A return mission to Rigel VII, with the Enterprise and the Cayuga teaming up, turns to a dangerous and mind-altering disaster for the landing party, and everyone on board. The main plot does get split into an A and B storyline, but all under the memory loss plot. It’s a lot to discuss, we all see the characters somehow find themselves even with full amnesia, but the planet-side story is far more interesting.
1. Double Constitution
When I was a kid watching re-runs of Star Trek The Original Series with my mom, I always enjoyed the episodes where the Enterprise encountered another Starfleet vessel, usually another ship that was in trouble or horribly damaged. Even though pretty much every time they did it was clearly a back up Enterprise model with a new name slapped on the hull. It was fun to see, but even as a small child I could feel the low budget keeping its restraints on the production. It was still cool to see another ship, but I always wanted something more. In the decades since fans have gotten a plethora of other Starfleet ships pairing up with the hero ship that looks totally different, so when this episode opened with two Constitution class ships, the Enterprise and Captain Batel’s Cayuga, I had a full on nostalgia trip. I’m not sure why it hit me with this episode, as we’ve seen other ships of the same class in previous episodes, but having both traveling on a joint mission in deep space brought me back, head and heart, to watching those re-runs. While the notion of the Enterprise being on one of its five year missions away from Starfleet and the Federation is always equally intriguing and fun, it is also nice to know that they have support, even in the most dangerous regions of the quadrant.
2. A Little Romance, A Lot of Heartbreak
With the Cayuga along for the mission, Captains Pike and Batel attempt to strike up their romantic relationship once again after a lot of time apart, and lets face it, outside problems forcing them on opposite sides of issues. With only thirty minutes to spare, they try to share a meal together, but even with requesting no interruptions outside of a Red Alert, they can’t catch a break. And the added tension of these hiccups their relationship has endured recently isn’t allowing them to be comfortable with one another anymore. And with the little time they have they literally do not have the time to hash things out, not even in an argumentative way, but simply in a feelings sharing way. There is heartache and uncomfortable humor sprinkled throughout the scene, but it’s clear that at this point, their relationship may come to an end, even if they don’t want it to come to that. I like Batel, even if she is still forming as a character. And it’s really nice to see a Starfleet captain in a romantic partnership that feels realistic in a show such as this. It isn’t just arguments and dramatic readings all the time and it isn’t wine and roses at all times. There are ups and downs and their professional careers are a huge part of what keeps things on the rocks. It’s a relationship that asks us to hang on and become invested over time. This isn’t a marriage that has clear t.v. rules and it isn’t even a typical boyfriend/girlfriend scenario. I like when we get into this and it’ll be nice to see where it goes, even if that ultimately means a break-up, because it will feel earned.
3. Planet Westeros
So the reason Starfleet is headed back to Rigel VII, is that the last time the Enterprise was there, the mission ended badly and it looks like there are some real, but accidental Prime Directive violations still rippling out even years after their departure. It’s a clean up mission hoping to set things back to the way they should be. This is all a callback to the original un-aired Star Trek pilot “The Cage” that showed Pike and crew venture to the planet, and was scrapped before the show was re-worked to the version we all know and love today. In that original episode the mission goes very wrong and the ship has to escape quickly and three crewmen are killed on-planet by the Kalar inhabitants. The costuming and structures in both versions of Rigel VII walk a line between science fiction and fantasy with, especially the 1960s version, looking like ancient Earth warriors. This new episode gave me Game of Thrones vibes and I really liked this medieval style. It enforces the stark danger they are in and the foreboding situation, and to a more savage era of history. The lack of technology and any sort of comfort only adds to bleakness of the story when the crew does eventually lose their memories or are injured. It all feels so hopeless, even though we know things will turn out alright in the end, or as close to alright as we can hope for an episode of Star Trek.
Continued below4. A Face From Enterprise Past
So, a key part of this entire problem on Rigel VII (outside of the memory loss), is that during the original away mission, one of the Enterprise crew members believed dead is actually alive and has become a tyrannical leader, High Lord Zacarias, in this small inhabited region. This crewman is Zac Nguyen, Pike’s former Yeoman. Knowing that the palace is somehow protected from the effects of the meteor, he stays inside ruling over those who have effectively lost their minds and their past lives. It’s always fun to see a villainous Starfleet who has lost their way due to their orders or a mission gone awry. Pissed off that the Enterprise ran away and never bothered to look for him, he takes out his anger on the people living here, and in an even darker turn, the crew members (Pike, La’an, and M’Benga) now that they have come to the planet and have lost their memories. It’s nasty, mean, and his sniveling whiny villainy is a fun mustache-twirling turn.
5. Tinnitus
The material in the meteors that causes the memory loss in this episode causes a few symptoms before the final and full amnesia takes hold. The first of which is a ringing in the ears. A few characters mention it as Tinnitus, which by definition it is, “ringing in the ears.” But it is an equally physical and mental condition in this situation. And the episode’s sound design does not skimp on the ringing. As someone who suffers from mild Tinnitus in one ear (Too many concerts and then inner ear cell damage from Covid), the ringing in this episode absolutely made it feel like my own skull was vibrating out of my skin. Even at a lower volume level on my t.v., it was still incredibly over-bearing. It was obviously effective, but it could have still worked toned down a bit. It even started to get to my wife, who has no ear issues.
