This episode started off with a great premise but ultimately fell apart in the last act. Pike continues to be a non-entity. I mean, we're talking zero leadership skill, zero command presence. He might as well not even be a character anymore. All he did in this episode, literally, was make Jambalaya.
The episode centers on three characters. The doctor, nurse Chapel, and a Klingon ambassador. All three share a dark past, a combat-ridden battle couched in a mystery. Thing is, there's really no foreshadowing of the mystery, so when the reveal comes, it arrives as a shocker, but also feels misplaced. It's like the story was going somewhere, but then when the writers realized they couldn't fit their ending into the allotted time slot, someone suggested a twist to make it all work.
SNW continues to struggle with Chapel's character. At every turn she displays super human abilities. There is nothing she can't do. In this episode she helps save the day with her engineering prowess. I'm sick of her.
The Doctor is clearly the best male character in SNW. He has more going on than Pike or Spock and has since the very beginning. Unfortunately, the doctor's part in ST's success is as a crewmate, friend, and confidant to the captain, not as the central force. It isn't Chicago Med.
The writers of SNW have completely abandoned Roddenberry's focus on naval protocols and the working relationships that must exist aboard a ship for it to function. Frankly, I find myself sick of the writers' apparent disdain for maritime standards and procedures. The show is void of any real connection to the operations of a real ship, and a lot of the ideas or devices, eg Product 12, are not fully thought out. (Genetic engineering is outlawed and feared but Product 12 is not; The doctor and Chapel are super soldiers turned medical professionals, but still have supersoldier skills.)
I see there is another season coming. Maybe Pike's vision of his future -- a plot element all but forgotten -- will materialize, Kirk will take command of the Enterprise, and things will all get back to normal.
The episode centers on three characters. The doctor, nurse Chapel, and a Klingon ambassador. All three share a dark past, a combat-ridden battle couched in a mystery. Thing is, there's really no foreshadowing of the mystery, so when the reveal comes, it arrives as a shocker, but also feels misplaced. It's like the story was going somewhere, but then when the writers realized they couldn't fit their ending into the allotted time slot, someone suggested a twist to make it all work.
SNW continues to struggle with Chapel's character. At every turn she displays super human abilities. There is nothing she can't do. In this episode she helps save the day with her engineering prowess. I'm sick of her.
The Doctor is clearly the best male character in SNW. He has more going on than Pike or Spock and has since the very beginning. Unfortunately, the doctor's part in ST's success is as a crewmate, friend, and confidant to the captain, not as the central force. It isn't Chicago Med.
The writers of SNW have completely abandoned Roddenberry's focus on naval protocols and the working relationships that must exist aboard a ship for it to function. Frankly, I find myself sick of the writers' apparent disdain for maritime standards and procedures. The show is void of any real connection to the operations of a real ship, and a lot of the ideas or devices, eg Product 12, are not fully thought out. (Genetic engineering is outlawed and feared but Product 12 is not; The doctor and Chapel are super soldiers turned medical professionals, but still have supersoldier skills.)
I see there is another season coming. Maybe Pike's vision of his future -- a plot element all but forgotten -- will materialize, Kirk will take command of the Enterprise, and things will all get back to normal.