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Spoilers Star Trek: Strange New Worlds 3x03 - "Shuttle to Kenfori"

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We ALSO know that M'Benga fought in the Klingon war and the Enterprise very much did not, meaning that M'Benga wasn't on the Enterprise before SNW or if he was transferred out to fight in the war then transferred back.
We see M'Benga newly transferred aboard the Enterprise in SNW's series premiere and his history with Pike is explained there.
 
The ironic thing is that by taking justice into his own hands instead of letting courts/legal process decide how Dak'rah should be punished, M'Benga becomes more like the Klingons he claims to hate.
Not really as the entire reason M'Benga was being followed because Dak'rah's daughter needed to kill M'Benga to regain her family honor ONLY because M'Benga killed him before she could.:shrug::angel:
 
Not really as the entire reason M'Benga was being followed because Dak'rah's daughter needed to kill M'Benga to regain her family honor ONLY because M'Benga killed him before she could.:shrug::angel:
But surely M'Benga's situation mirrors Ortegas? If neither of them had acted, things would have rumbled along to a satisfactory conclusion. Is it trying to throw shade at NuPike's admiration for NuKirk's ability to leap before he looks? I suppose, if M'Benga had not acted, Ortegas would not have had to act, as there would have only been zombie Klingons on the planet... but then would Pike and M'Benga have died without the Klingons' help...? Oof.
 
Star Trek III
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That wasnt murder. It was a military action. Kruge just finished destroying the grissom and killing kirks son. If Kirk would not have blown the Enterprise the klingons would have had a Federation starship and the genesis files. No telling how many people would have been killed. It was a necessary military action.
 
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But surely M'Benga's situation mirrors Ortegas? If neither of them had acted, things would have rumbled along to a satisfactory conclusion. Is it trying to throw shade at NuPike's admiration for NuKirk's ability to leap before he looks? I suppose, if M'Benga had not acted, Ortegas would not have had to act, as there would have only been zombie Klingons on the planet... but then would Pike and M'Benga have died without the Klingons' help...? Oof.
Apples and oranges here my friend.

Dr. N'Vbenga wasn't under his Superior officers orders not to fight or kill Klingons. On the planet And in looking at the situation where he killed the Klingon were criminal turned Federation diplomat back in SNW season 2 episode 8), he gave that Klingon numerous chances to walk away before he killed him; and we honestly do not know who instigated that particular fight as it was blurred behind a on transparent medical partition.

Erica Ortega suggestion was completely discussed in the briefing room by multiple parties; and the officer in command of the ship considered the plan to reckless and went with her own.

Later on the bridge Ortegas knowingly made a decision to go against those orders and create a situation that she believed would force Una to have to implement her plan. She put the entire ship at risk, and even risked a possible diplomatic incident that could have plunged the Federation into another Federation/Klingon War.

And with what we saw on the planet, it's not 100% certain that Dr M'Benga and Captain Pike would not have survived as they were both about to board the Klingon shuttlecraft when they were beamed away - so no, if Ortegas had followed Commander Una's orders, it may not have led to an unsatisfactory result.
 
This modern Trek trope with everyone in the entire chain of command disobeying orders, regulations, policy, and procedures on a weekly basis is weak sauce and bad storytelling. Yes, there were instances in TOS and TNG when those things happened, but generally speaking the crew followed orders and acted within the boundaries of starfleet regulations and Federation law. Disobey orders once in a rare while and you are a clever maverick. Do it ALL THE DAMN TIME and you've broken suspension of disbelief- starfleet would drop you like a hot potato, and rightly so.
 
Solid outing.

1. It helps if you don't think of them as zombies, but more as mutants. I got a real Fallout New Vegas vibe here, especially when they were in the lab. I'm thinking of the vault where the people were turned into plant mutants. If you never played New Vegas the above reference is meaningless.
At least none of them were yelling "Gary!"

(Gary is my first name, by the way, so the first time I was exploring that Vault, and the first one yelled my name, I nearly freaked the fuck out!)
 
Disobey orders once in a rare while and you are a clever maverick. Do it ALL THE DAMN TIME and you've broken suspension of disbelief- starfleet would drop you like a hot potato, and rightly so.
I read it more as Starfleet is a fucking shambles and everyone is going rogue:lol:
 
Apples and oranges here my friend.

Dr. N'Vbenga wasn't under his Superior officers orders not to fight or kill Klingons. On the planet And in looking at the situation where he killed the Klingon were criminal turned Federation diplomat back in SNW season 2 episode 8), he gave that Klingon numerous chances to walk away before he killed him; and we honestly do not know who instigated that particular fight as it was blurred behind a on transparent medical partition.

Erica Ortega suggestion was completely discussed in the briefing room by multiple parties; and the officer in command of the ship considered the plan to reckless and went with her own.

Later on the bridge Ortegas knowingly made a decision to go against those orders and create a situation that she believed would force Una to have to implement her plan. She put the entire ship at risk, and even risked a possible diplomatic incident that could have plunged the Federation into another Federation/Klingon War.

And with what we saw on the planet, it's not 100% certain that Dr M'Benga and Captain Pike would not have survived as they were both about to board the Klingon shuttlecraft when they were beamed away - so no, if Ortegas had followed Commander Una's orders, it may not have led to an unsatisfactory result.
Oh absolutely, most of these things are intentionally and deliberately ambiguous. It's a testament to the way the show is written. In particular, a lot of emotion and intention can be gleaned from the characters' expressions.

My principal concern was more about the level of awareness about Pike formally choosing to ignore M'Benga's confession because they are friends. Is it assumed by the writers that this is acceptable? What if the crime was molesting a woman or a child, for example? Should our friends get to determine what is and isn't prosecuted? If you want to watch an absolutely brutal morality tale examining this point, watch Promising Young Woman.

I don't mind the characters doing morally ambiguous things where they are framed as morally ambiguous so that we are given licence by the writers to judge their behaviour. I am uncomfortable where they do morally ambiguous (or downright heinous) things written in a way where it seems we are 'expected' to cheer them on, such as the summary execution of Nero's crew.

As I say, the Star Trek movie had a lot of silly writing. The characters and the audience is expected to applaud Kirk for his 'ingenuity' when his original plan, in defiance or orders, would have led to the destruction of both the Enterprise and the Earth and his plan that does eventually work, only works because Spock Prime spoon-fed him everything he needed to know, and because Nero chose to travel slower than warp 4, and lowered his shields in plenty of time when approaching Earth from the expected direction. If Nero had only lowered his shields and activated the drill simultaneously, the plan would have been toast. I couldn't really see any ingenuity. It was blind luck.

Personally, I think there is insufficient evidence to convict M'Benga of murder, despite his admission that there were many ways that could have subdued the elderly Klingon but he might be guilty of manslaughter/second degree murder.
 
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