Strange New Worlds Season 1 Rewatch

[00:00:09] Is this thing on? Hello? Hello? Welcome to Open Pike Night, the Strange New Worlds Podcast where your personal logs are the prime directive. I'm your host, Producer John T. Boulds, here today to dig up the frozen corpse of Season 1 of Star Trek Strange New Worlds, brush off the frozen baby Gorn bodies and just see if we can get a little bit more life out of this thing. But joining me as always, my trusty, let's call him brand new to the ship.

[00:00:53] Ensign, Jesse Bailey. Okay, but just to remember, Cameron is not a Ensign anymore. He's a Lieutenant. So if you call him an Ensign, you owe him a drink. Oh, I thought we were playing if we call him an Ensign, he has to drink. Because I was going to introduce and our newest promotion, Ensign Cameron Harrison. I've shown up here in my dress uniform, ready to go everybody. Oh my gosh, what is happening.

[00:01:18] See, we're naked, the rest of us. Every time. Yeah. But you look great. Yeah. Well, at least I didn't have to pin my, uh, my combat into my bare skin. Or your, or your remembrance that hurts the most. Yeah. Well, we are here leading in our lead up to Season 4 of Star Trek Strange New Worlds to look all the way back to just about almost exactly three years ago. Four years ago? Four, right? No. Five?

[00:01:47] Five? Three. Four. The first episode aired on May 5th, 2022. Wow. Four years ago. Thank you, Jesse. Yeah. I thought my brain was telling me it was 2025. I have been incredibly sick for the last week, folks. So that's why the voice. And if I seem a little off. Five. But we, uh, yeah, we, we put out the call for our listeners and, uh, callers to go ahead and take a look back with us at Season 1. Do we want to just go episode by episode, guys? Or what do you think?

[00:02:15] Eh, a little bit of, a little bit of column A, a little bit of column B. Did you give a column B?

[00:02:19] Uh, I mean, it's, it's, I think it's kind of a free form discussion. Um, because I would like to open with, uh, we had one write-in and five calls. I'd like to open with our write-in because it's pretty awesome. This is a new caller writer. Uh, Sheena says my favorite episode from Strange New Worlds season one is episode nine. That would be all those who wander. I loved the danger horror edge of it. Favorite scene would have to be Pike's monologue about keeping peace in episode one.

[00:02:46] I had, I had watched the Kelvin movies when I was younger and knew the iconic characters and actors behind TOS, but Strange New Worlds was what really pulled me fully into Star Trek. Something about that scene just stayed with me and turned me into a full-on Trekkie. Well, I, that's pretty amazing. I'm glad to know that Strange New Worlds is doing what all the previous shows have done before it.

[00:03:11] And we're glad to have you aboard. Thanks for the write-in. It's, it's always really cool. I think for me to hear that this show really is bringing in new fans and solidifying fandom for others, because as the person who spends, you know, time on our social media, I see all of the complaints about the show as well.

[00:03:30] So I really try to tunnel vision in on the positivity. And I think, I mean, I'm kind of known for that here on the show, but I think that season one, episode nine is a really good example of how this show is able to perfectly kind of match their plot points with their genre swings, right? Like this is definitely, I mean, this episode is arguably just alien, right?

[00:03:57] Like it is very much alien. A lot of things lend themselves to the comparison, but it still manages to have its own identity. And I know that the loss of Hammer is something that upset a lot of people. And I will stand by that being a good thing. You want to care when a character dies. If the character dies and you have no reaction, then that's, the goal has not been met in my opinion.

[00:04:22] So I, I really loved that episode as well. There's even a little bit of like predator vision in that episode. It's a smorgasbord of, uh, of references and I love it. Yeah, for sure. I just, so Cam, you didn't rewatch the episode for this, for this, right? Uh, that I ran out a little time and skipped that one. Although I've seen it so many times, I felt like, uh, I've, I, I did rewatch it.

[00:04:45] But it's better now than I even gave it credit for back then. I, I like rewatching and just going with my gut feeling on what I was watching with each episode. That one might be up there in my top two for the season. Now, if like, it's, I can see coming back to rewatch that more often than I thought I would.

[00:05:05] Yeah. I mean, to Jesse's point, I'm still like, uh, I love him or what rewatching this reminded me how much I love him or what rewatching season one and how much I miss him. Uh, he's a great character. I still remember when he died in episode nine. I was like, huh, that was a strange character to choose for that. Like why not make him one of the main characters? Why you're going to kill off the character.

[00:05:27] If your plan is to kill off a character and get that emotional beat, why use the character who's only in five of the seven preceding episodes or five of the eight anyway? Yeah. Like, I don't know. I thought that was interesting, but overall. Yeah, I know it's, it's a great episode.

[00:05:43] I think it works specifically because the moments we do see him, he's connecting with Uhura and Spock and, you know, having kind of that mentor relationship with Uhura. So it adds the emotional weight. And I mean, we've talked about it before. They're, they're in a box. Like there are some characters they cannot kill. Right. So I, I, I think that it works and.

[00:06:07] And, you know, not that he needs it, but shout out to Bruce Horak for really bringing that character to life in a way that makes people miss him a lot. Yeah. Yeah. For sure. Jesse, were you able to watch all 10 episodes for your rewatch? I didn't get through all 10. What I did was I went back to the ones that I wanted to kind of give another shot to because I know, like I have my favorites from this season. Um, Memento Mori is definitely sitting there at the top.

[00:06:36] And there's no episodes in this season that I don't like, but there are ones that I kind of wanted to, like John was saying on that rewatch, see how it hits. And for me, it's children of the comet. Like this is, I think one of my favorite episodes of the series now, like there is so much in this that really embodies the Star Trek mythos, right? Like you have the other culture.

[00:07:03] That's not necessarily wrong. They just have a different way of going about things. We get to see so much here. This is like kind of our first real introduction to Sam Kirk, who we all know and love with, you know, rabbit devotion now. And we get to see him do his job. We get to see Uhura do her job. This is where the devotion started. I mean, yeah, absolutely.

[00:07:25] Yeah, exactly. And we get to see Uhura shine. We get to see the Enterprise fly the most beautiful flight that we have ever seen an Enterprise do. Yeah, yeah.

[00:08:07] And I'm like, I'm like, put that in my veins all day long. Like that is pure Star Trek right there. And I think it really should be up there in the top ranks of the season. But I mean, there's a lot of really good stuff this season. I mean, I'm sure at some point, Cameron will talk about the Elysian kingdom.

[00:08:26] But like, this I think was for me, my indicator like, okay, yeah, this is gonna work. Like, the first episode is a good episode. It's very Star Trek heavy. It's pretty well trodden ground for Star Trek, right?

[00:08:42] So you're kind of like, okay, they're doing a Star Trek episode. All right, let's let's see what's next. And this one really shows you, you're gonna actually get new things in this series. It is not a remake. It is not a reboot. It's not, you know, let's just do whatever we know will work. This is where you get shown. There's gonna be new stuff here and you're gonna be invested in it. What do you think is new in Children of the Comet?

[00:09:05] The, like, kind of the expansion on Uhura, as I was mentioning, because like, she gets stuff to do in TOS, right? But it's not a ton. And there's not a lot of like, people telling her, I think outside of maybe Scotty, I'm nearly certain Scotty says it once or twice in TOS. And Kirk may say it once or twice, like, you are the only person that can do this. This has to be you. And we get that from Spock to Uhura.

[00:09:33] And then of course, there's a great animated series episode where Uhura literally saves the day and she's captaining and all this stuff. And it's really good. But to get kind of the basis for that, like the first instance of her being told you have to step up and seeing, okay, maybe she doesn't feel ready for it, but she totally knocks it out of the park. And then of course, Sam Kirk. Up until this point, Sam Kirk is a dead William Shatner with a fake mustache, right?

[00:09:58] So it's like, we're expanding on the Trek that we know. And if you hadn't watched TOS, this is 100% new for you, right? Like, you know, Uhura maybe as a fan dance person, which is like, she's so much more than the fan dance.

[00:10:13] I mean, I'd argue like they did that with the Kelvin movies is give her more stuff to do, but I see what you're saying. And to that point, like, I mean, I think children of the comet was one of the ones on my rewatch too, where I was like, I mean, I still have a little bit of a problem with the third act. And just like, I didn't know how the music fit in with everything, but overall, like it's an amazing episode. It felt very classic Trek episode to me, which was kind of the reason for my questioning there.

[00:10:39] But I noticed that they do a really good job of introducing Spock as a character for like the two people watching this episode who might not know who Spock is, but I noticed this. I'm like, oh, they're introducing who he is as a character and it's done really well in this episode, the way he's playing off of Uhura. Well, and of course it's the start of the, the Sam Uhura shipping for me just as a mentor mentee ship, which again, I'm like, well, if, if you were going to drop this and you're going to kill him or just put hammer in the spot.

[00:11:07] But I, I, I, I loathe to say to take, take some Sam away from me. Cause I really love everything he does in this episode. Well, and you know, don't worry, they'll take him away from you. Yeah. I do. Again, this one was even better. Cause I remember liking it when we first watched it and was like, yeah, this, does definitely feel very classic Trek. Uh, it's, it just, it's solid through and through it.

[00:11:31] Cause I remember thinking, okay, the music thing, like you said, Cam's a little confusing, but then they get past it so quickly that it doesn't, it doesn't snag the episode. It doesn't slow it down. And he is just like, okay, it's kind of an interesting moment where they're sitting there singing together. Um, yeah. Yeah. I think the first time I was like, what does the music have to do with the, the like technicality they use to destroy the comet at the end? And this time I was like, oh, they don't have anything to do with each other. Yeah. Exactly.

[00:12:00] That's not great, but it's better than what I was thinking before. Okay. Okay. Okay. Yeah. The remembering and then the looking again, like, okay, I guess I never actually put it together that that was a sequence of events when I first watched it. I think also this episode introduced what I was like, oh man, La'an, you know, there's a lot of self doubt in Uhura in this season, but there's a lot of self confidence in La'an in this season.

[00:12:22] It may come off as bitchy sometimes, but yeah, I really like, it's like, oh, it's fun to revisit season one La'an and her story. It's, it's a well done story. I forget. That was a big shock for me. Rewatching season one. I was like, I forgot how much La'an has changed. Like I, I mean, obviously we've talked about how she changes in season three, but I was still like, yeah, but I mean, you know, on the surface, she's always been like this kind of charming, sweet, fun. Oh no. Oh no.

[00:12:51] She is cold and hard in these first few episodes. It's really interesting. And then the thing I noticed is in quality of mercy when she comes up and hugs Pike and Pike's like, whoa, hug what's happening? Like seeds for what's happening. I wonder if they knew they were going to kind of melt her character some, or if that was something they picked up on and then decided to follow up with that. That was a, there's a, there's a lot of interesting foreshadowing in quality mercy. I'll get to later. Yeah.

[00:13:18] And I think my last note for children of the comet is if you, if you had seen a bunch of TOS, it's nice to see kind of what should be the first musical moment for Spock and Uhura, because they have these moments in TOS where like Spock is sitting and playing his liar. And Uhura is like, Oh, let me sing. And they're in the cafeteria and everybody's like, Oh, it's Spock and Uhura singing a song together.

[00:13:42] And it's like, kind of feels out of place to you as you're like, why would, why would this be happening? Like, but you understand for Spock, it's not necessarily this like emotional expression, although it is partially that it's an appreciation for the structure of music and the math behind it. And it's like, I really feel like there's something for everyone here. Yeah, I think so. Uh, speaking of something for everyone, let's go ahead and hear from one of our callers. Here is Melanie. Hi guys, here's Melanie.

[00:14:12] And I can't keep quiet about season one. It just felt so magical to me. It reminded me why I love Star Trek so much in the first place. The friendship, the companionship, space, the ship itself. So beautiful. The bridge especially stood out to me because it felt inspired by the original series, but newer, brighter and more life. It was nostalgic while still feeling modern, and I loved spending time there every episode. And every episode had something special and felt different, but the whole season still felt connected through Pike and the crew.

[00:14:40] I loved the balance between adventure, emotion, humor and hope. I think one of my favorite episodes is probably the Elysian Kingdom. It was creative, it was emotional, funny and just completely different from anything else in the season. Seeing the crew transformed into fantasy characters was so much fun, and Anson as he wrote was honestly amazing. You could tell the cast was having fun, and that made the episode even more enjoyable to watch. But I also absolutely loved the quality of mercy. Watching Pike meet his older self and seeing how hard he tries to change fate was emotional and fascinating at the same time.

[00:15:10] That episode really stayed with me afterward. And of course, the very first episode has a special place in my heart, and my favorite moment is from here, and you can probably guess it. Yes, seeing Pike on his horse in the snow and living in that cabin. It immediately hit me emotionally. Only Anson played him with so much warmth and sadness at the same time. You could already feel the weight he carries knowing what his future will be, and it honestly broke my heart a little, and I just fell in love with both Anson and Chris Pike. And overall, I thought it was an amazing first season, and it made me excited for every new episode.

[00:15:39] Live long and prosper. I think one of the things I also really liked about that first episode is that it shows you right away, like, Pike is definitely kind of the mold for a lot of the Star Trek captains we'll see after. You just didn't know that before, right? Like, oh, they love horses. That's a Kirk thing. That's a Picard thing. They love cabins. That's a Kirk thing. And they love to push back on their superior officers.

[00:16:07] Like, Star Trek captains get a lot of leeway, right? Like, you can refuse a direct order several times. Yeah, straight to an admiral's face, yeah. As long as you have known that admiral for a while. Yeah. Like, there's absolutely some advantages that come with me. It really needs to be like, do we need to stop having, like, these captains, previous captains be the ones to give them more? Maybe we should send people who don't have personal relationships with them to give them orders. Right.

[00:16:34] But it's also probably you're more likely to take an order you don't want if you know the person giving it, right? Correct. And yeah, I love that whole scene. I love the introduction of Robert April. I think Adrian Holmes has done a great job with that character. We haven't seen a ton of that character. But what we have seen, you really get this image of a guy who is caught between what he wants to do and what he has to do. And I think that's great for an admiral, right? You have responsibilities, but you're not a robot.

[00:17:04] You're still a person and you have thoughts and feelings about everything. So I think he does a great job balancing that. What I noticed with Pike there, it's just I was watching him cook breakfast and I was like, oh, we're establishing Pike the cook. And that made me think, did he just have a really hard time on Discovery without having access to a huge kitchen to cook his emotions out? That must have been season two of Discovery. I got to rewatch now just through that lens of Pike just being blue balled with cooking. That's a good point.

[00:17:34] He's crying at every meal. People are like, what's wrong? He's like, this is just, yeah, I can't hang. What I really appreciated about watching episode one was all the heavy lifting it did to lay all the groundwork for the Pike-Pattel relationship. Oh, wait, that's right. We had two minutes in this whole season and he slept with somebody else and spent longer romancing her than he did with Battelle in this season. Just saying the Pike-Pattel relationship wasn't that deep, folks. That shows the chemistry between those two.

[00:18:05] It wasn't planned either. Yeah. Right? Like, they watched back through some of the stuff with Melanie Scafano and they were like, hey, wait, she's really good. Like, let's put some more Battelle in this. And I do wonder at what point that happened because like having her, she's much more central in two and three. Oh, yeah. So I wonder if it was like, they got most of the way through season one and they're like, you know what, we should have her be the person that has to show up and arrest Una.

[00:18:34] Like, this would be a great way to keep her around for the next couple seasons. Or if that was part of the plan and they just didn't realize how much they liked her. It's very cool to me, though, to find that kind of thing in a series where it's like, oh, yeah, this character was meant to be a one-off. And then we figured, you know what, let's write you six, seven more episodes. It's like, oh, I said it. Wow. Sorry. Do it. Do the motion. I can't do it. I can't. I also noticed that. He's doing a hand motion. I am not.

[00:19:04] He's lying. Una. Una's VO starts off all of Strange New World. That kind of took me by surprise. And then I went, oh, of course, it makes sense with the plot of this episode. And Pike's currently asleep in a cabin, so he's not doing any Captain's Logs. But I do wonder, you know, there's been a lot of chatter on our Discord about which characters we want to see more of. Una's definitely one of them. It seems like since at Astra Perespera, she's kind of just been there and just been number one.

[00:19:34] So I do wonder if they're going to do more with her as a character going forward. I wonder if she will bookend us somehow. I mean, it makes more sense that Kirk will be the final Captain's Log on the last episode. But maybe they'll find a way to bring in Una for it. I don't know. I don't know. Just got me thinking. Got the gears turning, hearing her voice there. And that's another thing I think that Strange New Worlds does really well.

[00:19:59] And it was a good idea to, you know, say, well, let's take this character and give her something to do. Because in that original pilot, like she's very badass. She's a really cool character and does a lot of stuff that's very important. And it's shown she's clearly very trusted by Pike. But no series or, to your point, the Kelvin movies had ever tried to bring her back or flesh her out or do anything with her. So I'm really glad that we get this.

[00:20:29] Now, having said all that, I like her appearance in the first episode. Ghost of Elyria is still one that I'm like, I don't know. I don't know what the word is for it. I'm not lukewarm because I like the episode. But it is the episode where you're like, okay, so she's invincible? Well, that's my note. Can she not be damaged? She is a superhero. Let's use that. Like, if this were TNG, Jordi gets sent off to look at shit with his visor all the time. Data.

[00:20:58] No, it's Data. Data does anything we need Data to do. Worf is... Go fight the barrel. Anyway, any other show is like, here's what's special about this character. We're going to utilize that aspect of them. She is an alien with alien powers that they've just kind of forgotten about. By the next episode. That's another one. She's injured in the next episode of Memento Mori. And it's like, we just established. And we know there's ongoing continuity here. Yeah. She may not be able to have healing factor, but...

[00:21:28] Are so much worse than a straight dose of radiation, apparently. So, yeah. Yeah. Yeah. She missed that genetic upgrade. Yeah. The anti-shard upgrade. And I do wonder, like, is this an attempt to not fall into the data is the only one who can save the ship every other week pattern, right? Like... But we love that as viewers. Also... We do love that. We want the action figure to do the action figure thing. But remember, she was probably the most expensive cast member at this point. Oh. Probably by a mile.

[00:21:57] Like, you don't pull the character who played a receptionist in one episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm without spending big, right? Exactly. Exactly. We know Jesse's been watching recently. All right. Let's hear from another one of our callers. Here is Michelle. Hey, OpenPikeNight. I heard you guys were revisiting season one of Strange New Worlds. And one of my favorite experiences of season one was getting to podcast with you guys on

[00:22:25] episode six, Lift Us Where Suffering Cannot Reach. Somewhat of a controversial episode. I believe you coined it the Battery Babies episode and had some pretty awesome merch connected with that, some of which I have. Thank you very much. And overall, probably not my favorite episode of season one, but it was just a lot of fun to unpack it with you guys. And I really liked the beginning with Allura and Pike and kind of that little romance.

[00:22:53] But, you know, there was also a great focus on the crew, but it kind of took a turn. There were some ethical quandaries, which connects with my Crusher connection from back then and now, which is Beverly Crusher is always facing ethical quandaries. And back in 2022, I had no idea the ethical quandaries she would face in Picard season three. Buckle up, Cam. You're in for a good ride on that.

[00:23:19] Anyhow, I also want to shout out Children of the Comet from season one, which really focused on Uhura. I love that. And the Elysian Kingdom, which was fun, but it also had that gut punch at the end and really loved Mbenga in that episode. But I am looking forward to your coverage of Strange New Worlds season four. I would say the one thing reflecting back on season one and the podcast that we did on episode six, I had mentioned how we had all these different Star Treks.

[00:23:49] So like, let's say that that episode or Strange New Worlds wasn't your jam. You had Discovery or Picard. Like, there was a lot out there, a lot on the horizon. And it's looking like there may be a drought coming. But the good news is we still have podcasts like yours and many others in the Trek fandom that can keep spreading the love for Star Trek and moving forward into the future. So thanks so much, guys. Really appreciate it. Talk to you soon. Live long and prosper.

[00:24:18] Thank you, Michelle. It was great talking about that episode with you and everything we've ever talked about with you and hearing you call. I like Lift Us Where Suffering Can Outrage quite a lot. It's a great Strange New World. It's one of, I think, our most complete Strange New Worlds we've visited in this series. That was another thing I noticed with my rewatch. Lots of Strange New Worlds in season one. I mean, we don't always spend a ton of time there, but Children of the Comet, we've got that great planet there.

[00:24:47] Yeah, that was definitely something. I know we've complained about it a lot. I think we even did in season one. So maybe it's just compared to season three. You're like, okay, yeah, season one did have some new planets. Good for them. Yep. I did not rewatch Lift Us For Suffering Can Outrage because I think it's the one I've watched the most from first season one. I like it. It is. It's a good, like you said, it's a good Strange New World. It's a good Strange New Worlds episode. It's a good, like Cam has mentioned before, unconnected.

[00:25:18] It's a good standalone episode. If you're going to show somebody one episode of Strange New Worlds, they're going to be like, wow, you chose that one? But also, they would get the idea. Yeah. And yeah, I just, I was like, I know I like that episode. I'm going to move on to others that I want to reexamine more. Well, and it feels classic Trek, which I feel like I've said about a lot of these so far. And that was another thing I noticed with this is, you know, people again, complain about

[00:25:46] maybe Strange New Worlds taking too many big swings. And I've been like, well, they always take big swings, guys. No, not really. I mean, rewatching season one, I'm like, it's a Leasing Kingdom. That is the one big swing of the season. Everything else feels very Star Trek. Yes, we have aliens, but it feels like Star Trek aliens. Yes, we have Memento Mori, which is very much a submarine movie, but Star Trek has always done submarine movies. So like that was something going back and rewatching. I'm like, I like the big swings.

[00:26:16] I've come to accept that the makers of Strange New Worlds like making big swings. So I'm here to watch with them. But watching the season, I was like, I can see where people are coming from. I can see that like, this feels a little more straightforward Trek with like the one outlier with a 10 episode season that kind of, that feels balanced compared to previous Trek series. Well, and I think to your point about this feeling like classic Trek, like you could transpose

[00:26:45] all of the TOS cast into parts of this episode and it is a TOS episode. I mean, Spock can still do the Spock thing, but like this is Pike at his kirkiest. Like, oh, I just happen to know the most beautiful person on this planet. And you know, the way this is going to work is I'll need to spend some time in her bedroom to, you know, diplomatically resolve the situation sort of a thing.

[00:27:12] And John, I guess, you know, if you were going to show somebody this episode as their first Strange New Worlds, just tell them like, hey, I promise you there are fewer desiccated children in the rest of the series. If you choose to keep watching. And I will, I will ask all those four years ago who were like, no, I would not make that deal. It's like, how about now? How about now? Would you make that deal now for our planet, for our world? It's just one kid. That's all I'm saying.

[00:27:41] Well, and it's, it's very, you know, people, I know another question or maybe complaint that I've heard from folks is there's not enough ethical dilemmas in Strange New Worlds. And it's like, I mean, this one's pretty dilemmish. How do we just dilemmasque? Like there's a huge dilemma in this episode and it does ask a very tough ethical question. So I, you know, can every episode be that way? Probably not.

[00:28:08] And to Cameron's point, like there are 10 episodes in a season of this. We all of course wish there were more, but if you're a creative and you're given 10 hours of TV, there's gotta be so much that you want to do. Like I would love to see the board of episode ideas at the start of a season, right? That's gotta be 50 to a hundred ideas. Right. And they're like, all right, realistically, what can we pull together? What do we know is going to hit that kind of a thing?

[00:28:38] So I'd love to see some of those discarded ideas, but I feel like the balance here in season one is pretty solid. Like you get episodes like this, you get episodes like Elysian, you get episodes like Serene Squall, you get Spock amok, right? Like this is, there's some serious range in this season, which I think speaks to its strength. And I know specifically about Elysian Kingdom, I remember talking about this and I think

[00:29:08] Cam, it might've been you that said like, this would normally be a season three or four episode, right? Like, or end of season two episode where you're like, you have all this time to establish who these people are so that you really hits you when they're out of character, when they're doing different things. Yeah. And it's like, I don't know, man, I think it works really well. Yeah. And I, and I wonder if that was, you know, did they, did they think to themselves, okay,

[00:29:36] let's establish them all in seven episodes and then we'll do this. Or is it something they realized as they were writing, like, or, you know, as they started filming, like these people are very good. We can totally pull this off. Well, I mean, you know, two or three of the characters are, are well known. So we can show Spock acting differently. We can't show her acting differently and it hits. Um, but yeah, no, yeah, that point still stands. They, they, they definitely took a swing there and it, it paid off rewatching a losing kingdom.

[00:30:04] I'm still like, yep, this episode works. Like a lot of the comedy this season is still a little hit or miss for me. Uh, it, it hits more. I rewatching. I've said this throughout our whole podcast, like no episode gets worse upon rewatch. They all get better. The ones I had troubles with, I continue to have less troubles with, but still. At least in kingdom. I'm just like, the comedy works amazingly well. The emotional beat at the end works amazingly well. It's so good.

[00:30:32] And it does lead me to maybe my biggest complaint about all of strange new worlds, which was, you didn't bring Rukia back for the season three finale. Like you had the evil possessed alien mention Rukia to Mbenga and you didn't bring her back. Like she's a cosmic level balancing force and you didn't bring her back. All right. Okay. I get it.

[00:30:59] I've since made my peace with the season three finale, but I mean, it felt to me like a really easy win to just be like, oh, here's a, here's the child that Mbenga let go. And she's here to help save him from the child that he lost. Like, oh, it turns out she's actually, the actress is a big Mbenga supporter now. So yeah. That's not true. I don't know if that's true. To that point. Open libel night.

[00:31:28] Only, I mean, this isn't really about Rukia, except that, you know, we eventually learned that she is the, the mercury stone in the Elysian kingdom story. That's, that's being told. However, the Elysian kingdom story was introduced a few episodes before that with the ghosts of Elyria, where I think to your point, Jesse, I, it is a good episode. I love it a lot. Even still watching it this time. I'm like, who is just traumatic backstory getting pummeled with that?

[00:31:57] Like three different characters are throwing their traumatic backstories at us. And it's like, come on guys, let's, let's spread it out a bit. But one of them is we learn about Mbenga and, and Rukia. And although the episode is all about Elyrians and, and it's Una's episode for sure. After her full final voiceover, the episode actually ends on Mbenga reading the story to Rukia. So let's listen to how that episode ends.

[00:32:21] It is said that in the right hands, the mercury stone has the power to cleanse the land of evil and bring prosperity to all. But if it were to fall into the wrong hands, the mercury stone's power would bring about a terrible long lasting dark age across the land. And I remember four years ago, all of us being like, what's the mercury stone going to be? This is telling us the plot for the season.

[00:32:51] There's going to be some MacGuffin someone wants to get, that's going to threaten the entire universe. I was hooked. I was on the edge of my seat. I'm getting chills. Just listening to it again. Nothing. Nothing. Nothing. What was the mercury stone? There are so many. And I mean, you know, not Sarek, Spock's brother is like the biggest example of like, you don't just drop that as an Easter egg. This isn't Marvel. Like, and if it was Marvel, they'd be dropping it for a reason.

[00:33:18] Like what it, I wonder if any of these things are going to make a comeback or if like season one, they were just throwing things at the wall and being like, we'll pick up what sticks could be. Now I think Cameron that you, you just heard that as the one ring. Like, I mean, it is basically a queen, terrible and beautiful. Like, but it just reinforces what I'm saying, man.

[00:33:45] Like in the wrong hands, this power, the wrong hands of the Vesda. I'm down. I'm down. Jesse, if they bring back Rukia as like this MacGuffin, that something in the universe wants to use her powers and Banga has to like pay a hefty price that eventually leads to him, you know, resigning duties as chief medical officer, but still staying on the enterprise. That's going to be a tricky balance. I don't know what they're going to do with that. I'd be there for it. I'd be there. I fingers crossed.

[00:34:13] I think we're not going to see Captain Angel or Cyborg again. I don't think we're going to see Rukia again. Angel is so good. Honestly, if I had to put one point in time where that stopped being a possibility was the writer's strike. I think the writer's strike changed the trajectory of strange new worlds. I think season three changed stuff enough that whatever happens on the next 16 episodes, it's not going to be reference, referential to season one. Yeah. Could be. I wouldn't be surprised.

[00:34:43] And we do, we have to mention, I mean, Ghosts of Elyria did give us whatever tweaks your freak. Oh, yeah. Right? Ghosts of Elyria is a great episode. I rewatched that one. And I was like, I'm pretty sure I like this one. I was like, oh no, this is a good episode. It's a medical mystery. Oh. I mean, there's- Hammer's flat ass. Yeah. All of ethical dilemmas. So much ethical dilemmas. Yeah. I know there's a freaking chunk of the planet's mantle in the transporter bay.

[00:35:13] Also his, his, the, that we get to see is one of the few times we get to see engineering. Yeah. I mean- Oh, well, we see it a lot in season one. Yeah. But every time we went there, I was just like, oh, it's engineering. It's so pretty. It's so expensive. Also, I think it's what gave us monsters. Yes. It is. Yeah. So many monsters. Well, and we, and like, it's just, it's fun to reference that line. And I hope that nobody ever thinks that we're disparaging Christina Chong's performance.

[00:35:41] Cause obviously we love it. And we've had her on the show before to tell her how much we love it. I just like that character. I know. I remember going in, like when we were doing kind of our, our guesses and things, I remember thinking like, I am going to have a tough time liking La'an. I'm worried that it's going to be too much, you know, retread with con stuff. And I remember in the first episode, I thought, oh, she's undercover. Like we should not trust her.

[00:36:10] Like she goes, she goes, I believe my phrase was, she goes from predator to prey very easily when she's trying to fool those Kylians. And I was like, oh, I don't know about this, but it's like, no, she's, she's an amazing character. And they're doing a great job putting all that backstory together and making her something new. And obviously, you know, we don't get all of it until season two, but like the, you're

[00:36:37] right, Cam, the depth of her character and the evolution of her character has been a lot of fun to watch. Yeah. Well, I mean, we'll get much more into it. I assume when we do our character breakdowns at the end of the series, but she is fascinating to me in that, like, her name is Lan Noonien Singh. And before the series even started, we're like, okay, that's going to be her deal. She is Khan's descendant. What does that mean for her? That's her deal. That's barely been her deal. Barely. Maybe three episodes. They've kind of mentioned it.

[00:37:07] Like the Goran backstory is her deal. So it's very strange that they like give her this identity, but then give her this other backstory. They focus on a lot more. Meanwhile, Erica has nothing this season and like, and Lan's got two backstories. Kyle has more to do in the first episode than Eric Ortegas does. I forgot she got the embers. And arguably shows more range in this season. Yeah. I miss Kyle, man. Like. Ah, Kyle's so good. I miss Kyle.

[00:37:34] The little look, the Spock amok storyline with where fun goes to die and his reaction when she asks about it and just the face he makes. Like, no, no, no. I've never, never heard that. So good. So good. Yeah. Speaking of what's so good is our callers. Let's go in here for another one. Here is Trev. Hey, it's Trev beaming in from the Failure to Franchise podcast. To offer my report on season one of Strange New Worlds. Okay. Obviously, I don't want to make this too long. So I will just say, this is a really important season of Trek for me. Because it brought me back to Star Trek.

[00:38:05] Not that I ever like fully went away. But I have to admit, in the new Trek era, I had tried dipping my toe into Discovery and it just wasn't for me. And then I'd heard such bad things about the early seasons of Picard. And I unfairly dismissed Lower Decks without seeing it as just Rick and Morty Star Trek. So I was really pretty much out. I was just kind of resolved not to bother with this new era too much anymore and just kind of live with the old Trek that I loved.

[00:38:31] And then I started hearing great buzz about, you know, the Pike episodes of Strange New Worlds. And then I heard the concept that they were going to do this new show that was more going to be in the TOS kind of mold, episodic. And so I decided to give the first episode a try. And pretty much from the first minutes and entirely the first episode, I was in love. And I have to just say, I don't think it's very arguable that this is the best first season of any Trek show. But I think it's just a perfect Trek season in general.

[00:39:00] I mean, I love both of the first two seasons. I don't think there's like a bad episode among those first two seasons. And even though my two favorite Strange New World episodes are in season two, I'm going to give season one like the slight win here is just the best overall season so far because it was such a great introduction. Because it really kind of revitalized what Trek can be. Also, this season wasn't entirely obsessed with the member berries and the callbacks yet that we would start to see kind of slip in more in two and arguably take over too much in three.

[00:39:29] I just think this is a really good just kind of standalone 10 great Trek stories. Runs the gamut without being too like, you know, obsessed with the genre exploration and everything. They're just great Trek stories. So if I just have a couple little extra seconds here, I just want to give a special shout out to Lift Us Where Suffering Cannot Reach. Not my favorite episode of the season, but one that really to me showed how strong this season was in terms of the risks it wanted to take, the challenges it wanted to take. This is great sci-fi.

[00:39:57] When you're willing to tell a story that's going to upset its viewers, that's going to really grapple with some kind of hard moral lessons. That's the episode I think where I was already really, really enjoying the show. And that's the one where I was like, oh no, this is an all time classic Star Trek series. So yeah, season one holds a really, really special place in my heart. I'm glad you're revisiting it. And I will revisit this season for many years to come. Thanks. All right. Thank you, Trev. I don't think Trev was calling in our first season, right? I don't think so.

[00:40:26] So good to hear your thoughts on it. Yeah. I mean, we're watching it. I was kind of looking for the arcs because I feel like that's another kind of difference between from season three to season one is how they dealt with the season long arcs. Obviously, I had some problems with the arcs in season three because of the writer's strike. Like a couple of things here. I mean, I remember going back. I was like, okay, this is all about Pike's journey. This is Pike's arc to like becoming okay with his fate, which then of course makes his character

[00:40:55] very hard to write for the next couple of seasons and why he's more supports and less having his own stuff to deal with. Because what do you do with that character? And that was true. But I forgot what the primary, the main arc of season one is that is reckoned, harkened back to more than any other storyline is Spock and T'Pring. I think they have more screen time than any other single arc this season. And it reminded me like, why kind of ships Spock and T'Pring?

[00:41:25] Like one, Vulcan flirting, super hot. I could watch like a Vulcan dating show all day long because it is so funny and steamy. Also, like, I just think that they have good chemistry. I also have a theory that puts to rest the whole bear chest, hairy chest situation. I think that's just T'Pring's kink. I think she had just finished shaving him that day after they got engaged because it was a big deal. And then of course, he's been on the ship since then. So it's grown back.

[00:41:53] But that's what you're saying is he gets to be his true self with Kirk. Kirk and be nice and hairy. That's right. Exactly. 100%. 100%. Anyway, yeah. Spock and T'Pring, they are the season one arc. Pretty much. I mean, we had a dream season. The entirety of the Serene Squall is Spock and T'Pring. Yeah. That's the story of that episode. And I will kindly remind everyone here, Anka Stankatil is not a prison. It is a rehab facility.

[00:42:21] The Vulcan science directorate would like to make that very clear. I still have a lot of geography questions about that episode. Well, so that- And quality and mercy. Ships tend to just kind of move around in space a lot in this series, I noticed. Well, that's what they're for. But the Serene Squall- But not when they're not supposed to. The Serene Squall, I think, is the episode that maybe gets forgotten more from season one. It's an episode that we don't hear real frequently. Oh, that's my favorite episode.

[00:42:51] That's the one episode. It might be the silliest of the first season episodes, which is amazing, considering that the next episode is a Ren Faire cosplay extravaganza. But this has so much fun in it. And you get this, again, classic Trek thing of like, oh, there's a person who's going to help us. And then we find out partway through, that is not the person we thought it was at all. You get Pike as a pirate.

[00:43:20] You get this implied backstory with Una and Pike. Oh, not Alpha Braga 4, right? Like, you get the silly mutiny based on how good is the food. Like, it's really very TOS in its level of like antics, right? Or I guess you could say shenanigans. But I do remember really liking it the first time I saw it.

[00:43:47] I just, I feel like I haven't thought to myself to go back and watch it again more than a couple of times. And like most of the season, I've seen five, six, seven times, right? Yeah. That episode I've seen maybe three times. I did notice that was the episode written by the two writers we have not spoken to from Strange New World. So I think that might be one of the reasons we just haven't gone back to revisit it is we, a lot of the times we revisit episodes because we're talking to someone who's responsible for them. We gotta get them on. Yeah.

[00:44:16] So this is not season one thing, but I got through season one. I was like, where was Amanda? Guys, Mia Kirshner has been in one episode of Strange New Worlds. I know. One. And I'm like, she's so damn good in that one episode. Like my brain had put her in like three episodes. Like I. Oh, from the first season. I was like, where the hell is Amanda? I thought she was in one of the. Nope. She's only in charades.

[00:44:46] So we'll talk about her in our next episode for sure. That's right. But yeah, like I got through. Got through Spockamuck. I don't know. Again. It's better than I remember. It has a lot of my favorite moments. It has a lot of good moments. It has some of the best moments. Yeah. I don't. I still. I don't understand what they learned from living in each other's shoes. Like I was watching. I was like, okay, what do they learn by switching bodies? Yeah. Nothing.

[00:45:15] If anything, Pike learns more from that. Yes. Yeah. Right. And yeah, I think is like, here's how I'll fix this situation. And I do. Rungovians. All time. Aliens for me. Love the wrong. Yeah. And that's, I always think of Spockamuck is like the big swing, but rewatching. I was like, oh no, that that's kind of just a subplot. Like the whole Rungovians feel very Star Trek. Yeah. Yeah. And they are only there to force a situation where Spock had to do that thing right now.

[00:45:43] I was like, okay, that's why it was, it was set up the way it was. But I, my, I'm, and my initial objections were one, they should have had sex with each other before they switch bodies back. I think that would be an incredible experience for any romantic couple to do. If you have the chance, uh, feel how the other person feels when you're having sex with them. Uh, and two, the whole Una and La'an, they're just, they're just fuddy duddying it too much on this enterprise bingo.

[00:46:09] I still think they should have gone full, full community paintball episode on that one. And yeah. Yeah. I just, I was like, yeah, it's just, it would have been a lot more impactful, but the whole walking on the hull of the ship, if it had been with some kind of cathartic realization, not just like, no, we could be fun. That was my exact reaction. I was watching it. And I remember the first time I watched the episode when the sale flies over after they had talked about the force field, I was like, oh, it's going to brush too close to the force

[00:46:39] field. And they're going to have to like get off and they're going to like jump through the, the door or whatever at the last minute and collapse on the floor and be giggling. And those two incidents are going to walk by and seem just like losing their shit on the floor. I'm like, that's the end of the story. That's the indie. I don't understand what them looking at a pretty sale has to do with their whole story arc. Yeah. I don't know. I just, that's that part, that plot felt very unfinished. And also Ortega is just not enough Ortega in that. Yeah.

[00:47:07] I know, but it does start the Ortega's chapel friendship, which we want more of. Yes. Yeah. Yeah, we do. All right. You know what else we want more of? Me taking a break to go to the bathroom. All right. I'll be right back. Go ahead and do that. Well, now we have to leave it. I think that's okay. All right. Well, let's go ahead and hear from another one of our callers. Here is Michi. Hi guys. It's Michi. Favorite episode from season one. That is hard. The whole first season is amazing. And I truly love all of the episodes.

[00:47:37] I love the costumes and fun everybody had on Elysian Kingdom. It is so much fun to watch and definitely my comfort episode from the first season. And I also love Lift Us Where Suffering Cannot Reach. That was such a strong episode. And it has Pike without a shirt. And that's always a big plus. And don't forget all those who wonder. Oh man, that was such a tragic but great end for Emma.

[00:48:03] But my absolute favorite episode from season one is Memento Mori. That episode is just perfect. It introduces a gone and has the best Pike or Taker scenes in the whole series. And it is really a shame that they don't have more episodes focusing on their dynamic because that is pure gold. And I really hope we will see some more of those two together in the upcoming seasons. That's it for me. Have a great day. That would have been funny at the end.

[00:48:33] She was like, but my favorite episode was the Serene Squad. Yeah. But yeah, Memento Mori. I mean, early favorite of mine watching through, still right at the top of my rankings. There's so much to love in that episode. You've got, as Cam mentioned, you've got the submarine tropes. They're dropping minds on stuff. Like, you see Pike get mad. Yeah. Right? Like, Pike is in the heat of the moment.

[00:49:01] He's like, let's take this ship out. Like, you've got the cool pseudoscience black hole brown dwarf thing where you're like, is that how that would work? Right next door to an inhabitable planet. Don't care. It's gorgeous. Like, absolutely love it. And you get some more of La'an's backstory here. And here's an impromptu trivia question for you both. What is La'an's brother's first name? Serene's a lot. Yeah. Oh, shit.

[00:49:31] Wrong. Milo? Ooh, that's really close. Something right there. That is close, isn't it? Matlow. Matlow. Oh, man. Manu. Manu. Manu. Yeah, we get that Spock-Lon chemistry. I was looking for it this time, and it's like, yep, I see where their relationship came from. Absolutely.

[00:49:58] Yeah, that moment after the mind meld, you're like, you know, knowing what you know now, you're like, oh, this was here. Like, somebody noticed this as they were writing it. Like, this is not out of nowhere. It totally works. I mean, we talked about how La'an's kind of, in general, cold and hard-ass-y. But like, episode one, there is some, like, strife between her and Chapel that is interestingly kind of foreshadowing. Yeah. It was super cool with the injections and stuff. Yeah. Yep, yep, yep.

[00:50:30] I appreciate more the Uhura hammer. And now we're like, no, we want Sam Kirk when we first watch it. But it certainly rounded out her reaction to his death. Yeah. Yeah. But that whole scene and the cargo bay scene and, like, that whole storyline, I'm like, oh, this is solid. This is good through and through. He's less of a dick than I remember him being. Like, I was like, oh, why is he always such a jerk with, like, I didn't tell you to touch him.

[00:50:57] I'm like, oh, no, he was just kind of, like, he's kind of juggling. Yeah, yeah. But I think I like that one, that, and I like, I'm at Tomori and all those who wander a little better after this rewatch. And it has kind of, you know, we love hearing about made-up Federation holidays. Like, Captain Picard Day is like, this is absolutely in the vein of that, except it has a little more weight, right?

[00:51:27] Like, it's not so silly. Yeah. You've got the Remembrance Day thing going on. And, yeah, I just, it makes sense that an organization like that would have a Memorial Day analog, right? Which I think totally works. And interestingly enough, we are recording this right before Memorial Day in 2026. But, yeah, I mean, looking back at- And we see Kyle lose a friend and, like, mourn that. And, again, like, that's, there are main characters on the show, Eric Ortega, you don't get a chance to do that this season.

[00:51:57] And, uh, and Kyle's out here just showing us what he's got. And he's so mean, too. And he's so mean with here. He has layers. Kyle's in an onion. But when Ortega does finally lose a friend, like, oh. No, yeah. It's so hard. Yeah. But I agree. Yeah. I think, I think this is a great way. Rewatching season one is a great way to realize Open Pike Night has been correct all along. Oh, yeah. About demanding more Ortega's. More Ortega's. Yes.

[00:52:27] Which episode do you remember? Do you remember, like, that hashtag appearing in your head during a moment in an episode, Jesse? It was either Children of the Comet or Ghost of Elyria. I think it was Ghost of Elyria. If I had to guess, because Ghost of Elyria is kind of the first real big indication we get of her personality. Yeah. Right? Children of the Comet is where we see, okay, she is very skilled. Like, this is. Sure. Something we've literally never seen before in Star Trek.

[00:52:57] So, it had to be right around in there. Yeah. That's my guess. I think it was the tweak your freak maybe is what it popped in your head. I think that and the fact that we never saw her again after that scene. We were talking about where the hell is Ortega's in all this. Like, we didn't get to see her. Because I remember us joking that, like, her reaction would just be to be, like, in a hammock on the bridge with the lights turned up and still piloting and being just fine otherwise. Just rolled herself in Christmas lights. Oh, man. I kind of want to see that scene again.

[00:53:28] But, yeah, I mean, we will definitely have to get to the Kirk of it all. But first, why don't we hear from our final caller for the night? All right. Here is Abby. Hey, hey, Open Pike. Abby Summer from the First Flight Podcast. I am also doing an all three seasons rewatch before the new season of Strange New Worlds. So, great minds here. Okay. What do I have to say about my favorite episodes of this season? I think that I come down on Spock Amok and the Elysian Kingdom.

[00:53:56] Partly because the costuming in both is impeccable and we know that fills my heart. But also because they both give me big emotions. I love the scarier ones. I love the sadder ones. I love the more intense ones. But these ones just have a special place for me. And Spock Amok is definitely a comfort watch episode. And I love Mbenga. I've been excited for him since you asked for Who Do You Want to See Be Developed? Well before season one ever started. And the Elysian Kingdom gives us just that. And I've always been a sucker for a story and a story.

[00:54:26] So, that works out perfectly for me. I think this was an incredibly strong first season. It showed diversity of story. But at the same time gave us great views into our characters. Into their backstories. Into their growing relationships. And it showed what modern Trek could really do with special effects. And all of the bells and whistles. So, this was a strong out of the gate first season. One of the strongest of modern Treks. So, bravo. Can't wait to see what you all think. And talk to you soon. I don't know if this is a hot take.

[00:54:56] But Mbenga is my favorite Trek doctor. Like, because of Strange New Worlds, he is my absolute favorite. Like, if I needed a doctor with me on an away team, that's who I'm picking. Like, no shade to Bev. No shade to Julian. No shade to McCoy. No shade to the hollow doctor. No shade to Dr. Ta'ana. Is that all of them? Phlox. Phlox. No shade to Phlox. Do love Phlox a lot. Phlox is very fun.

[00:55:25] But I think Mbenga, for me, is the most complete character. Phlox isn't going to take out a whole squad of Klingons single-handedly. Yeah. Although I'd love to see that. And not break a sweat, but then later on feel bad about it. Okay, but you haven't watched all of it. I haven't. Phlox couldn't not take out a whole squad of Klingons. I'll just put that out. Phlox has some darkness, yeah.

[00:55:51] But I think Mbenga feels very real to me. Like, he has all those layers, right? Like, the parent and the mentor and the doctor who wants to help people. And the former soldier who had to, you know, do things that he wasn't proud of. And those things come back to haunt him. And he's so complex. And all of his performances are mind-blowingly good.

[00:56:18] And that doesn't even touch on his comedic performances. Oh, man. I have no idea what I'm talking about. Like, that? I don't want to be a bunny? He's got Michael Dorn-Whorf levels of delivery on these comedic lines that just absolutely slay. And I really love this character. I'm glad to hear Abby bring him up.

[00:56:41] Because I think it's arguable that he has had kind of the most happen to him. Like, he has the most intense journey of any of these characters to this point. Like, it's touched every part of his life. And everything that happens in season one with him matters for the rest of the series, right? Like, there's no part of this that gets forgotten.

[00:57:05] And, like, just the mention of Rukia in season three, I was like, oh, you're killing my guy. Like, just let him have some peace. We need the Pike and Mbenga fishing episode. Like, if they don't go fishing in the Western episode in season four, I'm going to be upset. All right? And we know they can't give him a romance because even Paramount Plus couldn't air that episode. So, like... That'd be too hot. Certainly not anymore. Too hot streaming, yeah.

[00:57:35] Yeah. Well, I love in Quality and Mercy, there's... You know, he's talking and he's like, well, I'm anti-war or whatever. I forget the line. But, like, he is over there being like, we cannot go to war. War brings out the worst in people. And, like, they hadn't developed this whole war backstory. I mean, I think they might have, you know, had some hints. But, like, this was one of them. Like, this guy knows what war does to people. And he is going to do everything to prevent it from happening. I do... Another kind of little hanging Chad?

[00:58:05] I don't know. Something that's... Florida joke. Yep. Anyway, his and La'an's eye thing in episode one. That never gets brought back, right? Because I remember thinking, like... Oh, it was... I remember thinking it was him and Chapel. And that, like, when their backstory must have been that. But no, it was La'an. And we never learned about him and La'an doing any covert missions during the Klingon War. As far as we know, they just met during her physical. But they do the eye thing. Yep.

[00:58:35] Maybe it's a universal signal among badasses. Like, when you get your badass card, they're like, by the way, do this. Okay. So that at the next meeting, we know that it's you. You can find another badass and you know who knows that. Right, yeah. Yeah. It all goes back to Bill Duke from Predator with the... I see. So it's become that over the years, yeah. I could dig it. And I would absolutely take the Mbenga covering himself in mud to evade an alien episode. I don't care.

[00:59:03] Mbenga versus a Predator, yes. Really, really. Like, do any pastiche you want. You put Mbenga in it, I'm there. I don't care. Mbenga, pet detective. Yeah. Like, it works. Mbenga, kindergarten cop. I do want to talk more about Equality of Mercy. Yes. Let's do it. I still have some big problems with the conceit of it. I don't think they really sell the conceit that... They never posit what Kirk would have done differently. And that kind of is an issue for me.

[00:59:33] But there's so much good stuff in this episode. And one thing I was watching, we talked about La'an being much more season three La'an than season one. Somehow they knew that already in episode 10. And also, like, I remember watching this and being like... Remembering how we felt when we got a little more Ortegas and she was having some issues. We saw some darkness in Ortegas and being like, oh, we just... We wanted more of the happy Ortegas.

[01:00:01] But I forgot how much we get of the dark Ortegas here. And so they set up that this is a part of her character. What she goes through in season three, something akin to it must have happened between... You know, leading up to the events of Equality of Mercy. And so I thought that was really interesting. And seeing her, you know... Her bigotry towards the Romulans definitely resonated with her bigotry towards the Gorn and Terrarium.

[01:00:28] And it just made me realize Terrarium is as much a sequel to Equality of Mercy as it is a prequel to Arena. Like, I hadn't really made that connection, but it is there. I like that. Yeah. And I think Equality of Mercy, Ortegas is kind of locked into just much more being a stand-in for that character from Balance of Terror. But, I mean, it's a good point because it gives you that, like, the basis for understanding. Like, okay, she's not perfect, right?

[01:00:56] Like, a thing that happens with a lot of Star Trek characters is like, oh, well, they're perfect. And then the conflict of an episode is, well, maybe they're not perfect, you know? So I think it's a really good point. And I did love Equality of Mercy. I really loved it. I love Matthew McFadgen's performance as the Romulan commander. Like, just Mark Leonard enough to be like, okay, I know who this character is.

[01:01:20] But I think it also really serves, like, if you hadn't seen Balance of Terror, then as soon as you hear people talk about how this episode is related to that, you're going to go watch Balance of Terror. I don't know. That's what I did. You're like, I got to go find that because this is amazing. Kind of watch this one again. But yeah, I think, again, this is, we have to talk about the Kirk of this. And it's like, is this too early? Like, is this too callback-y, too member-berry, as Trev suggested?

[01:01:50] Like, is this too much of a, oh, you got to know some TOS stuff to really grasp onto this episode? And I would argue you don't need that, but it absolutely adds to it. But so I don't know, like, I know a lot of people after this were like, this is not James T. Kirk. And I stand by 100% that it's because his hair color is different and he's very thin. And I feel like that's not really a fair way to say this is not Kirk.

[01:02:18] But I think character-wise, this was Kirk. Like, this, I mean, he says straight out, like, here's what I would do. This is what I think we should do. No, when does he say that? He never says that. He says, you need to take this ship out. Like, this is, and that's what he does. But they never had the opportunity to take it out. And then when they made their plan, it was that the ship, there's never a point where, like, Kirk was like, let's do A. And Pike was like, let's do B. And then they did B. And that's why everything went down the way.

[01:02:48] And that's what I'm saying. Like, you need, if you don't, haven't seen Balance of Terror, then that point is going to get lost. I agree with you completely. And then if you have seen Balance of Terror, you realize Kirk is way more Pike in that than he is Kirk in this. Yes. Yeah. It's, that is a good point. But it is, I think they were attempting to, and I'm, basically I'm agreeing with you that I don't think they quite nailed this. Because they're trying to show you, like, no, Pike is more level-headed. He takes more suggestions.

[01:03:15] He's more, you know, trying to think of what's the best way everyone can win. He's more about compromise. Yeah. Right. He's more about compromise and peace, whereas Kirk was very much, I've given you your orders, do your thing. But it's like, every Star Trek captain takes suggestions and works toward compromise. Like, that's not a defining feature of just Pike. Like, so, you know. There's a whole scene of Kirk asking McCoy what he should do in this situation because of the moral ambiguity of it all. Like, yeah. Yeah. Right. Yeah.

[01:03:44] And so it's, I agree that it wasn't quite nailed. But as an episode of TV, watching it, I had a ton of fun with it. And I was like. A lot of great stuff. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah. And I was excited to see the resolution and, like, pretty cool to give Kirk his whole own fleet of, what were they, mining vessels, I think? Mining drones, yeah. It's like, that's pretty cool. Like, this is your effects budget exploding.

[01:04:11] But also, it doesn't end up really mattering. Like, well, you still lose and they still start a war and all that stuff. You know, so it's like, eh, eh. I don't know. Well, to your point, I mean, I think, yeah, I don't think he's acting like Kirk in this. I think it is more than just physical. But I'm on the record of saying I think he gets there by season three. But I think conceptually, like, bringing an alternate version of Kirk into this episode made a lot of sense.

[01:04:38] There's a lot of watching this, I was like, oh, it makes perfect sense to deal with Tupreen because around this time is when Spock would be. And of course, that would be a plot point. And we've never dealt with any of that. So you got lots of freedom to roam there. Bringing the Gorn is a little like, oh, okay, you guys really want to do the Gorn. You're going to twist some stuff today. Oh, okay. And then, like, Kirk meeting Pike when he's a fleet captain for a day is kind of wedging it in there.

[01:05:05] But then this, I mean, the way they did it, I thought was a really great idea. Like, I give, you know, the ambition and concept make up for the execution a lot in my mind. Well, and with the additional layer of, like, this is an alternate Kirk, right? Like, I think I spent a year saying, like, we still haven't seen Prime Kirk. Like, leave him alone. And I know a lot of people on our Discord are like, I liked it when they were just showing us different alternate Kirk's.

[01:05:31] When they bring in the real Kirk, that's when it kind of started feeling like, hey, give Pike some room to breathe. Yeah, and I don't disagree with that. I can understand the complaint of, like, I thought this was the Pike show. Why is there so much Kirk? Like, I think the musical in particular, it's like, we don't need. He did not need to be back in this episode. Like, it's okay for him to not be here. Like, La'Anne has plenty of emotional reasons to feel the way she feels. And you could have just had that message, right?

[01:06:00] Where he's like, oh, yeah, sorry. I'm actually, I'm about to have a kid. Like, you didn't need him on the ship. You didn't need all this stuff going on. But I do like his performance. And I think if I had to pick a favorite Kirk performance from this show total, it would probably be tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow. I feel like that's very Kirk. It's very Voyage Home Kirk. Like, here's him in a past time. Yeah.

[01:06:30] And he's got this kind of, like, aloof, confident guy thing going on. Like, sure, I could drive a car. Why wouldn't I be able to drive a car? Which we have seen Kirk do in TOS. Like, so there's a lot, you know, to talk about with the Kirk of this whole thing. But I do remember loving this episode. And I think by the time this episode aired, they knew there was going to be a season two.

[01:06:54] But it was, you can absolutely see why when you're writing this season and you don't know if you're getting a season two. Especially if you're a huge TOS fan. Like, yeah, at some point you're going to go, let's do a remake of episode X. Right? Like, and I will say, I'm actually really glad that they chose this and that they didn't choose, like, Doomsday Machine or something. Right? Where it's like, okay, this is, like, you are taking the biggest possible swing you can.

[01:07:22] Like, Balance of Terror, amazing episode, all-time great of TOS. But it is not, like, I don't think it's necessarily as huge as City on the Edge of Forever or Doomsday Machine, that kind of a thing. So I'm glad they went this way with it. Well, just plot-wise, too. If you need an episode from TOS of, like, the characters were on a knife's edge of, like, being submitted to Endless War or not. Like, this is the one. If you need something to show, like, the difference between Pike and Kirk.

[01:07:50] Show to teach Pike why he has to print the face. It's pretty much this or Arena. I mean. Yeah. Yeah. We'll get to that. That would be funny. Exactly. But speaking of Lon and Kirk, like, I had forgotten that she's his number one on the ferry hit. And we know the chemistry between Lon and Kirk. Is there some breach of protocol happening over on the ferry yet? Absolutely. Absolutely. Okay.

[01:08:16] And it's interesting that she ends up with chemistry with both Kirk and Spock. Yeah. Right? Like, at some point- She's just a TOS fangirl. Right. At some point, there will be a scene where they're like, do we not need her for this? Like, should we just cut out the middle line? To hear more about this kind of conversation, listen to the polyamateur hour coverage of Pucking Around, featuring Open Puck Night. There'll be lots of talk about that.

[01:08:47] Yeah. How cool. And, like, slight digression, but how cool to have our pun-based podcast name inserted into a pun within a pun for a segment on another show. Like, definitely, if you're not listening to Polyamateur Hour, please check it out. It is just a font of joy. Probably two episodes from their last one, if you're listening to this on Drop Day, they had, like, the most amazing Star Trek song at the end about a Star Trek sex club.

[01:09:15] And it's like, if a dirty, weird owl- It's a Lonely Island song. Like, it is up to par of a Lonely Island song. It is so good. Oh, absolutely. And they cranked those songs out constantly. How do they do it? There could be an album. Yes. Like, maybe that'll be our next campaign. Hashtag Polyalbumature Hour. There you go. We'll come up with something better than that.

[01:09:39] In the meantime, also, send in any questions you have for Martin Quinn, because we'll probably have had a call to action out by now, but unless scheduling just falls through, we'll be talking to him soon. Yeah. So be sure to send those thoughts. Yeah, get your season three questions in, and, I don't know, season four questions. We never know. We might be able to get them. We can't promise an answer. It never hurts to try. But, hey, it's been- If there's anybody that can squeeze, like, a tiny little bit of extra information out of an interview, I think we've shown that it can be us, right? Yeah, we can do that.

[01:10:09] Al denteal. They like us. It's been really fun looking back at season one with you guys. Oh, we got to talk about, because it's been verified in our Discord, but she has said it out loud to fans now. I think John knew. I definitely knew from our set visit. Jenna Mitchell will not be in seasons four and five, sadly. But, so re-watching all this, I was definitely paying attention to her and just being like, yes, she was one of those great secondary characters.

[01:10:38] She's not in every episode or every scene, but when she is there, she makes the scene better. Yes, she does. And she's been great. We'll talk more about her next couple season reviews, but yeah. And to her credit, it seems like it's mostly because her career has kind of taken off. It was entirely because of the schedule. She's got a lot going on. Yeah. That's what we were told. They wanted her back. But yeah, she got a new series and their schedule has kind of gotten all mixed up because of the writer's strike and the sudden season five. So, they couldn't make it work.

[01:11:05] Was she the one who was basically like, I just decided to be famous, so I started mailing out headshots and got... Was it her? I think that was Jennifer Hui. Oh, that's who it was. Yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Opera school dropout. I had fun watching her in this again, too. Yeah. Yes. Yeah, but if this is somehow the first episode of Open Pike Night that you've ever heard, go check out the backlog. Yeah. We've got interviews with everybody. I'll just say everybody because they're all in there.

[01:11:34] And we are very happy to have you aboard. We hope that you will continue to stick around with us, especially the season four coming up in... In just over a month? Two months. About two months. I'm very excited for season four. There's going to be a cowboy episode. And a dinosaur episode. I'm sold. Yeah. This is going to roll. This is going to roll. In a puppet episode. Let's not forget the puppet episode. The big swings are not abating. We are not going back to season one, guys. No, we're not. Not at all. I can say that for sure. So, yeah. Get your calls in.

[01:12:04] Keep watching. We're going to be covering season two and season three in our next couple episodes. So, be sure to watch those and send in calls with your thoughts like our great callers today. And we will... Sorry. Just... But that is going to do it for this evening. It has been a long night. And the hosts of Open Pike Night have a lot of strange new worlds to watch. We still got 20 episodes that we got to cover from the next two seasons.

[01:12:32] And we're going to need your help doing that. So, why don't you get everything together. Get a nice snack. Cuddle up in your blanket. Put in your physical media copies of strange new worlds. And start watching through it. That having been said. Be sure to clean up after yourselves. Be sure to tip your servers. And remember. You can go anywhere that you want. But you can't stay here. You can't stay here.