Spoilers Episode 7 "Nepenthe"

[DarthTimon]

I've seen a couple of arguments to the effect that Riker and Troi not breaking the rules to save Thad was out of character and not in keeping with Star Trek tradition - but if there is literally no positronic framework in which to develop the cure they needed, what could they have been expected to do? The whole point of that particular subplot was to remind the audience of the consequences of such wide, sweeping behaviour. It's a metaphor for racial stereotyping.

 

[JoeZhang]

I thought it was a metaphor for stem cell research myself.

 

[cooleddie74]

It was another tragic death exacerbated by a lack of necessary technology at the moment of passing, much like Robert and Rene Picard dying of a fire when - as others have pointed out - a 24th century fire suppression system should have saved them. It happens in Trek.

David McCoy died because his son released him from his pain and there was no cure for his ailment discovered until afterwards. Medical tragedies still happen in the 23rd and 24th centuries.

 

[DarthTimon]

I thought it was a metaphor for stem cell research myself.

It could be both, depending on your interpretation.

 

[AlanC9]

What I can't figure out is, how does Agnes being unconscious prevent the transponder she swallowed from working?

My bet would be that the unconsciousness is more along the lines of a regrettable side-effect than a cause of disabling the tracker.

Jurati's a big-shot scientist, but this is a little outside of her core expertise. Maybe other chemicals might have been more efficient.

 

[thribs]

Well aware of that, thank you. Never said they were. I just thought they were trying to keep things consistent.

They aren’t even being consistent with the nova from the JJ films. I don’t understand where you got that from.

 

[Admiral Picard]

I really loved this episode, it was quite emotional and that is mainly because of a lovely family named Riker. All of them brought their a-game and especially Marina has never been better. Tremendous actress. Jonathan was also spot on. "Shields up!" was really funny, but besides that he still is the Riker we all love. And Lulu Wilson as Kestra was really sweet. The scenes with her and Soji were also blessed with a great chemistry of both actresses. All scenes shot on Nepenthe were brilliant.
On the other side I hated to see another TNG era character dying, namely Hugh. Was that really necessary? Elnor was great. But if there one character I really dislike it has to be Jurati. She might be under control from Commodore Oh, but gosh, she is so annoying. Neelix factor 7.

9/10 overall

 

[urbandefault]

I've seen several comments here that suggest Captain Crandall might be Q. What dialogue was said that made this a possibility?

Wishful thinking.

 

[Samurai8472]

These are two retired men who are comfortable with each other not two officers on the bridge. More importantly - you simply aren't getting to get the sort of stagy slow exchanges you used to see on TNG - that was three decades ago - the world has moved on.

Moreover - it just felt right - far more nature performances between three actors than we got to see in the past.

That expresses my comments more precisely

Speaking of that I had almost forgot "Enterprise" and trying to make human's sound more relaxed

"Knocking you on your ass"

 

[thribs]

I've seen several comments here that suggest Captain Crandall might be Q. What dialogue was said that made this a possibility?

It was on a article speculating on who this captain could be.

 

[Nerys Myk]

Turns out Q was the bunnicorn Kestra killed. Oops.

 

[Rahul]

Somehow I just didn't care that much for this episode.

Seeing Riker and Troi again was pretty neat. I hate the "tragic family death related to main story"-trope. But I absolutely frikkin' adore Kestra. Overall that part was nice.

Sadly, I start to find the main story lacking. "Robot apocalypse" is a surprisingly lame topic for a Star Trek episode, let alone a whole season. The most dubious part is that it seems to be connected to DIS season 2, which, was probably one of the dumbest realisation of this concept I have ever watched on television. Sometimes a good mystery is better than the solution. If the solution is "Control" - I'm gonna' be severely disappointed. Why the freck would PIC focus on a season 2 story of another show that felt more like a last-minute effort because their main story fell through beccause they had to fire the producers?

I wanna' see something more ambitious for a season long arc. "A.I. gonna' revolt" just doesn't cut it anymore in a world as interconnected with A.I. as ours. I wanna' see something more nuanced. Even nuBattlestar Galactica managed to make this whole "robot uprising"-topic a bit more clever.

 

[Agony_Boothb]

La Sirena - Obviously they were being tracked. Did Rios really not suspect Cuckoo Bird Jurati and thought it was Raffi? He doesnt know Jurati from a hole in the wall. Why suspect someone youve known for years and not this nutjob? Although maybe it is bec he knows her that it seemed likely. And Jurati's loony tune quality is not known to him yet.

Nah I think Rios has been suspicious of Jurati since day one and he's known Raffi for at least 15 years. He lied to Jurati about knowing what Raffi was up to on Freecloud as Raffi told him in the previous episode. There is something about their early exchanges that seemed to feel like Rios was superficially feigning interest in Jurati. I also think that he played along with her seduction to gain her trust. I think Rios was about to tell Raffi his suspicions about Jurati before they got interrupted.

 

[Agony_Boothb]

he most dubious part is that it seems to be connected to DIS season 2, which, was probably one of the dumbest realisation of this concept I have ever watched on television. Sometimes a good mystery is better than the solution. If the solution is "Control" - I'm gonna' be severely disappointed. Why the freck would PIC focus on a season 2 story of another show that felt more like a last-minute effort because their main story fell through beccause they had to fire the producers?

I don't think control is going to be involved at all and I think the reason the 'A.I threat' trope is being so heavily telegraphed is because it's a misdirect. Also at the recent Star Trek Cruise, Discovery season 3 props have been released for public viewing, some of the text accompanying the props states openly that Discovery's efforts to neutralise control were successful and that the Federation is in trouble due to other unrelated reasons (https://www.trekbbs.com/threads/dsc-season-3-props-on-display-on-the-star-trek-cruise.303387/)

 

[Tarek71]

Given the way Riker talked about Crandall, I pictured some Jimmy Buffett Margaritaville looking guy hanging around the beach bars on Napenthe and talking up all his space stories over the decades. Some of which might even be true.

 

[SolarisOne]

This thread:
Me:

 

[Tuskin38]

Chabon confirmed on Instagram that the Fenris ranger distress beacon was Hugh's.

 

[The Old Mixer]

But apparently it's more like moving to Arizona when you have TB.

I'm not familiar with this, but I'd say that the Troi-Rikers were grasping at an unconventional solution. Notably, it didn't work. Planet grows great vegetables =/= magical panacea planet.

 

[SpocksOddSocks]

Given the way Riker talked about Crandall, I pictured some Jimmy Buffett Margaritaville looking guy hanging around the beach bars on Napenthe and talking up all his space stories over the decades. Some of which might even be true.

Oh no. It's going to be Mudd, isn't it?

A few minutes of thinking about how he's even older than Picard, and I'm already convinced.

 

[Nerys Myk]

Oh no. It's going to be Mudd, isn't it?

A few minutes of thinking about how he's even older than Picard, and I'm already convinced.

Were jippers mentioned?