Episode Discussion | Star Trek: Strange New Worlds | 2x01 "The Broken Circle"
Logline
A distress call from Lt. Noonien-Singh compels Spock to disobey orders and take the USS Enterprise and its crew into disputed space, risking renewed hostilities with the Klingons in a bid to aid their shipmate.
Written by Henry Alonso Myers & Akiva Goldsman
Directed by Chris Fisher
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Loved the episode in general, but there are some interesting decisions with this episode I'd like to get into, like the green power-up juice.
That seemed odd to me. Usually on a Star Trek show the ship's doctor and a trainee nurse would easily be able to kick the crap out of a dozen or so Klingons to save the day. And I'm not even joking, the crew of Deep Space 9 were absolute murder machines when they got going.
Thing is I sort of liked it, I liked that for once on a Trek show "We can't just beat up all of these people on our own" was presented as a plot point, because it usually isn't. I expect that there will be consequences.
As to whether it could or should be a thing, I mean this is a show where people can be teleported, so the idea that they might have some kind of super bull-shark testosterone quad damage power up in their med-kits seems perfectly reasonable.
It does however beg questions about why it isn't used more. And that I think is likely going to be a question we get an answer to this season. I also think it might be connected to why Mbenga will ultimately end up being replaced by McCoy*.
*Slight tangent, but McCoy's bigoted attitude towards Spock in TOS is going to hit so differently if they keep it for SNW, assuming he ever were to appear on the show.
undefined> Usually on a Star Trek show the ship’s doctor and a trainee nurse would easily be able to kick the crap out of a dozen or so Klingons to save the day.
although we've been told time and time again, that Klingons are stronger, hardier, and better fighters than humans.
It's very un-Star Trek for drugs to have major Hulk-like benefits with zero downside. That scene was cool, but I agree with you it would be strange if we don't see any consequences.
There wasn't quite zero downside. M'Benga almost killed that guy he was interrogating, which is not only counter to his usual personality but a poor decision in an interrogation, so the potion at least interferes with reasoning somewhat or amps up anger.
I wish this kind of interrogation didn't work, it is a dangerous stereotype to convey that torture works... it ends up with people supporting torture in real life when it actually really doesn't reliably get truthful information from people.