Star Trek: Strange New Worlds s2 ep5

our first truly comedic episode of season 2 and i think they knocked it out of the park. the idea of a character of mixed heritage experiencing a splitting of their two sides isn't a new one (look at B'elanna) but doing it with Spock is absolutely something that TOS might've done and i'm shocked it isn't already an episode from the time.

the involvement of T'pring and her family (!!!) is definitely the right choice for this kind of plot. the montages of Spock experiencing human puberty and having to readjust as best he can to his old standards were hilarious. T'pring's mother and father were great, both from a dramatic and a comedic standpoint. i especially love the opportunity we have to let Spock express his anger and frustration at being treated as horribly as he is by his own planet. it was extremely cathartic.

Chapel was also amazing in this episode as i have come to expect from Bush. she plays vulnerability so well and her unwillingness to face her emotions for Spock isn't frustrating, it's just engaging. her arc with the fellowship was also a nice addition. T'pring's frustration with how Spock continues to treat her is also extremely justified and it explains how we get to the point of them being so distant by the point of Kirk's command.

then that leads to the second ever legitimate cliffhanger in the series so far and the implications of Spock and Chapel actually being intimate with each other. i feel confident in the writers to pull us back to the cold distance they eventually have in TOS, but every step along the way just makes the original context even richer.

Peck's Spock deserves the most praise in being able to embody the same entity on two wildly different spectrums of acting. it makes me wonder how Nimoy might've done this episode, though i have no doubt he could've pulled it off just as well. it is also a great episode for recognizing Amanda as Spock's mother and human side, as well as her own person being a human on Vulcan and ostracized by vulcans.

overall, a great comedy episode and very fun for me to watch. surprisingly heartfelt in the right moments. an entry worthy of the green tunic.

Star Trek: Strange New World s2 ep4

yeah this is continuing the hot streak so far. it was a great time, and a much needed breather from the cerebral and high-concept stuff from last week.

revisiting Rigel VII wasn't something I ever expected snw to do but here I am feeling very grateful that they did. it wasn't a novel concept to have a landing party lose their memory on a mission and have to sort through it, but there's something about this episode's take that just feels fresh. and the idea of Pike's mistake coming back and just biting him in the ass with this Zac guy feels very nuTrek, but in the best way.

one thing I can say for sure is that the actors and their performances carry this episode as high as it is. without this cast of incredibly talented people giving their all for the silly space show, I don't think this one would be nearly as enjoyable. Mount, Chong, and Olusanmokun are all great to watch with amnesia. Peck, Gooding, and Romijn are all great, and the standout for sure is Melissa Navia and her chance to really work Ortegas in a new way. she was spectacular, hilarious, and i'm desperate to see her get her landing party.

if this was the Ortegas episode, it was disappointing, but i don't think it was. the clip of the shuttle above the forest in the trailers seems much more likely to be it and if we're due for even more Ortegas, i'm definitely taking everything i can get.

and Pike's little thing with Batel just doesn't ring as fulfilling as the other romantic pairings. i think that's intentional, and there may be a point in this being a failed relationship despite trying to make it work. either way, Pike can absolutely stand on his own without a romance and i'd prefer if he remained the father in the station wagon.

overall, very low-risk fun with lots of humor and a bonus Pike losing his shit scene. thumbs up.

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds s2 ep3

oh my god.

yeah this one was completely out of left field for me. i never expected that Wesley's Kirk would be good, nor any attempt at a Kirk romance to be any good, OR for nuTrek to do a good time travel story, OR that they could handle the Noonien-Singh legacy. somehow, by a fucking miracle, they jumped every single hurdle i had in my mind about this entire concept.

La'an was utterly brilliant. zero complaints. played to perfected by Christina Chong and the final moments in the episode were heartbreaking. no notes.

Kirk managed what Peck's Spock had done before him. it is a kirk of a different time, before his five-year mission, and in a different time from the character's debut, so it was always going to be different. but the heart of the man was there, the man who loves food, the man who seems to hold such a tragic veil just beneath the bravado, the man who while professional and competent, can be more than the rules and regulations he follows. it is a different Kirk, one not yet settled into confidence and command like shatner's, but he IS Kirk. Paul Wesley convinced me this time.

the time travel was handled well. it dived in without needing to linger on introducing this trope more than necessary, and the actual plot was as good as it needed to be. i did like Pelia being the Guinan to this Enterprise crew just like i predicted she would be. the romulan agent was also fine, but she was definitely more in service to the REAL purpose of the episode.

khan. oh, the tyrant we loved since Wrath and haven't gotten the bad feeling out of our mouths about since Into Darkness. it's rather unfortunate. if he weren't nearly so important to Earth's history in the Eugenics Wars, he would be an incredibly unwarranted legacy character. none of that applies here. this story was about La'an and her utterly abhorrent legacy, and how to come to terms with it. it was a story fit for Trek in the best way, and it was one only capable of being done by this team and this production. they proved the worth of making La'an a Noonien-Singh.

the matter of canon was absolutely how it should have been handled ever since Voyage Home and First Contact. time travel has been mucking up the details for a long time and i am and have been fine with this. they acknowledged the discrepancy and justified it all in a single line of dialogue. it frees all the other series up for following the newer canon with this new justification too.

all around excellent episode. just as the last was one for the history books of courtroom episodes, this one is fit to sit next to "City on the Edge of Forever" and "Past Tense".

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds s2 ep2:

even better than the first, and one of the cornerstone episodes of the whole franchise in my mind. i knew this was going to be a big one given the buildup of the Illyrians and the augment ban over the last season, and of course Khan and Bashir, but it lived up to its potential in script and performance.

the plot is very straightforward, with many less facets to the episode compared to the bombastic premiere. Una's trial is the crux of it and every participant pulled their weight. Neera is the true heart of the themes and every motion regarding real world prejudice is well-earned and so, so heartfelt from a franchise touted as one of the most progressive of all its eras. the fact that Neera is a black woman and how it bolsters the message is not lost on me.

the actual court set dressing of the episode is just as every bit as entertaining as 'Measure of a Man' and 'Drumhead' and more. the fact that the win is a technicality and a loophole to pay respect to law AND morality is the kind of needle-threading i've come to expect from Trek. it also had a perfectly suitable and followable logic to the proceedings that didn't stretch my suspension of disbelief, though i admit my suspension can stretch like taffy compared to some.

Batel is not the enemy that Maddox or Satie. not even our Vulcan badmiral is, though his purpose to the episode is ingenious in that it spreads the Federation prejudice of genetic modification beyond being Earth-centric. the enemy is societal normalcy and complacency, which speaks so much to the modern struggle against systemic cruelty. the win for Una not dismantling the Federation's problems, while a victory for continuity, is also a realistic outcome that makes me feel, somehow, better for the outcome.

Pike's utter concern is so appropriately Pike, and taking advantage of his predestination on the Illyrian colony is subtly hilarious. La'an is about as important to the story as I imagined, mainly as an emotional component to the experience, and I do hope her eventual plotline with Kirk adds even more to her overall. Spock is just as entwined to Una as his history says he would be, just further endearing Peck's version to me even more.

overall an episode for the history books. the looming shadow of the courtroom episodes and civil rights episodes and their legacy was felt by the snw team and they rose to the challenge in a way that not only lives up to Trek but in a way that is unique to them. overwhelmingly positive regards from me.

star trek: strange new worlds s2 ep1

so i had a blast. yes, there were problems, but they were overwhelmingly overshadowed by the positives experience. this was the does of 23rd century trek i needed after the year wait, and i gotta cherish it while it lasts because there will be a WAY LONGER WAIT for s3 with the writers strike.

my favorite part of the episode were absolutely the klingons. the 90s look is back and better than ever with influences from discovery and a shocking amount of variety compared to actual 90s klingons considering how prominent they used to be. the makeup and costuming were even better than the trailer led me to believe we'd get.

the plot was basically what you might expect for a 90s season premiere: very broad implications for the galactic stage with not nearly enough elaboration. so it's exactly the same mental experience as a TNG klingon politics episode but not a two-parter. the real draw is in the crew and how they interact with the given plot.

the best part of the episode was spock. he's as emotional as he should be for a vulcan that is younger and inexperienced and who has removed some of the inhibitions and is recovering from that. the spock and chapel story gives that much more weight to their later years under kirk's command. and his following of the logic to order the destruction of the false flag and his immediate regret and grief over the apparent ordering of chapel and m'benga's deaths is the peak highlight of the episode. hats off to peck.

smaller positives are Pelia, and Carol Kane is as hilarious as her fans have declared. the Lanthanite idea seems to be their attempt at a Guinan, right down to the timing of her appearance in the series, but Pelia is instilled with so much personality that i just want to see more of this kooky immortal.

also loved that "crossfield" ship. it's CLEARLY a mid-23rd century luna-class made from mishmash parts, but i digress. its good to see more tos ship configurations and not constitution-class ships at different scales. more farraguts, less sombras.

m'benga finally has a dramatic character plot outside of his daughter, and a doctor suffering from having taken part in an interstellar war is a perfectly logical place to take him. same with chapel but to a lesser extent. i do think this will be retreaded territory by the time bashir comes back but it's all the better as a tos era story.

ortegas is fun as always, can't wait for her episode to finally come. uhura is growing into her role as comms officer. la'an drinks with the best of them and seems a little less guarded than before. i hate to see how she eventually departs from the enterprise by the time kirk takes command.

now pike and una have to hear about what the kids did with the station wagon when they were left unsupervised for literally 3 days lmaooo

rewatching snw season 1 in honor of season 2. gonna do episode reviews and ramblings for the next 10 weeks as they come out

fuck the fandom i loved every season of st: picard and i have thoroughly enjoyed the writing they gave the series. it's not my fault that this fandom has called literally every iteration of trek past tos inferior bc you can't get over yourselves about what trek should be. picard is a good if flawed legacy show that honors what it displays and i will love it out of spite.