STAR TREK: KHAN
Episode 1

Paradise

Series: Khan - (2025)
Season: 1
Episode #: 1
Original Airdate: 09/08/2025

Teleplay: Kirsten Beyer and David Mack
Story: Nicholas Meyer
Director: Fred Greenhalgh

Podcast Length: 43:19

Starring
Naveen Andrews as Khan Noonien Singh
Wrenn Schmidt as Lieutenant Marla McGivers
Sonya Cassidy as Dr. Rosalind Lear
Tim Russ as Ensign Tuvok
George Takei as Captain Hikaru Sulu

Also Starring
Tina Ivlev as Erica
Maury Sterling as Ivan
Juliette Goglia as Sylvana
Unknown Performer as Richter
Mercy Malick as Ursula
Zuri Washington as Madot
Olli Haaskivi as Delmonda
Maxwell Whittington-Cooper Paolo and Additional Voices

Co-Starring
Hayden Bishop as Additional Voices
Paul Castro Jr. as Additional Voices
Ethan Dubin as Additional Voices
Cynthia Hood as Additional Voices
Alina Khan as Additional Voices
Jeremy Maxwell as Additional Voices
Hamish Sturgeon as Additional Voices
Juan Francisco Villa as Additional Voices
Maxwell Whittington-Cooper as Additional Voices

Synopsis

In the late 23rd century, Dr. Rosalind Lear appears before a Federation committee, demanding the right to travel to Ceti Alpha V. She insists that history has only told one side of Khan Noonien Singh’s story — Kirk’s side — and that buried in the dust of that doomed planet may lie truths about morality, survival, and power. Though skeptical, Captain Hikaru Sulu reluctantly agrees to ferry her aboard the Excelsior, accompanied by Ensign Tuvok. When they arrive, they discover ruins, scattered remnants of habitation, and, most importantly, fragments of Khan’s own logs.

Through those logs, the story shifts back to Ceti Alpha V, shortly after Khan and his followers were marooned there by the Enterprise. At first, it is not a prison but a dream. Khan envisions a paradise, a society where augments and humans alike may thrive, free of the Federation’s control. His charisma unites his followers — Ivan, Ursula, Madot, and others — and they begin to build homes, farms, and a sense of order. Yet fault lines are already visible. Some augments look down on “half-bloods,” children of mixed heritage. Khan quells the prejudice, reminding them all that under his leadership there are no divisions — only one people.

But not everyone believes. A follower named Hugo openly questions Khan’s vision, calling him a failure. Khan gives him a choice: follow or leave. Hugo remains, but unrest simmers. When Ivan later murders Hugo without Khan’s permission, it shakes the fragile foundations of Khan’s new society.

Meanwhile, Marla McGivers — the Starfleet historian who once betrayed her ship to follow Khan — finds herself increasingly alienated. The other colonists treat her as Khan’s possession, and whispers grow that she may be the only fertile woman among them, the only hope of future generations. Horrified, Marla secretly tries to contact the Enterprise, desperate for rescue. But Khan discovers her attempt, and with both tenderness and steel, he destroys the communicator. She is his, and she will stay.

The dream of Eden begins to darken. Seeds of doubt, fear, and control take root — foreshadowing the fall of paradise.

Back in the framing story, Dr. Lear pores over the logs aboard the Excelsior. The records are incomplete, fragile, but rich with hidden truths. She is given only five days on Ceti Alpha V before the mission must end. In that narrow window, she must piece together the story of how a would-be messiah became the embittered tyrant who would one day haunt Admiral Kirk.

And so, what began as a tale of hope already bears the weight of tragedy — the beginning of Khan’s slow descent into legend.

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