Spoilers Star Trek: Short Treks 1x04 - "The Escape Artist"

[Jadeb]

^Based on Discovery's track record, I would guess it had less to do with avoiding graphic imagery than keeping costs down for the short. And needing a plot device to fall off the ship.

The Mudd short was by far my favorite. It didn't really hook me until the end, but then I was sold completely. Rainn Wilson's head on that body might be the best thing Discovery has ever done.

Calypso was my second favorite. The other two were OK. Runaway reminded me of early TNG, in a not-so-good way, and the Saru one was just sort of there. I do like that it added pathos to his character in that he can never return home.

 

[Vger23]

I had certainly imagined the hunter/prey dynamic more... literally. Especially given the obvious gazelle inspiration for the species. As portrayed, it was more like the Wraith from SG:A. I guess they were trying to avoid something graphic but it seemed more like sacrifice than hunting. I suppose this could be simply a modern, industrialised version of an older practice. Something akin to a gas chamber.

Well that's made that episode more depressing.

I think my disappointment came from all the build-up about Saru's species being a "prey" race, and that's why they have hightened senses, enhanced strength, extreme running speeds etc.

From an evolutionary standpoint, if there're really, as you put it, "gas chamber fodder...." that doesn't lend itself to the development of those abilities.

It wasn't a deal-breaker...it just went against what I thought were reasonable expectations.

 

[Jadeb]

^Agree. That didn’t make a lot of sense to me, as they seemed to just wait around to get called up. (Of course, I find it hard to swallow the whole “sense death” conceit, so I’m not sure seeing them get chased down and gobbled up would have made much difference for me.)

 

[Vger23]

^Agree. That didn’t make a lot of sense to me, as they seemed to just wait around to get called up. (Of course, I’m not a big fan of the whole “sense death” conceit.)

I'm not either, but it's at least a new and creative trait for a Star Trek species...rather than "they're warriors" or "they're pacifists" or whatever.

It's like how I feel about the spore drive sometimes. To quote Lando Calrissian: "I don't like it. I don't agree with it. But I accept it." At least the spore drive was an attempt to introduce some new and exciting technology to a franchise that has relied on the same exact things for 50 years. And, for that, I appreciate it.

 

[Jadeb]

I'm not either, but it's at least a new and creative trait for a Star Trek species...rather than "they're warriors" or "they're pacifists" or whatever.

It's like how I feel about the spore drive sometimes. To quote Lando Calrissian: "I don't like it. I don't agree with it. But I accept it." At least the spore drive was an attempt to introduce some new and exciting technology to a franchise that has relied on the same exact things for 50 years. And, for that, I appreciate it.

I buy that. I just wish they hadn’t gone so far with it. Had he sensed danger instead of death, I’d have had an easier time with it.

With his cool look and threat ganglia, that would have been enough, IMO.

 

[Vger23]

I buy that. I just wish they hadn’t gone so far with it. Had he sensed danger instead of death, I’d have had an easier time with it.

With his cool look and threat ganglia, that would have been enough, IMO.

I've actually pretty much interpreted it as exactly that...rather than take his "coming of death" literally. To me, it's just a heightened sense that danger is near.

 

[David cgc]

I suppose this could be simply a modern, industrialised version of an older practice.

That was my interpretation, especially with what Saru's father said about it being a bargain that so long as they submitted themselves to the floaty thing when they had thier [untranslatable alien term], they'd be allowed to live in peace.

 

[Timo]

I've actually pretty much interpreted it as exactly that...rather than take his "coming of death" literally. To me, it's just a heightened sense that danger is near.

Statistically, Saru's ganglia just plain don't work. Half the time, when they emerge, nobody dies. Half the time somebody dies, they don't emerge. Heck, the ganglia of the guy who was about to be eaten by the Emperor didn't emerge, either.

It's just a silly belief of theirs, is all.

Timo Saloniemi

 

[CorporalClegg]

@Vger23 is right. Biologically speaking, the ganglia are probably just an appendage connected to an over-sensitive flight response. (And nothing much beyond some animals on Earth.) And it's like that, in their natural habitat, usually someone died.

But Saru is in the magical Star Trek techie tech world with its own rules for the mortal coil.

But even 'sensing' death doesn't always mean there's going to be one. I mean if I were to play a game of Russian roulette with four of my friends and we used a six-shooter, I'm sure I'd sense death too. But it is still possible that everyone walks away.

 

[David cgc]

Biologically speaking, the ganglia are probably just an appendage connected to an over-sensitive flight response. (And nothing much beyond some animals on Earth.)

Reading through Desperate Hours, one of the things that struck me in scenes written from Saru's perspective that didn't come across in the two-part pilot was that, in modern terms, Saru basically has an anxiety disorder. He's jumping at everything, even though he's in a world that has significantly fewer things that need to be jumped away from now. Same with Fear Itself, which showed that, for a while, he was using a holographic training device that would actually create deadly threats sneaking around his quarters trying to get the jump on him as a therapeutic aid, since he needed to burn off all that nervous energy somehow.

I expect that later in the season we'll get some more details on how Saru basically growing up on a farm fits with the way his physiology seems designed for a much more law-of-the-jungle environment, but like I said, the answer probably boils down to it being a recent arrangement in evolutionary terms, and the Baul don't care to selectively breed for docility (maybe, unlike on Earth, they think the terror makes the meat taste better so they want to keep the Kelpians jumpy and soaked in space-cortisol).

 

[CorporalCaptain]

I expect that later in the season we'll get some more details on how Saru basically growing up on a farm fits with the way his physiology seems designed for a much more law-of-the-jungle environment

There you've drawn a big red circle around what ruined "The Brightest Star" for me. However, I'm not holding my breath for an explanation that makes any kind of sense, because this is just yet another item on the list of reasons why DISCO is like a patchwork quilt that doesn't really mesh well with itself.

 

[Turtletrekker]

Saru's people are bred as livestock. The religious indoctrination we saw was obviously to keep the Kelpians bred in captivity from protesting or resisting their fate. I imagine that a "free-range" Kelpian, one not raised in captivity for later slaughter, would have a little more fight in him/her.

 

[Unimatrix Q]

I'm almost conviced that the writers changed the hunters on the kelpian home world into Ferengi pirates. I mentioned most of the clues that i found in my thread:

https://www.trekbbs.com/threads/could-the-baul-be-ferengi.297874/

One of the strongest hints imo is the name change of the kelpian homeworld, known during Season 1 as Kelpia, into Kaminar.

Kaminar
Ferenginar

'Nuff said

 

[CorporalCaptain]

Saru's people are bred as livestock. The religious indoctrination we saw was obviously to keep the Kelpians bred in captivity from protesting or resisting their fate. I imagine that a "free-range" Kelpian, one not raised in captivity for later slaughter, would have a little more fight in him/her.

Yeah, I remember that Saru's people are bred as livestock. Right out of the gate in "The Vulcan Hello," Saru said that his people were hunted, bred, and farmed.

Saru was remarkably fleet of foot, as we see demonstrated in "Si Vis Pacem, Para Bellum," giving him outstanding fleeing abilities, which would suggest that he was bred to be hunted prey. Yet there he is in a docile community as if on a farm. It's incongruous.

Or maybe it's a puzzle box. Maybe we'll learn that the Kelpiens weren't slaughtered at the obelisk, but beamed out to be sold as game. That would make it bred, farmed, and hunted, not hunted, bred, and farmed. Who knows.

 

[Turtletrekker]

That's why I brought up the religious indoctrination. What better way to get the Kelpians to ignore their better instincts?

 

[drt]

My assumption with the Kelpians is that in the past they were prey animals, but upon achieving sentience the overall threat was diminished (likely because they did evolve their superior threat detection systems), so they were sble to build houses, farms, etc., although their planet is still dangerous so they might still be preyed upon if not careful.

The thing with the Baul is something recent - it may not even be they're being taken to be eaten, their docile nature makes them pretty good slaves. This seems like something about which Starfleet should be concerned - i wouldn't be surprised if this ends up being explored in a future episode.

 

[rhllot]

I love seeing the inside of a tellarite ship !! we need more tellarites and andorians in the show

 

[BillJ]

Probably my favorite story from the Discovery folks, thus far.