Spoilers Star Trek: Strange New Worlds 1x10 - "A Quality of Mercy"

[indranee]

Upon rewatch I've given it a 9, the only drawback being Jim Kirk. I need to get used to him I guess. As it is, he does not fit my IMAGE of Kirk, but then it's a retelling and an alternate Kirk in a possible timeline that will not come to pass. The new Ready Room discussion posits that we will see the younger version of this Kirk with a lot more charm (ahem, I guess that means semi-booty calls? Hmm. I dunno whether to look forward to that or not, esp because this one reminds me of Jim Carrey Kirk)...

Anyway, As always Anson Mount pulled this one off and my hat is off to him. The man never disappoints. The way he said "Spock, you have always been important to me" almost brought fat tears to my eyes.

What else, so Scotty transferred over to the Enterprise from the destroyed Farragut or was he the replacement for Hemmer? Anybody know? What'd I miss?

On the whole, this season has been an 8.5 PLUS for me. I will still hold off from putting it above TOS in terms of the first season because, well, I reserve the right to.

 

[thribs]

Not a TOS reboot. A Phase II show

 

[Nerys Myk]

3. I’m surprised there’s not more commentary on how the fact that Pike’s attempts to find peace, understanding, and kindness are the absolute wrong moves. The typical Trekkian solution utterly fails in every way possible and violence really is the best solution.

Wasn't it working until the Romulan Fleet shows up, thanks to "Decius"?

7. I also was annoyed Spock didn’t mention he knew Kirk. It’s one thing that he didn’t date Uhura but would have been nice if they established, “Yeah, I knew him from my days as a TA at Starfleet Academy. We had an altercation over one of my tests.”

Kelvin Kirk attended the Academy at a different time than Prime Kirk. Prime Kirk entered in 2252. Kelvin Kirk entered in 2255.

 

[indranee]

I also want to add that I've noticed Batel NEVER finishes Pike's food. I wonder what to make of that?

 

[Noname Given]

If it's the same universe, how come the Enterprise, the uniforms, and such all look so different from the way they were depicted in...

"Trials and Tribble-ations?"

They look exactly the same as they did in the ACTUAL 23rd century...it's your perception of how they look that's changed from the 20th to the 21st century...(Don't you hate temporal mechanics?)

 

[Nerys Myk]

What else, so Scotty transferred over to the Enterprise from the destroyed Farragut or was he the replacement for Hemmer? Anybody know? What'd I miss?

Same as the rest of us, about seven years of adventures and crew transfers.
Scotty seems to be an Enterprise engineer in the alternate timeline.

 

[Captain Jollydark]

I watched it again (without the Delta8 gummies this time) and Wesley's Kirk seemed "adequate" and "satisfactory" (to put a Vulcan spin on it). I was able to fully embrace the episode and just.. surrender to the concept. But the best part of the episode for me was that moment between Pike and Spock near the end. It was just lovely. Moving. Anyway, turns out that cannabis-lite makes me more judgemental rather than more easily entertained. I remember a similar reaction (for the same reason) when I watched Ghosts of Ilyria the first time and all I could think was that two grown men were rolling around on the floor pretending to be covered in ghosts. I could not suspend disbelief. It was horrible.

 

[Noname Given]

A few observations and disagreements here:

1. I feel like a lot of die-hard Trekkies prefer to argue to their last breathe, about Kirk not being a rules breaking rebel but as was brought up in “The Drumhead”, PICARD is a Rules Breaking Rebel as being an effective captain on the frontier means that these things happen. He agonizes over breaking the rules and isn’t the Pine Kirk (who was a delinquent set straight by Pike) but he’s still someone who develops a “maverick” reputation. If nothing else, Kirk’s brother probably knows his brother cheated and “hates to lose.” Indeed, my irritation with this bit is it acts like PIKE isn’t the guy who breaks the rules flagrantly like we saw in “First Contact.”

^^^
Any "Die Hard Trekkie" trying to argue Kirk ISN'T a "Rule-Breaker" either:

a) Hasn't watched a lot of TOS.

OR

b) Didn't really pay attention AS they were watching TOS.

In 79 episodes, you can count on one hand the times Kirk didn't break a rule.

 

[indranee]

Same as the rest of us, about seven years of adventures and crew transfers.
Scotty seems to be an Enterprise engineer in the alternate timeline.

Ahh so he's ONE of the engineers on the Enterprise?! Awesome

The other thing I noticed is how the sentence where Kirk was telling Pike about his father ended (trailed off). He says: "My father George Kirk was first officer on the Kelvin before moving to... "

NOICE! Loved it. As in NOT DEAD. Just MOVED TO...

 

[Roald]

I liked Paul’s Kirk, but I personally don’t think he’s ‘hot’ or ‘sexy’ enough for Kirk…. He looked like someone from a Star Trek fan film tbh, even though he’s a good actor..! Guess it’ll take some time to get used to him, which eventually will happen, no doubt!

 

[Nerys Myk]

Ahh so he's ONE of the engineers on the Enterprise?! Awesome

The other thing I noticed is how the sentence where Kirk was telling Pike about his father ended (trailed off). He says: "My father George Kirk was first officer on the Kelvin before moving to... "

NOICE! Loved it. As in NOT DEAD. Just MOVED TO...

Yep. George was there to see Jim take command of the Enterprise.

 

[NCC-73515]

Agreed on Wesley's Kirk, the biggest weakness of the episode. Decent, but no Shatner or Pine.

I guess alternate timeline 33-year-old Kirk behaves more like Wesley and I could see little moments of Shatner from TOS Season 1 in there but, yeah, glad he's not a series regular. Good, but Sam is more interesting in this particular show.

I didn't know how to react to this literal BoT. I felt kind of... cheated? And Wesley's Kirk seemed to lack charisma, that spark that underlies even the most serious moments in TOS. I know Shatner is not the greatest actor, but there was something about him that brought energy to the character that felt lacking here. I believed Wesley's Kirk was a good captain, creative, wily, clever, but he didn't feel like James Kirk. Maybe that could also be attributed to the change in timelines if I squint.

I actually cringed in embarrassment at some of this. Obviously, I'll need to watch again.

Not only Kirk, I also thought the outpost guy and the Romulan commander had better performances in TOS. Much more dramatic. SNW outpost guy was just standing around, TOS guy showed sheer terror! The Rommie's "I could've called you friend" was much more believable than the odd delivery here. Was he trying not to smile?!

Hamlet is still Hamlet whether you film a blockbuster version or perform it in the park. What does it matter that the costumes and set look different if the same events occur?

An accurate analogy, since Hamlet originally came out in video form, on a visual-audio medium. Right?

Ok.. I'm sorry.. And perhaps I need to turn my Trekkie/er membership card in, but when/why did we start calling the TOS movie uniforms "Monster Maroons?" Never, until I read the thread this morning, have I heard of that.

The only explanation I've read is that they're a monster to make yourselves, and of course maroon.

It's an interesting message: Sometimes violence is the correct solution. Like Keeler's peace movement is generally the right way, it was not during WW2. Staying out of the Nausicaan's way is typically the better option, but for Picard at that moment in his life the better choice was to fight them. And here, while peace and negotiation are generally preferred, that BoP had to be intercepted before it got back. Oddly relevant today as well, of course.

 

[indranee]

Yep. George was there to see Jim take command of the Enterprise.

Exactly. I'm glad they kept that.

 

[thribs]

Yep. George was there to see Jim take command of the Enterprise.

His brother?
His full name is George Samuel Kirk. Only James called him Sam. And his wife, and everyone else it seems.

 

[Nerys Myk]

His brother?

Him, too.

 

[cooleddie74]

That's mentioned in "What Are Little Girls Made Of?(TOS)" Sam and his family were there to see Jim off on his first command. George was alive, too, as Spock Prime confirmed in Trek 2009.

 

[indranee]

He's coming back in Season 2. So, I am not confident that Pike isn't out yet.

But, given the reaction to Kirk I can only suspect that Season 2 will not have it as easy with the fans as Season 1.

I'm sorry but hate me as you all may want to, my take is that if... IF... they want to use Jim Kirk more often in S2, they will have to replace the actor. This was an alternate reality so that's their way out, but they will need to use an actor who fits the role better and does a better job as Jim Kirk. Hate me if you want, but that's my take.

 

[Nerys Myk]

Season 2 has wrapped, We're stuck with that Kirk.

 

[indranee]

Season 2 has wrapped, We're stuck with that Kirk.

Yeah, I realize that. Well let's just hope he improves. This isn't his show anyway... so, not a dealbreaker or anything.

 

[Trekker4747]

Look, you don't say you're bringing us Jim Kirk, SELL us on Kirk with Sam's lines and then snap us with a damp towel and say "oh, uh, alternate timeline, he hasn't been defined yet, he's not on the Enterprise, etc."