Logline
A distress call from Lt. Noonien-Singh compels Spock to disobey orders and take the USS Enterprise and its crew into disputed space, risking renewed hostilities with the Klingons in a bid to aid their shipmate.
Written by Henry Alonso Myers & Akiva Goldsman
Directed by Chris Fisher
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Right now, the plan is to post the /c/startrek discussion when the episode drops on Thursdays. Once the global community has had some time to watch and digest what they’ve seen, the /c/daystrominstitute discussion will go live on Sundays for a more in-depth analysis. This is subject to change as we evaluate what works best for the community as a whole.
That was a purdy opening sequence with the shuttle/drones zooming past the starbase. Good open.
I’m loving the scale they’re using with the ships/bases. Some ships look tiny, and other times you get a sense of how massive some of these structures are. It’s an artistic choice that’s well executed.
I can’t quite tell you why but I like April so far too. Just seems well acted I guess. Not a lot to go on yet ofc.
I’m liking the recurring villain of “the Gorn” popping up; weaving between the episodic stories. I hope, and suspect, that they’re going to continue that trend well. I don’t want them to lean one way or the other too far. So far I like the balance. I like the mystique and menace they’ve orchestrated too.
“…and we’re going to find a way to win, because it’s what’s right.” Anson Mount sells ‘boyscout’ so well. Man deserves his own show or something…
Pike, “did you manage to even talk to her?”
#1, “she won’t respond.”
Pike, “she won’t take my calls either.”
I get the feeling the lawyer Pike is going to get isn’t “refusing to return their calls” so much as is probably “in trouble waiting to be rescued.” My guess is next ep Pike rescues her. Maybe that ep or the ep after she’ll help Una?
I loved the Vulcan lute accompanying Spock’s frustrations throughout the episode.
door chime
Spock misses a note
Pelia’s entertaining, nice addition. Adds a fun PoV and the actress is giving the role a lot. (RiP Hemmer.)
“You do know I teach a course on warp core breaches at the Academy, yes?”
You know who she reminds me of? Grand Nagus Zekky. (Not Zek, Zekky, specifically when he’s all lovey-dovey around Moogie.)
Ortegas had a couple good moments. Her questioning Pelia, and I loved the look on her face after she evades a bunch of incoming fire. I’m sure I’ve had that exact look when I get away with crap I shouldn’t in a game. Particularly PvP games.
Her confidence when hiding from the Klingons too. ("Over"confidence?)
Welp, this isn’t the worst look Klingons have had.
That blood wine actually looks like blood. I am impressed, whoever is responsible for that did a great job.
La’an channeling some Princess-Leia-conning-Jabba energy with that Antimatter Detonation Switch ruse on the Klingon buyer.
Chapel/M’Benga, that was quite the ride.
Will say I’m curious what/if any side-effects or drawbacks are with that serum. I’m wondering if maybe there’s an ingredient that’s impossible to synthesize and difficult to procure. (Ie. from an endangered animal/plant.) Ergo why it’s not equipped by everyone in Starfleet security.
M’Benga has some interesting demons in his past.
Finally, noticed something overarching this episode.
There’s some measure of failure in almost all the major plot-lines.
Pike/Una can’t contact this Lawyer they apparently need.
Spock can’t con Pelia, particularly due to his inability to lie.
Chapel/M’Benga wander off to go do something noble but to the viewer, obviously ill-conceived. The girl shouts their names, and shortly after they’re, unsurprisingly, dragged off at gunpoint.
They could’ve wrapped up the whole episode with the Klingon ship never finding out. They didn’t end it that way. The false-flag ship makes it out, the Klingons see.
Bit of a stretch so it’s last and not a hill I’m dying on, but the admiralty seem to have had a failure to predict or even understand the Gorn. Not really a failure in the way the others were, but still a failure of-sorts.
Overall I loved it, couple missteps and a joke or two that didn’t land, but no dealbreakers and just lots of great entertainment.
Looking forward to more.
@Dalakaar @ValueSubtracted I’m definitely wondering what the angle is with the Klingons and their look. We even got Discovery footage in the recap
It’ll be particularly interesting to see what they do if we meet any Klingons who were also in TOS.
Will they show them as Augment Klingons, as they did in TOS? Or will they ignore it completely?
@dan I’m holding out hope that they’ll do a recast of Kor, Kang, and/or Koloth and show them with flat foreheads, and then have L’Rell show up with the s2 Discovery look.
I would love that so much. I really want to see a scene with various kinds of Klingons.
Kor is related to Kol, from Disco S1. Not sure how closely related, but they’re both of the house of Kor. With Kol being the head of the house when he died, and Kor being the last member of the house in DS9, maybe there’s some opportunity there to connect the stories.
Maybe Kor wants vengeance for his cousin’s death, and since the Discovery is now gone, he just goes after the Federation’s flagship.
My headcanon is that Rynar, Kor’s father, is a brother of Kol-sha, the father of Kol.
We are years away from “The Incident” that caused most of the Klingon population to lose their forehead ridges. Of course Klingons don’t discuss the issue with outsiders.
But Strange New Worlds takes place 100 years after it. It’s less than a decade before TOS.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xka6IYCpj4E