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Star Trek: Strange New Worlds 1.07
In which we find out Christopher Pike has at least two things in common with Long John Silver (Treasure Island edition).
To wit, he cooks well, and uses being a cook as an angle to provoke a mutiny. (BTW, the reason why I specified Stevenson!Silver is that Black Sails Silver, whom I also love, can't cook. Though he's pretty persuasive in later seasons.) After last week's slump this was another very entertaining installment. Pike's tactic - when kidnapped by pirates, offer to cook for them, and then use that to talk some of them into a mutiny - is one I can't see many other of our Starfleet Captains pull off with such panache. I mean, Sisko could do the cooking, and he could do the bonding with pirates (see also: him impersonating his Mirrorverse self), but not both at the same time, I don't think. Kirk can't cook. Picard might use wine instead of meals, but short of earnestly appealing to the pirates' better selves, won't be able to do the mutiny part. Archer: let's not go there. Janeway might have fun playing a pirate herself (see also: Arachnia, Queen of the Spiderwomen), but cooking is what she has Neelix for. Later seasons Michael Burnham who has spent a year as a courier with Book could do the mutiny part and presumably has learned to cook in an emergency, but I doubt she cooks well.
Aaanyway. On the Enterprise, we see Christine Chapel continuing to be fabulous and knocking out pirates with hyposprays, while Spock bonds with a supposed Counsellor who turns out the Big Bad Pirate Boss Angel (non-binary) in disguise and wants to trade Spock against Spoilery Vulcan, using T'Pring, and I have to say I love everything about this, despite the continuity headache all of this presents for Amok Time. (Less so for ST V., because Chapel wasn't on board then anymore. But I have to say, I get a real kick out of the fact that Christine Chapel now canonically knows about Spock's fiance, Dad and half brother at a point when Kirk has no idea about any of the three.) Back in the ST V watching day, I rolled my eyes with the best of them at the Unexpected Half Brother Sybok the Guru who puts everyone in touch with their emotions and hijacks the ship on his quest for God. However, the current writing team has proven that they really can pull off Spock's familiy members, and improving on not so fine canon is what fanfiction and good sequels/prequels are there for. Figures Sybock would have a Pirate Boss for a lover who presumably taught him how to hijack the Enterprise (and also what not to do) later. Angel having all their intel in Spock from Sybock also makes the expert way they were able to push all the right buttons, well, logical.
The other thing I love about this despite the continuity headache is that the show and Spock continue to treat T'Pring's job as important. Spock wanting to end the hostage situation so T'Pring won't have to ruin her career for him being a case in point, and I like that the show continues to characterize her as intelligent, and thus able to realize what he did and playing along. The one big problem with later canon (btw, hello there, Stonn, thus introduced inconsciously as one of T'Pring's co-workers) is that we see here an engagement like Spock's and T'Pring's can be dissolved by mutual agreement, and the way these two are currently written, it's unbelievable T'Pring wouldn't just tell Spock the truth once she decided she wanted to marry smeone else, instead of going through the elaborate Kahlife gambit. (Though again, much can happen in a decade.)
I also like the conversation between Christine Chapel and Spock at the end, with just enough subtext to get across to the audience she was somewhat more affected than she pretends to be but is also far too sensible to go that way. And the two of them do make great confidants.
I take it Angel will be back, and of course the very last scene revealing their mysterious Vulcan lover is Sybok means sooner or later we'll meet a SNW version of him. (Shame Michael has to miss that family reunion due to being 900 years into the future. ) Also, what do you mean, "out of wedlock"? I haven't watched ST V in ages, but I dimly recall there was something about a "first marriage" murmured. I could be wrong, though.
To wit, he cooks well, and uses being a cook as an angle to provoke a mutiny. (BTW, the reason why I specified Stevenson!Silver is that Black Sails Silver, whom I also love, can't cook. Though he's pretty persuasive in later seasons.) After last week's slump this was another very entertaining installment. Pike's tactic - when kidnapped by pirates, offer to cook for them, and then use that to talk some of them into a mutiny - is one I can't see many other of our Starfleet Captains pull off with such panache. I mean, Sisko could do the cooking, and he could do the bonding with pirates (see also: him impersonating his Mirrorverse self), but not both at the same time, I don't think. Kirk can't cook. Picard might use wine instead of meals, but short of earnestly appealing to the pirates' better selves, won't be able to do the mutiny part. Archer: let's not go there. Janeway might have fun playing a pirate herself (see also: Arachnia, Queen of the Spiderwomen), but cooking is what she has Neelix for. Later seasons Michael Burnham who has spent a year as a courier with Book could do the mutiny part and presumably has learned to cook in an emergency, but I doubt she cooks well.
Aaanyway. On the Enterprise, we see Christine Chapel continuing to be fabulous and knocking out pirates with hyposprays, while Spock bonds with a supposed Counsellor who turns out the Big Bad Pirate Boss Angel (non-binary) in disguise and wants to trade Spock against Spoilery Vulcan, using T'Pring, and I have to say I love everything about this, despite the continuity headache all of this presents for Amok Time. (Less so for ST V., because Chapel wasn't on board then anymore. But I have to say, I get a real kick out of the fact that Christine Chapel now canonically knows about Spock's fiance, Dad and half brother at a point when Kirk has no idea about any of the three.) Back in the ST V watching day, I rolled my eyes with the best of them at the Unexpected Half Brother Sybok the Guru who puts everyone in touch with their emotions and hijacks the ship on his quest for God. However, the current writing team has proven that they really can pull off Spock's familiy members, and improving on not so fine canon is what fanfiction and good sequels/prequels are there for. Figures Sybock would have a Pirate Boss for a lover who presumably taught him how to hijack the Enterprise (and also what not to do) later. Angel having all their intel in Spock from Sybock also makes the expert way they were able to push all the right buttons, well, logical.
The other thing I love about this despite the continuity headache is that the show and Spock continue to treat T'Pring's job as important. Spock wanting to end the hostage situation so T'Pring won't have to ruin her career for him being a case in point, and I like that the show continues to characterize her as intelligent, and thus able to realize what he did and playing along. The one big problem with later canon (btw, hello there, Stonn, thus introduced inconsciously as one of T'Pring's co-workers) is that we see here an engagement like Spock's and T'Pring's can be dissolved by mutual agreement, and the way these two are currently written, it's unbelievable T'Pring wouldn't just tell Spock the truth once she decided she wanted to marry smeone else, instead of going through the elaborate Kahlife gambit. (Though again, much can happen in a decade.)
I also like the conversation between Christine Chapel and Spock at the end, with just enough subtext to get across to the audience she was somewhat more affected than she pretends to be but is also far too sensible to go that way. And the two of them do make great confidants.
I take it Angel will be back, and of course the very last scene revealing their mysterious Vulcan lover is Sybok means sooner or later we'll meet a SNW version of him. (Shame Michael has to miss that family reunion due to being 900 years into the future. ) Also, what do you mean, "out of wedlock"? I haven't watched ST V in ages, but I dimly recall there was something about a "first marriage" murmured. I could be wrong, though.
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Sybok's backstory and Sarek's marriage to the Vulcan princess is considered apocryphal by many sources and individuals, including Gene Roddenberry. The episode "Sarek" also contradicts this by stating that Sarek's first wife (obviously meant to be Amanda) was from Earth. Note, however, that although Spock states Sybok's mother was a Vulcan princess, he never said that she and Sarek were ever married.
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