Why?
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds 3x01 - "Hegemony, Part II"
- Thread starter Commander Richard
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If Harberts and Berg stayed with Disco, Pike praying would have been a normal thing back then. As it is, in this episode I did not get the impression Pike is particularly religious, or at least not currently a practicing member of any faith. His attitude when he did start praying seemed the sort of "what have I got to lose at this point?"
Pike praying doesn't bother me in the least. Organized religion and faith aren't extinct among humans by 2261.
It felt bizarre to me, until someone pointed out he said something like 'Okay dad, you win' before doing it, as he was desperate enough to try anything.
Didn't bother me at all. It's not like personal belief is going to vanish. People can decide for themselves and Pike was shown to have some measure of belief or participation in the past.
And we as an audience need to be a little more open-minded about depictions of faith in Star Trek. I get it, a lot of Trekkies are atheists. Leaning hard into that stereotype isn't going to do us many favors.
The "you win" remark indicates that he has a lot of issues with the religion he was brought up in. It's also not really something an atheist would say. Pike doesn't appear to be an atheist, but at a minimum he also must think there's a lot wrong with the religion he knows. I can't see any of that as problematic. It indicates a human being with a strong moral compass aiming for good.
There's nothing that says an atheist can't also have a strong moral compass for good, but that's not who Pike is, apparently.
There's nothing that says an atheist can't also have a strong moral compass for good, but that's not who Pike is, apparently.
I suppose it was a bit like Jadzia praying to the Prophets, because it couldn't hurt, right?
One of the first things established about Pike's past on Discovery was that his father was a professor of both science and comparative religion, which caused many interesting discussions at the Pike family dinner table. We also know that Pike had an evasive cousin who only ever gave a straight answer while at church.
That was episode 2. Pike mentions "preaching to the choir" and Batel responds with "I could picture you in a choir." Pike than tells her he was an altar boy when he was a child.
Could Pike be considered to be agnostic? He's apparently abandoned whatever religion he was brought up in, but hasn't ruled out the existence of a god either.
He also seemed to have an understanding of how churches work, knowing the history and purpose of stained glass windows, which is something I didn't know until I watched New Eden despite a childhood and teenage years going to church and Sunday school.
There's not much to go on, and it can't be ruled out, so I'll cop to maybe.
I'm not familiar enough with DS9 to know all of the dialog. When did she say this, I mean the part about choosing to pray because it couldn't hurt?
I just scanned the transcript of "Tears of the Prophets," and I don't see anything there that would resemble that. FWIW, here is the prayer she's saying when Dukat mortally wounds her [transcript]:
DAX: I'm not sure if I'm doing this correctly. I don't come here a lot. And to be perfectly honest, I feel more comfortable thinking of you as wormhole # aliens, but Kira believes you're much more than that. Maybe she's right, I don't know. But if you are Prophets, and you're listening, I just want to say
To me it sounds earnest and sincere. Too bad we never got hear the rest of it.
I actually liked that they had his saying: "Okay Dad, you win..." because it just reinforces how MUCH he wants/needs her to survive regardless of what he himself may actually believe when it comes to God/Religion.
It was a very relatable and Human moment.
Chapel has a look of disbelief on her face though when she sees Spock has a wife.
Episodes that contradict each other exist side by side in canon, in perfect harmony, even.
However, continuity can be retconned.
At this point in Strange New Worlds, as far as Chapel knows, Spock and T'Pring are no longer a couple. Her shock could come from finding out that Spock and T'Pring still intended to go through with the ritual.
Sorry, I didn't mean to imply that was literal dialogue. It's been a while but I remember that she wasn't a believer in the Prophets, but she felt like it wouldn't cost her anything to them to ask for good fortune just in case.
I phrased it as 'couldn't hurt' as a joke, because it actually did hurt.
Depending on how they ultimately play this arc out, Christine Chapel may believe that Spock and T'Pring called off their Betrothal and that's the first time she sees and realizes that it was back on.
Of course it can be retconned. No one said it can't be. But I don't have to like it. Especially when they seem to be doing it wholeheartedly to TOS events. Good thing TOS though IS Star Trek and nothing is ever going to change that...
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