Star Trek Doesn't Understand Eugenics
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- Опубліковано 8 лип 2024
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Star Trek Strange New World Season 2 has come and gone, it was fun but the question becomes... whats the message?
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▶Voices by - @SteveShives @Aranock @CouncilofGeeks @Princess_Weekes @elliotsangestevez
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0:00 - A Gorn Awakening
6:11 - A Tease
9:02 - Part 1: This Side of Paradise
40:00 - Part 2: Tomorrow is Yesterday
1:51:21 - Part 3: And the Children Shall Lead
2:06:15 - Part 4: Return to Tomorrow
2:37:24 - A HOT GORN WEDDING!
2:44:00 - Outro - Фільми й анімація
Amazing as always Jessie. I had fun running around filming you in your greenscreen lizard suit in front of perplexed hikers XD
So that’s why ladyknightthebrave doesn’t make content anymore
I did not expect one of your skills to wrangle Gorn.
@@abbygail6010 rude. I'm working on it. I've been dealing with health issues
@@Ladyknightthebrave hope you'rw feeling better and love that you were collabing with Jessie
@@stalfithrildi5366 thanks the health stuff is a work in progress unfortunately but it certainly isn't killing me it's just annoying me
In regard to charades, I still don't understand why Spock turned into such an emotional person. Vulcans have stronger emotions than humans, which they suppress. If anything, I feel that a human Spock, if his DNA being altered had altered his emotion strength, would be less outwardly emotional, as he's used to suppressing bigger emotions. The only things I felt made sense were the hot tea (which I feel that he would have struggled with to some extent, if still half human half Vulcan) and the mind meld.
I thought the emotions were because of the fact that the pilot episode had him smiling and emotional and they had to move from there to the stoicism of the end of tos.
I kinda reasoned that human Spock was dealing with a different brain chemistry suddenly, so the way emotions felt was not the same as they felt to a Vulcan mind. He was like a Vulcan child learning to control emotions for the first time - his impulsiveness was rather childlike. Such as when devouring food because he tasted it for the first time without practiced emotional control interrupting the pleasure from it.
@@bluedotdinosaur Huh. Interesting perspective. Hadn't considered that.
@@bluedotdinosaur Amanda even came on board and the first thing she said was that he was a teenager. And now he's a teenager with a brand new human brain that's being flooded with sensations he's never felt before. Like the taste of bacon, which for a Vulcan would be repulsive.
Moreover, the human sex he had with Chapel clearly left a mark, being unbridled by Vulcan repressions. This explains why he fell so hard for her and was demolished when she suddenly turned cold. Honestly, Chapel really has to explain to Spock what she learned from Boimler to take some of the sting away.
My understanding is that vulcans strong emotions AND ability to suppress emotions are both traits of being vulcan. Sort of explained in Voyager. Humans can't learn to do what vulcans do. Not without it destroying their mental health. His vulcan technique might have been taught but vulcans brains work differently and thus the same method of emotionally suppression may not have worked or even be possible with a human body. That doesn't explain why he didn't try though.
One of the first times my son heard anybody say, "Pick yourself up by your bootstraps," he turned to me and said, "Wait. If you do that, you just fall on your ass."
It's pretty amusing when a ten year old says stuff like that.
That phrase - like the word meritocracy - was coined by people who were critiquing the mindset it typifies. In both cases regressive forces have assimilated this language into their own lexicon, saying "No that's good actually" and refusing to engage with the critique that led to the coining in the first place.
Well, he wasn't wrong. "Picking yourself up by your bootstraps" is idiotic as well as impossible.
Most don't even know the whole saying about "picking yourself up by your bootstraps" is literally not possible.
@@uuneya Pie in the sky is another example of a term that's gotten turned around - it was coined by the IWW as part of a parody hymn to critique the Salvation Army for its role in opposing worker's rights protections, unions, and such based on the claim that if you're a good little worker you'll go to heaven. The hymn was about someone trying to convince themself that in exchange for eating plain bread and drinking tap water, for living in a shack and obeying others thoughtlessly, they'll have pie and a mansion in the sky. Nowadays the saying is more often used to dismiss calls for improved working conditions as impossible, which is just...painfully ironic.
😂😂😂👏👏👏 Kids are awesome, freaking smart, + genuine ❤❤❤ 👍👍👍
@@waynemyers2469 My son was always coming up with stuff like this. His grandparents were involved in their church, so one Easter (not Easter Sunday, we were visiting for Easter and went as well on the Sunday after Easter), a man teaching in a Sunday school class my parents (his grandparents were in) talked about Jesus praying in the Garden of Gethsemane, then finding the disciples sleeping. The man asked this class, mostly middle age or older people, what Jesus would do. My son held up his hand (he was about 6) and said he thought Jesus would be angry. Jesus asked them to wait for him, but he found them sleeping. Some of the adults looked concerned, but the man agreed that it was a point.
I understand that it seems like something an adult would prompt a kid to say. But my son is hard headed and thinks for himself. Still, I am just a numpty on the interwebs. Do as you do, and have a good day wherever you are.
Everything about Spock and Chapel's relationship bothers me. Literally they gave us this first really fun characterization of her, and then every single thing about her becomes about Spock right away. Like, if they wanted to include Chapel and give her more depth, what they should have done is ignore her unrequited love for Spock. They should have developed her as her own character, and then maybe during the last season start showing her falling for Spock. It gives Chapel room to grow outside of her relationship with a guy, and you still have her end up with her feelings for Spock like she had in TOS.
The way the first pokemon movie with Mew and Mewtwo has a far better understanding of eugenics and how it doesn’t determine your future over what’s been hailed as one of the most progressive shows of these past few decades is kinda wild ngl.
Twenty minutes in and I'm already going, Una's trans, she's so trans, and she's passing: "When they didn't know, they didn't care. The only thing that has changed is that they know the truth."
It is baffling how badly Goldsman misses the point about the Gorn especially since Lower Decks makes it canon that peace and cooperation is achieved with the Gorn.
And in Prodigy a Gorn freighter is one of the ships that comes to the aid of Starfleet
On the other hand, this is *before* Arena, so it kinda has to miss the point, in a way. Though the *show* should get it even if the characters don't
Agreed 100%. I've recently gotten back into Star Trek Online and even though he doesn't do much one of my favorite NPCs has always been Ambassador Stass, this huge bruiser of a Gorn who's still an accomplished diplomat and well respected enough to act as the Klingon Empire's diplomatic liaison to the Federation. Hell I even really liked that when the Orions, Gorn, and Nausicaans each got their own ships for players to fly to supplement the Klingon fleet, the Gorn were the ones given the science role. It was a nice way to expand on them as not just being big scaley barbarians in the same vein as TOS's original message.
Edit: Also while you're escorting him to safety he'll take down Jem'Hadar with his nothing but his BARE CLAWS AND TEETH, so that's badass.
@@Sarcasticron I *absolutely* agree- with Pike, this has to be set up for an arc. The loss of Hemmer and other crewmen, the near loss of Marie and others, that’s his David, and the “monsters” line is his “let them die” in Undiscovered Country. It’s clearly set up for a payoff. I kinda wish they hadn’t used a species that was established canonically in the way it was for that arc for him, but I definitely think that’s where they’re headed.
Just like with the Klingons. Nu Trek and SNW are showing us how the Federation came to live in peace with the Gorn. In this case, the early days are a little rocky. Which to me is perfectly understandable. But unless half the characters on the show end up as Gorn feed. Some sort of rapprochement is coming next season.
I think Star Trek's insistence on bringing back "legacy characters" in every series is holding back its potential. They're keeping everything tightly tied together in a single storyline because they're scared that people won't watch unless they get to see their childhood favs
There was a woman once who insisted on wearing a Star Fleet uniform costume to jury duty. As I recall, she was challenged on the ground that she was making light of the legal process. She successfully argued that, to the contrary, she was paying homage to what the legal process stands for, and was allowed to serve as a cosplay Star Fleet crew member on that jury.
😂 this very short video was alot of fun 😂
Yeah, it's always nice to see a short video especially a fun one
Yeah, bummer it wasn't longer!
Yeah, I’m surprised it wasn’t in the UA-cam shorts category.
@@dandelion_16 I know😢
Don't look at the timestamp
Star Trek is one of a painfully small number of enduring fandoms that invite us to imagine a better future where we could all see ourselves. It continuously and often imperfectly updates and corrects itself to keep the future one worth living in, to keep us the audience inspired and hopeful that there could be a world hundreds of years from now that's worth working for, and worth fighting for.
OMG when they just decided to SLAM the kyuga into the surface without checking for survivors i was shocked. liek thats insane, they didnt even try to look for survivors, there could have been like 50 ppl there just splat into gorn holiday land.
They could have taken the opportunity to have Spock grind out a reluctant "...the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few." to justify not taking the time to search. It could have been really harrowing to see that decision being made - that there just isn't time to both search for survivors and crash the ship to try to save everyone else. Instead they just brushed over it and hoped we wouldn't notice.
I think the system having people to point to as having succeeded under the system is a built-in feature to allow denying the intrinsic design to keep those groups marginalized and disempowered. And also allows the system to put the blame on the marginalized ("See, this person made it. It must be your fault if you can't make it too.").
so real, and something im still trying to unlearn. i have sm internalized hatred because im so oversensitive/emotional and depressed, and ive always been made to feel like im just not trying hard enough to be "normal". even therapists have said to me really shitty things that have made my self hatred worse :) its really tough, but im glad theres ppl out there who understand me, like ik im not alone, and ik blaming myself only makes me feel worse
anyway sorry for ranting
This is the reason why the best thing Discovery did was travel 1000 years in the future. Disco 3000 isn't burdened by a canonical future that it needs to conform to. It's also what I like about Lower Decks, Prodigy and Picard Season 1 (though Picard Season 1 was a *hot mess*). They push Star Trek's story forward in ways large and small. It's also my problem with Disco Season 1 and the Star Trek Kelvenverse, they are bound by canon and the story need to conform to that canon.
Woah Disco 3000
I like to believe that Star Trek Beyond did something different from canon. But I’m not too sure since I’ve never seen the original series.
@@cyberpup2246there was no admiral guy saying that to Michael or about Michael in season 3. No one treats Michael like she’s the only one that matters. In fact when she meets Book, he doesn’t care. And the Federation President isn’t all about her plans. The one person who actually said he’s been waiting was that one guy waiting for decades at the station, and he was only excited for her because she’s a Starfleet officer, not because she’s Michael Burnham, she just happened to be the first one to show up there.
@@CaptainPikeachu
That's such a cute, clever name.
"the best thing Discovery did was travel 1000 years in the future." I'll second that. Should have started out that way.
I always felt like SNW had a real problem with "tell don't show" when it came to Spock and his Vulcanness. You have so many lines from other Vulcans about how human Spock is, but without any real on-screen stuff to support that. The removal of the asexual nature in which Vulcans express emotions and love was really the death nail for me. There's been so much established lore about Vulcans and touch, and how culturally different their expressions of love are to humans. But in the show you have T'Pring and Spock making out like humans, touching like humans, having what we would see as a typical human romance; but with added flavor text about how different Spock is. It doesn't help translate what they're trying to do with Spock at all. Like you talked about, it seems like the differences of Spock in this show seem to be more down to his blood than his culture, because the Vulcans of this show don't actually seem super culturally different than humans beyond aesthetics. And I don't mind Spock being more sexual, but I think they went about it wrong. You could have his time with humans make him desire things like touch and more open emotional companionship, and that causing friction with T'Pring, instead of starting with that as the baseline and adding all the lines about how "human" he is.
goddd thank you for putting this into words.
I feel that fans often equate popular perceptions of characters with the actual character. Spock is something of an asexual icon but in TOS, he's always getting laid. There's the lady on Cloud City, there's the Romulan captain, there's the cave woman, and hippie flower girl. This isn't to say asexual representation doesn't matter but I feel like it's something fans are asking versus the character's handling--especially as alternate timeline Spock (Kelvinverse) is also as much an influence as the TOS version.
I hate how Star Trek's definition of eugenics also encompasses "literally any genetic engineering ever", instead of focusing on the actual problem.
Eugenics is not genetic engineering. Genetic engineering is not eugenics.
I truly love seeing a creator give Lower Decks the love it deserves even beyond the references and humour. When it comes to its characters, themes and story it really is the strongest in modern Star Trek, and despite its set up as a literal satire, also feels the least beholden to the past, being the only one that is entirely a new crew on a new ship and not a prequel. Even with Discovery going in a bold new direction in season 3 its easy to forget they did still bring in Spock and the Enterprise to be integral parts of the show early on.
I think its position as a workplace comedy also makes it the show the most culturally significant now. It has its own ideas of the relationship between lower and upper management, AI's effect on the workplace, the rise of facism, the idea that helping marginalized communities is an ongoing process, and the future of work in general, and it is all very interesting. Cerritos Strong.
This is my major issue with Picard season 3. Season 1 and 2 were very messy Star Trek, season 3 feels like it actively hates Star Trek. It hates Star Trek so much that the show literally ends with the TNG crew simultaneously fighting modern Star Trek characters and being uniquely the crew that is needed to come in and "save" them.
That the show being pitched to come out of this from fans is literally called "Star Trek Legacy" is actually makes me legitimately sad. This universe should be so much more than just the legacy of the past.
I was not expecting the "I Quit Star Trek" crossover.
So much important stuff here. It really does feel like - as feels grimly inevitable - the better _Star Trek_ does as a franchise, the more it's in the spotlight, the more they haul on the reins and force it to regurgitate regressive ideas. Maybe it's just drifted that way unintentionally, "playing it safe" is just erring on the side of upholding the status quo, but it's very disappointing to see how little thought seems to be going into what should be the heart of the franchise.
I think that's why it's so important that we do everything we can to not lose _Prodigy_ - _Prodigy_ gets it. _Prodigy_ understands the assignment. I mean, one of its core cast is a walking lesson in not judging by appearance, and every episode has some sort of moral message. Maybe it only got away with that by being technically a kids' show, but _Star Trek_ should always have something to say. It feels hollow without it.
They did Okona dirty, though. He was not a sleazy coward in TNG.
I never finished the last episode because I hate what they did to the Gorn. They made them into monsters when the whole point of the tos episode was that they look like monsters "to us". The Gorn was a thinking, feeling person. The captain of a star ship the same as kirk.
To the Gorn captain, Kirk probably looked like an ugly bag of mostly water.
I did enjoy S2 but you're completely correct that the SNW depiction of the Gorn totally undermines the theme of the "Arena" - not judging by appearances etc. Not only that it undermines the setup for Arena by having such extensive contact with the Gorn that they're hardly an "unknown" race by the time of TOS.
If the writers wanted to develop a lesser alien race from TOS I think the Kzinti from the animated show would work better. They were an aggressive race that had multiple conflicts with humanity. SNW could show the last major conflict that lead to the treaty referenced in TAS.
I think they are building up to the gorn being just as intelligent in the next season.
Jessie over here giving us the Gorn subplot we all deserve in between essay sections.
@@mikenolan73 As I understand it, Paramount doesn't have the rights to use the kzinti. They were created by science fiction author Larry Niven for his own works in his Known Space universe ("Ringworld" etc.), and he used them in "The Slaver Weapon," the episode of Star Trek: The Animated Series he wrote (the alien Slaver species are also from Known space), but he still owns the rights to them, and so Paramount would have to pay him to use them more. For weird contract shenanigans reasons, they're included in the Star Fleet Battles license (a ship-to-ship battle simulator boardgame that reimagines Starfleet as a more openly militarily structured space naval organization, which has access to intellectual property from The Original Series and The Animated Series but not The Motion Picture or anything after that, and which exists as a limited but perpetual license that Paramount can't revoke due to the way the original contracts were written -- I believe said license also includes the ability to sub-license, so if you see a Star Fleet Battles-branded starship fighting video game that's what's going on there), so they show up there, but they will probably not show up in any named capacity in any other future Star Trek works. Unnamed cat-people aliens in background shots in various pieces of Star Trek media may or may not be deniable nods to the kzinti because Larry Niven doesn't own the general rights to cat furries, but they can't officially be kzinti.
Thought: In TOS M'Benga is not the chief physician of the Enterprise. He is only a doctor - among others - under the ship's doctor McCoy. This still gives SNW the possibility to demote him because of his actions.
well Phil Boyce is supposed to be the chief doctor by the time of the pilot episode for TOS. And m'benga and nurse chapel are apparently on the staff both before and after menagerie. So at some point Phil Boyce will come in and M'Benga will presumably be working for him.
@@jasonmast7769 Menagerie has already happened, though. We see it referenced in Disco season 2. So it's just as likely he's already come and gone.
@@CaptainGCN oh yeah that's true.
I guess it's the cage I'm thinking of which would be in the past from our perspective in SNW. so some sort of demotion we don't know about could still be in the SNW future
@@jasonmast7769 Sure. I'm just saying that in TOS, M'Benga is no longer the ship's doctor on the Enterprise - whether under Boyce or McCoy. And that will have a reason, which - maybe - was brought up in Strange New Worlds.
It's also possible he could step down due to "reasons", and that's how Boyce, then McCoy, get brought in.
I mean, whenever ST starts to play it safe or becomes less overtly progressive, we kinda know why, right? It's profit. This is a show made by a corporation whose only goal is to make as much money as possible. Trek may be a franchise that has anti-capitalist, pro-marginalized themes at its heart, but it will only be allowed to express those themes for exactly as long as doing so makes the parent company more money than just wallowing in nostalgia would.
So I guess my point is, if we want to see the writers take more risks in Season 3, what we should do is overthrow the bourgeoisie and burn capitalism to the ground. Also maybe write Goldsman a letter explaining why his read of the Gorn is way off.
I think profit is just an excuse. Time and again increasing diversity and being progressive has proven profitable (when not kneecapped on purpose), but of course that makes executives uncomfortable. Especially when people they agree with (whether they'll say it or not) scream about 'wah star trek woke and bad now.' So they hide behind 'profits' to kneecap things that weren't previously kneecapped. They say its because they think being safe is more profitable, but they know better.
@@fourcatsandagarden No it hasn't. It is, at its absolute best, a break-even tactic.
The whole "get woke/go broke" bullshit is pure nonsense, but it's also hardly a money-maker.
The whole point of tackling sci fi in the first place is to couch radical ideas in genre tropes to make them "safer" for an audience to consider and ingest. Rod Serling knew that better than anybody, as did the folks at Desilu Productions.
Yes.
Personally I don't think the use of Illyrians as a metaphor for those that are marginalised works because the genetic modification just taps into a lot of ableist and eugenicist rhetoric. In SNW they put forward that the augment is something that imposed upon children that did not consent to their bodies being changed that reflects more how parents would want to shape their children to be. Like Bashir's story in DS9, he was augmented against his will and that made him feel violated and resented his parents because he felt so inferior and unloved because they forced him to become a person so different than how he was. It comes across to me as similar to surgeries performed on intersex infants so that they can "fit in" or "be how they are supposed to be" and the fact is there is no one way to be. Genetic augmentation in the context of Star Trek allows people like the Illyrians or Khan to decide what is the accepted way to be. While I ultimately agree that Una does not deserve to be kicked out of Starfleet and her treatment was unfair, I don't think equating eugenicists with a marginalised minority was a good idea. I'm queer, trans, non-binary, and disabled, and I know that I would not have been allowed to become myself if my parents were given the opportunity that the Illyrians were.
Similar to my problems with this episode. They don't work as an allegory for any type of real-world oppression.
Yeah, it's a very awkward fit. They're not called 'the Eugenics Wars' for nothing. The ban does have unfair consequences (those characters didn't make the choice themselves but they suffer for it) but it's not there to oppress people for being different (quite the reverse, really).
I get your point and agree it’s a weird mess. I think also tho that a different thing about Illyrians is they were simply trying to survive within the natural world they lived in. Bit different from Bashir’s parents & etc. I may have got that wrong tho.
@lcflngn The impression I got was that, for Illyrians, genetic modification was an ancient ingrained part of their society and, crucially, far more suited to their biology than human biology. Genetically modified Illyrians are nothing like Genetically modified humans, yet the Illyrians were subject to rules created for humans. That's the unfairness.
@@matthewlongstaff3112the best comparison I can come up with is false equivalencies like child predators vs queer people or capitalists Vs Jewish people. I definitely get get you mean here and I think you hit the nail on the head with regards to what the episode was going for
I HATED charades. Spock was one of the first characters that helped make me feel less alone as a child. Although he wasn’t autistic I could identify with him and seeing him be accepted made me feel like I could find my community as well. (When I got older I started to have problems with the depictions of some of the interactions of other characters with him but I digress) watching Charades and how all the other characters seemed to like him better now that he was “all human” or “normal” made me really uncomfortable. It made me think of some conversations about if there was a “cure” for autism how it would make autistic lives easier but people really meant it would make their lives easier. The scene where some of his crewmates were “teaching him how to act like a Vulcan” in particular seemed like an excuse for them to point out how weird and off putting they found him regularly and worse that he agreed.
I know that Spock is not autistic so my concerns are not as important as the actual issues that are brought up in the video, but I just thought I would mention it.
What if the colonial diagnosis of "autism" is just in everyone, just until you decolonize your minds of the 3D/4D survival mechanisms of trauma? The quantum mind?
I’m autistic and found the episode fun but yeaaaah, the way SNW treats Spock as a freak and not even in the playful way Spock/Bones used to banter is hugely uncomfortable.
It’s a binary difference; he is Vulcan therefore he is this awkward thing.
Where as old TOS was like, two people who know they’re being assholes to each other having fun.
They didn't really "like him better" though, they appreciated him for who he is that's why they worked so hard to reverse the changes.
@@icey8475 You can ethically realize that respecting people's identity is correct while still acting in a way that demeans it.
Which is basically how Spock gets it in the worst bits of SNW. They all love Spock *but* god he's so Vulcan.
That’s really interesting, I loved that episode because I viewed it through my autistic lens. But I took away an anti-curebie message whereas it seems you took the opposite.
I just left a mini essay of a comment so if you want to read all of it you can click my icon (on mobile and tablet anyway); but the long and short of it is I took all of those things as commentary on autistic masking (through the common sci-fi premise of inversion), and interpreted Spock as really uncomfortable with the changes while you read them as him enjoying them.
Spock: "I am neither Human, nor Vulcan, but a secret, Third Thing."
I'd just like to point out that, in fact, we know that the laws of against Augments are still on the books in the "Lower Decks" era because "Prodigy" is set afterwards and they're a factor there.
"Is he improved in every way? Of course not, look at him." is honestly my favorite Janeway line now, the delivery is just perfect.
that said there's an interesting possibility with Dal being very, very visibly engineered. With the shows at more or less opposite ends of the timeline, long-term changes actually *could* be depicted.
It's possible that genetic enhancements are banned while simple augmentation (such as ilyrians adapting to their planet) were permitted. But either way not stated.
This is the biggest issue with the SNW eugenics plots: we know that it doesn’t improve or get changed because it’s a prequel.
Picard shows the Federation flinching from hologram and synthetic rights previously established but like, it’s not treated as a good or crushing people.
I'm about 30 minutes into the video and I had to pause to write this. As a disabled person, I've always seen education as a path forward. I stand on the shoulders of previous (and relatively recent historically speaking) generations whose opportunities to be educated were denied them. At the same time, I'm not blind to the ableist attitudes/barriers which exist and are perpetuated by the U.S. education system. In fact, one of the things I noticed as a physically disabled teenager was that my peers with learning disabilities were dismissed when they asked for help with an assignment. Kids with learning disabilities and other types of neurodivergence are often seen as not capable of being educated. One of the reasons I wanted to be a teacher was to learn how to help my disabled peers learn. It's why I worked so hard to get my teaching degree in college even though some of my college instructors wanted me to forgo certification.
Here is my problem with this storyline and using the Illyrian’s as a metaphor for systemic oppression. Aren’t they a society of people who essentially practice eugenics with a smile? They say it’s just to terraform themselves but that’s clearly not true as Una was given additional enhancements like strength and immunity so what other augments are parents giving their children. Like it feels to me someone like you, or your students wouldn’t exist in Illyrian society and isn’t that just slow kind eugenics? Isn’t it just designer babies?
@@PocketFoodArt I haven't seen the show, but I want to eventually buy it on DVD. ( I like seeing Jessie's commentary.) That said, given my most recent experiences navigating the system as a disabled person the systemic problems we face are based on eugenics. It encompasses everything from income caps to access the types of medical care we need. Which in turn means not being able to use the college education we do have. It's marriage and relationship penalties which can cause you to lose healthcare and the limited income you are allowed to have. Given these realities, I'm not surprised that the show would be written from that lens. We are still a eugenics based society at our core.
Completely different subject, but can we just stop for a second to appreciate how much you've grown as a creator? The production value of this video is INSANE, and the Gorn bits really show how you've grown into directing more narrative stories. I'm purposefully leaving out the part where you manage to make multiple hours worth of video essays in a way that it's actually entertaining to watch, because that has been the case for a very long time now. But seriously, just compare this video with the one about grief and how video games explore it from 2021, for no real reason except that it's probably my favorite. That one already had a big production value, and a wonderful shooting location, but this one is just so much bigger and structured and edited in a more complex and less straightforward way. Just. Great job.
Imagine if nu trek was as boundry breaking to our time as it was in the 60s.
There would be a lot more screaming about it being too woke
I like to think Ortegas and Detmer had a friendly rivalry at the Academy. MAYBE WE SHOULD GET TO SEE THAT.
God, during the section about M'Benga I was just shouting at the screen like "YES! THANK YOU!" I'm so glad that I'm not the only one with this critique about his arc this season! In Season 1, his arc was mostly about his daughter and her illness, which, like, sure, it's not the most masterful thing ever, but it's cute and I like it. But in Season 2, his arc is mostly about how, uhhh, ultra-violent he is? And how he's secretly the Butcher of J'Gal and he killed a bunch of people, and he also invented a drug that makes you a super-violent killing-even-more-people machine? And also, like --- the man watched his daughter become a god and then fly off into space where he'll never see her again, and her name doesn't get dropped ONCE this season? He's not dealing with the long-term psychological repercussions of that? Nah, he's just angry and violent all over the place? Not a great look for these writers regarding the only black man in the main cast.
I remember hearing Number One being "a strong female character" was actually counted as novel and cute, and it being why the character was cut was bullshit spread by Gene because it made him look better. It was really because it was Majel Barrett and everyone knew hers and Genes relationship style. Oh *and* she also just wasn't considered a passable actress.
This was definitely my biggest issue with the second season, I was hoping they’d do better than the first
I'm not that far into picard, still in season 1, and... I really liked Seven being kinda a rebel. I thought it suited her. Its actually kinda jarring to hear she eventually becomes or seeks to become a captain. I'd have though she'd be one of the most critical of the whole star fleet system as she's always been shown to be critical of authority.
Start with my favorite comment - “as I will show you in this short video - don’t look at the time code” - glad we are back to a 2hr video again!
My aunts ALWAYS talked about the eldritch horrors, I totally get it.
I feel like part of the issue is the number of episodes that the series is given for the season. Part of the issue, at least for me, is Star Trek has always been able to balance the morality play episodes with the wacky hijinks episodes. But when you have 20+ episodes to do that with there’s more time to find that balance- with the streaming model of 10 episodes and you’re done, that balance is harder to strike. So you end up with a season that, while I loved it, I can totally see as feeling too far leaning on the wacky hijinks and not enough on the philosophy for others, when you have the Spock farce episode, plus the musical and the hour sitcom all in one season. I feel like honestly… if Paramount+ was willing to expand the season length, give the writers room to let the story breathe, even with the episodic nature of the series, it would help to balance that and maybe let the writers stretch and swing harder- we know they can, the first episode that bears the series name and Ad Astra per Aspera show us they can. They just need the room too- plus some room to take a break and just have fun on occasion, cause those are good too.
Only Jessie can get me to watch an almost 3hr video on Star Trek AS WELL AS LOWER and the guy who's head looks like mangled elbow cleavage
Jessie, thank you for this beautiful, rich and passionate argument. I didn’t watch this season with a critical lens - which is fair for anyone to choose to do - and so, as a queer & ND cis white person, I benefitted tremendously from the work you & your interviewees did here to think through these stories and portrayals with the seriousness they deserve.
When we say “representation matters” we must acknowledge the weight that representation has. When we swallow comforting sameness that implies that the status quo is destiny, or don’t notice the missing stories of people we’re used to seeing erased, we allow ourselves to participate uncritically in the systems that harm us.
You always do such a wonderful job of modeling that critique can come from a place of love and enjoyment, not hatred and buzzkill as it is often painted by those who defend the status quo. It is possible to engage with art in a way that allows us to talk about the ways of being that we need to be seeking out, and that we don’t need perfect art to make good use of it. Thank you for all your work. 💜
The reactionaries and anti-SJWs always fail to realize why representation matters. You put it pretty clearly and concisely, but it really must be emphasized that if the only time you ever see yourself is as an unjust, wrongful, harmful, hateful stereotype, then thats going to affect people.
I am on the side of "games/media dont make you violent/hateful/etc", in the sense that they cant be held fully responsible, but with representation at the very least, it does matter and can subtly affect people's perception of certain groups.
Similarly, jokes, its not that "you cant tell jokes anymore", its that many jokes are actually just harmful, thinly veiled dogwhistles to mock and scorn an out group for no reason. You CAN make jokes about, for example, Trans people, but it has to be an actual, structured joke, and even then, punching down isnt exactly a great thing to do.
In short, when people complain about not being allowed to tell jokes anymore, they really just hate that blatant bigotry and everything short of minstrel shows arent acceptable anymore, and that society is waking up to the harm they do.
really well put! i couldnt have said it better myself.
dont mind me, i just want to comment to boost jessies vid
Every time I watch your videos I am reminded that passion is so important but it doesn't mean we can't look at our passions without a critical eye. It also reminds me I should stop being afraid of my projects and that they could make a difference
That BS claim of "New Trek is super woke" is something I can scoff at, and for good reason. The criticism of being samey, and not breaking new ground and daring in story-terms, is a more substantial critique.
Spotted giraffe is cool! I'm biracial too and I really related to her analysis of that episode about spock.
(and btw how _dare_ anyone tell her she's not french, I mean this in the friendliest way possible but you can tell that accent is 1000% french from a mile away
Interesting. Many valid points, but I also think they’re setting up season 3 to challenge some of these orthodoxies. We WAIT and see (once writers and actors demands are met hopefully!). I think the 10 episodes limit is a massive constraint!
Certainly at least the Gorn stuff. There's already a sign Pike is learning that it's a falsehood ever to believe that "sometimes monsters are just monsters" what with his chat with La'an in "Hegemony."
@@DLZ2000 I think a more mature take is that yes, sometimes monsters are actually just monsters. I'm not gonna sit there and be all pacifistic, hoping that the neo-nazi coming at me with a bat will discover his better nature... Of course some neo-nazis are capable of change! But it's only those who WANT to. We can't force people to change, and there will always be that subsect who won't. Trying to continually court them is disastrous.
Firstly, thank you Jessie for this amazing, thorough and nuanced critique. I've only ever been a casual Trek fan but the buzz around 'Ad Astra' got me to watch SNW and it's fair to say that it's sparked a newfound love and obsession. The sense of fun and charisma of its characters is compelling and joyful but intoxicating in a way that blind oneself from seeing its flaws so I'm really grateful for this video for articulating some of the criticisms I've had myself such as Chapel's bisexuality and the unrelenting 'straightness' of series 2 and also giving me things to chew on that I hadn't considered.
But also the crossover drew me to Lower Decks and my love for that show is (well definitely after this video) even stronger so your impassioned defence of Those Old Scientists and of LDS got my eyes watering. It may be referential but how it uses that it to humorous effect to criticise the franchise, while also showing that its flawed characters are capable of growth and self-expression through Starfleet is wonderful. Where LDS has so much freedom to play, SNW is so constrained by being a prequel to TOS and adhering to the mythos it can't get out of it's own way and examine it's own biases. No series of Trek is perfect but I hope SNW continues to strive to be better because along with LDS it's the one that's finally got to consider myself a Trekkie.
Only Disco has been bold enuf to represent queer characters fully. The Fandom Menance and anti-wokeness clearly has scared off Nu Trek from LGBTQ storylines of any depth. Still, SNW does a wonderful job exploring racial prejudice, ptsd and war. Which is better than 99% of the other shows currently out.
I've heard a couple of people talk about how Una's story can be ended because we know what happens in DS9. So i want to make a pitch. Let's assume for a moment that there is a new Star Trek show that takes place after the events of Picard. Perhaps the legacy show that people are talking about or perhaps Lower Decks if we want to get to it faster.
We don't know how long Una will live, but to me it is strange that there would be a poster of someone who had died a hundred years ago. So, perhaps she is long lived. There are quite a few races in Star Trek who live long enough to be in both series.
Then they could perhaps say something else important. That she has been working in Star Fleet for the last hundred years and one of the things she has worked for is to undo the prejudice she has grown up with. Perhaps she was even involved in some of the decision by Starfleet like Bashier not being removed, since I don't think that was made specific.
What is important about this is that it would allow her to guest star in an episode of Star Trek where she is shown to be working, like Spock with the Romulins, to change things.
What makes this interesting to me is that often in media we are shown simple and quick solutions to cultural problems. And while I like that idea we all know it isn't true. So reminding all of us that just because something is going to take a long time doesn't mean it's not worth doing and of course that the trial never ends. No matter how much we achieve no matter how much better we can make ourselves and our world not only will those of us who want it to be better not be satisfied but we shouldn't be.
honestly the chapel/spock thing feels like more of a fanfiction. in TOS it felt liek unrequited love and long service together, weird but dorky weird girls do that... how they are doing this in SNW is fun but also seems out of pocket for him.
I really appreciate the nuance you managed to capture, with your own words and by bringing in other people with unique perspective.
But also, this video is 30% the run time of S2 of SNW. 3/10!!! And that's amazing.
S2 must be pretty short then, as this vid is very short.
I got hooked on Lower Decks from its first episode and absolutely love that show. I teared up when you were talking about Nichelle Nichols--beautiful sequence in this critique.
Your interviews and constant reaching out for other voices make your videos so fascinating. Finding and highlighting the different perspectives who connect with the themes of Star Trek really helps clarify and realise them
Excellent work as always! I think there’s more to be said about the conversation that Sisko and Kasidy have regarding historical revisionism. Sisko makes a point about the danger of forgetting history, but I think Kasidy’s take is valid as well when she says that marginalized people should be able to enjoy that aesthetic from a place of safety. This was one of my favorite scenes in DS9 because it shows a diversity of thought among characters who share a cultural background, as DS9 often did.
Also it was so great meeting you at STLV! I was the Trill in the Disco crop top. I’m glad you had a great time. You definitely deserve it for what you add to the community. :)
Wow -- there are many ways I can talk about how amazing this video is -- intellectually rigorous, nuanced, inspiring. Let me just point up one impact it had: reminding me as one of an older generation how important it is to be willing to leave the "fantasy of safety" to step into the reality of living towards a future that lives. Thank you, thank you , thank you: I intend (and hope) to be worthy of the challenge of creating a future in which you and all of the humanity and life that is can be. Jessie -- this video blew me away. Thanks so so much.
Jessie, you adorable nerd, that was the best, goofiest, most fun opening to a video essay I've seen in ages.
Much love.
Idk why but at the beginning I expected you to run up to the camera and yell, "HI! I'M JESSIE GENDER AND WELCOME TO JACKASS!"
Jessie: Don't look at the time code.
Me: Wonder how long this is. *checks time code* HOW CAN YOU POSSIBLY HAVE ENOUGH TO TALK ABOUT THIS FOR THREE HOURS STRAIGHT?!
Hilariously, it would have just kept playing as I gamed and I probably wouldn't have noticed had you not mentioned it. That's what usually happens. 😂
I was so excited when I saw the crossover episode. I was grinning like a mad man. I enjoyed every minute of it. I love Lower Decks to death. In my opinion the best Star Trek on screen ATM. Don’t get me wrong, I also love Strange New Worlds, but STLD is just fire 🔥.
Cheers!
I might not be a trekkie but I love learning about Star Trek from Jessie, it's always so much more than what I expected and so much better!
I love these bite-sized videos! It's amazing how Jessie can cram so much information and insight into barely 20 minutes. You'd think this video was 8.3x longer!
Amazing video. A point you brought up that really resonated with me is the difference in pointedness (no pun intended) between old trek and new trek. It could be seen as heavy-handedness or being on the nose, but that's what gave those episodes in TNG such weight, because there were concrete real life examples that the audience could relate to. At this point, if we want to make an impact, we need to be heavy-handed. We need to hit this stuff on the nose.
When it comes to mixed identity stories Trek has a remarkable ability to almost get it and then miss in new and creative ways. Ad Aspera was remarkable as an episode, I agree the poster thing was the wrong button on that. What if it hadn't been a poster he had but a book, maybe written by Bashir on the history of Augment's civil rights. Or maybe one of his parents is a lawyer who quotes her trial the way a modern civil rights lawyer might one of the landmark cases. I wanted something to say things are better than they were for Bashir.
On the Gorn subject, i actually like the changes. The baby Gorn being ruthless parasitic predators doesn't necessarily have to reflect on the adult Gorn at all.
I mean, humans don't develop empathy and compassion until 3 or 4 years old so if they weren't so helpless our infants would probably be running around eating people too. Maybe we would feel the need to let them loose out of our way as well if our babies were like there's, especially considering the infants are cannibalistic. 😅
Potentially there's an excellent story arc in what they're about IDIC but given Pike's time in the seat is going to end long before peace with the Gorn i do worry they won't be able to make good on it before the series ends...
...unless they intend to reboot TOS. They're doing a lot of recasting of legacy characters after all. Not sure how i'd feel about that in all honesty.
I don't buy this explanation at all. If you listen to the words of the showrunner, he takes glee in describing them as a race with no nuance, but just pure evil. Would you describe a baby as evil? These don't sound like the words of someone who is looking to explore the emotional growth tied to the eventual maturity of the adolescent Gorn, they sound like the words of someone who is excited to have a race of Star Trek orcs; something that our heroes can shoot, and have the audience cheer in unadulterated bloodlust, with no moral compunctions.
Real life has really been kicking my butt for months, and it's hard not to get the message that being "different" (handicapped or gay/queer or no longer middle class, now poor) makes me some kind of outcast, unwelcome and ignored and unwanted by a lot of society. It has also shown me a handful of peole who are far truer friends than nearly all my former friends or relatives, most of whom have not been there for me lately at all, some only a little. -- And why shouldn't I be any more or less valuable as a person in our society? It has had a bad impact on my creativity, self-worth, feelings of belonging, you name it, and my faith in humanity too. Some days, it honestly feels like my cat and the strays here are my best or only friends, while that handful of friends are still here for me to the extent they can be, and while most others...just don't care. I've learned to value these few friends more, and there are still a few people I really like and appreciate online, including a few UA-cam folks. -- This is a danger of our modern times, the authoritarianism and extremism thet has cropped up, and the wealth-driven exclusion of anyone middle or working class, or poor or marginalized. Somehow, we have to outgrow this bad current system, or it's going to crash down on everyone in a bad way, both social, economic, political, and environmental. Just my two cents. Yes, I've become more radicalized and more cynical. Maybe I need that as armor in this world. -- Keep on being an idealist and speaking out on the outrages and inequalities, Jessie. I am struggling to stay passionate and fight back. You keep doing it. We need more insistence on this.
You do a fabulous job elucidating some of my thoughts both negative and positive about the current state of the franchise. You are eternally one of my favorite voices in the Trek fan commentary space! Great work!❤👍🏾
I SO appreciate Aranock’s read on the cloak of war, I had the same thoughts about pike being so out of his depth. Further, a perspective not mentioned about the ambiguity of the episode is taking the evidence into account. We see through the episode that Chapel is Mbengas accomplice, and she would vouch for him wether he initiated or not. Mbenga scouts the ambassadors strength and peaks his interest sparring, which we will see lures him into mbengas orbit looking for forgiveness from a survivor of the battle. Also, the murder weapon was the same knife that mbenga used to slay the Klingon captains during the battle which he was just admiring in the entrance to sick bay. To me, this was clearly an intentional revenge killing but left ambiguous to protect mbengas reputation with the audience and star fleet. It reminds me of pale moonlight in that it echos the themes of sacrificing a star fleet officer’s ideals for a higher purpose. This was a very short video and a very short comment thank you Jesse for making me think!
I had more thoughts, this was my favorite episode this season.. the ambassador is drawn to mbenga looking for forgiveness or absolution from a survivor, and he receives the justice he yearns for. Mbenga cures his guilt (in sick bay) because he’s a doctor and he’s the only doctor that could.
This episode also reminded me of my favorite character and video game: Bayek from assassins creed origins. Another gentle, kind hearted man who lost his child and abandons his creed/oath to seek revenge, becoming a killer.
TLDR; I feel like cloak of war is more interesting and makes more sense if we read it as a premeditated assassination story.
I died every time she said "in this short video DON'T LOOK AT THE TIMELINE"
Spock suddenly changing his personality upon becoming genetically fully human doesn't track. Spock and Michael were both raised in Vulcan culture. Michael is fully human and STILL struggled integrating into human culture. So sure, Spock losing certain abilities due to genetic changes makes sense, but an entire personality shift, as though his deeply held value of logic just goes out the window - that does NOT make sense. The episode could have still been interesting, exploring how Spock navigates losing these abilities within a Vulcan context. I recall that when Deanna lost her empath abilities for a few days she had a full on crisis based on losing the abilities she relied on to navigate her job, forcing her to learn how to be a counselor in another way. She didn't talk about how she wasn't a real betazoid now or whatever. It was enough to just explore the impact of the loss forced her to learn and grow.
1:52:40 "the carpet alone... gotta love that carpet smell"
So, the Holodeck can generate scent now? Is that canon? Actually, maybe humans lose the ability to smell in the future. Every time they travel back to the 20th century they don't seem to be bothered by the rank smell of cigarette smoke everywhere.
It's established canon that the Holodeck can indeed create sounds and smells. The Holodeck uses a combination of transporter and replicator technology to enhance the realism of the simulations. Even in an early TNG episode (The Big Goodbye) Picard mentions the "sounds and smells" of the period detective story he was experiencing.
Denim short are not regulation Starfleet uniform
Was not expecting to get emotionally mugged on my way to work this morning THANKS JESSIE
I saw the Child Khan thing as the challenge of, "Do you kill Baby Hitler?"
The bit about wanting characters we like to become Captains in the end cause that's the goal, to climb to the top of the system, is one thing that really rubbed me the wrong way about the TNG episode 'Tapestry'. I remember when I first watched it, and it got to the part where Picard ends up in the alternate timeline were he's a regular Science Officer and he starts protesting to Q that he'd rather live a short life as a Captain than live a pointless existence like that; and it made me wonder how any of the Science Officers who work for him would feel, if they knew that their Captain considers death preferable to being on their level.
There’s a huge difference between not being on a command track/not climbing the system and being a LTjg for over 40 years.
First video I've seen by you, and I'm just sitting here clapping and going "YES YES YES" the whole time. I love SNW for the balance, but it's not what Trek could and should be in 2023. It's scared to openly say what it wants us to infer
"it's not ours! we don't own anything!" holy crap that hit hard!!!
If we're talking about bridge aesthetic, I think Voyager got it down, because though I adore SNW the aesthetic of SNW is very front and center reminding me at all times this is a sound stage.
I feel like you hooked me with your Star Trek content (can I just say it’s really really nice to find a channel that neither needlessly rips it apart nor mindlessly praises) and then I realized you also do really cool social commentary and now I watch every video. You’ve sucked me in so deep!
Did I just one-shot another feature length Jessie Gender video? Yes. Yes I did.
It is strange that Spock changed so much during Charades. There's no logical reason his personality would change since Vulcans already feel emotion but suppress them, supposedly even stronger than humans, so he wouldn't lose the suppression ability that he's trained himself to have. Also Michael Burnham kinda exemplifies that point as a full human who suppressed her emotions through the culture she learned. I did really enjoy that episode but it doesn't make much sense.
This whole video represents my own disappointment with modern fiction from Hollywood in general: playing it sooooo safe to the point of being invalid, a centrist attitude that seems bold but is ultimately cowardice and in service (purposely or not) of capitalism or done to not remain invisible as to offend more hateful, negative, groups in modern culture.
THREE HOUR JESSIE GENDER VIDEO LETS GOOOOOOOOOOO
JESSIE you're the fan i need in my life
the fact that you went to the OS location is killing me
Honestly I think so many of the issues with SNW is that they’re trying to rush to get to the point where the characters are familiar to us, despite it being set 10 years beforehand TOS. Like the characters don’t need to be so familiar to us right away, they can, and should, take their time to get there, to let us stew in the unfamiliarity. But the part of the Star Trek fandom that wants things to feel ~familiar~ I think have been kinda… pushing the showrunners to take it to that point, instead of understanding that each era of Star Trek absolutely *should* be tonally distinct from the previous eras. Like it’s not the 60s, 80s, or 90s. It’s the 2020s, we have different issues now, we have different conversations. Rehashing the conversations and dynamics of the 80s detracts far more than it adds. Ngl, it’s also why I think there probably aren’t any characters being more obviously queer in SNW, because they’re banking on it making money, and thus having characters (*coug*Cristine Chapel*cough*) in publicly queer relationships doesn’t help their byline.
I loved the skit featuring the Gorn and that you got to film at Vazquez Rocks. I haven't seen series 2 yet but based on Akiva Goldsman remarks about reimagining the Gorn as monsters doesn't inspire much confidence in the executives behind the show. It wouldn't surprise me if they restricted the writers from being more explicit in tying the stories to current events. Thanks Jessie and all of the collaborators for a great video.
Jesse is Gorn Egg preggers. it's canon now. CANON
Jessie... the production quality of this video is OUTSTANDING and I am over the moon with how well this came out! I hope you are as proud of this video as I am to support your work!
Only 18 minutes into this and I'm leaning things I never thought I'd see in a Star Trek video. I grew up watching the old series with my parents and genuinely have no idea what Star Trek has been doing within the past 10 years. Thank you for an intelligent and educational discussion on these topics, great work 🖤
This video is so "unnecessarily" extra. *chef's kiss*
Thank you Jessie, you put into words a lot of stuff that didn't sit right with me about this second season. My friends all loved the episode about una and it's been driving me wild.
Also, I do really appreciate that while all the other characters on SNW are clearly on a Star Trek show, Spock is straight-up living inside a sitcom.
I love Steve in this "I"m not asking STAND UP!"
Yeah... 15 minutes in and you reminded me that my state just made some backroom deals and now PragerU Kids is available online in New Hampshire schools. I'm gonna pause this and go scream outside.
As a huge Star Trek fan I am so glad someone finally made this video lmao
Thank you for giving Lower Decks the credit it deserves. Its such a good show and I wish people didn't assume its just another animated adult show along the lines of Family Guy. Its a lot more than that.
I'm going to chime in with an "eeeemh..." on the Babylon 5 and eldritch unrelatable aliens bit, as you used the Shadows as your example.
One of the key points, as the show progressed, is that the Shadows AREN'T unrelatable in their motivations - that for all their power and age there's an understandable set of motivations behind them. It's also a case of them becoming so wrapped up in their own dogma that it becomes a self-fulfilling imperative rather than something they're willing to be critical of.
It's not immediately obvious, but it's very much there.
(The Expanse, I will grant you, has its aliens a lot more opaque.)
Yay! A new Jessie video on Star Trek! What a delight, these are always my favorites!
I will never cease to be impressed by your talent, wit, and the fact that you can put together such well thought out full-length documentary sized works like this. I appreciate what you and those who support you do.
This is one of the best videos you have ever made with amazing analysis which made me think about things I have never thought about before
Excellent video, Jesse. I was trying to put words to this empty feeling I had when finishing this season, and you basically did it. Some of my author friends refuse to touch on politics, for fear of getting bad Amazon reviews. They're afraid of the reactionary kneejerk reaction to their work. They're afraid of the algorithm not promoting their stuff anymore if they "step out of line." Fuck. That. Everything is political. Media is one of the most powerful tools in combatting right-wing religious and political rhetoric, because it's where I began to learn about questioning the system around me, and we as science fiction, horror, and fantasy writers have a duty to challenge those "ideals." I would also like to add to your points in this video that this season seemed totally unconcerned with the science of space travel. Not a single episode used any real-world science to solve its problems. Ironically, the episode that came the closest to using science (even if it was total BS) was the musical... I feel like Star Trek is at its best when it's telling powerful politically charged stories from the perspectives of astronauts, solving problems with the power of science.
As a veteran and someone with severe unrelated trauma who has had to sit in the same room as the people who kidnapped my son and smile and be civil lest I lose access, I agree one hundred percent with Aranock’s reading of M’Benga.
Hello again, my Sister/Sibling.
Just because I haven't commented in more than quite some time does not mean that I've forgotten you or the contributions
you've made to my life. I'm still alive, still exploring my meaning as a recently Unlabeled Man.
And I never stopped loving you.
BE FOREVER STRONG.
BE FOREVER YOU.
❤
Gorn, but not forgotten. Sorry I need a pun to start, because eugenics is rough.
I find myself fully agreeing with your video - which was very short, if I may add - once again. I thoroughly enjoyed this season while I watched it, as I did Picard's season 3, because they tell competently-made, competently-plotted stories that are fun to watch. But as I thought back about what this season was about, it all just felt really shallow. There were the fun bits and there were the action bits and everything else was just... there. I was kind of hoping, in this climate of growing queer- and transphobia, this season might at some point say explicitly that the future is queer and that that is how it is meant to be, but there was just... nothing. There were a few allegories that could mean, like, ANYTHING, and that was it. It's honestly disappointing. I just hope that the future of Star Trek will return to form - and by that I don't mean what a certain section of the fandom means when they say this, I mean a return to the explicit queerness of Discovery's beautiful found families.
happy star trek day jessie!!! I hope u never stop making star trek videos
Much needed in these times, thank you for all that you do! I hope your pain eases soon♥