Spoilers Star Trek: Strange New Worlds 3x06 - "The Sehlat Who Ate Its Tail"

[FredH]

I thought it was the most enjoyable episode of the season, but I have mixed reactions to the plot twist of they were all humans. It seems like the point was to make Kirk realize he would have hard decisions, but everything he did was justifiable because the scavenger attacked them and ate up a planet. Making them humans seemed like a sympathetic leap but I'm not sure how earned it was. I think they needed to come up with a better reason for Kirk to feel guilty if that was the point they were making, but they could have stopped it at Kirk being able to lead his crew through a dire situation.

Well, I guess part of it is that it was effectively a generation ship, so there’d have been plenty of “civilians” (if such existed) and children and such among the casualties.

One does wonder why they first started marauding human colonies rather than contacting them and “coming home”, and how they got technology more advanced than anybody they met.

 

[tomalak301]

Well, I guess part of it is that it was effectively a generation ship, so there’d have been plenty of “civilians” (if such existed) and children and such among the casualties.

One does wonder why they first started marauding human colonies rather than contacting them and “coming home”, and how they got technology more advanced than anybody they met.

I guess it was that mystery of why they turned as much as they did. I agree with you in that if they discovered human colonies, why not communicate. Maybe the episode wasn't all that clear on that turn to the darkside.

 

[FredH]

I guess it was that mystery of why they turned as much as they did. I agree with you in that if they discovered human colonies, why not communicate. Maybe the episode wasn't all that clear on that turn to the darkside.

I’d be fine with it if some future episode or arc revealed some of that, though I’m not expecting it. (Though that makes the second weird Earth-related mystery in a row, after the Chinese lettering in the Vezda structure last week.)

EDIT: Oh — Pelia says “we” hadn’t discovered warp drive yet. That seems to suggest that Lanthanites are an Earthborn sister species rather than aliens (or else “aliens” who settled alongside humans long enough ago to have lost their original technology).

 

[Gepard]

Now this is more like it. Maybe some of the decisions about how to take down the scavenger shop worked too easily but this felt like a good solid classic Trek story. Best episode of S3 so far.

 

[Tuskin38]

I’d be fine with it if some future episode or arc revealed some of that, though I’m not expecting it. (Though that makes the second weird Earth-related mystery in a row, after the Chinese lettering in the Vezda structure last week.)

EDIT: Oh — Pelia says “we” hadn’t discovered warp drive yet. That seems to suggest that Lanthanites are an Earthborn sister species rather than aliens (or else “aliens” who settled alongside humans long enough ago to have lost their original technology).

Also I think she said she’s 5000 years old? Maybe it was 500

When they first show the inside of the scavenger ship, you can see the neck and head of a D7, which comes up later (Pike also says he thinks he can see a Klingon ship)

Also I thought I saw a Romulan BOP in the Farragut’s scans of the interior

The suit the scavenger was wearing looked like it was modified from a different suit design than the one in that photo. Probably just no communication between the art and costume department

There was a picture of Starbase One in the Farragut’s ready room, but it was missing the Terrarium Pods. Which matches how it looked in Discovery season 1

 

[firehawk12]

Other than the contrivance of bringing Kirk back again, that was a great episode. Even the "aliens" were a great mystery.

Also the ending is presumably a setup for Kirk vs the Gorn if they try to make that tie in more explicit rather than leave it to people to watch the TOS episode.

 

[Gepard]

One does wonder why they first started marauding human colonies rather than contacting them and “coming home”, and how they got technology more advanced than anybody they met.

That's part of what has Kirk so shaken so it's definitely an intentional omission by the writers. I really liked the talking-to Pike gave Kirk. It was good mentorship to remind him of his own basic decency while not letting him get lost trying to puzzle out the morality of every dangerous situation. Do what you gotta do but remember who you are. (It's also nice to see Pike doing... anything again as a captain.)

 

[Chovak]

The dialog felt a little forced at times in this episode, as did some of the plot. Wouldn't rate it as *bad*, so... mid, I guess.

Kirk's lesson in the end could have worked without the ship being from Earth. Maybe the writers thought that would have been too TNG and not TOS enough.

I liked the idea that Kirk server under a Vulcan captain for a while, and the implication that he works best with a less emotional first officer.

Oh, and Scotty said "yer bum's oot the windae" which counts as an absoulte WIN in my book.

 

[firehawk12]

I guess it was that mystery of why they turned as much as they did. I agree with you in that if they discovered human colonies, why not communicate. Maybe the episode wasn't all that clear on that turn to the darkside.

It's like that Discovery episode where people from Titan or Europa or wherever started attacking Earth and the Earthers thought they were an alien species. I don't know that we need to know their motives or how they got all the tech, just that they decided their own survival was more important than anyone else's.

So there's not only the lesson for Kirk and being compassionate, but also the allegorical "us vs them" mentality that humanity is infected with that causes tribalism and death.

I’d be fine with it if some future episode or arc revealed some of that, though I’m not expecting it. (Though that makes the second weird Earth-related mystery in a row, after the Chinese lettering in the Vezda structure last week.)

EDIT: Oh — Pelia says “we” hadn’t discovered warp drive yet. That seems to suggest that Lanthanites are an Earthborn sister species rather than aliens (or else “aliens” who settled alongside humans long enough ago to have lost their original technology).

I took that as she feels like a part of humanity after living with them for so long, similar to Guinan. Although I guess Guinan never did suggest she was a part of humanity.

 

[Kamen Rider Blade]

I loved how nearly everybody on the cast had something to do, truly a great Ensemble setup.

Also, everything got jammed.

So depending on Wireless everything wasn't a good idea if you don't have shielded hardline backups.

Or "Land Lines". Who knew =D

 

[firehawk12]

I loved how nearly everybody on the cast had something to do, truly a great Ensemble setup.

Also, everything got jammed.

So depending on Wireless everything wasn't a good idea if you don't have shielded hardline backups.

Or "Land Lines". Who knew =D

Clearly Pelia watched BSG.

 

[Kamen Rider Blade]

Clearly Pelia watched BSG.

And is a serious Pack Rat.

The amount of Land Line you would need has to be in the hundreds to thousands of meters to run across a ship that large.

 

[firehawk12]

And is a serious Pack Rat.

The amount of Land Line you would need has to be in the hundreds to thousands of meters to run across a ship that large.

I guess Constitution class ships use a lot of copper... lol

 

[Aragorn]

For a second I thought the unmasked pirate was Steven Strait.

 

[Kamen Rider Blade]

I guess Constitution class ships use a lot of copper... lol

You would if you were connecting the Bridge to Engineering.

 

[cooleddie74]

Best episode yet of the season.

Also: the return of gooseneck viewers, at least one of them on the Farragut bridge.

 

[cooleddie74]

The XCV-100!

That reveal was very similar to the one in Disco S3 though, with the Titan people hiding under helmets

UESPA symbol from the Friendship One probe! Just a decade earlier!

 

[Harpsichord]

I have a feeling that this will be a top-3 episode for me when all is said and done with SNW. Interesting how the amoral humans who possess "bottomless greed" have what is essentially a Tesla logo on their chests and a US flag on their ship. Tell us how you really feel, writers

 

[cooleddie74]

The U.S. flag has 50 stars, conflicting with the 2033-79 flag that has 52 stars we saw in "The Royale(TNG)," but to hell with it, this episode is so damn good I'm letting the error slide.

 

[thribs]

They didn’t even bother making the Farragut bridge look different.