Just to let anybody who’s waiting know that I’m going to be late with the next couple of episode annotations because I’m off taking a professional course. I’m avoiding watching the episodes until I have the time, so have fun storming the castle amongst yourselves!
It seems it’s implied to be.
Annotations for 4x08 up at: https://startrek.website/post/44454788
Annotations for 4x07 up at: https://startrek.website/post/44182844
Not all Ilyrians have the same augmentations, is the impression I get. So no, it’s not a given, but unless Spock knows specifically what kinds of augmentations Una has - and I don’t see that being a given either - the logical (pardon the expression) person all eyes turn to in the face of a high-gravity problem would be him. Even if it’s a, “Commander, let me - I was raised on a high-gravity planet,” remark met by a “No, I’m XO and I’m Illyrian,” retort, that would have been settled.
And as someone on reddit pointed out, even if Spock hadn’t been the one to go in, he could have melded with anyone who had been injured in the pod. Nothing in the story need have changed at all except the person involved.
Here’s another one for you (I don’t know what’s up with the story editing this season).
Spock doesn’t go for the grav plating controls because the script demands that he be later placed in jeopardy in the ion pod and have a dramatic complication that has to be solved by his mind meld.
But of course it strikes one as a bit odd in-universe why he didn’t try for the grav plating controls when Vulcans are hardier - obviously nobody would have known he’d be needed later for the ion pod.
But, if he and Una had swapped, and Spock was the one with the broken foot, not only would have made more sense initially, but also actually lucky. Una may have made it out unscathed, or at least less injured, because she’s shown an ability to cure lethal radiation exposure in the past due to her Illyrian heritage (SNW: “Ghosts of Illyria”). Every story beat would be the same except for the mind meld bits.
But then you sacrifice the mind meld scene for story logic.
I did note that you could get a lethal dose of neutrinos given a supernova. It’s the “strong force neutrino” thing that gets me.
It was okay, except I don’t understand (a) why they had to use neutrinos of all things, when it’s a particle we know stuff about and that we know cannot possibly do any of these things and (b) draw attention to the implausibility by having Pike question it and © then try to justify it by saying that these are magic neutrinos that can do all sorts of stuff ordinary neutrinos can’t do. Completely unnecessary. Just make up some new particle!
And of all the characters to choose to put in jeopardy, they had to choose two of those that we know survive to the future.
But the neutrinos bit really threw my suspension of disbelief for a loop. This was worse than “red matter”.
Annotations for 4x06 are up at: https://startrek.website/post/43916537
My biggest problem with this episode isn’t the puppetry, or even the fact that it turned out to be all a dream. As people have pointed out, this hoary old plot has been used in Trek before.
In fact, I suspect that it originally wasn’t supposed to be a dream, but they had to pull that one out because the plot itself had holes that couldn’t be papered over without using that trope, not least of which was how Pike could get back into the ship after being spaced or why Ch’Rol was so nonchalant and literally immobile as the puppets were storming the bridge and beating up on her crew.
My biggest problem is that it just wasn’t even funny. It elicited a few chuckles but most of it produced crickets in my household. I’d have forgiven it if it were otherwise. I’m not sure it’s the absolute worst SNW ever, but I’m hard pressed to think of another one worse. As an example of SNW taking the big swings, this one was a miss.
Annotations for 4x05 up at: https://startrek.website/post/43631682
The events being TNG’s portrayal of Klingon culture being at odds with the way it was depicted in the novel, with its language, klingonaase, customs, ranks, social structure and so on.
But until that came along, a lot of it was taken as if not official canon, then fan headcanon, like the existence of human-Klingon fusions to explain the ridgeless Klingons, the history of Klingon-Federation relations and so forth. Ford wrote material expanding on the novel for the FASA role playing game and it became part of the fan lore for quite a while.
It was okay, but no great shakes for me.
Aside from the B&W gimmick, this was probably the least SF Trek has been for a while - it’s basically someone wanting to do a WW2 Nazi/Resistance movie and selling it with the film noir scheme. I wish it had leaned more into the crime aspects of noir.
I did wonder about the obvious plot holes: why the D7 never detected the shuttle, how they managed to get an ID card for Uhura despite her making up her alias apparently on the spot, or how the EMP didn’t fry the shuttle’s systems, too. Also, why Kor’s makeup reminded me of Tuvix, and why he didn’t press harder knowing she was lying about not knowing about colour or not recognising the Starfleet symbol. He had pretty much all he needed to know. Some of these you can handwave away, some of these you can squint it through, some ask for at least some explanation.
I’ve never liked the idea of Hodgkin’s Law of Parallel Planetary Development, and I like the doppelgänger equivalent less. The coincidence of Una looking like Nevette is bad enough, but that Nevette happens to be the head of the resistance and the collaborators and a double agent best placed to move the plot along? Too much for the “you should get the audience to only buy into one implausible thing” plot rule.
Annotations for 4x04 up at: https://startrek.website/post/43372189
Thanks, will add those in
Annotations for 4x03 up at: https://startrek.website/post/43096604
Uhura’s doing what Pike recognised her ability for in SNW: “Subspace Rhapsody” - a sort of soothing presence that helps the crew communicate together and holds it together. The character’s always been a naturally empathetic person. Kirk’s realising that more clearly now.
Annotations for 4x02 are up at: https://startrek.website/post/42835945
The first Earth-Romulan encounter was when the NX-01 encountered a Romulan mine in the 22nd century (ENT: “Minefield”). Then Earth (and its allies) fought a war with the Romulans in 2160 which, when it ended, led to the formation of the Federation in 2161.