I was pleasantly surprised to see that this episode was the first of this season which actually required a ‘previously on Star Trek’ sting before the actual episode commenced for the casual viewer to be able to make sense of the over arching storyline. I do believe that this is the first true two part episode of Strange New World’s. Perhaps it is part of a trilogy… Spock Amok, Spock Amok II and Amok Time or possibly even an entire space opera eventually. I see these episodes all standing very well together in the grand scheme of things as part of Strange New World’s continuity of character development, ‘padding out’ what has already been established through canon for these characters. It could all even be expanded upon as the seasons progress in to a story arc throughout the season involving multiple characters.
It was interesting to see this weeks episode starting off with a log entry from a character who is not actually required to make log entries though T’Pring fails to give a stardate… it is however good to see that Vulcan’s are following Federation standards in regards to documenting their day to day activities and general duties. Log entries can give accountability to anything crew members do or are unsure about as a result, like that one time when Sisko did loads of dodgy deals and ethically questionable things and wanted to put it ‘on the record’ by making an episode long log entry about it all incase it was ever required as evidence in a Federation court.
We learn more about T’Pring’s job role on Vulcan. We already know that she rehabilitates Vulcan’s who do not follow the traditional logical way but I always assumed that she would be based in some form of ‘prison camp’. Her work place however is quite serene and beautiful, it looks like Vulcan’s are rehabilitated on what can only be described as a giant ‘yoga retreat’.
Spock and T’Pring have decided to try and make their relationship work over the long distance between them by making full use of the Federation’s subspace relay network. T’Pring however is getting a bit bored and decides that she wants to start spicing up their online relationship with some ‘experimentation’. I’m unsure as to what the limits of their online experimentations are, though it seems to have given them a new foundation from which to continue their romantic interactions and keep things ‘exciting’.
We are introduced to another character this week, Doctor Aspden (more on the character twist later!). I assume that they will become a recurring character in some shape or form. I do believe that it is important that all ships have counsellors in order to get the crew through the aftermath of traumatic events or even romance issues with the possible resulting mental health implications. If Aspden does not stay as part of the crew, I do think that Pike should consider hiring a counsellor at some point, this counsellor could even help him with his fear of his future fate as well as any romance issues that he may face, such as in last weeks episode.
We now have a call back to a scene in Star Trek II, the Wrath of Khan… the first of several call backs to this movie in this episode. This episode could almost be compared to parts of Star Trek II or Star Trek in to Darkness, kind of like a soft partial reboot. Aspden states that Pike used to be in the Boy Scouts, something which he flat out denied in much the same way that Kirk did when pressed by Carol Marcus. However, Una has seen Pike’s personal file and knows very well that he was actually in the Boy Scouts. I don’t know why he would want to deny it though?
After deciding to help rescue colonists from an attacked colonial ship to stop them from being sold off as slaves, The Enterprise decides to leave a trail of breadcrumbs in the form of subspace relay like ‘buoys’ so that communication with the Federation can be maintained and also so that the ship can find it’s way back to Federation space I assume should navigation be disrupted by the pirates.
The Enterprise however falls in to a trap! At first this trap could be perceived as being one of Tholian design, but due to the fact that the ‘net’ was not ‘spun’ by a Tholian ship but instead a simple case of ‘light and mirrors’ reflective laser like tractor beams we know that it can not be Tholian technology…. it quite simply is just not a ‘Tholian web’. The net is also totally the wrong colour to be Tholian. Anyway, Spock saves the day with an un informed hunch/guess by destroying a random asteroid…. Dr Aspden uses her empathic powers and notices Spock’s uncomfortableness at his action, even if it did end up saving the day.
Spock goes to the visiting counsellor for some advice as he is now battling his human side once more as a result of his recent ‘split second’ irrational decision; making a guess is not logical, as educated as it may be... it’s gambling. As Spock approaches Aspden’s guest quarters, we hear what reminds me of ‘clubbing music’ as she is working out. Spock talks to Aspden about his inner conflicts, a recurring theme for his character so far this season and beyond. Having no obvious inner conflict of their own, Aspden still does a good job of counselling Spock during his mini personal crisis, Aspden explains that we do not all fit in the same box, we are all individual and unique and should not put labels on to ourselves which could restrict our being. As Spock is neither Vulcan or Human, he should perhaps stop trying to aspire to only one side of his heritage - Spock should just try to be himself, a unique individual. Where we come from is just geography not out spirituality or our conscious being, we should not be labelled by the geography of where we come from so Spock should bare this in mind too as he is battling himself. I am glad that Doctor Aspden corrected themselves when they almost crossed too far in to Spock’s personal boundaries… Aspden nearly fell in to the trap of assuming which part of Spock’s heritage he related to. Aspden or nobody else for that matter can decide who Spock is, only *he* can do that himself. Aspden is also used to dealing with Vulcan’s as is married to one (I think?!).
Star Trek Strange New Worlds now begins to live up to Star Trek’s original premise of being a ‘wagon train to the stars’ - the Enterprise sets a course outside of Federation Space in order to explore the ‘wild west’ as part of this weeks mission (more on that later)! It appears that these areas outside of the Federation are populated by pirates and bandits, though all of these pirates have differing levels of agenda depending on where they are on the morality scale. I’m sure that one such groups of these pirates could be the
Fenris Rangers, who Seven of Nine worked for helping to deliver medical supplies to those in need who do not get direct Federation support. However, the pirates that we encounter in this episode seem to be a bit more morally ‘grey’ and complex with the sole purpose of trafficking kidnapped aliens, selling them to the highest bidders. This could be comparable to what we tragically had in the past on Earth, ‘human trafficking’. Perhaps this weeks episode is an analogy of the 19th century slave trade? Anyway, these different groups of pirates all seem to have formed an ‘anti’ Federation of their own - they are more limited in capability though as they do not have the sheer level of resources that the Federation have. I guess that the scarcity of commodities has driven these groups to desperate and sometimes illegal methods of obtaining what they need or want. Anyway, the intergalactic slave trade seems to be the biggest form of trade outside of the Federation in the 23rd century, but luckily some slaves do manage to escape to safety over the Federation border.
We next have a successful takeover of the Enterprise by one group of pirates after an epic confrontation! The Enterprise is overwhelmed by the attack and eventually overrun by the pirates from the Serene Squall. It was all a trap after all. It was a bit like when DS9 was overtaken by the Dominion forcing the crew to evacuate, but this time the space pirates actually managed to *kidnap* the Enterprise crew and locked them up in cages in order to sell them off in an auction to the highest bidder! In this case… the pirates are going to try and sell them to the Klingon’s!
Pike begins to hatch an escape plan. First of all he asks to become a chef for the Orion pirates and prove his worth via a trial by cooking. I think that Pike manages to impress his captives with his culinary skills. He even dressed for the part. I look forward to seeing ‘Chef Pike’ turn up in Star Trek: Timelines if I am lucky to have enough rng to roll him. Anyway, Pike tries to tell the Orion slave master that if he does indeed sell the crew and even the ship… the Federation *will* come after him and his crew. The slave master says that he will sell the Enterprise parts and will not be traced… but everything can be traced via a paper trail, and the Federation will also go after the people that buy the stolen property.
We find out more about Aspden’s Vulcan husband, he redirected refugees to Federation colonies, he sadly died when the Squall raided his transport. But more on this later…
Pike initiates Alpha Braga 4…. A secret command which allows Una to start a mutiny.
We then have a shocking twist… Dr Aspden is *not* Doctor Aspden at all! This character is actually a dastardly villain who is a cross between Harry Mudd and Khan! We are introduced to Angel…
Can we believe anything about the Doctor Aspden character now? Was their husband really killed during a raid by the Serene Squall?
Perhaps Angel will become a recurring villain? However we see that Angel is a three dimensional villain rather than a two dimensional one so I hope that this character will continue to develop in such a way and become a well rounded abstract antagonist. Maybe sometimes Angel can be good, and other times can be bad? I love how Angel took over the Enterprise bridge with such glee and ease accompanied by villainous laughter and sass! We can tell that Angel *really* enjoyed the thrill of this moment, though we learn that they didn’t even want the Enterprise in the end anyway… the pirates only wanted to take the ship for Spock, so that they could make sure that Spock keeps on being *him* and does not try to aspire to be either binary Vulcan or binary Human - Spock can be species fluid if he wants to be! We learn that even though Spock is not outwardly emotional, he is still controlled by his logical reactions to them - this is his problem which he would need Doctor Aspden’s counselling for. I would like to see these two characters interact more in the future as this could be the start of a genuine friendship of sorts. When Spock does eventually figure out who he truly is, maybe he could update ‘Aspden’.
We next encounter another twist in the adventure as back on Vulcan at the rehabilitating yoga like retreat…. We see Stonn lurking in the shadows! We all know that T’Pring is fated to cheat on Spock with this ‘pure’ bred logical Vulcan. Whether we see this affair playing out on screen or not I just don’t know. Spock will obviously not find out about it for several years though regardless. Perhaps they will keep their affair as a secret, even if they all end up in the same room during a future episode. That situation could however be awkward for T’Pring and Stonn, we would all be able to sympathise with the Spock character more though, as we would all know something that he does not.
Perhaps there is a connection between Angel and the Vulcan that they once loved? This could explain Angel’s interest in Spock?
Meanwile, Pike has encouraged an insurrection amongst the Jolly Rodger’s crew and Spock has a plan of his own to help save the crew, even it potentially means breaking T’Pring’s heart in the process. Spock and Chapel share a kiss on screen in front of T’Pring… I hope that this is not one of the objectives on a ‘tick list’ of their long distance relationship experiments over subspace communications though? Maybe it was just a convenient opportunity to conduct this relationship experiment so Spock thought “what the hell, let’s just do it!”. Spock did not consider Chapel’s emotions when he did this though, he might not understand that she has strong feelings for him and this could hurt her on an emotional level, it might give her the wrong idea. Also, the kiss was kind of forced even though the situation required this intervention…. I don’t think that Chapel gave full consent to the kiss though? Anyway, the kiss saved the day and all was forgiven.
Maybe in the future Spock will watch T’Pring and Stonn kissing over subspace channels too in an arranged subspace meeting, but in a more organised and less spontaneous way where the crew are *not* facing any form of peril?
I think that we learn in this episode that Pike is a really bad pirate so should stop trying to be one, he can be a chef though *any* time if being the Captain of the Enterprise ever gets too much for him.
Oh yes, I nearly forgot…. Sybok shows up at the end of the episode! Maybe this is Angel’s Vulcan husband? I wonder if we will see more of him with this reveal. It could just have been a tease/cameo but who knows? He was mentioned earlier in the episode as being someone that T’Pring was rehabilitating… but he was using a pseudonym of ‘Xavarius’ for some reason.
We might get to find out what happened to Sybok in the time between this episode and Star Trek V: The Final Frontier. Perhaps we will also learn why Spock never mentions his name to Captain Kirk, though we do know that Picard did go to his wedding? I’m assuming that this was not Sybok’s marriage to Angel as the dates would not work.
I rate Star Trek: Strange New World’s episode 8,
The Serene Squall 12/10 though I had to mark it down to 10/10 for the sake of this threads poll.
