Captain Christopher Pike's Number One, Una Chin-Riley, deserves a much bigger role in Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 2. The enigmatic character, played by Rebecca Romijn, took center stage in the cliffhanger ending of Strange New Worlds' season 1 finale. Arrested for misleading Starfleet about her Illyrian heritage and genetic augmentation, Una will presumably be a big part of Strange New Worlds' season 2 when the show returns in 2023. This will be a long time coming as the character was sometimes at risk of fading into the background during season 1.
The disappearance of Una, a.k.a. Number One, was what convinced Christopher Pike to return to active duty in the first episode of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 1. It set the tone for the episodes to come as Una was often defined by her absence as much as she was by her presence. Strange New Worlds saw Number One replaced twice as First Officer by La'an Noonien-Singh (Christina Chong) in season 1, and she will likely be replaced again by La'an or someone else for at least part of season 2. Aside from the reveal of her Illyrian heritage, her unfortunate nickname, and her providing counsel to Pike on the foreknowledge of his tragic fate, there hasn't been a great deal of focus on Una, which feels like an oversight that will hopefully be corrected in season 2.
SNW Season 1 Kept Replacing Number One As First Officer
Narratively, it made a lot of sense, for Una, a.k.a. Number One, to be replaced as First Officer in the Star Trek: Strange New Worlds premiere. A rescue mission to save the life of one of his closest and most trusted officers was likely the only thing that would have brought Pike back from his self-imposed exile. Star Trek: Discovery saw Pike search for Spock, so Una was the next logical choice to go missing in action for Strange New Worlds' season 1 premiere. However, only three episodes later, La'an replaced Una again when the latter was injured during an encounter with the Gorn.
Why Number One Is So Important To Pike's Enterprise
Number One is Pike's most trusted officer, his right-hand woman, who is expected to deputize for the captain in various situations. The day-to-day duties of a Number One have certainly been explored in Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, but Una rarely got a chance to lead away missions or be put into the Enterprise's center seat in the thick of the action. However, Strange New Worlds is really missing an opportunity to give audiences more insight into Una's character. Although Una/Number One was featured in the unaired pilot of the original series (played by Majel Barrett at the time), she's practically a brand new Star Trek character in Strange New Worlds who has a hugely important role aboard the Enterprise.
Because of how substantially Gene Roddenberry changed the approach of Star Trek between the unaired pilot (titled "The Cage") and the true first episode of the first season ("The Man Trap"), Number One and Pike were almost erased from Star Trek history. Strange New Worlds has allowed for the opportunity to explore the lives of these characters, but it could go a lot further in the case of Una/Number One. The Strange New Worlds season 1 finale cliffhanger is the perfect setup for season 2 to do just that.
Una's heritage has already led to some tension between her and La'an, due to the latter's family relation to Star Trek villain Khan Noonien-Singh. At this stage in the Star Trek canon, Khan is someone from the history books, rather than the nemesis he will become for Kirk and Spock, but his historic actions will have some bearing on how Una is treated by the rest of Starfleet. Hopefully, this will provide a compelling story about prejudice and distrust for Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 2. It's a story that could also make a valuable impact on Spock ahead of his first encounter with Khan.