogation techniques. Instead, he gets left in a room with Captain Ch’Rol’s Number One, Ejachi, who is more into talk therapy.

Spock: As a Vulcan, there is nothing you can do to me. Torture and pain. I am immune to those things.

Ejachi: Totally. Torture’s a captain’s job. Y’know, someone who would do it well. Like a woman.

Spock: I have heard that this is a certain quality of Orions. A unique relationship between males and females. 

Ejachi: Are you saying females aren’t in control in your society?

Spock: Control is not determined by gender. 

Ejachi: That is so complicated.

It’s a solid undermining of expectations for both viewers and Spock.

Who would’ve thought an Orion commander would offer calming strategies and empathy?

Ejachi: You are very stressed, my friend. 

Spock: I am being held captive while my ship is invaded. 

Ejachi: No, no, there’s something else. And it’s not a great mystery. You’re the only non-puppet on this ship. The rest of the crew is relying on you.

Spock: Admittedly, it has been difficult.

Ejachi isn’t the only one to acknowledge Spock’s stress.

Albeit, he is less hands-on than T’Pring.

Spock: You slapped me.

T’Pring: You are experiencing an overstimulation of human emotion. You are ill-equipped to handle the multiple demands on your attention in your current state. The slap was to force you to return to the moment. 

Spock: I am listening.

T’Pring: Consider the mathematics of your predicament. Too many people require your aid. 

Spock: As humans are perhaps fond of saying, I was “freaking” out.

T’Pring: I could not care less what humans are fond of. You cannot help everyone. To do so would cause you to fail. 

Spock: Thank you, T’Pring. Even as a puppet, you are helpful to me. And I am grateful.

[T’Pring slaps him again.]

T’Pring: Gratitude is irrelevant.

Considering T’Pring has spent more time this season as a figment of Spock’s imagination than herself, she’s really grown on me.

A Logical Win

Real Vulcan T’Pring symbolizes Spock’s roots and the values instilled in him as a child.

She disapproves of his interest in his humanity and the influence his Starfleet environment has on his Vulcan inclinations.

However, as a puppet, T’Pring is far more susceptible to hijinks and shenanigans, despite her efforts to remain calmly logical.

T’Pring: I am sorry, but I have stood by this lunacy long enough. If we want to survive, we must accept our failings and proceed with caution. I am aware that pandemonium is the status quo on this starship, but just this one time, could you please acknowledge that this entire situation is absurd. 

Ortegas: Scotty turned us into puppets. Absurdity’s kind of baked into the premise. 

[T’Pring screams]

Pelia: Pandemonium wins.

And it makes her so much more relatable.

It’s even helpful! Her outburst provides Pike with proof of puppet powers.

Pike: This is exactly what I’m talking about. T’Pring’s uncharacteristic outburst is a prime example of puppet advantage. Normally, she would never be able to access such emotion. But now, emo explosion.

T’Pring: That is… accurate.

As a construct of Spock’s subconscious, she even undergoes discernible personal growth.

Initially, she is perturbed by the situation.

T’Pring: Happy? Of course, I am not happy about this situation. Though technically, I suppose what has happened is not your fault.

Spock: Thank you.

T’Pring: But, as mentioned, that is a mere technicality. 

Spock: Are you telling me everything is fine? Or not fine?

T’Pring: Everything is not fine.

However, she is, at heart, pragmatic. When she rationalizes that the best chance for survival is to accept her puppet-ness and work with Pike’s plan, she does so.

Una: So what’s the plan?

Pike: Get Spock. Take the bridge.

M’Benga: That plan did not work last time.

Pike: Because we didn’t attack it as puppets. T’Pring is right. The situation is absurd, which is why chaos has to be a part of the plan. So we need to think outside the box and even get inside the box for a surprise attack. And I need your help if you’re willing.

T’Pring: I have doubt. So much doubt. But, fine. I shall lean into chaos.

And in the end, although still a stand-in for Spock’s Vulcan self, she admits that the Enterprise crew have something positive to offer, just as Spock affirms he yearns for more order in his life.

T’Pring: While your crew may occasionally be unorthodox, they are always in pursuit of knowledge, safety, and protecting each other. I find that endearing. 

Spock: I recall a time when you also found my human side endearing.

T’Pring: And you? Do you still wish to journey back to a life of logic?

Spock: Very much so. Little can make one crave order and logic more than being surrounded by… puppets.

Noting that timeline-wise, we are within five years of the events of Star Trek: The Original Series Season 2 Episode 5 “Amok Time,” Spock’s affection for Puppet T’Pring may indicate how his IRL relationship choices may swing.

Oh, That Pelia!

With an overwhelming response, Puppet Pelia has been the fan-favorite fabric-actualized crew member. The character’s long life gives her a uniquely optimistic perspective on any situation.

Pelia: Look on the bright side, Lt. Ortegas!

Ortegas: And what would that be?

Pelia: Oh, I didn’t have one. I thought you might, though.

Even being bifurcated by Captain Ch’Rol doesn’t slow her down.

Scotty: Pelia!

Pelia: Oh, I’m all right. Aren’t I?

Scotty: Just don’t move.

Pelia: I can’t move. They chopped me in half. Or can’t you see that?

Her seeming distractibility and crazy hair mask a brilliant mind that figures out puppet powers before everyone else.

Pelia: Excuse me! Hello! I’d like to point something out. I was chopped in half and sewn back together and I can walk and talk and do pretty much everything I could do before I was a puppet. Something has happened to us, yes, but you know what else has happened? We’re puppets! We somehow survive things we shouldn’t! I am not dead, haha

Embrace the Chaos

Similarly, Puppet Pike is no less capable of delivering a stirring motivational pep talk. After being airlocked, he discovers the magic of being a puppet, including the ace up their sleeve.

Talk about turning bleak despair into shining hope.

Pike: At first, I thought the darkness was Death coming for me. The great nothing and the beyond. But as I drifted through the inky infinity, I realized I was still among the stars. This wasn’t death. This was space, and I was alive. And that’s when it hit me. We’ve been going about this all wrong. I’m no longer a Starfleet captain. I’m a puppet captain! Everything we know about tactical defence, every ounce of our training, it won’t work. We must think and fight like what we are. A puppet crew. Yes, we have disadvantages, but we also have advantages.

Becoming puppets wasn’t about problem-solving; it was about discovering new benefits to not being human.

Pike: Yes, we can be easily picked up and discarded, but we can also hurl ourselves strategically. 

Pelia: We have the element of surprise.

Pike: Exactly! And most importantly, as I just found out, we do not need oxygen to breathe. [Everyone gasps.]

Once they start thinking like puppets, they are an unstoppable force. A tiny vicious force that constantly challenges the laws of physics by their very existence.

The Best Weaponry

Those knitting needles!

M’Benga: Space can’t kill puppets.

Interestingly, it’s T’Pring who must guide Spock through the madness by encouraging him to go with the flow.

T’Pring: Spock, I know this is a lot, but this situation cannot currently be met with logic. Even I know this.

Spock: What do you mean?

T’Pring: These hijinks are not the obstacle. They are the solution.

Let’s hear it for hijinks, Fanatics!

Maybe it was all a dream, but a more satisfying, exhilarating dream has rarely been had. Once again, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds leans in, takes a big swing, and connects squarely with fans who love that Trek is Trek in all its forms.

La’an: There’s a lot I’m going to miss about being a puppet.

Pelia: Me too! Like how we can hear each other in space! How are we talking right now? It doesn’t even make sense.

What was your favorite line of the episode? Did we miss a moment that really spoke to you? Made you LOL? Brought a tear to your eye? Struck you as truly thoughtful?

Drop your thoughts down in the comments and let’s chat!

Let’s keep the conversation going — it’s the only way the good stuff survives.
Say something in the comments, share if you’re moved to, and keep reading. Independent voices need readers like you.

TV Fanatic is searching for passionate contributors to share their voices across various article types. Think you have what it takes to be a TV Fanatic? Click here for more information and next steps.