I clearly haven’t been keeping up with the news; I had to go look that up.
Defecting to NK is like defecting to a poorly supplied prison camp.
Spoilers Star Trek: Strange New Worlds 2x08 - "Under the Cloak of War"
- Thread starter Commander Richard
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Defecting to NK is like defecting to a poorly supplied prison camp.
Unless Dak'rah's ambassador title is honorary or something, presumably he has an official position in L'Rell's government to even be called that title.
EDIT: Never mind, Memory Alpha calls him a Fed ambassador. Strange.
Dak'Rah explicitly calling out Klingon culture as barbaric was an interesting, intentional detail. Given everything else we learn about him, it paints him as a bit of a mess psychologically, which I believe was the intention. He's undoubtedly guilty of terrible war crimes, but he's also greatly damaged/affected by that war. He's definitely not a black/white character.
I don’t see how M’Benga ends up walking away from one with no prison time, though. Getting the case with the knife out is premeditation.
Starfleet won't be worried about what the Klingons think. They WILL be worried (and incensed) over the fact that the CMO of a starship knifed a Federation ambassador to death- in his own sick bay. Starfleet Command is going to have questions about that, I reckon!
But he wasn't a Klingon national, he defected. He was as much of a Federation citizen as anyone else on that ship, the Klingons wouldn't care what happened to him no matter what, it's an entirely internal matter.
Though, I have to say, if I was an Alidar Jarok-type thinking these Federation people might be all right, the story of how a Klingon general defected, became the poster boy for how the Federation turns enemies into friends, and was a killed in a meaningless, seemingly unprovoked scuffle with a high-ranking doctor on the Federation flagship, I'd probably have some second thoughts about how reliable all that UFP propaganda really was.
This isn't some half-drunk rando stabbing Aamin Marritza on the Promenade for being a Cardassian, this was deliberate and knowingly done against a celebrity who the killer had met. I mean, this is nuts. This is like if a World War II vet stabbed von Braun in the '70s while they were both at work at NASA. It's wild, and Pike really should've been a bit more horrified rather than offering M'Benga a shoulder to cry on.
Also, as much as I complain about DSC and SNW not being able to remember that Klingons aren't are friends yet, having a Klingon defector be a coward, fraud, and genocidal maniac who needed killing by the ship's kindly old doctor is way too far in the opposite direction.
Yes, he’s a defector who was, for some inexplicable reason, made an ambassador for the Federation. That feels really nonsensical to me. If anything, he should be living in obscurity on a bleak backwater planet.
He was the Federation ambassador to the Klingons.
I'm guessing the Klingons when they hear of his death will say, "Good."
I'm guessing the Klingons when they hear of his death will say, "Good."
That's the thing, all of the evidence points to Dak'Rah bringing the knife.
What I didn't understand was that poor young ensign had a Red Vest while Va'Al Trask had a pure black suit for a night-operation.
Why on earth do you want to make your poor ensign stand out like a Red Coat?
Basic Camouflage for your uniform is essential, given that they're running night operations, wearing a mostly "Black Uniform" makes perfect sense for the situation.
But wearing that Red Chest during a Night Operation is STUPID from a basic tactics perspective.
It was literally painting a bulls-eye on the Young Ensign.
Why didn't everybody have a all black uniform for Night-Ops?
And Seriously, why aren't their StarFleet Insignia's "Black-ed Out" for Camouflage purposes on their Combat Uniform?
That shiny emblem is a giant "Shoot Me Right Here" signal to the enemy.
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So the knife is known as the one that killed Dak'rah's 3 generals. Everyone thinks Dak'rah killed his generals but M'Benga knows he really did it.
The DNA of the 3 generals on the knife along with Dak'rah's shows that whoever killed the 3 generals also brought the knife. Since everyone thinks Dak'rah killed his generals, they assume he brought the knife to sickbay and is responsible for the fight and thus Dak'rah caused his own death. M'Benga knows otherwise but doesn't correct them to save himself.
This went by so fast in the episode it wasn't clear at first. Only now it's starting to make sense and I wrote it down to clarify it for myself and others.
This is basically SNW's In the Pale Moonlight, with M'Benga in the role of Sisko killing a shady diplomat and covering it up.
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I haven’t read the comments yet. But man this episode packed a punch. It felt very Seize of AR558 and It’s a Paper Moon then add the diplomat part. Very good. I really liked Una’s “Federation but people are on their own journey” line. This was really good. Solid.
She lied about having seen the fight (it was obscured by a wall) in order to support M'Benga, but we don't know whether or not she knew that it was M'Benga's knife. It seems very likely that she would know, though, or at least suspect, given the last conversation we see them have on the battlefield.
Yes…but how did he hide it when he defected? He just shows up claiming he wants to defect, an infamous Klingon leader, and they don’t search him and his effects thoroughly?
That knife appears out of nowhere, in M’Benga’s hands. That should be the first avenue an investigator would explore.
M'Benga: Inspector Cartwright! Um, I can explain...
Cartwright: Nothing to explain Joseph. You helped rid us of another alien trash of the galaxy, which isn't a big deal in my opinion.
M'Benga: Thanks Inspector. I hope you get your dream of making Admiral some day.
Cartwright: Me too.
Depends on the Klingon. Worf bleeds red. Gorkon bleeds pink.
The news hasn't been using the term defected.I clearly haven’t been keeping up with the news; I had to go look that up.
Defecting to NK is like defecting to a poorly supplied prison camp.
Pike usually sits next to the person who needs support. He was shocked enough to stay opposite on the distance to M'Benga for the conversation.
I assumed before that M'Benga had mental health difficulties which prevented him to fulfill his CMO duties when it comes to really serious cases. I'm sure Pike noticed this long ago, but didn't want to offend his officer and friend with suspicions
M'Benga being an "old friend" of Pike seems unearned and just a bone for fans wondering what happened to Boyce. It's not even clear when they served together or if they went to the Academy together (and M'Benga probably went to Starfleet Medical Academy which further complicates things)Pike usually sits next to the person who needs support. He was shocked enough to stay opposite on the distance to M'Benga for the conversation.
I assumed before that M'Benga had mental health difficulties which prevented him to fulfill his CMO duties when it comes to really serious cases. I'm sure Pike noticed this long ago, but didn't want to offend his officer and friend with suspicions
That's given M'Benga a pass on the transporter thing and now Dak'rah's death. That's not even getting into dangerous patients constantly escaping his sickbay. Pike should be really wondering what's going on and wondering what the hell this guy is doing on his ship and there shouldn't be some clumsily written "old friend" business to undermine that.
The lies save him - They think it belongs to the ambassador because it's got the DNA of the people he's known to have killed.
Although it does bring up the possibility that people within Starfleet special forces know the truth but it suits them not to reveal it.
