Star Trek: Strange New Worlds actress Christina Chong has teased that Episode 9 of Season 4, titled "Once La'an a Time," will present her character, Enterprise security chief La'an Noonien-Singh, with a major on-screen challenge that ticked something off her personal acting "bucket list." Speaking at a FanX Tampa Bay Comic Con panel moderated by Collider, Chong described the moment as demanding "physically, mentally, emotionally, everything-ly," without revealing specifics, adding intrigue for fans following La'an's turbulent season, which has already included lingering effects from a temporary Vulcan transformation and the end of her romance with Spock.

The episode airs on Paramount+ on 17 September, with the first eight episodes of Season 4 already streaming. At the same panel, co-star Ethan Peck reflected on his own toughest filming challenge this season: Episode 5, "Level-Five Transporter Accident," in which the rest of the crew was turned into puppets by the Jim Henson Company, leaving Spock as the only human actor performing opposite puppeteers rather than his usual co-stars. Peck praised the puppeteers for skilfully capturing the mannerisms of the actors they represented, calling the experience "totally insane" and "very surreal."