Strange New Worlds Just Secretly Referenced Sulu's Most Famous TOS Moment

screenrant.com:

Did you catch Strange New Worlds' homage to a famous Sulu moment from Star Trek: The Original Series? If Starfleet had a dollar for every time an alien force infiltrated their ships and sent the crew crazy, they'd probably have enough cash to afford a better filtration system. Alongside transporter malfunctions and inevitable red shirt (or, indeed, Crimson Guard) deaths, Star Trek crews losing their inhibitions is something of a tradition, and Captain Pike finally gets his turn in Strange New Worldsepisode 8 («The Elysian Kingdom») when a godlike nebula-dwelling entity appears.

This lonely consciousness develops a kinship with Dr. M'Benga's sick daughter, Rukiya, and transforms the Enterprise's interior into her favorite fairy tale. M'Benga himself is the noble king, Spock's the treacherous wizard, Uhura plays the ice queen, and Pike gets to audition for Littlefinger. The Enterprise's helm officer — Lt. Ortegas, portrayed by Melissa Navia — becomes M'Benga's loyal knight, Sir Adya. Barely leaving her king's side, Ortegas proves a natural for the brave warrior gig. During a feisty confrontation against Queen Neve's Crimson Guard, Ortegas seizes a sword from her opponent and engages in a sword fight straight through the middle of an Enterprise corridor.

Related: Strange New Worlds' Engineer Fixes A Star Trek: Discovery Problem

Lt. Ortegas swapping the Enterprise's helm for a shiny blade in Strange New Worlds perfectly pays tribute to the ship's best-known helmsman, Hikaru Sulu. Star Trek's 1966 classic «The Naked Time» begins with an alien pathogen seeping aboard the Enterprise and infecting its crew, lowering characters' inhibitions and prompting all manner of strange behavior. The episode's most iconic moment sees George