Star Trek Strange New Worlds 2.08 "Under the Cloak of War" REVIEW
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- Опубліковано 17 жов 2024
- Doctor M'Benga finally gets an episode... and its full of TRAUMA! KLINGON TRAUMA!
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Hints of M'Benga's special ops past were dropped all over the season. His disgust at being picked for the away team in 2x04 (Lotus Eaters) being exhibit A.
Personally, I don't think Christine saw anything, but she lied to protect her friend.
I love how different Strange New Worlds is every week. Last week we had a silly, fun Lower Decks crossover and then this week we've got TRAUMA and next week we're getting a literal musical episode! I love this show so much!! It's really like a box of chocolates, you never know what you're gonna get!
As a pure Deep Space Nine simp, this episode felt like a darker mirror episode to Duet.
Two people scarred from a terrible war two people fraudulently using a "Butcher of X" title to make some sort of ammends for the monstrous orders they either gave or followed.
This time the "Butcher" keeps going to the Soldier character rather than the other way around and the "Butcher" seems remorseful for their actions rather than reveling in them.
Even the endings are like terrible inverses of each other. With the contrast of "I'm glad he's dead" and "He's a Cardassian, its reason enough -- No it isn't"
Loved this so much
Great point about the mirror endings.
Oh my god! Yes!!! One of my favorite DS9 episodes too. I’m so worried for Mbenga. Does he “Live w it” like Sisko did in “in the pale moonlight” Or does he realize he was wrong and come forward? In Sisko’s case at least he was saving lives, in this case…. Not so. Or was MBenga really acting in self defense? A beautifully complex episode. It’s the reason I’m a DS9 Stan myself. ❤❤❤
It's interesting that you interpreted the fight as Chapel seeing the full fight despite the wonky editing, because when I saw the same scene I interpreted the opposite. That Chapel only saw the end of the fight through the frosted glass, and that she lied to Pike and La'an, which I thought was brilliant. It added a whole new layer to Chapel's character, that she could lie to a superior officer with no hesitation.
I also think that she saw it just the way we did, through the frosted glass, and heard them talk. Making 'I was there, I saw it' kind of an exaggeration...
I didn't get it at first, but when talking about the knife she is also eager to confirm that it was Rah's knife, the butcher of jgal, you know.... she must have been in on this.
Oh yeah, she absolutely lied. It shows the loyalty she has to a fellow war veteran over that of the chain of command.
she lied. it shows the fundamental dichotomy between Starfleet as a military and exploration/humanitarian/humanist organisation. She let the military view supercede the humanitarian view of Starfleet.
@@ankerubinetto2359 But when we cut back to M'Benga, she was standing next to him. It made me believe that she was there and saw what happened. It was us, the audience, that didn't get to see it.
Same. I saw that she lied and we don't know if M'Benga just finished the mission and murdered him or if it was self defense. But he could have easily gotten away so I don't see how it was self defense. He said that "he started it", but he didn't specify when "it" was started... I heard that as saying he started it when he gave the order to kill anyone who wasn't Klingon during the war but Pike heard it as this final fight.
As a trauma survivor this episode hit me really hard. Deeply uncomfortable to watch at times, even upsetting, but also with a feeling of truth in its portrayals of living with the after-effects of trauma. I'm still too emotionally affected a couple of hours after watching it to say whether I liked it; however I can't deny its power and really appreciate that the writers didn't try to wrap everything up neatly, which would have struck a false note. I'm going to need some time to process my reaction to this one.
I feel you. Every scene of them transitioning into flashback hit me like a brick.
I cant immagine how war can take away part of person character ,war is the only thing humanity not need
" really appreciate that the writers didn't try to wrap everything up neatly"
Oh, I think this is going to come back to bite M'Benga and Chapel hard when the Gorn return. Which, I suspect, will be when La'an finds out they both lied to her face to cover up a straight up murder. Probably not the ideal moment to lose her trust.
❤
I think SNW handles trauma very well. One of the reasons La'an is my favorite character is how her trauma affects her, how she deals with it.
Man, what an hour of TV. I love that the writers played with the difference between the dream of Starfleet and the actuality of Starfleet. The brutality of war, how it effects you, and how and if you move beyond it, are all powerfully themes that are expertly illuminated. I love how Pike is clinging to an ideal while the doctor is living a scared reality. Honestly this episode is up there with the very best that Star Trek has to offer.
What I really want to see is how La'an reacts when she finds out Chapel and M'Benga lied to her to cover up a straight up murder. Sorry if this sounds harsh, but I don't think they're going to be able to shut her down with "You don't understand my trauma" because... hoo boy, I wouldn't go there with the sole survivor of a Gorn breeding planet where HER WHOLE FAMILY WAS SLAUGHTERED. And given that Gorn attack force seen heading for the Federation at the end of the series premiere is about to show up in the finale, I suspect things are going to get damn nasty for everyone.
After last week’s hilarious episode we are brought back to earth with a thump. This episode hit hard and I thought was very well written, Babs Olusanmokun and Jess Bush were phenomenal this week. This was a powerful performance and story, with huge Siege of AR-558 vibes and it worked very well. This show is outstanding in its storytelling, it takes risks and they work. Thank you again Jessie for another great video ❤
We are being spoiled with the variety and depth. Jessie, Jessie, Jessie, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR INTRODUCING ME TO THE STAR TREK UNIVERSE 😭❤
As a kid who grew up watching Trek with my parents, welcome to Trek! We’re not all gatekeeping douchebags, and I hope you explore more Star Trek!
One of us! One of us!
Passes the plate of cookies
@bevishhh, welcome to the fandom! Drinks and snacks are in the replicator over there in the corner!
My Uncle was in Vietnam war... and My grandma said when he came home he would never talk about it. He was a communications officer is all he told them. all the time to his Death in 2007 nor his Kids, wife and none of my Family knows what happened (what he saw) But i really think it was bad.
He would not watch any war movies or movies where people Hunted i remember that.
I recently (finally) overcame PTSD running my life and this episode had me all over the place. For the first time in my life I actually wanted to stop watching an episode of trek. I’m glad I didn’t because my reaction had nothing to do with the quality of the episode and all to do with the topic. I think that is what Trek is best at but wow it really is wild when it cuts you to the core like that. The portrayal of PTSD was the best I have seen. Not sensationalized and showing how 99% of the condition is about figuring out how to do your daily routine and confront fight or flight. The loneliness and isolation was well portrayed too. A lot to unpack and this ep will sit with me for a long time
excatly this. I managed to sit through it all, but I didn't watch chunks of it. m'benga's response to 'the perp' entering his space unannounced. felt that. every moment of the 40 minutes it felt like. honestly it was a struggle from then on. I think I need time to dwell on this, but I won't be rewatching. that aside I don't think I like what they are doing to m'benga and either option on where they seem to be sending him.
hope you are doing ok.
@@stiofanmacamhalghaidhau765 thanks friend and same to you :) 🖖
I thought there were many incredible uses of metaphor in this episode that paralleled the themes of authentic/lived experiences vs. narratives we use to move on through life. 'dining with your enemy', 'a spice that in small doses is enriching but too much can be deadly', judo balancing 'fighting' with a form of communication: storytelling via this artifice, what-you-don't-say, fits marvelously with themes of living through trauma, the inauthentic life that the Ambassador lives.
We went from such a light episode to a heavy one. I do think M’Benga didn’t kill out of self defense. He meant to do it. When they go back at the end to the Bio Bed and how it’s breaking down again is the metaphor of him. Great episode. Can’t wait till next week 🖖🌈
I thought that too. M'Benga became judge, jury, and executioner.
@@marshsundeen How many times did he tell the guy to leave him ALONE...If he had done that...he would have lived. He discovered someone who knew the truth about him and he was afraid the guy would tell and undo what he was doing. He was a liar and a fraud. It's not to difficult to believe he would have attacked the doctor to keep his secret.
@@rfranklin61 This! I hated how the ambassador was so disrespectful of the doctor's no. It really made me feel like he just wanted to use the doctor to put on a show and had no respect for the man or his trauma. Had the ambassador let it go, he probably would still be alive. After all Dr. M'Benga said he hated how the war made him go from a healer to a killer. During the series, whenever his special ops training came up (his codename 'Ghost' is a bit telling) I could really see the resentment there. I confess that I do think M'Benga killed the ambassador (Chapel's comment that the knife belonged to the Butcher when we know M'Benga was the Butcher was a bit telling). However, I think M'Benga wouldn't had done it if the ambassador had left him alone as asked.
@@marshsundeen It was a little eyebrow raising when M'Benga brought out the Klingon knife, looked at it, but did not discuss it with the ambassador. It may have been a sci-fi equivalent of a retired soldier's debate on 'taking up the sword again'. After all, it was still in a closed box when the argument began. So I agree that M'Benga 'completed his mission' i.e. murdered the war criminal turned ambassador.
Side note: the veterans on the ship could see that the ambassador was putting on an act, and I think they were right. The ambassador had given the order to murder civilians and children and then he ran from a fight. It's not terribly clear how important the Klingon honor system was at that time, but his actions would have dishonored him with a terrible penalty if they were. He would not have been able to go home again, hence Ortegas comment on the battle cry 'remain Klingon'.
@@kaydegonzague3121 agreed. The ambassador was certainly flawed. I was disappointed M'Benga took that route, even if it is understandable.
I love that Pike is basically the Steve Rogers of Starfleet
The Ballad of Captain Pike's Disapproving Face
I wonder if Mount ever tested for the role of Steve Rogers because he would have been a killer captain america.
There's a couple reasons why I like the inclusion of the green vial drug. 1) It helps explains M'Benga could be the "butcher". How he was physically able to overcome the Klingon commanders. 2) It ads to this element of M'Benga's character being a maverick somewhat radical doctor. We already know of his technique of suspending individuals in transporter buffers. Now a homespun drug that can enhance human abilities. This guy can be a very 'ends justifies the means' type. After the climax of this episode, I almost expected his character would be exiting the Enterprise for good and/or possibly Starfleet. M'Benga is such a complicated character and I love it. And with Hemmer unexpectedly departing in S1, and if another crew member were to exit in S2. I would actually welcome if a series of Star Trek would mimic Doctor Who with a bit of a rotating cast as time went on. I feel like that would open up so many dynamic character possibilities.
Unless they retcon his character, he won't be gone for good; he did appear a couple times in the original series.
@@kivimik Yes, M'Benga will show up twice in TOS, so I would've expected him to return at some point.
In TOS, M'Benga returns to the Enterprise to serve under McCoy. He said he had worked on Vulcan which was why he could help Spock. (TOS: A Private Little War)
@@Esco33 Oh! Neat! Since I haven't really watched TOS, I had no idea he was in it!
I was discussing the episode with my brother, and he brought up an interesting possibility: what if Chapel killed the Klingon? She comes upon them fighting, she has just as much anger as M’Benga, grabs the knife from the case (I’m pretty sure we never saw the doctor take it out himself), and stabs the Klingon. They cover for each other. Pretty morally ambiguous, I know, but we never saw what actually happened. Who knows …
It's an interesting Idea.
Certainly possible if Chapel knew the knife existed.
It would explain why M'Benga straight up denied killing Rah to Pike.
@@alanpennie8013he denied starting the fight. He did not deny killing the Ambassador. He admitted he stabbed him in self-defense.
Chapel saw the fight - midway - thru the translucent window and lied about seeing “the entire thing”. She lied to protect M’Benga.
So I hope you all had fun with the goofy crossover with Lower Decks, cos we’re not doing that sort of thing this week. I can see why they’ve sandwiched this episode between the crossover and the musical episode because we’re in the heavy territory with this one.
I should stop being surprised by the way SNW can handle so many tones but still stay so true to the characters - I haven’t seen this level of tonal whiplash and using genre as tools for the cast to play and develop since Community and I love it.
The moral ambiguity was so unexpected, even frustrating at times, in a good way. This is definitely an episode that will lead me to ponder some difficult questions and probably inspire me to rewatch it more than once. I am really impressed how brave SNW writers appears to be for including this episode. Also, I have to mention how incredible the acting was. Strong contender for emmy noms I think.
I'm a history teacher. I teach middle school and high school. I'll certainly use this episode to teach transitional justice to high school students in the future.
This was a well done show and I applaud you, I can see it being used as you suggest in a compelling way. Makes me wish we could co-teach! Jessie Gender is right about the underlying xenophobia in the episode and a transitional justice lens would work well with post-colonial criticism of the "text" of the episode itself. If I were co-teaching with you, I would read against the text at times. For instance, they call Rah an ambassador and describe work he did in that role, but who does he represent and did the Klingon High Council approve him as an ambassador (not likely, he's clearly considered a traitor by them, he's the equivalent of Benedict Arnold as well as a war criminal)? The way Rah speaks negatively of Klingon culture is something that a majority culture often uses as a tool in dealing with a minority culture or an enemy (see, we're not racist or xenophobic when we use X stereotypes because Rah agrees with us). Then of course there's the obvious need to dive into PTSD and mental health issues, the human rights and war crimes issues that transitional justice is geared to tackle so well. What does this "text" want us to believe about the concept of justice? And other concepts - whose truth is being told in pursuit of what form of justice? Is the mental health of the officers being adequately addressed (I'd argue a resounding "no" - the handling of their mental health including PTSD is really appalling). If not, can we really have transitional justice while not addressing mental health as part of the healing? Again, I'd argue "no". By the way, full disclosure on background - I've taught English and social studies in HS (mostly English) and I'm now a teacher educator.
M'Benga finished the job he originally started.
And right he was🖖🖖🖖
I was seeing Siege of AR-558 first, then Duet and in the end In the pale moonlight. I hope we see a continuation of this story with a Duet like ending 🤞🏻
M’Benga’s special ops background was specifically mentioned in this episode by the Andorran who tries to recruit him to join his team. He says M’Benga had the greatest number of hand-to-hand kills, and asks if he still has the enhancement drug he developed. M’Benga answers that he changed his ways and now just wants to heal people. Clearly, he already had a past life that explains his skills.
I have to agree, this episode felt like a re-imagining of The Undiscovered Country, I also hoped that this arc will be visit again in next season, because I suspected that the Ambassador committed suicide, while M'Benga trying to stopped him.
I also hoped that we'll have have an Ortegas episode about her prejudices next season.
I have the same feeling. That ambassador after being confronted with the truth of his actions and in end cowardice decided to commit suicide. M'Benga saying it was a fight was act "kindness"
Remember the trailer were Ortegas is piloting a shuttle and even scaring Pike the test pilot. She says it was like the war. She might not only flown big ships duduring the war but called in to pilot rescue missions similar to copter pilots in Korea and Vietnam. Those people saw some of the worst of the worst. And remember Klingons were purposely targeting civilians including children. Yes it is still xenophobia but it is more not horrible from someone who lived a nightmare. Also remember in a few years the Klingons declare war again and were stopped by Organians or would had another slaughter.
Rewatch the Organia episode. The Klingons were gathering and slaughtering hundreds of people [at least they thought] in retaliation for any sign resistance.
In Lotus eaters M'Benga clearly upset he was chosen for mission due to fighting ability in scene on shuttle.
KIRK: Gentlemen, I have seen what the Klingons do to planets like yours. They are organised into vast slave labour camps. No freedoms whatsoever. Your goods will be confiscated. Hostages taken and killed, your leaders confined. You'd be far better off on a penal planet. Infinitely better off. [Kirk speech from Errand of mercy] yep I suspect we will find out Kirk fought in the war. Knowing Spock didn't SNW gives interesting view on Spock and Kirk in EoM
After the LD crossover this episode gave me tonal whiplash. I enjoyed it and like you say it touches upon the Undiscovered Country and really recontextualises the anti-peace sentiments still in existence at the start of the film. I'm glad they put it in between two feel-good episodes, the execs understood we'd need a cheery musical as a palette cleanser after this murky episode.
Strange new worlds is all about tonal whiplash. And I mean that in the best way. It has some of the darkest Star Trek episodes and some of the silliest episodes.
@@creativerealms Considering that next week is the musical episode, you're not wrong!
Fantastic episode! Best episode since Momento Mori in the first season, maybe the best episode since NuTrek began. Definitely a reminder of In the Pale Moonlight and brings up many relevant issues about trauma, PTSD, revenge, justice, forgiveness and retribution. Perfect Star Trek.
What people need to understand is that M'benga used to be "the ghost". A badass soldier with many kills under his belt long before he became a doctor. With this in mind, the whole show, and especially the end, makes more sense. A tiger can't change its stripes.
Thanks for this explanation.
I just finished watching and I feel like I have whiplash. From one of the most fun lighthearted episodes to truly one of the darkest.
I wish there could be a 2 or 3 episode arc for stories like this. The concept is so good. I think a whole episode could be been spent getting to know ensigns like Alvardo and Inman.
Honestly wished Star Trek would adopt this model of story telling. 2-3 episode arcs with 1-2 lighter or high concept standalone episodes in between.
For example, I've always adored the way Best of Both Worlds was followed by Brothers. Deep Space 9 also did this well - though it leaned more heavily into standalone fare.
A show that did this well, surprisingly, is an old show called Roughnecks: Starship Troopers Chronicles. It's a kids show that was structured into "Campaigns" that followed a major narrative arc for 2-5 episodes. At the tail ends, the episodes switched formulas or tone to signal a transition from one campaign to another and allowed for more organic character or plot development, depending on what the show needed. It was absolutely genius structure for a "kids show."
Honestly, I think SNW is closing in on Star Trek's sweet spot. It needs the ability to explore with standalone episodes, but also needs coherent and consistent arcs. Roughnecks could be a great template.
It was easily the most powerful episode of the season and I thought it was the best episode of the season to date. For me, it was a welcome change of pace after the last few episodes as I felt we really needed something meaty. I also called it after the premier that the drug was supposed to be a physical sign of his PTSD, so I'm glad they did follow up on it.
I really liked this episode. But I also didn’t enjoy myself? I don’t know. I love that we got to see more of M’Benga and Chapel’s history. Im glad they didn’t ignore that weird drug they introduced in episode 1. Robert Wisdom was great as Rah. He was very reminiscent of a variety of Cardassian defects we meet during the Dominion War. Every time he was in the room, I kept waiting for the other shoe to drop. I was also expecting the twist that M’Benga was either going to be there or maybe Rah only thought he killed his comrades or did it in an altered state and had to flee. Or maybe that Rah was faking it the whole time. I didn’t expect for M’Benga to actually be the butcher and that Rah had to defect for cowardice. There was honestly more tension in this episode than the entirety of Secret Invasion. It was also nice that we got some context as to why Ortegas acted the way she did in Quality of Mercy. I kept expecting her to show up at the field hospital. But at the same time, when I think about this episode, I didn’t have a good time. I don’t know if Im going to revisit this one anytime soon.
I really loved this episode and how hard it went into the PTSD of war. Focusing the episode of M'Benga and Chapel, with a little bit of Ortegas as well, was a very smart move. Showing the flashbacks to J'Gal and the hardships that those two had to go through in war and how that influenced them now really added to both of their characters. This episode also nicely lays the groundwork for possibly why M'Benga isn't the chief medical officer on the Enterprise when Kirk takes over. He might have voluntarily stepped down due to his lasting trauma/more trauma later on or he was forced to step down due to the same reasons.
As for the ending, I personally think that there are 3 ways that fight went, and I could very much be reading the whole thing wrong but here is my way of looking at it.
1) M'Benga killed Dak'Rah as a way to "end" the war in his mind/soul. Killing Dak'Rah symbolically represents M'Benga finally being able to help all of those that he couldn't save on J'Gal that were directly harmed by Dak'Rah's actions. While M'Benga might feel guilt about it, he sums it up pretty well with the metaphor about the broken medical bay paraphrasing "Sometimes there are just broken pieces that can't be fixed", which represents the PTSD and guilt that he feels.
2) Dak'Rah killed himself as a kind of honorable suicide given that his lie had been finally called out. Seeing that he had no real options at that point since he was already possibly dishonored by the Klingons and would be very much an enemy of the Federation after his lies got out, he chose the option of ending it. While I am not well versed in all of Klingon culture (still a relatively "new" fan of the franchise all things considered) I'm pretty sure an honorable suicide is something in Klingon culture as a way to cleanse one's soul of their guilt. So if I am accurate on that, then it would make sense. If I am not, then he could have done it to get out of the further hardships he was about to be put through.
3) Chapel actually killed Dak'Rah as a way to end the war for her in a similar way to theory 1. Chapel carried the guilt from the war that she couldn't do more to help those in need and felt the guilt for not fully being there for M'Benga when he became the Butcher. Killing Dak'Rah was a way to lift the burden off of M'Benga's soul and to ease his trauma by taking it on herself. In a symbolic way, this is kind of what a nurse's duty is as well, thus Chapel was fulfilling her role as M'Benga's head nurse and close confidant. Her lying to the higher ups showed both that she is a-okay with doing that when in the right situations and that she cares deeply about her friend to not let him take the fall for it due to his trauma.
Watching this episode, I couldn't help but think of Jim Kirk's future. Or the experiences of Miles O'Brien before he joined the Enterprise-D. That while we may strive to better ourselves, trauma can often lead us into ignoring our better angels.
It is simply... human.
Once had a Master Sergeant in our training cadre member who would fire off the most breathtakingly deep one liners during trainings. One that is particularly well suited to your statement is this (I'll try to paraphrase):
*"Remember kids: You are the demons you gather along the way. Can't do nothing about shaking them. You collect them, and that's it. But whether you drive them or they drive you - well, that's up to you."*
Another few that stuck with me is:
"There are no enemies. Only hostiles." (Hostility is a sliding scale you can affect)
"You aren't training to create violence, you're training to control it. You are a manager of violence. Manage theirs, manage your own."
"Your goal is to be the one guy they don't want to f*ck with. But they should never be afraid of asking you for help or asking you to dinner."
"Eat the damn yogurt and smile. Bring Pepto and Z-pacs for later."
I loved the way they used objects like the med kit or the shapes of hallways to transition between times, like how objects trigger memories irl. Also amazed how I recognized Clint Howard and thus ended up craving tranya (which Clint said was played Onscreen by white grape juice) in addition to jambalaya.
This episode was so well done and I was glad to see so much more from M'Benga in particular. Placing it right after the comic episode was kind of a virtuoso move for the show too. Along with The Undiscovered Country, it really has a lot of shades of that TOS episode The Conscience of the King. And seeing Clint Howard was great too. I recognized him here but didn't realize how many other bits he'd had until you pointed it out!
At the rate season two is going, a third season of SNW will have to work *very hard* to surpass what we’ve already seen this season. We went from the sweet, lighthearted, heartfelt humor of Lower Decks last week to a story that’s much darker - and more morally complex and ambiguous - than what we’ve already seen in Trek.
After this week’s rather heavy dose of drama and trauma, next week’s goofy, delightfully campy musical will be just what the doctor ordered.
Expected this episode to be dark, after the Lower Decks episode and what is supposed to be happening in episode 9 this kinda had to be dark. Continue to prosper Jessie.
This was a truly outstanding episode. Babs (sorry, can't recall the last name spelling yet) showed all the impact of the trauma and his past so very well.And it wasn't a one note trauma, since despite all he was carrying inside, he did persuade Ortegas to at least start out at the dinner.
I think M'Benga did 'start the fight' in Sick Bay, and Chapel knew this; but she really didn't lie to Pike, because for both her and M'Benga the fight started during the war, when that Klingon ordered all those murders of civilians. So M'Benga was just completing what he had to do.
This may be a less 'cheerful' episode than many others, but it showed off the complexity of the characters and some great acting by several of the cast, who had to show being caught up by how to deal with their own trauma or how to understand the trauma of others
(BTW I only recently discovered that Babs (Olu.....?).played Jamis, the Freman who Paul Atriedes at one point had visions of as his future mentor, but ultimately had to kill in Dune part1)
My guess is that this story is starting M'Benga's path from being CMO of the Enterprise in SNW to being demoted to Assistant CMO under McCoy in TOS.
Yeah, I also suspect this is really going to come back to bite M'Benga and Chapel in the arse hard when the Gorn show up again. (And I suspect they're not going to do it in the musical episode.) I think it's a matter of when, not if, La'an finds out they both lied to her face - and she's not particularly forgiving of people who mess with her doing her damn job.
I've really been wondering about that too. I hope it's less of a demotion for him and just a career path thing but you're right, that makes a lot of sense.
@@joegroves2517 Yeah, I'll be really interested to see how La'an will react - because I might be projecting here, but I definitely got the sense she knows something doesn't add up - and we've seen how persistent she can be when on the hunt. I'd love the irony if what exposed M'Benga and Chapel is how La'an deals with her own trauma -- her absolute dedication to the duty that gives her life meaning and purpose. Nobody gets to commit murder on her watch and walk away.
@@CRanapia Yeah, that one moment of eye-contact with Pike...
@@CRanapiaYes, but that's probably a good thing. If they do it properly La'an catching them will not only be the reason why M'Benga gets a demotion in position, but also why M'Benga doesn't get drummed out of Starfleet with dishonorable discharge. La'an is no stranger to how PTSD can affect people.
The use of the term, "Incoming Transport" was masterful. By the time I heard it a few times it made me tense in a real good way. Very effective.
Glad you mentioned MASH, this episode had heavy MASH vibes for me as well, especially the surgery scenes, the medical staff living in tents, constantly undersupplied without necessary equipment, the transporter basically acting as a rescue helicopter, and the explosions/shelling near the aid station. It could have been a storyline in MASH or After MASH itself and still would have worked
This episode very much reminded me of one of the best Kira Centric episodes of DS9. The one where she finds a cardassian who is claiming to be the one who was in charge of a labour camp that was the most bloody massacre in the time of the cardassian occupation. But as it turns out he was just a file clerk at that camp and he decided that he wanted to pay for somebody else's crimes so that there was Justice for the bajoran people that died. And in the end Kira couldn't order his death because she found empathy with him and he ended up getting stabbed by another bajorin on the station who stabbed him just because he was a cardassian. This episode very much reminded me of that and as much as I like M'Benga, I feel that what he did was wrong. But I do understand where he and Chapel were coming from. And I know it seems like a bit of a moot point right now but we know for a fact that it's over 30 years till the Klingons are actually willing to come to the table. And then it takes several decades after that of course the relations between the two superpowers in the alpha quadrant armello to the point that they are where officers from each military service are serving on ships belonging to the other(like Riker does). And we know that the relationship with the Klingons are Frosty heading into the 2260s given how the legendary three Klingon captains all wished they had a shot that's taking out Kirk on the battlefield
Season 2 turned Strange New Worlds into another "Wow, they really turned this thing into something great, after season 1" 😊
Yeah, second that. I thought Season 1 was very, very good, but it fell just short of greatness. Season 2 gets over the line by a wide margin.
I wasn't expecting SNW:M.A.S.H.
Had some come convo post-watch with my husband whose uncles & dad were severely affected by WWII in varying degrees. In my job I knew a lot of vets of our 21st c wars. This ish is so real, and I’m very glad SNW took it head on.
Ty Jessie, great review, and yes, I liked the ending too. There’s no wrapping this one up with bow.
Hey Jesse, great review, “The Undiscovered Country” and Clint Howard; totally on point. It was a great follow-up to episode two, Jesse. Such battles make and leave scars. Olusanmokun’s, Bush’s and Wisdom’s performances were the pièce de résistance, though. Very well supported by the main cast, of course.
As a violently displaced kid who “parented their untreated-PTSD suffering parents” through the late 70s & 80s (and who got the cPTSD that’s generally “the dividend” of that experience), it was all there. The “papered over trauma” that’s really just itching to get out in inchoate rage. The grief, and remorse. The bully-enabling, conflict-shyness.
The writers deserve a bonus, never mind the raise they’re, rightfully, striking for. This episode bookends episode 2, reminding us that we’re all unfinished-works, for all our learning. And, as with M’Benga, the author may yet go off-script.
What I can't shake about this episode is how M'Benga and Dak'Rah are paralleled when it comes to the morality of actions taken during war and the nature of atonement for those actions. The implications are crazy interesting. When M'Benga, by his own hand, kills the guy in the pattern buffer to save lives, does that make him functionally the same as Dak'Rah who killed innocents in order to win the battle? It's not an exact parallel, but it's so close that it raises some interesting questions.
The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few, or the one.
Killing civilians is a war crime. Ordering subordinates to kill civilians is ... Hanging is too good for those
@@DJDocsVideos what is a doctor intentionally killing their patient?
@@deusdragonex a doctor who has to decide if to save one or more than one. It's called triage. It has to be done when there are not enough resources. If you don't know about it then that's good for you as the reality of life has not touched you yet. I hope you can stay sheltered and naive for a long time.
@@DJDocsVideos oh, I worked overnight dispatch in a hospital with one of the busiest ERs in about 500 miles from here. I definitely know about some of the decisions doctors have to make when they have limited resources. My observation is more about the moral parallels, especially considering how much more warlike the Klingon culture is relative to Federation culture. In my personal opinion, you're correct. But would the Klingon see it that way, especially during war time? Granted, I am not a Klingon scholar, so I could be wrong. But based on what I do know about them, that would be a gray area you could fly a Warbird through.
Even though we don't exactly see the Dak'Rah/M'Benga fight from start to finish, I thought it was rather unambiguous that M'Benga simply killed him. Dak'Rah had no reason to start such a fight -- M'Benga is finishing his most traumatic mission -- one he doesn't even want to finish, but the more Dak'Rah presses him, the more he feels compelled to bring that to an end.
That does seem like the most likely scenario.
I think Rah laid hands on him (as he has done already at the dinner) and M'Benga, feeling this as an assault, finally snapped and picked up the knife.
Quite agree with Jessie about this episode, rather strong but certainly not something to watch if you just want escapism.
Was nice to see Clint Howard continue recurring in Star Trek (a little sad he never appeared in TNG or Voyager, would've been nice if he could brag about being in every live action Trek), though I was distracted by his name, "Buck Martinez", as I kept thinking "the former Toronto Blue Jay turned manager, now their play-by-play announcer?"
I was a bit disappointed, as it looked like it was going to be a bit more Ortegas heavy (it did start that way, but she ended up being more of a counterpoint to Chapel and M'Benga's reactions), but it was nice to see them delve into M'Benga and Chapel. I found the use of the adrenal drug in this episode fairly reasonable - it's addressed to be something quite helpful that M'Benga developed during his still mysterious past (when he was more of a Black Ops guy, I guess) but he also notes that it's really bad for you, which explains why it would not be used more often. I don't think I needed more of an explanation for it (or broader justification for its existence than we already had), though I suppose they could go into that later, if they ever want to go further into M'Benga's past. I think adding an addiction aspect would be a mistake for several reasons (compounding trauma is unnecessary, though I suppose it could be done well, though the idea of giving the sole Black man on the show an addiction issue is...well, awkward at the least)
I'm not entirely sure if Chapel did see the whole fight between M'Benga and Rah - I think that's just what she's saying "for the record", same as her implication that the dagger was Rah's (even though it wasn't), this is just her story. I'm not sure we needed to see exactly how it went down, though, as it's fairly obvious that M'Benga kept trying to get Rah to leave him alone, Rah kept ignoring & pushing him, even made physical contact, M'Benga likely attempted to break that contact off (using that Klingon fighting style shown earlier), they struggled, dagger came out, Rah was stabbed either by M'Benga (more accident/caught in the heat of a fight) or by Rah (by accident/M'Benga defending himself). In the end, Rah is dead and M'Benga will have to live with that.
Yeah I'm pretty sure the view through the frosted windows was Chapel's POV. But her loyalty is first and foremost to M'Benga. I wouldn't be surprised if some time later in the show she's forced to choose between him and Spock, perhaps even the truth about this episode is later found out. Might tie-into how M'Benga isn't the CMO in TOS and Chapel had left Starfleet for a time.
This is the Star Trek I'd like to see more often. It reminds me of when O'Brien says to a Cardassian, "It's not you I hate, Cardassian. I hate what I became because of you."
I have to admit that I'm having a hard time digesting this episode. I am glad it was made, but it was so intense. This is story telling and character development at its best. I hope it goes down as a classic someday, but right now it is too hard to rewatch.
I've been in the Army for a little over 10 years. I've never been in combat, but I know many that have, and seeing these comparisons to what some of my friends have gone through was quite the storyline. Major kudos to SNW for this one! Also, I'm a huge DS9 fan as well!
Pike's silent admonition of Hernandez was a great moment, as Pike seems so loose, but can turn on the authority at the drop of a hat.
this is stunning, only SNW can go from lighthearted Lowerdecks to "Apocalypse Now in space" in a span of a few days.
It's like the 'Community' of star trek...
Incredible writers
LESSON LEARNED: DO NOT F%%%^ WITH DR. M'BENGA!!! M'BENGA/JASON BOURNE
I feel very conflicted about this episode, especially the ending, and that's how I know it's a good one. I feel that the only way that this episode will have a necessary impact is if it's felt in later episodes/seasons. I want there to be a rift between M'Benga and Pike, now. I feel that Pike *should* see this in an uncomfortable way and maybe almost feel betrayed on some small level. In a practical world outside of fiction, this would be a massive event. An ambassador traveling under a diplomatic flag was killed by a commissioned officer who had a history, however indirect, with that ambassador. That alone would be grounds for M'Benga to leave this ship for a while. We probably won't see it because we've already had one Star Trek Special Victims Unit episode, but this feels important enough that there should be consequences.
I'm sure if a Picard or a Sisko had this happen to them, they might also accept the action made by M'Benga, but also demand M'Benga leave his ship/station. There's a certain. hesitation of make Pike to be conciliatory to EVERYONE to a point where he doesn't feel like a person of authority as have other captains.
@RickReasonnz I think that how both Discovery and SNW is fleshing out Pike's character is an intriguing one. Pike is a diplomat and bridge builder, a team player who believes in the good Starfleet can do, but I think there's a dark side to the man that we got a taste of originally with Jeffrey Hunter's version in "The Cage" and cropped back up again in "The Lotus Eaters". And I wonder if part of that darkness relates to the rough relationship he had with his father that never got resolved before the elder Pike's death.
@@generalilbisThe Jeffrey Hunter version is what I am invariably comparing it to. From watching the pilot, you could tell that that type of leading man would possible have worked in the time it was aired, but would never ever have had the cultural impact that Shatner's Kirk could. That said, his Pike did show a reason why we would prefer Kirk, or indeed, why the Enterprise crew would do better under Kirk, but Anson's Pike? He's very nice. I like him a lot, I do, but I keep wanting something more from his character that the show seems reluctant to lean in to. I don't know, this is all a bit off my head, I just have this wee regret that they could be doing more with the character.
@@RickReasonnz I see what you're saying and agree to an extent. Mount's Pike speaks to me more as a counterbalance to Kirk than Hunter's one go at the character...but I do feel like the change in Pike from "The Cage" to where we see him in Discovery S02E01 is pretty stark and the writers of SNW aren't really delving into that 5(?) year gap to explain the shift in character, or giving Mount some meat to chew to show he's actually closer to M'Benga than either man believes Pike is but he's wearing the mask of diplomacy and better angels too much. His view of how he'd handle the Romulans testing Federation borders in the "Quality of Mercy" what if scenario from S01E10 should be making him question things more.
I don't feel Ortegas is xenophobic. Rather, it feels more like she is colored by her experiences she has had with Klingons and could (rightly) tell something is off with Rah. That his behavior and actions are not consistent with who he is.
She defined "who he is" by negative stereotypical attributes that she ascribes to all Klingons without considering the individual....that sounds like racism to me.
I think M'Benga also kind of hit upon the aspect (when talking with Pike) that it doesn't feel like Rah ever faced any repercussions for his actions under the Klingons, that he was just suddenly welcomed in by Starfleet and put to work as an ambassador - it doesn't seem like he faced any trial or real justice. If it had determined this was the best way toward restorative justice, that'd be one thing, but instead he gets by on what guilt he feels (questionable how much, especially as he's allowed himself to be mythologized) and what he decides to do because of that.
@@Tuaronexactly,Rah Ambassadorship is tied to a lie, that The federation clearly did not investigate thoroughly…. Your in such a rush for peace, and you choose a man so lacking in character and morals. A man that would order the killing of innocent children. ( that is your choice to Usher in peace) And Rah himself knew that he was lacking, that is why he was so adamant to have Mbenga by his side. Also about Mbenga being a murderer, let’s see he knew the true about Rah, If Mbenga was not going to join and help him, then he was going to possibly be outed to the federation. That would possibly explain him possibly attacking Mbenga..Lol 😂 he was very handsy with Mbenga especially after he was told repeatedly “leave me only”.
@@v.sandrone4268 Racisim is fueled by hatred. When Ortegas said what she said, I get no sense of hate. Instead I get puzzlement. It feels more like she has pieces of a puzzle that do not fit and she is trying to figure out the puzzle of this Klingon Ambassador who had committed known atrocities AND is now eloquently suing for peace. That just does not look like racism to me.
Thanks for the review, Jessie, you're my favorite Trek reviewer! For me, I loved the action beat with basically a performer enhancing drug, partly because it was a well done action scene, but partly because it made sense tonally for me with Chapel's character, specifically, as I think its been hinted she's kind of a bad ass, but also kind of damaged/avoidant, maybe because of the PTSD in this episode, but i imagine other reasons as well (we'll see). I think this episode laid some interesting groundwork that M'benga became a doctor because he used to be a man of violence, or maybe even a killer. The atrocities on d'gal brought him back to that place. I think the drug and him coming up with it speaks to a darkness and ruthlessness about him, which he showed by killing all those Klingons. I thought this was all really interesting and kinda reminded be of Section 31 plots/moral gray areas.
I also think that Chapel is avoiding Spock not just because of this PTSD, but also because she got spooked last episode by some of the things Boimler said. She's kinds known that she is afraid of commitment or vulnerability or genuinely doesnt want it, and feels conflicted about it...i think. I think she's pushing Spock away for those reasons, not just because she needs space to deal with it. No judgment, but I hope her character does get a chance to grow in that area too.
I also super appreciated an ambiguous ending. I also think that M'benga's conscience was clear at the end, meaning it seemed clear he thought he hadn't done anything wrong. His face and his eyes were totally open. Its just not clear to me what that means: like, maybe M'benga is okay appointing himself the executioner of this man who will otherwise not truly get justice. But maybe he doesn't believe that. I can also see him saying to Pike, with a clear conscience, that he did not start the fight--whether or not he picked up the knife first. He could have felt he was provoked into it, and the Klingon definitely touched him first. That was very well played in terms of maintaining ambiguity. Props to the direction and acting there.
Like always I loved your review! You make many good points.
My feelings about the episode are complicated.
At the beginning you compared the episode to Deep Space Nine but I think your comparison to Star Trek Six, the Undiscovered Country is even better.
Doctor M'Benga is like Kirk at the beginning of the movie. The doctor is more justified than Kirk but you could make a strong comparison between the two.
Would Kirk have been justified to kill Chancellor Gorkon? I don't know if there are novels that go into Gorkon's life before he became Chancellor. Maybe he fought in the Klingon-Federation war. Maybe he was as guilty of war crimes as the ambassador in this episode. Maybe Gorkon was even more guilty because he might have had more influence in the Klingon government than the ambassador.
I don't feel good about what the doctor did. If I lived in the UFP I would be happy that people who agree more with Captain Pike seem to be in charge rather than doctor M'Benga but that is just my opinion.
Sometimes it's good to see characters you respect and admire do something you don't agree with. It makes characters more nuanced if they do something you don't agree with.
I think M'Benga genuinely wanted to forgive Dak'Rah. He fought his hatred and trauma at dinner, and during sparring, to listen to the Klingon. He talked about fake-it-til-you-make-it as a genuine path to change. If Dak'Rah was truly repentant, and could really change, then M'Benga might be able to forgive himself. But claiming someone else's sins isn't the same as accounting for your own.
Dak'Rah may have successfully negotiated many treaties but he seemed more interested in the appearance of peace than actual healing. He knew there were veterans from the Klingon War aboard the ship, but insisted on an impromptu tour, walking through people's work spaces without warning. Asking M'Benga, someone personally harmed by Dak'Rah, become his ally because of the example it would set for others. Insisting, even when the doctor was very clear that he wanted to be left alone. Healing comes from letting someone work through trauma at their own pace, not from insisting you mask it with a smile.
Finally, I think it's interesting that we spent almost the full episode finding out that M'Benga not Dak'Rah was the actual butcher of J'Gal and at the end of the story Dak'Rah again receives credit for the conflict.
You know it's DS9 time because there is Raktajino!
DS9 has long been my favorite series because I like how it shows how complex the world we live in can be. So many times (though, by no means always) in TOS and TNG everything can be sort of easily resolved. In real life that almost never happens, right? SNW recognizing that while also doing the more optimistic stuff is a really good mix, I think.
I love Una's conversation with Pike where she was all, "Listen, your ideals are in the right place, but on the individual level we can't demand that people just ignore their pain for the sake of our ideals."
It was also cool to see M'Benga using the transporter as a life-saving device, it's been that so many times in the past and this is the first time I can remember where it was kind of an immediate thought for a medical professional in a crisis situation.
I definitely believe Dak'rah started the fight. After that I'm not sure if he grabbed the knife or if M'Benga took the opportunity to justify lethal retaliation. I can see it going either way as M'Benga clearly states he's happy Dak'rah is dead but Dak'rah could see the end of his new life if M'Benga spoke out about what had actually happened. I think M'Benga's arguing is because he feels guilt about killing Dak'rah and questions his own motives but does ultimately feel like the universe is better off without him.
I took it that Chapel really didn't see who started the fight but was going to protect M'Benga no matter what. While it is technically true that we don't know who started the fight, I think the fdact M'Benga already was considering using the knife while the Klingon hadn't done anything overtly hostile leans me in the direction that "M'Benga shot first". But the Klingon never struck me as feeling true remorse (like the Cardassian in a DS9 story who wanted to die for someone else's sins) but wanting to be seen as the good guy. That he was more interested in being forgiven than just making up for things was noticeable. Also, given the time in Federation history, I assumed something was going to have to mess up this attempt at making peace with a Klingon. And yes, especially for this time period, all of this Black Ops stuff seems like a plot out of it's proper time and did in Discovery as well.
Yes! The Kelcie Mae is a great ship design! Know why? Almost 60 years of nothing but saucer sections and nacelles.
Well, besides the Defiant.
Going from the levity of Those Old Scientists straight to the darkness of Under the Cloak of War gave me emotional whiplash, dang!
My interpretation of Rah, is less him about taking accountability, but trying to redeem his shame that he ran as a coward instead of die like a Klingon.
By accepting the Butcher title, it was the only way he saw he could restore his honor in his own eyes, by making himself look like a Klingon looking for redemption, to the Federation and a Klingon who choose to stop a dishonorable slaughter, to the Empire. His post-war career is built on a lie, in order to make himself look good.
He needed the lie to make himself believe he is not a bad Klingon.
Yeah.
The guy was living a lie and from a Klingon even more than a human pov has behaved with dishonour.
Maybe that's why he kept pursuing M'Benga.
He needed him to endorse the lie so that it became more plausible.
@@alanpennie8013 On a different discussion elsewhere, I added a statement, for Rah, as a Klingon, being a traitor is an easier lie to live with, than the truth of being a coward.
Someone confirmed that by listing all the times we've had traitor Klingons, and while a Klingon traitor may be viewed more negatively, it's not that big of a shame in the grand scheme of Klingon society. The worst you have is someone who survived your treachery wanting to kill you later.
To not die with honor in battle however is definitely looked very badly on.
Good mature review. The ambassador and M'Benga were two opposing forces. The general was a coward who ordered the massacre of families. Then he wanted to help others heal. M'Benga was a healer who was courageous enough to kill the Klingons who massacred the families. Fascinating episode!
there was this line at the end "you turned me into a monster, I told you, I was there".
this reminded me of this line (said in canon a hundred years later):
"It's not you I hate, Cardassian; I hate what I became because of you" - Miles Edward O'Brien
they used the same situation, just a little change by turning m'benga into an actual war criminal who was under the influence of a very dangerous drug.
I'm not sure how many people will catch onto that line.
Like a good dark DS9 episode, it posed a bunch of moral questions, none of which have easy answers.
I especially liked between Pike and Number One about the crew's reaction. Number One has this really great 'realist' angle to her, she loves that Chris is an idealist but here she reminds him that in the real world, people don't always entertain the better angels of their nature.
One of the best episodes since Trek returned to TV. You absolutely nailed it with the Deep Space 9 comparison. The somewhat morally ambiguous ending is the capper then will make it this a all time great episode. Episodes like this are why I love Star Trek as much as I do.
Chapel did not see the entire fight. She enters after the struggle started. She is on the same side of the frosted glass as the two men. If you watch carefully after she first enters and turns to watch them, you will see her through the frosted glass at the far left of the screen, moving slightly. She sees that clearly, not through the glass, but she does not see the start of it.
Chapel may not be consciously lying but rather misinterpretating what she saw because she really wants to exonerate her friend.
UPS caved to strikers and the studios will be out of movies in October. Dominos falling.
lol. I glad you corrected your collar. I am watching the comm badge as well 🙂
I just love how this episode about the after effects of war and making peace with your former enemies, where (SPIOILERS) one of the main characters may or may not have murdered a man seeking redemption, is sandwiched between the comedy crossover with the 2D animated star trek comedy show, and the musical special.
That was an amazing episode, filled with serious depth. Your analysis was spot on. I lean towards Pike-style optimism, but I like the fact that the creative team isn't afraid to leave situations and emotions unresolved. Some of these issues don't have simple solution.
M’benga is slowly
Becoming my
Favorite Star Trek character nurse chapel too
Just watched the episode. I sure wasn’t prepared for it. That hit like a truck.
I saw the premise, it really made me think of the Neelix episode of Voyager, “Jetrel”. Probably one of the stronger episodes of Voyager so I thought I had an idea for how this was going to going to go.
Honestly it was so amazing to have blended so much of DS9 into this. Helped this episode succeed where I felt “Jetrel” failed. The dark tone was phenomenal. Difficult as hell but phenomenal.
The line from M’Benga “…using the blood on my hands to make yourself a saint.” Powerful.
The callback to keeping his daughter alive in the transporter was a really incredible touch. Very understated. Did make me wonder, if Chapel knew he could do that if she ever asked questions.
That whole final sequence was so powerful, the ambiguity. This very well might have been the best episode of the season for what it was. What a story, what a flex.
Hope this was somewhat coherent. That episode really hit me.
What was that TNG episode where a barren planet had a small plot of land where an elderly couple lived? “You don’t understand the scope of my crime.”
Picard decided it wasn’t his place to judge.
I think the writers and composer were also very aware of the similarities in some themes between this episode and The Undiscovered Country. The choice of the name Prospero is a subtle nod to TUC's obsession with Shakespeare. Prospero being one of the main characters in The Tempest. Next to that, the music during the final confrontation between M'Benga and Rah sounded like an inversion of a TUC theme, just as this episode ends on an inversion of TUC's conclusion.
I like the way they left the death of Rah very much a mystery. There are, the way I see it, three options now:
- M'Benga chose to finish what he started
- Rah did start the fight and M'Benga was able to defend himself
- Rah chose to take his own life
Each has its own implications on both how serious Rah was about peace, and on M'Benga as a character.
I also like the lighter more positive episodes but this was so well done, so deep, and shout out to Babs Olusanmoku in particular for being amazing.
This series has so much variety in storytelling, and all of it good.
Ready room had Babs Olusanmoku and Melissa Navia on, and Melissa talked about her personal trauma, and how important it is for her to portray the soldier/pilot aspect of Ortegas correctly.
1. It will take a while to process everything in this chapter of what's growing into one of the best Trek iterations, ever.
2. If Babs Olusanmokun doesn't take home awards for this performance, it will be a crime.
3. I appreciate the nuanced and complex dimensions this adds to Chapel's character.
4. I appreciate how the Klingon ambassador's ambiguity is left hanging even after his death. He wears the veneer of a man wanting peace. His confrontation with M'Benga allows us to see it from another angle: the questionable piety of a man who committed atrocities. It could be interpreted as less a genuine desire for atonement than a desire to CYA.
5. Agree with other commenters who point out how despite the boomerang genre-bending - comedy to horror to drama and back again - each character stays true to his- or herself throughout.
I didn't really like that they made M'benga into a murderer.. but i enjoyed the episode.. i really liked seeing M'benga and Nurse Chapel during wartime..
I spotted many intentional inconsistencies especially towards the end of the episode. Chapel's statement is inconsistent with what she saw. That M'Benga can kill the Klingon ambassador with a single stab when the ambassador was shown to be a competent unarmed combatant earlier. Add on the fact that we know Klingons are tough and have redundant organs.. makes it plausible that M'Benga might not have murdered ambassador Rah. I don't know what actually happened, but I suspect the writers plan to add to this story in the future.
@@intrinsicalPerhaps. But Rah was expecting a had-to-hand scuffle. The dagger may have been such a surprise that he didn't expect M'Benga to use it. And M'Benga is clearly a skill combatant himself.
Agreed. I don't think it's anywhere near as ambiguous as Jessie does. M'benga literally used the dagger that he had used on J'gal. That implies a degree of premeditation. Then he treated him on the biobed that he knew was defective.
His actions are completely understandable. But I can't help but agree with Pike that we need to use due process to resolve such matters. Personal revenge, even if warranted, leads down a very dark path for any society that allows it. The blood feuds that eventually result under such circumstances are a very ugly thing indeed.
"I didn't really like that they made M'benga into a murderer.." - Neither did he! That's what's so tragic about it.
I can intellectually understand doing something heinous because it vanquishes a greater evil, but hopefully won't ever _understand_ it this way. That risk of losing one's self, one's ideals I think wasn't shied away from here.
@@adamherne2348 "Understandable" does not equal "commendable" or "acceptable." But in the context of having been a first-hand witness to the ambassador's war crime and hearing him admit to giving the orders, it's easy to see how M'Benga could reach that particular decision. He *knows* the ambassador is guilty and getting away with his crime.
I'll repeat for emphasis that I personally agree with Pike: due process exists for a reason; even if you "know" the accused is guilty, as a society we have agreed to delegate decisions of guilt and punishment to our justice system in order to stave off vigilantism, blood feuds, and the other unpleasant ramifications of personal vengeance. That covers the moral/ethical aspects of the actual killing.
My biggest with the *narrative* is that M'Benga did not choose to face the consequences for *his* own crime, which absolutely leaves him being no better than the ambassador.
At the start I was so happy... Klingons, Klingons, gimme Klingons!
But this episode was very dark and hard-hitting. Anyway, totally worth it.
Did you cry, Jessie? I sure did.
And, avoiding spoilers, but M'Benga did the right thing! Yes!
This is the Klingon War we deserved, I wish Discovery had had the guts to go there
They sort of did the first two episodes, but then it was a soap opera
Small funny detail, Ortegas comparing Rah to the Dalai Lama.
So, despite the Chinese Government best (or worst) intentions, the Dalai Lamas have successfully reincarnated until 23th century? Awesome!
Always interesting to watch the polarity develop like in the main lead characters of the other shows Kirk-Spock, Picard-Riker, now Pike-M'Benga. Really have to watch this one a few times before I sound off, especially after the amazing guest star appearance of CH.
..... if I had a nickel for every time in the past week I watched a bright, delightful, self-referential comedy about finding one's identity amidst heavy expectations, featuring characters from two different worlds meeting; followed up by an introspective, cinematic, and sort of depressing piece about the horrors of war and personal responsibility that flashed back and forth between different time periods, I'd have two nickels.
Which isn't a lot, but it's REALLY weird that it's happened twice.
Out of curiosity, what's the other pairing you're referencing?
@@Tuaron Barbie and Oppenheimer. I had the same feelings leaving each one as I did after eps 7 & 8 of SNW, so it was kind of wild to me that they all happened within the same week.
I loved this episode. I get that we use this series as escapism on many levels, but its episodes like this that give it the meat that keeps us fed. It was just good storytelling, plain and simple.
Definitely an intense one that I'll need to rewatch a couple times to fully grasp. Everybody is doing a fantastic job fleshing out these complex feelings.
I think another element that you don't see a lot in many other Star Treks outside of DS9 are the episodes that delve into all of the complexities of war. Most of the Bajorans you see in the show are traumatized in a variety of ways. And I love how they show this with the Enterprise crew.
I want them to seed some ship's counselor plot in this season. Like have this crew in a short-term pilot program, and then they use that to decide whether it's worth the resources for the future.
Another fantastic episode of SNW. This one got better on the second watch. In true DS9 fashion it examined the gray areas. I´m glad we got a M´Benga-heavy episode, he´s turning into a fascinating, complicated character.
Clint Howard! Balok in TOS! Also in DS9, Enterprise, and Discovery!
Great ep. i love that we don't know who started the fight, The Doctors actor is amazing!
I would say that Ambassador Rah started this by pressing M'Benga to ally with him. It started at the Captain's dinner. Rah might have been able to continue his forgiveness tour if he had just left M'Benga alone.
A lot of people have already said what I wanted to say, but one thing everyone (including you _and_ Steve Shives) have missed in your reviews and/or comments are its deep parallels to one of the more underrated, most brutal episodes of DS9 - Siege of AR-558. I was seeing this in a very similar lens. I firmly believe that the flashback sequences of this episode are _by far_ the darkest, most visually disturbing of all of Star Trek to this date. We watch many ships getting blown up, but it's way more personal to see the stack of bodies - and the gory injuries of those who've been wounded. Not to mention the children, the ensign who _literally_ has his heart massaged (and then die a horrific death from having his neck slit), among other things. It's on a similar level to what Saving Private Ryan depicted. And I think the risk of having such dark content worked well here - it really shows the devastation of war - and from the comments here, it sounds like it hit war veterans on a deeply traumatic level - which I feel means they hit the mark when giving the fundamental message of this episode.
Finally got around to watching the episode. Very happy in this episode Dr. M'Benga was featured, as well as Nurse Chapel .
It was a very heavy episode dealing with prejudice, trauma, PTSD, and the horror of war. nothing was really resolved here.
It ends with no clear answers. I loved it!
It was the most tense and uncomfortable episode of Star Trek that I've ever seen... and I loved it!
Babs Olusanmokun and Jess Bush were amazing. I really felt their trauma. I wish they had tied Ortegas into the arc more. A shot of the three of them sharing a drink in silence or even Ortegas and M'Benga sharing a look.
I like the combination of The Undiscovered Country, The Siege AR558 and Duet without it seeming contrived or lazy.
Yeah, earlier on it looked like Ortegas would play a bigger part, but instead just worked as a counterpoint to M'Benga & Chapel's more (outwardly) subdued reactions to Rah being there, somewhat voicing thoughts that they may have agreed with but were inclined to hold in to try and keep the peace.
@@Tuaron I do agree that Ortegas's war experiences are absolutely underused. But, if we want to think this through, it makes sense that she can't really relate to M'Benga and Chapel because she was a pilot. If anything - this could have been used as a source of tension (though part of me thinks Melissa Navia's talents aren't being used appropriately in the show).
Being Air Wing/Air Force/Rotary Wing in any military has its own harrowing features - particularly when it comes to approaches to defended airspace (imagine facing down Anti-Air weapons and fighters). However, that sort of experience is categorically different than the nightmarish realities of ground warfare.
At some point, veterans will band together - but you can quickly see them sort into groups who shared like experiences (Infantry, Medics, Support Staff, Pilots and Maintainers, Sailors, etc.).
I'm not sure if this was the intent - but in my own "head cannon" fighting a Klingon Bird of Prey as a pilot and facing down a pack of screaming warriors with Bat'Leths after days of hunger and sleep deprivation might be experiences that can't be reconciled between veterans of different divisions - unless, of course, you're the unfortunate bastard who has seen both...
Eep, the start of that last conversation in sickbay rang so true, for anyone whose identity is systematically devalued, there’s that constant expectation to make your harmed feel better, or like they’ve done enough and that it doesn’t hurt so much. It was subtle but clear. I do think Dr. M is getting court martialed at the end of the finale just like Una and Cap Freeman did.
Also nice use of lighting in the MASH scenes. We had two men rich in melanin with different skin textures talking in the dark and we could still see them emote. We had lots of prosthetics and fighting in the dark and we could still kind of tell what was going on, like we get that maybe Dr. M slashed Rah’s leg and that’s why he walks with a cane. We wonder if he doesn’t recognize the doctor because the doc was stealth 100 or because he only saw the attacker as a faceless human enemy. We don’t think maybe he was invisible because of his skin because we spent a lot of shots establishing how well you can see everyone in the dark. We sure saw a whole lot of the doc. It wasn’t just eye candy, it was a little, but also it was showing that rah should have recognized his almost assassin before he crossed out the almost.
Small world story. My Jiu-Jitsu instructor has trained with Babs several times. Also I got to disagree with you Jessie. All the Mortal Kombat fight scenes with the Klingons in the season 2 premiere were Fucking Awesome! Great video as always.
It was a bit of a shock how the series went from its funniest episode straight to its darkest. Now I want to learn more about what happened during the war with Kirk and Ortegas. Not to mention that I've developed a suspicion that Chapel's trouble with commitment has to do with her PTSD.
Side note: I think the drug reference is a nod to how Klingons are supposed to be a lot stronger than humans, and indicates what the Federation resorted to doing to make it through the war. You get a hint as to how dark the Federation can be in DS9 with the use of a bioweapon, in Picard with the torture of POWs, and now this - soldiers using drugs to help cope with hand to hand combat of a stronger enemy. I think it gives a different, but just as deep edge, to Pike and M'Benga's last talk as to where the line lays.
Haven’t watched it but I loved this review. I’m happy to be challenged by Star Trek. I’m loving this season but I feel it hasn’t had the emotional beats of last season, looking at you human sacrifice episode. That was brutal.
Paused before you got into spoilers. I’m off to watch it now.
AFAIS M'Benga (sp?) was Black Ops before he was a doctor- he says to the Orion "I am a doctor now". Now- as opposed to then.
That was an Andorian soldier, not Orion.
The implication appears to be that he has renounced killing, which is why this story is so sad.