Spoilers Star Trek: Khan 1x07 - "I Am Marla"

[Yistaan]

So since Trek's world is mostly identical to our world except for the existence of Star Trek as a franchise and the various differences shown whenever Trek time travels to the 20th/21st centuries, that means that Khan, who now lived in the 21st century thanks to SNW's timeline changes, may have watched Netflix's Witcher which involved mind controlling worms entering people's ears.

 

[NCC-73515]

Was that song from before 1996, or from the Enterprise database?
Good stuff, also the ambient sound of bubbling water, and Khan's sobs at the end, though that seemed out of character based on how he was in Space Seed and WoK. But I guess it's meant to show how impactful it was, if it even makes that kinda guy break down sobbing.
The KHAAAAAN! scream was a nice (if obvious) easteregg

 

[Christopher]

Was that song from before 1996, or from the Enterprise database?

Per the revised timeline, Khan is still a young boy in the 2020s, so the Eugenics Wars are still a couple of decades away.

Khan's sobs at the end, though that seemed out of character based on how he was in Space Seed and WoK.

On the contrary, given how vengeful he was toward Kirk in TWOK, it's entirely consistent for him to have an extreme emotional reaction to losing Marla. And breaking down crying when your spouse dies is the most normal thing in the world. Who wouldn't do that, no matter how stoic or tough they might seem the rest of the time?

 

[Zarm]

Yeah, I have been critical of Khan's sensitivity in the early episodes, but this was an instance where it felt completely justified with the character we know. Perhaps it is the last time he ever will, the breaking of him and the forging of his vengeance... but if ever anything would move Khan to tears, it would be this.

 

[NCC-73515]

I would have expected more room-smashing rage instead. But it could be a sign that he's only firm and harsh on the outside, and has that hidden sensitive inner core he hides from everyone.

 

[Christopher]

I would have expected more room-smashing rage instead. But it could be a sign that he's only firm and harsh on the outside, and has that hidden sensitive inner core he hides from everyone.

It's a sign that he's a human being with a normal range of emotion rather than a simplistically written caricature who acts the same in every situation. Consider the context. Who would he get angry at there? The Ceti eels? He's watching his wife sacrifice herself so their child can live. He's saying goodbye to her, suddenly, unexpectedly. Not to mention that he was in an infirmary whose machines were keeping Marla and the baby alive, so "room-smashing" would be profoundly inadvisable.

 

[NCC-73515]

Consider him in TOS and in WoK
Also, isn't that possibility included in what I wrote?
When Odo smashed his room, who was he angry at?
And besides all that, I am, like everyone else, writing my impressions, interpretations, thoughts on the episode.
Why try to change those?

 

[Christopher]

Consider him in TOS and in WoK

Exactly my point -- this is a very different situation than either of those, so it shouldn't be surprising that Khan is acting differently. Well-written characters are not stereotypes that always react in a single way. You can't know a person's entire range of possibilities from only two encounters with them. We can all be very different people in different contexts.

When Odo smashed his room, who was he angry at?

Odo's room didn't contain life support equipment necessary for keeping his wife and baby alive. It's quite possible, even likely, that Khan tore up his own quarters in rage right after this episode, or went out into the woods and tore up some trees, but there's no reason to expect it to happen right there at that moment in the infirmary when he's saying goodbye. What you'd expect of any human being in that situation is to break down crying, with the rage coming later. Grief is a multifaceted thing.

And besides all that, I am, like everyone else, writing my impressions, interpretations, thoughts on the episode.
Why try to change those?

I'm just offering an alternative point of view. This is a discussion board, after all, and there'd be nothing to discuss if everyone had the same perspective.

 

[David Mack]

Wow. That one hurt. Well done to all involved.

@David Mack --- there was one bit of dialogue that I couldn't quite get at the 29:00 mark, "I owe you my life many times over. Baghdad, the Ren desert (at least that's what the subtitles say), the jungles of Ceti Alpha 5..."

According to the final broadcast version of the script, it is “Ryn desert,” which overlaps the border of northern Kazakhstan and southern Russia.

There's also a credit that I'm interested in-- "Additional writing by Mac Rogers". Background characters?

Mac Rogers is (was?) a producer with Realm, the company that did the actual audio production of Khan. Rogers was not involved in the writing of our drafts of Khan.

I’m not privy to the details of Mac’s contract with regard to credit. What I do know is that he co-wrote with Nicholas Meyer the story revision and scripts for nine episodes, when it was still titled Ceti Alpha. That version was the last one before Kirsten and I came aboard.

Kirsten and I were asked to incorporate some elements from those earlier drafts into our version. Because we can’t know for certain what was Nick’s and what was Mac’s, I think the “additional writing by” credit might have been put forward as a catch-all (but that’s just a guess, so take it with a grain of salt).

 

[Turtletrekker]

According to the final broadcast version of the script, it is “Ryn desert,” which overlaps the border of northern Kazakhstan and southern Russia.

Thank you for this. Ever since the show began dropping locations of Eugenics Wars battles in various episodes, I have been trying to get a grasp on the map of the Middle East and Central Asia (and North Africa as per Enterprise and Archer's great-granddad) of just how expansive Khan's 40-nation empire was. Even just with off-hand throw-away references, you're painting quite a picture in that regard.

 

[Tosk]

"That" scene was quite effective and affecting.

 

[JD]

Wow, the big scene for Marla was pretty shocking. Obviously we knew it was coming, but it was so well done that it was still pretty shocking to hear it actually play out.
I wasn't sure what to expect for Ivan, but that was not it. I have a strong feeling that is going come back to bite Khan in the ass, especially now that Ursula is pissed at him too now.

 

[Turtletrekker]

Per the revised timeline, Khan is still a young boy in the 2020s, so the Eugenics Wars are still a couple of decades away.

Mathing the math (never my strong suit) and doing some conjecturing -- using the ages of the actors who have played Khan as a baseline (but not necessarily as an absolute) -- Ricardo Montalban was about 45 while filming Space Seed and Desmond Sivan was 12 while filming Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow.

Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow took place in 2022, so we could conjecture Khan's birth to be around 2010. If Khan was the same age as Montalban in Space Seed, and the Eugenics Wars still lasted 4 years, that would place the wars between the years of 2051-2055. Which puts about 6 years in between the end of the wars and first contact.

Again, that's just using the actor's ages as a baseline. I think my choice would be to make Khan a little younger than Montalban myself, but that's just me.

 

[Christopher]

Again, that's just using the actor's ages as a baseline. I think my choice would be to make Khan a little younger than Montalban myself, but that's just me.

I think Khan would have to be significantly younger than Montalban, because Spock said a group of "young supermen" seized power in 1993 (though he later said Khan had ruled since 1992), and Khan and the others were exiled in 1996.

 

[UssGlenn]

It never made sense that one augment uprising from one Fed founding planet that was already said to be extremely backwards before First Contact (Earth) uses their barbaric past to justify augment bans for the ENTIRE Federation (especially when Phlox said that Denobulans use genetic engineering with no problem--is this why Denobulans are seemingly not among the founding Fed members?)

My personal theory is that most other species have gone through their genetic engineering phase long ago and have advanced as far as they can safely. It's now passed down naturally and is why it seems like everyone is stronger or smarter or longer lived than humans. They don't advertise this fact and are happy to let the upstart humans voluntarily limit their terrifying potential.

 

[Yistaan]

My personal theory is that most other species have gone through their genetic engineering phase long ago and have advanced as far as they can safely. It's now passed down naturally and is why it seems like everyone is stronger or smarter or longer lived than humans. They don't advertise this fact and are happy to let the upstart humans voluntarily limit their terrifying potential.

I like this idea. It makes a surprising amount of sense and fits that every other race does seem to be stronger than the humans. Although going bye Enterprise genetic engineering was something new to Klingons at least.

 

[FredH]

Although going bye Enterprise genetic engineering was something new to Klingons at least.

Was it? They were encoding secrets in their own courier’s DNA already.

 

[Turtletrekker]

Was it? They were encoding secrets in their own courier’s DNA already.

Well, they felt the need to inject their people with human Augment DNA.

 

[Lord Garth]

Getting caught up with Khan. I hit a good stopping point with my DS9/VOY/B5 (Re-)Watches.

This episode was an examination of all the different directions Khan could go in and how others perceive him. Ivan thinks Khan has gone soft and that Marla has changed him. Khan says that's being pragmatic and that he'll turn on the Elboreans as soon as he gets a chance. At this point, I think Khan is trying to convince himself of that more than anything else. He's beginning to see how an alliance with the Elboreans can benefit his people, if he can bend the situation to his advantage. So, in a way, I think what he's telling Ivan is the truth, but he's telling it in a way that Ivan wants to hear.

Ivan tries to poison Khan, Khan sees right through it, and right there Ivan wants Khan to kill him. I like that Ivan was the super-hardliner trying to make sure that Khan would stay the course. I like how Khan rationalizes not killing Ivan by saying that betraying Khan means that he's not worthy of being killed. That seems like a rationalization on Khan's part. Instead, Khan banishes Ivan. Then he gives the "KHAN!!!!" scream. Interesting to hear it in this different context.

Khan seems torn between doing what he has to in order ensure a beneficial alliance with the Elboreans, having a happy marriage with Marla, and making sure is people remain loyal. And it's interesting to see what Khan does when any of these moving parts come into conflict with one another.

Before when Marla was pregnant, I had a feeling she'd die sooner rather than later. It's sad that turned out to be the case. The Elboreans could either save Marla or her child, Kali. I agree with Khan that they could have other children. A sad, powerful scene as Marla descends into a coma. Unfortunately, it also felt a little bit like, "This is what's happening because it has to happen." At the very least, Marla got to decide how she goes out.

On the Excelsior end, I'm interested to see where things go next. What is Tuvok going to find out next? And what's Lear worried about?

Overall, I give it an 8.

Listening to the next episode, as I play catchup.