Spoilers Star Trek: Strange New Worlds 2x01 - "The Broken Circle"

[sevenstars]

Flint was away for a long time before his immortality started to wane, and it seems likely that returning to Earth (for X amount of time) would reset it. So it shouldn't be an issue.

This theory probably won't be confirmed either way.

Good theory however.

Though I did always wonder why Flint didn't just go back to Earth; he didn't seem THAT broken up.

 

[El Maestro]

It's funny ... I liked the episode more than I didn't, but most of my problems with it are the ones that a lot of the critics of Picard season 3 had with it. A lot of the moments in the beginning felt like forced nostalgia moments.

Remember when they stole the Enterprise in Search for Spock and now here's Spock doing it? Remember Spock played a musical instrument in TOS and here's how he started doing it? Remember how each captain has to say something different when they go to warp?

I will never understand some people in the fanbase insisting that it can never refer to other parts of itself. I know what’s coming next, “nostalgia is not a problem it’s when it becomes DiStRactInG [this word is so cringe to me, the way it’s used so much in the nostalgia discourse as a hand wave that automatically validates the objections to things is so tiresome] that it’s a problem,” or, “the problem is when it’s used as a crutch!”

I said a version of this in PIC threads: this is a show with legacy characters. It would very weird if it did NOT refer to events and aspects of of the franchise surrounding them. Prequel and sequel shows will be heavily self-referential and yes, nostalgic. It’s baked into the cake my friends.

 

[Ometiklan]

I gave this episode a 9. Maybe I am just riding high on a great new premiere episode of SNW (as it could have been an 8 maybe), but I am liking like 99% of what this show presented me. It's nice to have SNW back!

...I know SNW is a prequel so a TNG bible wouldn't apply to it, but apparently the replicated dilithium never actually became canon because dilithium as a macguffin became the entire basis for a season of Discovery, which takes place after TNG. Regardless fighting over dilithium is becoming a tired plot at this point.

Discovery season 3 wasn't much of a shining example of anything good storywise. (Warp drive is the only long distance transportation tech we successfully developed in 900 years???)

...The lack of rootedness in the characters is what made the "action" parts of the episode kinda suck. It could have been anyone throwing those punches.

As others have hinted at, I think the show writers are hinting at and developing more background for these two characters (and Ortegas) re: the Klingon War. I don't think it comes completely out of the blue, though it is unique for these characters to date.

And, as said, there is no logical way it can lead into that.
Not to this level.

There is lots of time and lots of potential storylines for these current developments to lead in to the more mature versions of the characters in TOS.

 

[fireproof78]

It would very weird if it did NOT refer to events and aspects of of the franchise surrounding them. Prequel and sequel shows will be heavily self-referential and yes, nostalgic. It’s baked into the cake my friends.

Sure but it's all in how the ingredients are mixed together. Nostalgia is like lumps of flour-mixed right it gets a good rise. Mixed wrong it creates white spots that taste bland.

SNW Season 1 worked not because i was thinking about TOS; I was engaged with the characters and what has happening on the screen in the moment, for the most part. That's ok. But don't make it the whole meal.

I don't understand why this is hard to understand.

Warp drive is the only long distance transportation tech we successfully developed in 900 years

Successful? No. Safe? Yes.

 

[El Maestro]

Sure but it's all in how the ingredients are mixed together. Nostalgia is like lumps of flour-mixed right it gets a good rise. Mixed wrong it creates white spots that taste bland.

SNW Season 1 worked not because i was thinking about TOS; I was engaged with the characters and what has happening on the screen in the moment, for the most part. That's ok. But don't make it the whole meal.

I don't understand why this is hard to understand.

You are using an objective phenomenon (poorly prepared baked goods due to bad technique) as an analogue for a subjective phenomenon (how much and the manner in which nostalgia is incorporated into prequel and sequel installments in a decades-spanning franchise how effective/entertaining it is).

I understand that people are taking their personal preferences (fine) and applying them as iron-clad principles of writing and storytelling, and that their criticisms are true because surely they are universal (not fine). It’s funny but my unofficial tracking of this seems to show that, for the most part, the loudest critics of PIC S3’s employment of nostalgia were not huge fans of TNG (I’m sure there are exceptions) so they therefore think the nostalgia doesn’t apply to them so they get sick of it and have to tell everyone as often as possible that it didn’t work for them.

With SNW, I see a lot of the same thing but with the new twist of TOS Fundamentalism.

To make myself guilty of the objective/subjective thing, I guess what I’m saying is that criticism I find to be bad/lazy and media literacy I find to be narrow or otherwise lacking is the poorly mixed flour in my cake.

 

[fireproof78]

With SNW, I see a lot of the same thing but with the new twist of TOS Fundamentalism.

It's funny, because what I saw with Season 3 was the same new Trek. It was good, until it wasn't.

SNW teeters on that edge too.

That's my opinion. And I won't shy away from it because of people's appetite for nostalgia, TOS, TNG and whatnot.

applying them as iron-clad principles of writing and storytelling, a

Nope, not at all. I'm looking for consistency in my viewpoints and understanding why people like what they like. Clearly that's a fool's errand.

Enjoy.

 

[1001001]

That was really good.

9

 

[Paul755]

ugh, I just do not like the Spock/Chapel stuff. I know it works for most but for me it just doesn’t click.

The super soldier serum M’Benga and Chapel took was kind of a silly out for them to take.

I like how the new Klingon make up looks “fake”

I didn’t mind that they did the “freeze in space” thing. I was more eye rolling over La’an out drinking a burley Klingon Warrior. A little too “Raiders of the Lost Ark”

love the design of the classic Crossfield Class.

I did like Pelia. Interesting to insert an immortal character.

war with the Gorn…c’mon now.

the new credit sequence is aces.

give this one a 7/10.

 

[SAndrews10]

Sets the stage for the season. It was just an ok episode. The weakest of all 11 so far in my opinion. Not sold on Pelia.

 

[Lakenheath 72]

The episode had two tropes I hate:
* the drinking game
* something happen in my past, but I don't have to go into it now

I am not interested in Pelia. She is a character with a mystery box past. Mystery boxes should be hanged, drawn, and quartered. It has become so obnoxious that now there is talk about re-doing the ending of The Empire Strikes Back, so we, the audience, can know how Luke's lightsaber got into the possession of the alien lady in The Force Awakens and how his hand had a role in the plots of evil people in the Star Wars universe. This is so they can answer the mystery boxes that have came up in the past or will come up in the future.

 

[NCC-73515]

You've seen 10% of the season. What's the chance that the remaining 90% tell more about Pelia?

Trekcore also finds the super drink fight stuff odd (I disagree with "well-shot" though):

Okay, listen: I like Chapel, and I love M’Benga. They’re great individual characters, wonderful as a pair, and add a lot dynamism to the show’s ensemble cast. But do I need to watch them kick ass after dosing themselves up with some kind of weird Starfleet super serum? I don’t think so.

The fight scenes are well-shot and well-acted, but I’m not entirely sure how I feel about two doctors — who have spent the previous scenes talking about how they abhor violence and are still traumatised by the deaths of the Klingon War — kicking ass on space methamphetamines like they’re about to storm across northern France or something. I understand why, from the writer’s perspective, watching unlikely characters kick ass is attractive, but it doesn’t really fit with either character’s MO to fight their way out of that situation.

https://blog.trekcore.com/2023/06/star-trek-strange-new-worlds-review-the-broken-circle/

 

[ichab]

The super serum scene had me rolling my eyes. Even with a boost those two scrawny humans shouldnt be able to take out dozens of Klingons with their bare hands. I don't know what the writers were thinking with that bit of B.S. If youre going have them go full double dragon, at least have them aquire a weapon to fight back with so that its somewhat believable.

Other than that, the episode was fine. The new engineer is going to take getting use to (somebody please give her a glass of water), and I'm glad the Klingons were changed away from that horrible DISCO design to something more familiar. The upcoming Gorn conflict should be interesting, but I'm looking forward to seeing the Pike trip to save Una.

 

[Lakenheath 72]

Oh, I am sure that they will expand upon it. In drips. (Then again, they might not. There is no guarantee here. I have seen mystery boxes which are mentioned in one episode and forgotten about by later episodes.)

 

[Gepard]

I can give the Hulk Juice a pass, though I didn't love it.

The only part of the episode that did bother me was the writers seemingly taking the "Vulcans cannot lie" idea at face value. It's never been true, and it's only an interesting idea when we see all the ways characters believe it even as Vulcans bend, spindle, and mutilate truth.

I don't care because of any continuity-related reasons, but because it takes an idea filled with subtext and flattens it out.

 

[drt]

(Warp drive is the only long distance transportation tech we successfully developed in 900 years???

Eh, the Dominion was 2000 years old and they still used warp drive.

 

[Borgminister]

Just barely an 8 out of 10 due to the protracted juiced-up action scenes with the M'Benga and Chapel, which went on way to long and without any genius finding a phaser to fire... I enjoyed the Lute origin story very much, and Peck's acting in general, although they'll have to walk a fine line with the tears. He did convey a Vulcan hangover convincingly, and his drinking with the impeccably rendered Klingons was a real treat. La'an the augment drinking Klingons under the table punctuated by a belch was nicely done too. Not sure about the new engineer, her voice was like that of a grating grandmother, but we'll see. A nice ending with the foreboding of the Gorn. Definitely needs a rewatch.

 

[Avro Arrow]

I have a feeling it's something that's alien which M'Benga might have discovered during the war, perhaps a secret that only Chapel and M'Benga know about, and has some nasty side-effects they haven't expanded on just yet.

"Side effects may include being relegated to recurring status after prolonged use. If you lack characterization for more than four episodes, please consult your doctor."

 

[Farscape One]

Loved this episode. Gave it a 9.

Carol Kane won me over instantly. Though I do not recall her species name from other shows.

Nice nods to previous shows, like Roger Korby (indirectly) with the archaeology medicine and the last image with Galdonterre showing on the screen closeup.

(Galdonterre was a victory won by Kor, according to Dax in "BLOOD OATH", that gave his voice heavy weight in Klingon affairs afterward.)

 

[SolarisOne]

No.

Yes.

It stands to reason that both the Discovery and the Glenn were heavily modified for the Spore Drive experiments.

Indeed, we now have a good idea of what those modifications entailed. Namely the addition of a triangular secondary hull and the replacement of the Warp Nacelles.

My personal headcanon is that they did a complete visual retcon of the class (yes I know that's almost certainly not what is intended. Let me have my petty retribution.)

I learned from watching Doctor Who years ago that having subtitles on is incredibly helpful. It's like a back up guide just in case you need it.

I always watch stuff with the subtitles on.

This is a really, really minor nitpick, but I disliked how this episode fell into the old trope of freezing in space. You wouldn't freeze in space very rapidly, even if it was cold out. You'd be dead of lack of oxygen long before that. The problem is basically space can be cold, but it's also a near vacuum and the internal heat from your body would have a hard time radiating out into it. Hence a much bigger issue in spaceflight is actually finding a way to dump excess heat; to stop from overheating.

For the most part, exposure to vacuum isn't any worse than holding your breath for a few minutes. It could cause severe lung damage if you don't empty your lungs before depressurization, and your eyes could get fucked up, but besides that, it's just the whole not being able to breathe thing.

I really hate that trope so much. Just about every goddamn show does it, though.

You know, I have never quite been able to think of Ethan Peck's Spock as being the same character as Leonard Nimoy's. He seems somehow fundamentally less... well, less self-hating. Less damaged, less lonely. And just a tad too playful. But. I still really like his character, and I adore his scenes with Jess Bush's Christine. I just try to take Peck's performance for what it is and not worry about trying to fit it in too much with Nimoy's.

Yeah. I see him as Spock, but he is not the same Spock, and that's okay.

I'm about ready to say that TOS should just be treated as out of continuity with the rest of Star Trek and that only the broad strokes apply. Like this Spock/Christine thing is just too delicious to be confined by continuity.

Yeah, I've never had any attachment to TOS itself (except for Spock, but then who doesn't like Spock?) so SNW retconning TOS stuff is quite all right with me.

I liked that the child's parents were both women.

Me too.

This show is fucking amazing.

This is the second episode I've watched, and I agree.

This is what DSC and PIC should also have been in their own ways. Consistently fun and engaging. Not fitfully frustrating or downright mediocre.

Soooooo much drudgery and poor plotting. Trek sucks at full serialization, apparently. PIC is especially disappointing, because the 24th/25th century is MY era. (It's still MY era, I just hope Terry Matalas never gets his hands on it again. He might do good work elsewhere, but keep that man away from Trek, please.)

The new Klingon makeup looks really good as does their TOS-reminiscent armor with the parallelogram belt buckle and black sleeves and trousers.

I fucking LOVE their new armor.

 

[TimeIsAPredator]

I think M'Benga is an excellent character and well portrayed by Olusanmokun. If they get a "Dr. M'Benga: M.D." spin off I would be quite happy.

It could be called "After S*N*W"

Like others have said I'm kind of curious the need for creating a new race for Pellia when a long-lived race looking entirely like humans and having spent time among humans on the Earth already existed in Star Trek canon (The El-Aurians)

I assume it's not to big her down with questions like why she can't pick up on time variations or stop bad guys with nipple pinchy power.

Even Nimoy Spock wasn't "Spock" in his first handful of appearances. This is roughly 2260, at bare minimum five years before "Where No Man Has Gone Before(TOS)," an episode wherein Nimoy still portrays the character with smiling and occasional expressions of emotion.

Looks to me like the "canon" Spock we know from Pike's time on Enterprise.