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

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eschaton said:
Holy hell that was cheesy. Not a bad episode, but campy in a very TOS sort of way, and hard to take completely seriously.

I should start with the positives. Unlike last episode, the focus on character returned here. The strongest elements of the episode by far are continuing to explore the relationship between Spock and T'Pring, along with Chapel as part of the "love triangle" so to speak. It feels a bit repetitive, since we had much the same focus only two episodes before, but it's well written, so I can forgive it. I'm also going to give big marks to the series for returning to Orions in grease paint, rather than using the "mask" makeup like Discovery.

As to what I didn't like, it honestly mostly came down to Jesse James Keitel. The actress (is that the right term to use...Jesse uses they/them, but I don't want to deadname someone trans by using actor) is just tonally wrong in this episode. Some of it may be because of how the episode is structured - this is one of those rare Trek episodes where a guest character is all-but framed as the main, present across almost the entire story, which gives it a bit of a "fanficish" feel. But I also thought her acting was off, particularly once the mask came off and they went into full villain role. Giant hams as villains is very TOS of course, but it kind of broke immersion for me, and reminded me I was watching a show rather than being immersed in the story.

I do wish we had a bit more time with Pike and La'an onboard the Serene Squall to see their gambit pay off. It was obviously a lower stakes story, but most of the general levity of the episode came from seeing Pike play rope-a-dope with them. There were of course other humorous elements (the whole "Pike as a boy scout" thing for example). I think Pike doing a pirate voice from the command chair was a bit much however...though again, this episode is pure cheese, so I can roll with that.

I didn't like the introduction of Sybok here at all, but I did enjoy seeing Stonn being a creeper in the background.

I know there was no Hemmer or Uhura this week. Was M'Benga missing as well?
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I believe the accepted term is now "actor" which is meant to be treated a non-gendered these days as opposed to differentiating between actors and actresses which was considered to contribute to the two tier system within the industry
 
eschaton said:
Holy hell that was cheesy. Not a bad episode, but campy in a very TOS sort of way, and hard to take completely seriously.

I should start with the positives. Unlike last episode, the focus on character returned here. The strongest elements of the episode by far are continuing to explore the relationship between Spock and T'Pring, along with Chapel as part of the "love triangle" so to speak. It feels a bit repetitive, since we had much the same focus only two episodes before, but it's well written, so I can forgive it. I'm also going to give big marks to the series for returning to Orions in grease paint, rather than using the "mask" makeup like Discovery.

As to what I didn't like, it honestly mostly came down to Jesse James Keitel. The actress (is that the right term to use...Jesse uses they/them, but I don't want to deadname someone trans by using actor) is just tonally wrong in this episode. Some of it may be because of how the episode is structured - this is one of those rare Trek episodes where a guest character is all-but framed as the main, present across almost the entire story, which gives it a bit of a "fanficish" feel. But I also thought her acting was off, particularly once the mask came off and they went into full villain role. Giant hams as villains is very TOS of course, but it kind of broke immersion for me, and reminded me I was watching a show rather than being immersed in the story.

I do wish we had a bit more time with Pike and La'an onboard the Serene Squall to see their gambit pay off. It was obviously a lower stakes story, but most of the general levity of the episode came from seeing Pike play rope-a-dope with them. There were of course other humorous elements (the whole "Pike as a boy scout" thing for example). I think Pike doing a pirate voice from the command chair was a bit much however...though again, this episode is pure cheese, so I can roll with that.

I didn't like the introduction of Sybok here at all, but I did enjoy seeing Stonn being a creeper in the background.

I know there was no Hemmer or Uhura this week. Was M'Benga missing as well?
Click to expand...

I loved the villain but i have a high ham and cheese tolerance so results may very, I am mad that Star trek stole the supporting villain from my vampire stories I wrote on Ao3
 
Lakenheath 72 said:
I find it curious that the impulse thrusters were in the warp nacelles and, that by taking them out, the ship lost impulse power. I would have thought that they were at the aft of the primary hull. Learned something new every day.
Click to expand...
Ortega fired in the general direction of the propulsion systems.
Tell me, how does one "gently disable" the impulse engines firing from IN FRONT of the vessel?
OR for that matter, how does one fire phasers gently? :p


eschaton said:
Was M'Benga missing as well?
Click to expand...
He was actually in the Squall's holding cell with Pike and Una.
 
They say that every Star Trek episode lives or dies on the performance of the guest character and they are right. This episode could easily have been a paint-by-numbers "take back the ship" episode. But the performance of Jesse James Keitel as Dr. Aspen really elevated this episode for me. Jesse played the villain so well. I loved the playfulness in the villainy. The scenes on the bridge were great. It really made the episode a lot of fun to watch.

The reveal of Sybok really surprised me. After all, the Vulcan being held in the rehabilitation center could easily have beena nobody, just to provide the motivation of the villain. Making it Sybok came out of nowhere.

The mutiny idea felt very TOS to me. I could definitely see Kirk and Bones doing that. And we got the TOS comedic moment at the end with Pike asking to be beamed out before the mutineers get them.

Pike talking like a pirate was hilarious.

There were obvious parallels between Aspen being a non-binary character and Spock struggling with his dual nature as half human and half Vulcan. I thought the scenes between them were effective.

Overall, a good and fun episode.
 
Kraig said:
It isn't sex it's "a Rebonding Ritual." :lol:
Click to expand...

"Rebonding ritual" is the Vulcan term for "make up sex".

Strange how she wants the "rebonding ritual" after she sees her half Human / half Vulcan fiance kiss a human.:D
Click to expand...

Got to be careful of those Vulcans. They act all stoic and straight laced on the surface but deep down, they are wild and kinky. ;)
 
I have to say, I thought Jessie James Keitel was an absolute show stealer. Up until the twist, I was just hoping she (wiki specifically says pronouns are she/her, I’ll go with that until shown better info) would join the cast permanently as councillor. After that, it makes that a touch unlikely! Still, really good performance and I’m so glad she wasn’t just there as a box ticking exercise, which is something I’ve criticised DSC for.

Though I must admit, I have a little bit of a crush so maybe I’m biased.
 
Muji said:
I have to say, I thought Jessie James Keitel was an absolute show stealer. Up until the twist, I was just hoping she (wiki specifically says pronouns are she/her, I’ll go with that until shown better info) would join the cast permanently as councillor. After that, it makes that a touch unlikely! Still, really good performance and I’m so glad she wasn’t just there as a box ticking exercise, which is something I’ve criticised DSC for.

Though I must admit, I have a little bit of a crush so maybe I’m biased.
Click to expand...
I mean im gay.... but...
 
Muji said:
I have to say, I thought Jessie James Keitel was an absolute show stealer. Up until the twist, I was just hoping she (wiki specifically says pronouns are she/her, I’ll go with that until shown better info) would join the cast permanently as councillor. After that, it makes that a touch unlikely! Still, really good performance and I’m so glad she wasn’t just there as a box ticking exercise, which is something I’ve criticised DSC for.
Click to expand...

Yeah, so her character is referred to as "them" at one point, but apparently she does use she/her.

I've found it's common these days in the queer community for individuals to start out using they/them, and then when they feel comfortable as "passing" they often drop doing so. It's not universal of course, but I've seen a lot of trans youtubers do this.
 
JLBTucker said:
I loved the villain but i have a high ham and cheese tolerance so results may very, I am mad that Star trek stole the supporting villain from my vampire stories I wrote on Ao3
Click to expand...

Honestly, I wonder how much the co-showrunner's work on The Magicians played a role in the portrayal, because that was absolutely not a show afraid of hamminess. They nearly broke the fourth wall a few times, and in the later seasons had a "musical episode" at least once a year.
 
eschaton said:
Holy hell that was cheesy. Not a bad episode, but campy in a very TOS sort of way, and hard to take completely seriously.

I should start with the positives. Unlike last episode, the focus on character returned here. The strongest elements of the episode by far are continuing to explore the relationship between Spock and T'Pring, along with Chapel as part of the "love triangle" so to speak. It feels a bit repetitive, since we had much the same focus only two episodes before, but it's well written, so I can forgive it. I'm also going to give big marks to the series for returning to Orions in grease paint, rather than using the "mask" makeup like Discovery.

As to what I didn't like, it honestly mostly came down to Jesse James Keitel. The actress (is that the right term to use...Jesse uses they/them, but I don't want to deadname someone trans by using actor) is just tonally wrong in this episode. Some of it may be because of how the episode is structured - this is one of those rare Trek episodes where a guest character is all-but framed as the main, present across almost the entire story, which gives it a bit of a "fanficish" feel. But I also thought her acting was off, particularly once the mask came off and they went into full villain role. Giant hams as villains is very TOS of course, but it kind of broke immersion for me, and reminded me I was watching a show rather than being immersed in the story.

I do wish we had a bit more time with Pike and La'an onboard the Serene Squall to see their gambit pay off. It was obviously a lower stakes story, but most of the general levity of the episode came from seeing Pike play rope-a-dope with them. There were of course other humorous elements (the whole "Pike as a boy scout" thing for example). I think Pike doing a pirate voice from the command chair was a bit much however...though again, this episode is pure cheese, so I can roll with that.

I didn't like the introduction of Sybok here at all, but I did enjoy seeing Stonn being a creeper in the background.

I know there was no Hemmer or Uhura this week. Was M'Benga missing as well?
Click to expand...

Jesse uses female pronouns. But I agree, she kind of felt "off" in this episode once the mask came off.
 
Another 8 this week. It took a while to get going, but it was full steam ahead by the end. Also, Sybok! :vulcan: But no Uhura or Hemmer? :rofl:

There were a lot of fun one-liners from Pike. The crew chemistry, when they were performing a mutiny, was perfection.

I loved the ruse where Spock thought on his feet and kissed Chapel to fool their captors and stop the prisoner's release.

Speaking of Chapel, it was good seeing her using her smarts to come out on top.
 
I actually stayed up late for this one instead of catching it this morning. Couple of points I missed in my first post:

1. Use of the prefix codes, although Number One calls them something different- nice callback.
2. Is this first time we see Spock use the nerve pinch in this series?
3. Hits on the nacelles should affect warp drive, not impulse.

4. Sybok. Ugh. And why is T'Pring showing up every other episode?

Obviously, we'll see Angel again as a recurring villain, in the spirit of Harry Mudd.
 
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