La’an stumbles upon a plot to reignite the Klingon War and Spock steals the Enterprise to help her put an end to it. Spoilers Ahead
1. Una
The season premiere wastes no time giving fans some answers as to what is going on with Number One. Resigned to her fate, Una is doing little to make her a case for herself. She sees no way that her sentence could be anything but the worst punishment as she blatantly lied about her species on her Starfleet application, breaking numerous Federation laws. Pike is of course throwing out ideas, like making her exemplary Starfleet record public, and suggesting star legal representation for her. As fans and viewers we obviously feel the same frustrations that Pike is feeling. How can she just give up? How can she not at least try to lessen whatever punishment is coming her way? We know she’s a hero. Her crew knows she’s a hero. And between scenes in this episode and in season one, others in Starfleet know she stands for exactly what they preach. This should be and could be a steps towards a change in Federation law. We understand why all genetic modification is illegal, but there could be a change to allow some modifications, or to allow a probation period for those who have been altered wanting to join the Federation and Starfleet. Unfortunately we know this doesn’t come to pass and stories many years ahead in the timeline touch on genetic engineering being illegal. (See Star Trek: Deep Space Nine‘s “Doctor Bashir, I Presume” and “Statistical Probabilities”) I will assume that, or at the very least, hope, that Una’s story has some semblance of a happy ending. It would still be heartbreaking if she never returned to Starfleet because of how much it means to her, but I hope this legacy character gets something positive by the time we have to say goodbye to her for good.
2. Anxious Brass
Here we go again. Starfleet admirals are keeping secrets that will probably cause issues down the road. Are they worried about the turbulent truce with Klingons? Sure. But something else is going on. We get a little insight at the end with Admiral April seeing a Gorn warship on deep space sensors, but where does this all lead? Is it connected? Or is just that Starfleet worrying about major enemies on multiple fronts? For a near perfect society, these guys know how to screw things up with keeping secrets.
3. Spock Steals the Enterprise…Again.
After a distress signal from La’an comes in directly to the Enterprise while in space dock, Spock decides they have to investigate as rumors of an extremist faction looking to re-start the Klingon War seem to be true. We have seen Kirk, Spock, and co. steal the Enterprise (and other ships) more than a few times to break rules and disobey orders for the absolute right reasons. Now that we are back in the early days of the Trek timeline this is has to be the “first” time we are seeing Spock hijack the ship. Trekkies know that in a decade or so he will redirect the ship to help his old dear friend Pike, disobeying direct orders from his best friend and captain, James Kirk. A key detail here is that Spock’s emotions are boiling just below the surface after the events of season one. There is a little bit of a question here as to whether or not Spock would do this if he wasn’t wrestling with these mental changes. If he were his usual logical self would he just obey orders? Maybe. But I’m not so sure. It is his logic that helps him deduce that following the signal is the right decision, even when Starfleet tells him not to do anything.
And long time fans know that we got to see Spock emote a few times in the original series and it isn’t until 1979’s Star Trek: The Motion Picture that he decides to fully purge himself of all emotion. So, to be able to watch him have to deal with the full range of emotion is a delight. It’s such a heightened effect, as Vulcan’s deal with both more powerful mood swings and the mental tactics they use to keep them at bay, and Ethan Peck is clearly having the time of his life being able to play this beloved character in so many ways. He nails the classic tone and all new vibes.
Continued below4. How Do You Find A Word That Means Pelia?
Wow. What a fascinating addition to this series. Carol Kane’s Commander Pelia is a wild card. We get a lot of bread crumb clues in quick succession with some fun reveals and startling ties to the greater Trek canon. A top engineer in Starfleet, she immediately figures out what Spock is doing to steal the ship and rather than rat him out, she wants in! We know she’s a minimum of a little over 100 years old. We know she knows Spock’s parents and specifically drops his human mother’s name, Amanda Grayson, as part of her reasoning for helping him (Intriguing!). And thanks to Uhura’s unbelievable ear for language, we know she is a Lanthanite, a new alien species created for this show. She looks human, but is not. Kane is making an absolute meal out of this character and I. am. here. for. it. She is being just quirky and funny enough without being too silly or too big with it. I can’t wait to see where we go with this character and her stories.
5. Klingon Hangover
We get two separate scenes of Blood Wine chugging with Klingons. The first, with La’an drinking a Klingon warrior under the table is a fun homage to Raiders of the Lost Ark and at the end of the episode, when the major crisis of the episode is diverted, Spock and the gang share some with an entire Warbird’s complement. It’s all a lot of fun that helps diffuse the tension of the main plot. Which is interesting, but oddly the least engaging thing in the entire episode. It’s the catalyst for everything else – the character beats, the ship hijack, etc, but everything going on around that is what makes this a very good season opener.
