Star Trek Strange New Worlds Season 2 Episode 2 - Ad Astra Per Aspera

The cliffhanger of season 1 is not addressed until this episode.For some reason this episode did not excite me as much as other episodes. I am glad that Una Chin-Riley is still on the show.

Summary and recap

We learn a lot about Una Chin-Riley in this show as she reveals a troubling amount of discrimination in her life that she has risen above. The amount presented is massive and she almost loses her life in childhood due to the fear of asking for help from a physician lest she be discovered and outed. The town she grows up in becomes segregated and her family chooses to move to the non-ghetto-ized section of town, hiding their true identities. This causes a rift between her and a friend that she and her family left behind. She has a slew of her crew and friends stand up for her on the witness stand. There is some minor drama in the show with trying to figure out who outed her which is later revealed to be her herself as she has become tired of hiding. As part of the drama, there is a threat of Captain Pike later having to face charges for protecting her. The show does proceed as expected and she is cleared of any charges. Additionally she and her friend Neera make up. 

Major Characters in this episode

tinsUna Chin-Riley, First officer - Under trial for being an Illyrian.
Captain Chris Pike - Continues to show he is willing to do anything for his Crew, including almost dying from lack of oxygen while trying to convince Counselor Ketoul to represent Una.
Captain Maria Betel - Stuck between a rock and a hard place in this week's episode, she receives pressure from Captain Pike, her love interest, and from her boss as she is the prosecutor in this episode.
Spock - Magnificent in his understatement this episode as he says he believes she was hiding "An affinity for Gilbert and Sullivan musicals"
Vice Admiral Pasalk - Seems overly hateful towards Una, will this matter later in the season?
Counselor Neera Ketoul - Civil rights lawyer, an Illyrian. It is clear that she does not like the Federation and she does some surprise moves such as verbally attack Admiral April and placing Una on the stand.
La'an Noonien-Singh - aggressive in trying to help her friend, was willing to break Starfleet rules to delve into private personnel logs.
Admiral Robert April - recommended Una to Starfleet early on, was placed on trial 

Analysis

I think the reason why this was the second episode of the season and not the first as it was a weaker episode. However, the cliffhanger is solved and the show can move forward without anything hanging over it. Whether to allow genetically modified people into Starfleet is still negative. This may resurface later, but that is unclear.

Links to other episodes

Season 2 Episode 1 - The Broken Circle
Season 2 Episode 2 - Ad Astra Per Astera
Season 2 Episode 3 - Tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow
Season 2 Episode 4 - Among the Lotus Eaters
Season 2 Episode 5 - Charades
Season 2 Episode 6 - Lost in Translation
Season 2 Episode 7 - Those Old Scientists
Season 2 Episode 8 - Under the Cloak of War