Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 1
SPOILERS TOTAL. You've been warned.
101: Strange New Worlds 2022 May 5
102: Children of the Comet 2022 May 12
103: Ghosts of Illyria 2022 May 19
106: Lift Us Where Suffering Cannot Reach 2022 June 9
107: The Serene Squall 2022 June 16
108: The Elysian Kingdom 2022 June 23
109: All Those Who Wander 2022 June 30
110: A Quality of Mercy 2022 July 7
(First watched 2022-07-07) I am very split on this one. I thought it was a very interesting episode with a great concept. We've seen shows revisit different versions of episodes in their own series, like TNG's finale having parts that overlap with its premiere, or DS9 visiting TOS's Trouble With Tribbles. But seeing an episode that presents a different version of an episode from further on in the timeline (Balance of Terror) we've seen long ago... that's pretty new. The closest thing was Enterprise's finale, but that was a mess. I like this episode, but looking closely at many of the aspects I'm either left unconvinced or turned off. So to list a few of these...
Future Pike says he has memories of this very meeting from the past perspective, much as Bill & Ted have done on multiple occasions. But doesn't that mean in his reality he was warned about the failures leading to war and went through with them anyway? I suppose in the infinite multiverse such a person is possible, but why why would that be the guy to decide "I know, I'll go warn myself! I know that doesn't work!" Costume note: Interesting update on that "monster maroon" uniform, though. Didn't exactly get to pause on details for long, but it looked modified in the same sort of ways SNW uniforms are from TOS uniforms, so felt consistent.
The purpose of sending Pike forward in time several years was to show why it would be a bad idea for him to be in command there... but I don't feel that was accomplished. We didn't get to see what a "real" 2266 Pike would've done there, but a confused out-of-time Pike who is being forced to second guess everything does.
Even if Pike agrees that that mission shows it's a good thing if he would no longer be in charge of the Enterprise, I don't think that necessarily leads to "The best option is to let those cadets die and melt my face off!" I'd be thinking more "Well, I guess I should keep those kids safe, then quit my post to become a chef so a replacement can take over."
Made sense to try to recreate some specific moments and dialog from the old episode, and makes sense that some different characters would be in those places because this is a different show with a different cast... but taking lines from a guy who was a one-appearance asshole and giving them to Ortegas didn't feel right. If a guy we've never heard of before starts being suspicious about Spock, OK. But at this point Ortegas and Spock would have been working together for 7+ years? Unless he'd already pissed her off in that time, her willingness to turn on him so fast just makes her look like a bad person.
I know "Don't meddle with fate!" is what this show was kind of hammering on, but still... Pike has knowledge of a future mission that could lead to war, and apparently doesn't tell anyone anything helpful from it, since it's still all a surprise when Balance of Terror comes around. I'm sure the dead appreciate that.
So the new Kirk was announced as appearing in season 2, but showed up here. I wonder if the earlier announcement was just smokescreen to cover for this, or whether he'll still be in the next season? Certainly now he's on Pike's radar, so Pike looking him up would make sense.
One of the better remembered things about TOS Balance of Terror is that a few of the actors who portrayed Romulans went on to play different Vulcan characters. Vulcan characters which have in recent times been recast and appeared on either this show or Discovery. I'm far from the first to say it would've been interesting if those actors had been called in for these Romulan roles, and I'm sure such a thing had to pass through the mind of some of the people making this episode as well. I wonder who decided that would be a step too far?
The very end of the show with Una being arrested was unintentionally funny since it was so similar to the end of Lower Decks season 2, which we'll probably see the resolution to in a month or two.
The issue of sets looking very different than the TOS versions is exacerbated when it's not just the same ship at a different time, but supposed to be the same ship at the same time.
I seem to have spent 80% of this bitching about this episode, but I did find it fascinating and exciting to watch! Just... incomplete?