• Welcome! The TrekBBS is the number one place to chat about Star Trek with like-minded fans.
    If you are not already a member then please register an account and join in the discussion!

Spoilers Star Trek: Strange New Worlds 1x07 - "The Serene Squall"

Hit it!


  • Total voters
    211
I kind of hope they don't retcon Sybok into being some evil violent murdering criminal. That completely misses the point of his character in Star Trek 5. But considering the revelation that he apparently is in a relationship with a violent murdering criminal...
 
It is funny they're doing Sybok because according to the Star Trek Omnipedia in the 1990s, Gene Roddenberry disliked the concept of Sybok and personally considered it apocryphal.
 
So Sarek wasn't married to the princess - must've been a pon farr mishap :D

It is funny they're doing Sybok because according to the Star Trek Omnipedia in the 1990s, Gene Roddenberry disliked the concept of Sybok and personally considered it apocryphal.
Ever since Spock showed up in Disco S2, I was hoping they'd at least mention Sybok. So glad they finally did, and even teased showing him, and even hinted at him becoming part of the story :D
 
I'm kind of mixed on this one, mostly because I'm just not excited about prequel episodes and playing with canon. Obi-Wan has been tremendously pointless, and I know this show isn't going to go all in and do 5 episodes of Sybok, but I'm just wary about all of that playing out.

If I was the writers though, it's a clever way to get us to the point where T'Pring hates Spock and wants to just sever her relationship with him entirely. Spock becomes responsible for freeing Sybok somehow - maybe even because he sympathizes with him, in the same way that he relates to Michael - and that comes off as an ultimate betrayal that T'Pring can't come back from. At least, that's the obvious way to fit this all in together. But honestly, I would have been fine if they ignored Sybok altogether, which is why I'm not as enthusiastic about this episode as I might otherwise be.

My other niggle is having the non-binary character be the traitor, while also being the one to stand in for the obvious discussion about the false dichotomies created by rigid binaries. Like, it's totally obvious and I get why they did it, but if they wanted to play it out, I kind of wish Doctor Aspen was an actual character and not a cover for Angel.
It just reminded me of how DS9 only introduced queer characters through their evil mirror universe counterparts.

But... I also take the point that non-binary people can be treacherous too, which, fair enough. lol

Super minor nitpick - why bother with tactical gear if you don't wear helmets?
 
Last edited:
Ever since Spock showed up in Disco S2, I was hoping they'd at least mention Sybok. So glad they finally did, and even teased showing him, and even hinted at him becoming part of the story :D
My understanding was that when the franchise was still split between two owners, the TV writers couldn't reference anything to do with the films (and vice versa, which explains Kelvin-verse.)

That is obviously not a problem anymore...
 
I gave it an 8 only because of that end :D

Watched it 3 times and still get goosebumps when he's revealed
 
Last edited:
I was amused by Pirate Pike. For some reason, it reminded me of the final scenes from some TOS episodes that people describe as "everyone laughing about the crazy adventure they just went on." (Think Kirk looking at the roster and joking around with McCoy and teasing Spock.) Just the crew having a little bit of fun after a hard-fought victory.
 
Last edited:
I land mixed on that one. I'm going with an 8. Elements worked, some didn't, and it feels like there's "gaps" in it. Like Pike and Co. are just suddenly on the bridge of the ship controlling it. I mean how did starting the mutiny get them out if control of the cell and in control of the ship?

I'm still liking the series and it's still on the better-end of all the NT I've seen so it's an okay episode on par with one of any of the older series but after such a strong start we're in one heck of a 5th inning slump here. But, let's keep going.

But, damn, just go back ti streaking stars for warp instead of flashing/flickering bright lights. No wonder the windows have shades in then, how could younsleep with that going on out there?

Did the head Orion Pirate guy remind anyone id GOTGv2's Taserface?
 
Yeah, the bulk of this episode was okay but not great. I loved the shorthand between Pike and the crew. I really do adore this take on Nurse Chapel. Was it me or did she have tats on her wrists and hands? And International Talk Like a Pirate Day!!! YES! Captain Angel was a little too much about the scene chewing for my tastes and something did seem up with them early on.

Also, SYBOK?!!? I’m really curious to see what they’re going to do with him.

Edit: corrected pronoun usage.
 
Last edited:
I would have liked this episode a lot more if it hadn't been incredibly obvious that Aspen was going turn out to be bad. The pushing Spock to abandon ship and the fact that she didn't recognize the ship they came across as the Serene Squall and warn Pike were what gave it away to me. The cringe-inducing overacting after the big reveal didn't help, with the forced scowls and sing-songy taunts. Blech. I keep seeing mention of how great an actor Kietel is and...I'm just not seeing it.

That said, I still enjoyed it as a whole. A few notes:

- As already mentioned the Enterprise seemed awfully close to still be out of sensor range from the Serene Squall. Maybe it just has really shitty sensors? :lol:

- Did anyone notice the teeny-tiny smile T'Pring let slip after turning away from Stonn? Or was that my imagination?

- I enjoyed more of Ortegas and Pike's banter and another nice fatherly glare in her direction.

- The Pike pirate impression at the end gave me massive TOS vibes. I almost expected the crew to freeze frame mid-laugh before the credits rolled.

- I was pleasantly surprised by the reveal of Sybok and am interested to see where that goes.

- I liked how Pike and Una essentially use the Enterprise's prefix codes a la TWOK to disable shields and weapons.

- It's mentioned early on that the Federation doesn't like to have their ships stray too far outside of Federation space. Say what? Isn't the whole point of Starfleet to explore beyond Federation space? Pretty sure they don't just patrol around established territory. That'd make it pretty hard to find any strange new worlds, new life or new civilizations, would it not?
 
If you are not already a member then please register an account and join in the discussion!

Sign up / Register


Back
Top