It keeps me up at nights!What? You have something against the riddle of Duranium?
Spoilers Star Trek: Strange New Worlds 4x04 - "A Case of Chiaroscuro"
Not going to lie - I was bored.
Another example of SNW swinging, but I came away feeling it was more style than substance. The black-and-white aesthetic, Casablanca references, and visuals looked fantastic, and more Una was a good thing. I'm liking that they're giving her more focus this season.
However, the episode never really engaged with the moral ambiguity and difficult choices that defined the story, settling instead for a fairly straightforward resistance story with some noir vibes for... reasons. There were enjoyable character moments and some interesting Klingon fun, but it felt like a missed opportunity to explore deeper themes the situation demanded. Kor - could have been any random Klingon, did not get Kor vibes at all. The classic "she's some random's twin" was an odd choice.
The story wasn't as thought-provoking as it could have been, and actually the noir aesthetic was distracting - I think I may even have preferred this episode if they'd just delivered it as a straight up Star Trek moral dilemma episode, one of Una's first "hard command choices" situations to test her following her promotion, and not bothered with all nods and B&W visuals. They could have really honed into the moral dilemma Una faced in a proper ST-style setup.
Yet again - the issue I think is that they don't embed the theme of the week into Star Trek, they embed Star Trek into the theme of the week. You can almost see the Writers Room going "we wanna do a Casablanca episode" and then workshopping the story around that rather than focusing on the thread of the story.
1.5 episode out of 4 for me this season so far (the premiere and the points from being a horror fan for episode 2) - let's see what the second half of the season brings. Next up... puppets.
Another example of SNW swinging, but I came away feeling it was more style than substance. The black-and-white aesthetic, Casablanca references, and visuals looked fantastic, and more Una was a good thing. I'm liking that they're giving her more focus this season.
However, the episode never really engaged with the moral ambiguity and difficult choices that defined the story, settling instead for a fairly straightforward resistance story with some noir vibes for... reasons. There were enjoyable character moments and some interesting Klingon fun, but it felt like a missed opportunity to explore deeper themes the situation demanded. Kor - could have been any random Klingon, did not get Kor vibes at all. The classic "she's some random's twin" was an odd choice.
The story wasn't as thought-provoking as it could have been, and actually the noir aesthetic was distracting - I think I may even have preferred this episode if they'd just delivered it as a straight up Star Trek moral dilemma episode, one of Una's first "hard command choices" situations to test her following her promotion, and not bothered with all nods and B&W visuals. They could have really honed into the moral dilemma Una faced in a proper ST-style setup.
Yet again - the issue I think is that they don't embed the theme of the week into Star Trek, they embed Star Trek into the theme of the week. You can almost see the Writers Room going "we wanna do a Casablanca episode" and then workshopping the story around that rather than focusing on the thread of the story.
1.5 episode out of 4 for me this season so far (the premiere and the points from being a horror fan for episode 2) - let's see what the second half of the season brings. Next up... puppets.
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That's been several of the "gimmick" episodes for me, particularly the documentary episode. These writers are perfectly capable of coming up with interesting stories but they've been burying them under one or two layers too many of pure concept.
It also popped up in VOY a couple of times.
I lost interest about halfway.
2-2 so far
And Kor looked nothing like John Colicos
2-2 so far
And Kor looked nothing like John Colicos
I do like that Kor had a normal human nose. No Klingon nose bumps or ridges. So in a completely accidental way he ended up looking more like an Augment Klingon. 
Rewatched it. Ok, perhaps the fact that I snoozed through it the first time made the 1 I gave it unfair. Up to 5. Is there a way to edit the poll?
I do think the comments, pro and con, were most helpful in evaluating the ep.
But in the end: Organia was occupied and had mass executions (off screen). This one seemed mild by comparison. The Klingons should have been far nastier than shown.
And I have many objections. B&W on the Enterprise (but not on the shuttle returning). Doppelgänger idiocy. Interfering big time for no reason. The shuttle will be found so we have to leave but no one finds it. An EMP taking out a D7. The fact that the oppressed planet didn’t attack and destroy the D7 (that’s real resistance). M’Benga playing Jiminy Cricket. Uhura overhearing and knowing Klingon language #165. La’an incompetence examining a probe. The nurse can reprogram a spy device. Pike passively sitting at a desk while his away team is trapped in hostile territory.
The writers have shown they can write - but not on this outing.
I do think the comments, pro and con, were most helpful in evaluating the ep.
But in the end: Organia was occupied and had mass executions (off screen). This one seemed mild by comparison. The Klingons should have been far nastier than shown.
And I have many objections. B&W on the Enterprise (but not on the shuttle returning). Doppelgänger idiocy. Interfering big time for no reason. The shuttle will be found so we have to leave but no one finds it. An EMP taking out a D7. The fact that the oppressed planet didn’t attack and destroy the D7 (that’s real resistance). M’Benga playing Jiminy Cricket. Uhura overhearing and knowing Klingon language #165. La’an incompetence examining a probe. The nurse can reprogram a spy device. Pike passively sitting at a desk while his away team is trapped in hostile territory.
The writers have shown they can write - but not on this outing.
Yeah,it seems that they first come up with a motif they want to work into the show first and then worry about a story later.This episode was so low-energy and just so flat.Why even bother using Kor (miscast)or the Klingons for such a nothing outing?
Good job there are only 10 episodes per season.
Good job there are only 10 episodes per season.
Why should he?
No.
Maybe this incident is why.
She didn't reprogram it, she wiped the data. It also wasn't a spy device.
they did.
Um,yeah.
I thought Barnes captured the essence of Kor quite well, despite not being a perfect physical match.
I did.
Colicos played Kor like a mustache-twirling yet competent Space Baddie. Menacing. Chewed the scenery well. Barnes? Meh. I won't remember his name by next month.
Kor just needs a little more experience and he'll have that confidence for Errand of Mercy.
Kor projected a certain world weariness. Like he was a bit tired of the whole thing, but to falter would be fatal. So trudges on, "rounding up the usual suspects."
Just like SNW Kirk eventually becomes TOS Kirk. A few more years of close calls, near tragedies and adventures in deep space and we'll have the Kirk we know and love.
The way he licked his lips after talking with Una was certainly slithery and unpleasant. Plus a planet of weaklings handing him this kind of defeat would make anyone vengeful and angry with anyone that crossed his path. A century of heavy drinking will wash that out of him though.
A return to form after last week's episode.
There are some things that are too on the nose here, but as a fan of noir I think this was successful, and we didn't even need a holodeck or reset button to get it.
I think Una is central to the story, and it's nice to see her take center stage for once, this is a classic Trek ethical dilema.
There may be some commentary here about appearances/identity and the modern world's loss of privacy and more than just simple facism, but it's not delved into too deeply, but the subtext is there.
This is an episode that I think people will watch with fondness in the future. It's not a home run, but a solid triple.
8 out of 10
There are some things that are too on the nose here, but as a fan of noir I think this was successful, and we didn't even need a holodeck or reset button to get it.
I think Una is central to the story, and it's nice to see her take center stage for once, this is a classic Trek ethical dilema.
There may be some commentary here about appearances/identity and the modern world's loss of privacy and more than just simple facism, but it's not delved into too deeply, but the subtext is there.
This is an episode that I think people will watch with fondness in the future. It's not a home run, but a solid triple.
8 out of 10
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