Spoilers Star Trek: Strange New Worlds 3x09 - "Terrarium"

[Farscape One]

I will post my review of the episode after the zoom chat tomorrow, but I will address one thing.

Considering how badly injured the Gorn was, it is very possible that even a stun setting hit from phasers would be enough to kill her.

Also considering that in every instance of an appearance by a Gorn, they go straight into attack mode instantly. Given all known scenarios of Gorn appearances at the time, La'an having no information on what Erica went through with the Gorn, and the fact she was basically right on top of Erica, La'an absolutely did the right thing by shooting at the Gorn.

 

[HotRod]

It would have been absurd for La'An not to shoot the Gorn under those circumstances.

Maybe. Probably. I can understand why she did it, but it’s still sad and frustrating to me. I just hope the writers use this as a learning experience for the characters rather than something that gets brushed aside.

I was going to bring up the Horta from Devil in the Dark as an example of Starfleet trying to understand rather than destroy, but then I remembered that even Kirk fired on it when he first encountered it. The difference is that later,Kirk chose to stop and investigate its motivations, and that led to understanding and peace.

The Gorn are clearly a different case. So far, every encounter has shown them as extremely aggressive and seemingly impossible to communicate with. La’an’s history with them made that decision understandable. I just hope this encounter forces them to maybe reevaluate their opinions and perhaps, if faced with a similar situation, make the choice to find another way, like Star Trek at its best has always done.

 

[JulieYBM]

Ahh but you said queer. You said it was "queer" episode with a "queer-presenting" character. And being queer is not the exclusive domain of women or yours to gatekeep.

So yes, those pesky queer men will have some opinions on queerness too.

I strongly disagree with your interpretation, but as I didn't know your gender or orientation it's irrelevant to my interpretation.

Trek fans discuss and strongly disagree on Trek. That's what we do. Some people rated Four and a Half Vulcans 10/10 for crying out loud... with that floating about in the community any opinion is possible.

I said 'queer' as a catch-all so as to play nice with monosexual queer people. I have no problem insisting every fictional character ever is bisexual. Who's going to stop me, the fun police? ACAB lol

Like, yeah? Ortegas gives off queer vibes. This isn't exactly a controversial statement to make, which is why I find the dozen or so "wHaT aRe YoU tAlKiNg AbOuT??!?!?!?!" replies to be overkill. Y'all can see that you aren't the only ones repeating the same question in mostly the same dismissive, mocking tone, so maybe stop and think, "Is this a post I need to make in this manner?" before replying like the grown ups you're supposed to be?

My gender's pretty obvious going by A) my name B) my pronouns literally being listed in my profile. Like, I'm not trying to be a bitch here, but I think it's fair to assume thanks to all the context clues.

I think number ratings are stupid so I don't employ them, but it's a pretty awful ending to an otherwise good episode, so I'm not surprised that someone used a 4.5 rating for it.

Anyway, -0 stars for zero on-screen Sapphic Gorn sex.

 

[Trekker4747]

Like, yeah? Ortegas gives off queer vibes.

How? Other that meeting a butch lesbian stereotype from 1996? IIRC the actress is non-binary and/or bi and nothing has been shown in the series for Ortega's sexual orientation.

(Though, in a S1 shore leave episode aren't her and Chapel talking about going man shopping planet/station-side?

 

[TimeIsAPredator]

Im shocked with all the talk of Enemy Mine that more people are not mentioning the OG crashed pilot buddies.

 

[Sakonna]

One bit of production on this episode I do want to criticize: that moon was one of their least successful uses of the volume. It was so flat and claustrophobic. I really felt a set ceiling above them the whole time, and not open space.

They've had a few real flops with the AR wall. This was as bad as the planet work on "Among The Lotus Eaters" or "Those Old Scientists."

Fortunately, as a Trek viewer, I am well-trained at excusing iffy visualizations of alien planets.

 

[The Wormhole]

The thing which is getting me about the whole "La'an killed the Gorn" thing is, are we going to learn La'an's perspective? What I mean is, afterwards we hear Ortegas give voice to her conflicting feelings about her friend being killed by someone else she considers a friend, but what is La'an's attitude on the matter. Yes, La'an feels she was acting from a sense of defending her crew, and on that matter she feels justified in what she did, and certainly even with how laid back and chill she's become this season, La'an's not one to shed a tear over a dead Gorn, given her history with the species. But does she recognize the fact that Ortegas had developed a friendship with the Gorn? Given La'an's character arc this season of becoming more personable with her crew, does she feel some regret over the necessity (from her perspective) of having to kill Ortegas's friend? There really needs to be a scene between the two of them at some point to explore this issue.

How? Other that meeting a butch lesbian stereotype from 1996? IIRC the actress is nin-binary and/or bi and nothing has been shown in the series for Ortega's sexual orientation.

This. Melissa Navia is herself heterosexual, while there has been nothing in the series to hint at Ortegas's sexual orientation one way or the other. There are people who assume she's a lesbian based on the fact she has short hair, but in actuality that means nothing at all.

 

[TimeIsAPredator]

The thing which is getting me about the whole "La'an killed the Gorn" thing is, are we going to learn La'an's perspective? What I mean is, afterwards we hear Ortegas give voice to her conflicting feelings about her friend being killed by someone else she considers a friend, but what is La'an's attitude on the matter. Yes, La'an feels she was acting from a sense of defending her crew, and on that matter she feels justified in what she did, and certainly even with how laid back and chill she's become this season, La'an's not one to shed a tear over a dead Gorn, given her history with the species. But does she recognize the fact that Ortegas had developed a friendship with the Gorn? Given La'an's character arc this season of becoming more personable with her crew, does she feel some regret over the necessity (from her perspective) of having to kill Ortegas's friend? There really needs to be a scene between the two of them at some point to explore this issue.

This. Melissa Navia is herself heterosexual, while there has been nothing in the series to hint at Ortegas's sexual orientation one way or the other. There are people who assume she's a lesbian based on the fact she has short hair, but in actuality that means nothing at all.

It's very Star Trek that the away team conveniently had weapons set to kill this time. That wouldn't be standard Starfleet policy.

Just one of those "the plot dictates" things that you just have to go with.

Would have thought it very powerful if the crew were too late and Ortegas died leading to La'an killing Ortegas "murderer".

 

[Kamen Rider Blade]

So just a though without having rewatched the episode...Erica 'ignites the air' to alert the Enterprise?

So what exactly are they breathing after that?

More like 'Ignite the Upper Atmosphere'.

I was just thinking about the landing party La’an led at the end there - why did Pike send a party of nothing but security officers?

M’Benga or Chapel should’ve been part of it, maybe also Spock. That would’ve lessened the chances of folks shooting first and asking questions later.

They didn't know how bad of a situation Ortegas was going to be in, so send in security to plan for the worse.
I'm sure the Medical Team is on "StandBy Status for Incoming Injuries".
The fact that they can easily beam in/out shows they're operating under their usual Emergency Situation SOP's.

One bit of production on this episode I do want to criticize: that moon was one of their least successful uses of the volume. It was so flat and claustrophobic. I really felt a set ceiling above them the whole time, and not open space.

It felt fine to me.

 

[Tosk]

More like 'Ignite the Upper Atmosphere'.

If it was only the upper atmosphere, what's with all the flames blasting all over Erica and her special lady friend at ground level?

 

[Kamen Rider Blade]

It's very Star Trek that the away team conveniently had weapons set to kill this time. That wouldn't be standard Starfleet policy.

I don't think it was on kill; remember, kill mode turns a target into Vaporized Particle Cloud or Giant Human sized Chunky Salsa.
Most of us has seen the effect of a person being killed by a Phaser.

Go back and watch it, there were 3 shots fired, 2 visible shots landed and left small burn holes.

But given the previous leg infection, crappy diet of giant bugs, there's a high probability that multiple stun shots that landed (assuming all 3 shots landed, 1 shot landing might've been off frame) would've easily killed the Gorn Pilot.

IRL, Police who use "Less Lethal" options like 'Tasers' or 'Bean Bag Rounds' have on occaision been able to incur enough injuries that somebody with pre-existing medical conditions or injuries could die.

So it stands to logical reason that 3 successive Stun or Medium Phaser shots could do the same to the Gorn Pilot who had a long term leg infection, wasn't anywhere close to 100% dietary health, & not wearing any form of body armor or shields.

If it was only the upper atmosphere, what's with all the flames blasting all over Erica and her special lady friend at ground level?

Incase their calculations were wrong and it came back down to the lower atmosphere.

Which they were correct to prepare for.

It's not like this action of igniting the atmosphere was done with scientific precision.

This is MythBusters level of Red Neck Science w/o advanced tools.

Guess the problem & solution.

Hide behind the "Blast Shield", hope for the best and that you don't die.

 

[Tosk]

Go back and watch it, there were 3 shots fired, 2 visible shots landed and left small burn holes.

Phasers on stun don't burn holes through the target.

(Unless pressed right up against the target as per Star Trek 6)

 

[AntonyF]

My gender's pretty obvious going by A) my name B) my pronouns literally being listed in my profile. Like, I'm not trying to be a bitch here, but I think it's fair to assume thanks to all the context clues.

You're wrong to think that I noticed, cared or investigated things like your gender. I didn't. I just reply to people here. Can't say the same for everyone but I honestly don't' tend to pay attention. Also you're being quite hetero-normative to assume that Julie is a woman's name anyway. We have Michael Burnham, for one.

But if you're going to post an opinion that people don't agree - and it was a pretty left field one - don't then then throw your toys of the pram that it's because you're a woman, because you're bi-sexual and now you're going to complain about people acting like "grown ups" which again is not going to win you friends or influence people either.

I totally back your opinion and the right to have it. I don't agree with it. That's my opinion. They are different, contradictory there is no way to say who is right or wrong unless a writer says so. I'm not saying I am right. But please don't make it about gender etc. and accuse people of being not grown up, as it's doesn't help any of us and cheapens our Star Trek disagreements.
I'll argue about Trek with anyone whomever they are.

 

[Detached Nacelle]

It's very Star Trek that the away team conveniently had weapons set to kill this time. That wouldn't be standard Starfleet policy.

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[Kamen Rider Blade]

Phasers on stun don't burn holes through the target.

(Unless pressed right up against the target as per Star Trek 6)

there are plenty of Phaser Levels between Stun & Kill.

Type 3 Phasers have 16 Power Settings usually.
Assuming:
- Stun = 1
- Kill = 16
The team could've picked any integer value in between.

Maybe they were somewhere in the middle or lower settings, but still above Stun.

Who knows what was set, we didn't see the Security Team Prep, so it's a guess.

The only thing I can tell was that it wasn't on Vaporize or Kill.

The effects of those are far more obvious & visible.

 

[Yistaan]

Does La'an feel remorseful about killing the Gorn? Or is she all "I don't need to apologize for how I do my job"? It's not shown and left to viewers' imaginations...

 

[Tosk]

there are plenty of Phaser Levels between Stun & Kill.

Just as there are levels between kill and vaporize.

The only thing I can tell was that it wasn't on Vaporize or Kill.

You can safely say they weren't set to vaporize.
But kill still seems pretty certain to me.

 

[Jedi Marso]

Best Gorn episode of any Trek since TOS.

Including Mirror-universe Archer gluing one to the deck with the gravity plates? C'mon, man!

 

[The Wormhole]

We have seen plenty of examples of phasers set to kill that didn't vaporize.

 

[AntonyF]

Does La'an feel remorseful about killing the Gorn? Or is she all "I don't need to apologize for how I do my job"? It's not shown and left to viewers' imaginations...

Moving on! On to next week, where they'll probably be doing a Vaudeville show on the bridge...