Spoilers My favourite episode (so far) is "Lift Us where Suffering Cannot Reach".

[Neb Lleb]

Ever since I extended my renewed Amazon Prime subscription to also include Paramount Plus, I've begun watching two Star Trek shows: Enterprise and Star Trek: Strange New Worlds. And of the latter, so far my favourite is season 1 episode 6, "Lift Us where Suffering Cannot Reach".
I love it because it subverts your expectations in the best way possible: The mystery at the heart of the story is introduced well, built on gradually, and has numerous twists and turns to keep you guessing, going from "who's out to kill the First Servant?" to "what is the PURPOSE of the First Servant?". They successfully keep you in the dark throughout the 50+ minute runtime whilst also giving us some solid character interactions between Pike and Alora and M'benga and Gamal.

However, what makes it my favourite is the final twist: The revelation of the First Servant's purpose and Pike's final confrontation with Alora. It's one of the most heartbreaking, tearjerking things I've ever seen. Pike's growing fury over the fact that the Magellans force a child to suffer for the purpose of a Utopia and Alora's attempts to defend her society is some of the best written, best acted television I've ever seen, and it delivers a solid moral quandary without being outwardly obvious in the answer: "Should we force innocents to suffer for the sake of a perfect world or should we work to build a better, yet imperfect society?". It's exactly why Star Trek is so good: the examination of human dilemmas and moral problems through the lens of science fiction, and as the credits rolled I couldn't help but consider it my favourite.

But that's just me. I know there are still two episodes and two more seasons to go, so maybe things will change.

 

[AntonyF]

I'm interested to hear you say that because I often think back to that episode as being really good and what I was hoping the show would be more like before it starts to go downhill.

It feels worldbuilding to me... and it has a lot going for it.

 

[Leo Walsh]

I liked this one tremendously...but I've never been able to watch it a second time. The climax is too horrific.

It's derivative of LeGuin's story, but not nearly to the extent that Coon's "Arena" copied Brown's.

 

[Pumpkin Bread]

Instead of "the ones who walk away from Omelas", it's "the ones who walk into Omelas, and bring satchel charges".

We never hear of this world again. Maybe someone managed to bring it down, preferably before the next sacrifice was made.

 

[Zombie Cheerleader]

Instead of "the ones who walk away from Omelas", it's "the ones who walk into Omelas, and bring satchel charges".

We never hear of this world again. Maybe someone managed to bring it down, preferably before the next sacrifice was made.

If I had a nickel for every world never heard of again in Star Trek…

 

[Crewman Commander]

I liked this one tremendously...but I've never been able to watch it a second time. The climax is too horrific.

It's derivative of LeGuin's story, but not nearly to the extent that Coon's "Arena" copied Brown's.

"The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas," yeah.

While I was watching the episode, when they said that the First Servant was selected by lottery to embody among others a principle of sacrifice, I immediately thought of, well, "The Lottery" by Shirley Jackson. Given that, the horrific ending did not surprise me, though it was still utterly gut-wrenching.

 

[Pumpkin Bread]

If I had a nickel for every world never heard of again in Star Trek…

The technologically advanced ones are a bit harder to explain away, though.

While I was watching the episode, when they said that the First Servant was selected by lottery to embody among others a principle of sacrifice, I immediately thought of, well, "The Lottery" by Shirley Jackson.

I remember that... I think that "The Lottery" let us down easy, considering that at least the chosen person (limited spoiler) was an adult.

Given that, the horrific ending did not surprise me, though it was still utterly gut-wrenching.

And bitterly ironic. Pike and the Enterprise were fighting for the wrong side.

A part of me wishes he and a security team had gone in there and pulled the kid from the machine regardless... at least allowed him a relatively peaceful end.

 

[Zombie Cheerleader]

The technologically advanced ones are a bit harder to explain away, though.

Space is big, real big. In fact, you won't believe how big it is.

Sorted.

 

[Pumpkin Bread]

If you prefer a head canon where that floating abomination continues to slaughter children, then knock yourself out. Some of my head canon (like Mullibok from "Progress") is no less brutal.

 

[Zombie Cheerleader]

If you prefer a head canon where that floating abomination continues to slaughter children, then knock yourself out. Some of my head canon (like Mullibok from "Progress") is no less brutal.

Me? Not really. But I don't need to see it change in an episode of SNW.

 

[Leo Walsh]

If you prefer a head canon where that floating abomination continues to slaughter children, then knock yourself out. Some of my head canon (like Mullibok from "Progress") is no less brutal.

I prefer fiction that doesn't spoonfeed the notion that all the evil in the world can be neatly repaired.

 

[Pumpkin Bread]

I prefer fiction that doesn't spoonfeed the notion that all the evil in the world can be neatly repaired.

How about messily repaired?

 

[fireproof78]

How about messily repaired?

Bronx accent: yeah, I can get fixed for ya it's gonna take a lot of duct tape.