Star Trek Strange New Worlds Ep 9 "All Those Who Wander" REVIEW

[@okamiseven]

Uhura considering leaving and then finding her resolve and sense of purpose after Hemmer's encouragement felt like an homage to Nichelle Nichols considering quitting before MLK talked to her about it

[@dragoninthewest1]

Oh, you know I hadn't considered that part. Art imitating life

[@dirt410]

They took a Hemmer to my heart this episode.

[@BryanWicks]

ISWYDT

[@AzaleaJane]

Hemmer's death destroyed me 😭😭😭

[@FxdGearQueer]

I can't believe he's gorn forever!

[@threeofeight197]

Such BS he was my fave. The most intriguing and unexplored character in the dang show!!!

[@nobleskywalker4639]

" Seems things seem to have been Gorn over their heads"

[@cartoonkelly7924]

The second Duke was promoted I said “Oh, it’s Lieutenant Dead Meet.” Hemmet’s death made me cry. When he stepped outside and said how it was like Andorra so it was like he was home. This show could end up being my favorite Star Trek.

[@LaraA55]

Yes, I felt the same way

[@Eleglas]

They just needed another previously unseen character to announce their imminent retirement and they would have had the whole shebang.

[@Lemurion287]

Remember when Hemmer said his purpose was to fix what is broken? How many would have guessed he meant Uhura?

[@Reece_Hart]

Why do they have to hurt us so with Hemmer and Spock's feelings over it? I did love how much it felt like Aliens and La'an basically being Ripley

[@ElegantPaws01]

Same thoughts. Harkens to Aliens.

[@ivorjawa]

Alien 3, but done with respect to the characters.

[@LaraA55]

Yup, nodding my head in agreement

[@detectivesquirrel2621]

Duke felt like an old drinking game for war films. A character is built up, returning to the girl he loves etc and you can "Spot the Corpse" identifying a character that is going to die. As soon as Duke got his promotion I practically shouted out "He's dead!".

[@JimmyNotes]

That was what I thought when I saw the other random cadet.

[@artboymoy]

Yeah... hey going on a mission with two people we introduced just now? Yeah. They dead.

[@Jayk129]

Great review. When Sam Kirk freaked out in sickbay I was like “Oh come on, Sam. How scary can they be? Your little brother beats one up with a paper mache rock.”

[@hamobu]

I don't know why this discontinuity bothers me but I much rather prefer the Gorn be like they were in TOS.

[@voltijuice8576]

@@hamobu - They fill out nicely after they eat a few people.

[@benw9949]

Never underestimate a good papier-mâché rock. (Actually, Kirk used a very iffy homemade canon on the Corn Captain.) -- Three fast-moving critters the size of a large dog or bigger, not so easy to take out, even with hand phaser pistols, I think. And if you've never been bitten, even accidentally, by a cat, don't underestimate them. Strong bite when truly angry or scared. Doesn't feel good.

[@artboymoy]

@@Sarcasticron Yeah. No way these Gorn can make a society that could build things and go to space.

[@artboymoy]

@@Sarcasticron They won't. They don't care and that's fine. We all know they just rather not have TOS fans watching.

[@threeofeight197]

I hated that they killed off Hemmer. I looked forward to all the moments when you would see how his differences make him uniquely qualified in certain situations. I mean you see it some in what they’ve shown but there is so much more that could be done. For one the Aenar are a fascinating race. Two he and Spock could have had some very cool stories together with telepathy and regarding the history of their peoples. Three his “disability” made him a unique and representative part of the crew. This was such a waste. Especially if they replace him with Scotty. A person who has already been fully explored. We never even scratched the surface w Hemmer.

[@dazerla]

Same I had just decided he was my favorite character and they killed him.

[@jumpingjohnflash]

yes, with Hemmer's death and La'an leaving that's two of the pre-Kirk's 'Enterprise' characters gone _ I'd prefer not see this turn into TOS minus Kirk.

[@foxesofautumn]

I also agree. I feel it was a waste of a truly unique character who was also enjoyable and full of potential.

[@LaraA55]

Extremely well said and nodding my head in total agreement

[@LaraA55]

@@foxesofautumn absolutely, he was so interesting and insightful

[@capturedsoulsphotos]

Speaking as someone who's best friend is blind: no. Hemmer lived his life to the full and went out on his terms protecting the people he cared the most for. "If my sacrifice saves those I care about, then I will make it."

[@threeofeight197]

Too bad we didn’t get to see much of his life as interesting has he is as a character. I think it’s a dumb move to kill him off. And replace him with who, Scotty??? We already know soooooo much about that basic human guy. Jeez. I don’t mind revisiting Spock and uhura and nurse chapelle. But. Let some new characters live here too. He was so unique.

[@Ulriquinho]

@@threeofeight197 I loved the story and the sacrifice. And totally sobbed. But you are right. It feels early and there were so many more stories to tell with him. They could have done this exact plot like three seasons in. I don’t even think we had any episodes that really focused on him. And we had one for most of the cast.

[@maisiesummers42]

@@Ulriquinho Hemmer is the only one who hasn't had an episode focusing on him. He's been in 4 out of 8 episodes. Although we've had exposition about his past, we've barely seen him. I just don't feel his loss as significant. What does annoy me is that the one actor on the show who has a disability and playing the one character with a disability is now gone. That just bugs me.

[@voltijuice8576]

Also keep in mind that the actor might have health issues which mean his role is ephemeral from the outset.

[@susanscott8653]

@@maisiesummers42 they haven't done a Ortegas-centric episode either, but I still think you make a good point.

[@OpinionsNoOneCaresAbout]

Hemmer: "You're afraid of putting down roots." Uhura: *proceeds to spend basically her entire career on the Enterprise*

[@rockjianrock]

I know its a joke comment, but there may be some truth in Uhura overcompensating by never leaving as a trauma response.

[@jjmfrees]

I love when M’Benga said “He’s dead, Chris.”

[@-leaford1584]

I loved Pike's reply, "Uh, yeaah."

[@BritneyLaZonga]

Now I wait for "I'm a doctor! Not a (.....)" :D

[@debm6805]

I’m only part of the queer community, but Hemmer’s death felt (to me) like Discovery’s “bury your gays” Culber edition. Both deaths were used as motivation for other characters. Based on the Ready Room interview, the role was for one season. So unless the actor didn’t want to continue, I feel like they have squandered one of the new, unique SNW characters by killing him off (assuming he stays dead).

[@withershin]

I kind of had this vibe too. It stuck in my brain but... That make-up is phenomenal and can't be cheap. They've creatively cut a bunch of corners this season with production but still had amazing CGI this episode. So my guess is that were going to get more CGI characters moving forward because they seem to have the tech. Maybe someone came up with some new tech that will get us good looking Klingons without 3 hours in a make-up chair. EDIT: Prosthetics/CG maybe/Whatever teams worked on Hemmer looking amazing.

[@josephnash2081]

Hemmer was gay?

[@artboymoy]

@@josephnash2081 Analogy.

[@decivex]

I think the trope you're looking for is called 'fridging'.

[@LaraA55]

@@withershin they certainly did an astounding job with Hemmer

[@emilymarriott5927]

I loved this episode, and while Hemmer's death was very effective, I'm torn by it. I wish we had gotten a bit more of him before they killed him off. I'm kinda left feeling we got just enough to feel for his death, but not enough to really feel like we got to know the character that well. I do appreciate that they are willing to kill off larger characters, though.

[@threeofeight197]

I hated this so much. Because they will probably replace him with Scotty…. Basic ass character that we already know soooo well. He was one of the new characters that was super intriguing. I don’t mind the revisiting of the old characters we know as long as we have some new characters to get creative with. This seems to be limiting. I’m way too angry about this. Lol.

[@lovipoekimo176]

Same. We barely knew him. But it's a testament to how good this show is that they got us to care for him despite the small screentime

[@LaraA55]

@@lovipoekimo176 absolutely right

[@LaraA55]

@@brachiator1 I so agree....It would make things boring

[@LaraA55]

Wonderfully said and totally agree. There was so much to learn about this character and it would have been interesting to see future stories with him.

[@catzkeet4860]

SPOILERS: I loved the episode….I’m not surprised that the whingers are out in force also but whatever. The fact is that you DID feel for Hemmers death, which goes to show how well the characters have been built up. I also loved that Chapel was the one that went after Spock and let him, just for a moment, take some comfort. It was gently heartbreaking, his palpable sense of loss and her distress that she cant make it better for him. Stellar acting there. Also I hope you’re taking enough time off Jessie, and not talking too much….don’t overdo it girl!

[@LaraA55]

I definitely agree. The writers have done a great job in creating such appealing characters.

[@sjain8111]

genius use of action figures, and the opening comment about killing off shirts of all colors very funny, thanks for making me laugh to start the day, great review as usual!

[@agriperma]

One thing this show has done so well, is, that it has really connected me to the characters, I really liked Hemmer's character, too bad we could not have gotten more familiar with him, this episode had "Aliens" vibe up the kazoo, but in a good way, almost to the point it looks like they were paying homage to it. Nurse Chapel, I think, is realizing that emotions for Spock does not do him well, when he lets them loose it's like opening the flood gates, and like a drug, it's hard to let go of and keep them in check, this is some good background for Spock, and would explain why in TOS and beyond he made sure to keep them pesky human emotions under control.

[@LaraA55]

I so agree. I feel emotionally attached to the characters. How you described Spocks surfacing emotions is such a good analogy

[@AlexisofTocqueville]

I liked Memento Mori, but didn't really love this one. I'm not a fan of the Gorn basically taking all the characteristics of the Xenomorphs. It's just... it's too much. And I'm bummed we lost Hemmer and Laan. Laan could come back, but I really wish they would trust that their original characters are as interesting and compelling as the legacy names.

[@nickbuxton8406]

So the actor who plays hemmer has said he’s not finished with Star Trek yet but can’t say anymore than that. Wonder if that means hemmer will be back?

[@JarvisBrodie]

@@nickbuxton8406 Or it's possible he may return as a whole new character we've never met before. As we've seen in the past, most Star Trek actors have often returned as different characters. So, Bruce Horak may be added to that list.

[@JarvisBrodie]

You have to remember, this show was taped more than a year ago when the plague was still thick. And Season Two was filmed around November of '21. So, I believe it safe to say La'an is coming back next season.

[@nagillim7915]

I quite like the fact that the Gorn are being set up like this. They're not only antithetical to everything the Federation believes in but - in a similar but different way to the Borg - their existence calls into question the very principle of idic: if infinite diversity in infinite combination means accepting the existence of a culture that sees every other sapient lifeform as either food or a host to breed inside then is idic worth adhering to? Or is there the possibility of reaching some kind of diplomatic arrangement and peace with a species like the Gorn that just sees you as a biological commodity to be exploited for their needs?

[@hamobu]

Hemmer was one character without some emotional personal conflict. He was just a fun sarcastic guy.

[@kirkdarling4120]

And then they introduced what would have been his emotional personal conflict when he was the one to kill the last Gorn.

[@LaraA55]

Yes he came across for me as having a calm demeanour

[@IzzyTheDyspraxicArtist]

I imagine a 55 minute cut of James Camerons's Aliens would have many of the same issues this episode has. great effort by the SNW team.

[@barkasz6066]

I was certinaly surprised and saddend by Hemmer's demise. It's an arc done well finally, but I could have gone another season with him before offing him. I am excited about who they bring aboard instead and curious about why so early, but I'm just happy overall that I don't feel like Hemmer's character was wasted or his arc disappointing.

[@maisiesummers42]

Yes, Hemmer went out like a hero. I just... didn't feel sad about it. I had no investment in the character; we never got to know him. It would have had a much bigger impact if it had been it had been La'an. We've seen her backstory. We know the effect the Gorn have on her. It's also bugging me that the one character & actor with a disability is gone. I don't know if there's an equivalent of "bury your gays" for disability, but that's how it feels to me. I wish we'd had a lot more Hemmer. And if there's no Uhura in the next episode, then we've lost *three* major characters: Uhura (rotating out), Hemmer (dead parrot), and La'an (resigned from Starfleet).

[@robert_bbiii]

Strength of the show is nine episodes in and we are hurt by a character death. Nine hours and it hits us,. It is a shame Melissa Navia has not had a focus episode yet as she owns every scene she in.

[@stefanlatour8401]

[SPOILERS] I am sad to see the crew reduced. Hemmer was delightful. We always see vulcans in the crew, and it was nice to have the best representation of Andoria since Shran. It sucks to see the character die, but he planted his death flag early in the season. Also: if the Gorn grow based on the traits of the host, there are now frost resistant Gorn on that planet. Hopefully they never find their way back to the Gorn Hegemony.

[@mkang8782]

I was gutted about Hemmer dying; I have commented before how he is my favorite character on the show. As someone who has been an "engineer" (in Trek terms) in real life, troubleshooting and repairing aircraft, he felt closest in tone. Meaning he (and Jett Reno, from Discovery) really conveys a more typical demeanor and attitude than Scotty, Geordie, O'Brien, Torres, and even Trip.

[@uosdwiSrdewoH]

I was very disappointed in the Sam Kirk scenes when he was freaking out at everyone. Maybe they were explicitly trying to remind us of what other Kirk does but it seemed to go against his character who has so far been fairly cool under pressure so it bugged me a little that they chose him for that moment instead of someone who maybe wasn't as familiar with Spock. Though I guess there are only so many people left to take on that role at the end of the day. Maybe they should've brought a different crew member along since I can't recall anything Sam Kirk specific that happened which made his character vital to the away team.

[@NethDugan]

As a wimp, who doesn't do great with horror, I for one am glad it's more tense than scary. Because it's scary enough for me. And when Sam Kirk went off on one, I was thinking about how he was being a racist Bones wannabe to his future brother in law.

[@kaitlyn__L]

Most horror, I’d say, is more tense than scary :) Slasher films and jump scares being the norm in the 90s and 00s distorted people’s perception a bit, but on the whole. Eg one of the best horror episodes of Trek is the one with O’Brien, Nog and Garak on Empok Nor.

[@nathanielraefraughton5218]

I laughed a little in the beginning at the obvious redshirts, actual colours of shirts notwithstanding, but I forgave them by the end since they served to distract and make Hemmer a surprise. I’m sad because I really liked him but they did a great job with all of it, very affecting. I’m a little surprised people still think Uhura won’t be back as the whole point of that story seemed to be leading toward her choosing to stay in Starfleet and Pike basically stated at the beginning that he wanted her to stay. We’ll see but I won’t be surprised if she’s still there next episode. La’an leaving was a bit of surprise but I assume it’s temporary and it’s a good place for her story to go. Not sure if Sam Kirk was really necessary at all this season, I’m assuming he’ll have more to do next season. His outburst at Spock reminded me of the bigoted guy in Balance of Terror as well as that TOS episode where Spock and a bunch of random extras crash land on a planet and they get progressively angrier with his logical responses to command. I’m guessing Spock’s difficulty with his emotions is going to play into the Sybok stuff going forward. Curious to see how they handle that. Seeing his rage and his trouble reigning himself in was quite well done here. I should also mention the Gorn looked great and seeing the tiny ones drag a large man very quickly down a hallway did a lot to emphasize how scary they are. Edited to add: I did read an interview with Bruce Horak where he says his time with Star Trek is not done. I’m assuming that means a new alien character or possibly just the actor as a human character.

[@Moxypony]

Am I the only one who blames the little girl for all 3 crew deaths in this episode? She saw what was going on and decided to hide instead of saying anything. If she had just told them what was about to happen they could've locked the guy in a forcefield before the eggs hatched.

[@Mei-Ling-Li]

I'm so mad that they killed Hemmer. I was initially so excited there was an Aenar on the crew. I loved the Enterprise reference and the Andorians and Aenar are my favorite species in Trek. Then I didn't love his intro. His only character trait seemed to be that he was grumpy. But then over just a few episodes he grew into such a wonderful character that I was so looking forward to see more of. I feel like they wasted a brillant actor and an amazing character. I don't dispute that the death scene was fantastic, but that was something they should have given him after seven seasons, not one. I vote Search For Hemmer!

[@LaraA55]

I am so with you on this. I found his presence actually calming...he came across as so wise

[@oolong2]

The Alien, Aliens, and Predator callbacks in this episode were pretty serious... I think the reason Sam Kirk was freaking out like that was to evoke the "Private Hudson" character in Aliens movie. Of course, you had chest bursting from evolved predators. The quiet little girl who survives the massacre of the previous crew. All of it was from Aliens. Even the sets and way the scenes were shot was very similar to those movies. Then you had the aggression/challenging of the Gorn to lure it out, which is directly from Predator. You also had the "predator vision" from the Gorn's perspective. Even the "sacrifice" at the end was the same as Ripley's death in Alien 3. It was all pretty neat, and I enjoyed the episode, however the callbacks also kind of got in the way of the story a bit. I didn't feel like the crew was taking the threat seriously enough, which is a typical Aliens trope. Also, the way the Gorn's moved and sounded was very cliche for Sci-Fi horror. Which pretty much looks and screams like any velociraptor, xenomorph, Demogorgon, etc. that you see over and over. I didn't even realize that the actor who played Hemmer was actually blind... Well, that was news to me. 😅

[@williamozier918]

The Gorn mostly come out at night...mostly.

[@jasper-od3dv]

Really loved how they reused the Enterprise set for the interior of the Peregrine in this episode. Probably had to because of budget/COVID restrictions, and at least it was addressed in-universe by M'Benga saying that the Sombra class uses the same parts as the Enterprise.

[@nickbuxton8406]

I really hope they’re not gonna shoe horn scotty in next season. I’ll be real p*ssed if they do. Hemmer should’ve been explored a lot more and I think they made mistake wrapping his story up so soon.

[@LaraA55]

I so agree as he was such an intriguing charscter

[@thedoctor755]

Constitution, not Constellation class ;) Yeah, I wondered if the Peregrine was just a pint-sized Connie, when Pike said it only had a crew of 99. Then it looked to be the same size as the Enterprise.... so....??? Reminds me of the non-canon tech manuals they did in the 70's & 80's, showing all the sub-classes that were barely different from their main classes. (YES, I'm a Trek-tech geek) Gorn being more like xenomorphs was kinda on-the-nose, and I don't care for the overall redesign. Probably the worst part of SNW so far, but it still didn't ruin the episode for me. What shocked me and I didn't like was Hemmer's death. DAMMIT!!! I was getting to really like him, and that speaks volumes about a guy that was only in half the season. I have to wonder if the actor wanted to leave the show, or maybe SNW will be a revolving door for characters, which will be weird. I wish Discovery had invested half the effort to build up it's characters.

[@empressadria7009]

We know Hemmer was going to leave at some point because Scotty becomes chief engineer. I hadn't thought about Hemmer being a token anything and the way they wrote his death just felt like how he would go out if he had to choose to: Sacrificing himself to save the crew. I love how his disability had nothing to do with it.

[@nobleskywalker4639]

" Seem things have to have Gorn over their heads"

[@literaltruth]

Honestly this is by FAR my least favourite episode of the show, which I've generally loved up until now It was just TOO MUCH of a direct lift from Aliens. La'an was Ripley, Rhinanan was Newt, the rest of the crew were the marines and they turned the Gorn into basically one to one copies of Xenomorphs. I was honestly kind of embarrassed for the writers having written something that really straight up plagiarizes a really famous work.

[@Chace957]

And Sam Kirk was Bill Paxton … ‘game over man, game over’

[@LaraA55]

@@Chace957 yes, I thought the same thing

[@Lissy1701]

I loved this episode so much. SNW has had the best first season of any trek (except Lower Decks of course) and I can’t wait for the next episode. This show is quickly becoming my favorite. I loved Hemmer, but I hope they use this to bring Scotty in! And I loved Kirk this ep.

[@cloudwatcher608]

Personally I’d be fine with another chief engineer besides Scotty as long as it’s an interesting character. Maybe a Tellarite, they are supposed to be one of the primary species of the Federation but we never see them

[@Sarappreciates]

I love Scotty, don't get me wrong, but we already have so many beloved characters with MAJOR plot armor... Spock, Uhura, Chapel, Pike... These are characters for whom my heart will generally never pound with fear over losing them at this point. They can leave the show, but none of them has much risk of being killed or changed all that much. Even in the original series, they coulda ditched these characters, but that can't be done here. More of that may not help the show's longevity.

[@exalteddjinn69]

The gorn's vision looks similar to the way they show the xenomorph's vision in the AVP games.

[@billkeithchannel]

Bruce said on _The Ready Room_ that he knew when hired that he would be a one season character. He just wanted a noble death. When he finally got to read the script for 109 he was super pleased that he was getting a proper send off.

[@owlexb1124]

My husband is blind, and is completely wrecked to lose Hemmer this early. Why do characters with disabilities need to either be “fixed” or die for our inspiration? Why couldn’t Hemmer continue to be a huge badass and thrive for at least a full season? We can’t imagine an accessible future if we don’t have representation. Gah, there are things about Hemmer’s death that resonate (at least Hemmer has agency! I respect his decision!), but it hurts that we’d do this so soon.

[@danielcorn4178]

Love the review. Still crying for Hemmer. I interpreted the scenes between Sam and Spock a little differently, but I can see your point of view as well. For me, it felt very much like the old Spock and McCoy dynamic, and I was fine with that. Still, I can see how it would be frustrating since there wasn't a real resolution. I would have liked a bit more at the end of the episode touching on that subject, but that scene between Spock and Chapel is just so perfect, I can forgive it.

[@CaptainPikeachu]

There’s problems in the old Spock and McCoy dynamic too, and if they were gonna bring that in, I wish they addressed it directly with better sensibilities in the modern day than they did in 1960s

[@drawingsticks5333]

Yeah McCoy and Spock were also iffy but it was helped by the fact that Kirk shut down everything else being racist to Spock so it felt like McCoy and Spock had an understanding or something. But here Sam was just racist to Spock and no one called him out on it.

[@carolineartley2703]

The fact that they made the two "redshirt" deaths different cases of "retirony" with one about to be transferred and the other having just been promoted was fantastic. The writers clearly know their star trek tropes and are playing all of them up to the highest possible level.

[@jdzencelowcz]

R we ever gonna get a TOS lookin' Gorn again?? The Gorn wedding on LD whetted my appetite.

[@jayphailey]

Right off, I really do not like the direction they're taking the Gorn in. I would NOT have done it that way. But here were are. I feel like it was doing things emotionally well, inside the context of ripping off another movie.

[@pookhahare]

As someone who is disabled due to chronic heath issues I am pissed they killed off Hemmer. They never really explored what could been a fascinating character beyond the superficial. We don't even know why he joined starfleet. No he was bought in to act as motivation for Uhura and then fridged this lime in literal sense as a reason for her to stay in .

[@LaraA55]

I so agree with you...it is like he was only a plot device, giving the background on why uhura stayed. Hemmer was indeed very interesting

[@legrat6678]

Small correction at 7:00: Constitution class. The Constellation class is what the Stargazer is that Picard commanded before the Galaxy class Enterprise..

[@withershin]

The Gorn needed boater hats, a wand, and to sing and dance. Great CGI but clearly lacking, "Hello my baby...". Hemmer had the special, again.

[@ivorjawa]

This is an emotional mullet. Heartwarming up front, Alien^3 in the back. Except A^3 didn’t suck this time.

[@AndrewD8Red]

"Two-thirds good?!" Cobblers, sweetheart! Into Darkness may not be the best Trek film, but it is damn good! You're a bad girl, Jessie. Naughty girl. Go to your room. EDIT OK, that came across more than a little dirty, but I stand by the sentiment.

[@rachaelbao]

You're right. We do need Tribbles v. Gorn. I was happy with the balance of breakfast-briefing, Aliens, Velociraptor Gorns and gut punch. I would also have been happy with gold-apron gorn chestbursting and doing the "hello my baby" dance.

[@adirizkiguritno3497]

Fun trivial fact: this week's episode of Star Trek Strange New Worlds and The Orville both involve a person in each show saying "you don't need to call me 'sir'." In SNW, Ortegas says that to Uhura. In The Orville, Charly Burke says that to Topa, Bortus's & Klyden's son/daughter.

[@sergioaccioly5219]

I forgot an important question: Jessie, how in the name of all that's holly aren't you covering the Umbrella Academy? There's no chance you won't love that show. Well, possibly maybe perhaps you won't love the first season (unlikelly), but by S3 it'll probably become your favorite show.

[@kaitlyn__L]

The second season was my favourite when it came out, and it definitely still is!

[@Lemniskaten]

I realised how much I started to rely on Jessie's reviews to keep me up to date on the airing of the shows I watch: yesterday I found out by chance that "For All Mankind" was on the third episode of season three and I was like "damn why didn't she review them? Why wasn't I informed?" :D

[@WillowWytch69]

I'm so happy we got the bug eyed lizard boys. I like that I sat down for an episode of star trek and got the first alien movie. I also like how they've been drip feeding us the going and slowly building them up. First seeing there name on le'an's file then not seeing them but seeing their ships, then seeing them here but not as adults. Also Hemmer was easily my favorite character and I'm sad now.

[@ericc.petrie7572]

Hemmer was my favorite character. I really hope they don’t use this as a cheap move to get Scotty onboard. The show has enough fan service currently.

[@threeofeight197]

YESssssss. Finally. You rock Eric!!!! Scotty has been done. Hemmer had so much left to reveal. Such a waste

[@LaraA55]

@@threeofeight197 agreed

[@LaraA55]

I love the show but I do see it as fan service

[@Knightshade08]

I am disappointed that they killed off the disabled character, a trope we don't need. Also, Kirk's insults to Spock were also reminiscent of McCoy's insults. I'm also disappointed that EVERYONE is missing Uhura's being talked into staying is a DIRECT reference to Nichelle Nichole's being talked into staying by Martin Luther King Jr. WHY DOES EVERYONE KEEP MISSING THIS?

[@Chace957]

Not sure it’s a trope exactly, but I love the connection you made between Uhura’s arc and the real story of Nicoles’ meeting with MLK

[@catbowserfantasytherapist3132]

Hemmer's death broke me. And it broke hubby too, in a different way. See, in addition to being a disabled character, due to his blindness, the show's lore confirmed that Hemmer had albinism. I can't tell you how happy my husband, who also has albinism, was to have a character that was wise, and sympathetic, but also funny. He was easily my husband's favorite character. So, when this episode happened, cue hubby's "Really? You had to kill the albino, didn't you?'

[@GiantRobotsConquerTheWorld]

The moment between Spock and Sam didn't remind of the first Kelvin film, but I totally see the connection. My first thought was Galileo Seven.

[@kaitlyn__L]

I called it a Galileo Seven reference too! With the crew breaking under the pressure of being stranded, and taking it out on Spock who is focusing on the task at hand.

[@Skwisgaar999]

I feel like an opportunity was lost with Hemmer's death. Hemmer was an interesting character, and provided needed disability representation. I kinda feel like the character was wasted :(

[@LaraA55]

Yes, nodding my head

[@dragoninthewest1]

He wouldn't say was disabled, but that he saw the world in a different way like many physically and neuro divergent people. Reminds me of how people on the Autism spectrum report thinking in pictures, me included.

[@DJDocsVideos]

"Aliens" meets "Star Trek". Fun episode but it felt a little too "try hard". Don't hate it but also don't love it.

[@thebeesknickers]

Loving the Alien franchise style episode with depiction of the Gorn appearing. But they critters are vastly removed from the slow moving reptiles of the TOS episode. When Gorn critters are this barbaric also hard to believe such animalistic critics could be capable of building powerful spaceships when they look and act like these critters. Perhaps the adult Gorns are more scientific in nature. Regardless a tense suspense building episode and great dialogue.

[@artboymoy]

You'd also think they'd have better ways of breeding if they're scientifcally advacned. They really should have just called them something else. I always said that Prometheus would have been a good Trek horror movie, but I didn't mean for them to just copy Alien...

[@bowl1820]

Well a writer could get around the How the (not)gorns built powerful spaceships etc. is just say "Well they stole the tech and/or enslaved someone else to build it." or they have a caste system , The smart slow moving caste, the vicious Fast moving warrior caste.etc. and they haven't shown the smart ones yet.

[@LaraA55]

I absolutely agree and I was thinking the same thing, how would such vicious creatures acting on a primal level have the patience to build starships

[@LaraA55]

@@bowl1820 ohhh, I really like your train of thought here...really good explanations

[@thescifiZipacna]

I think the show struck a good balance here with Hemmer. It doesn’t feel like a waste of the character but I still wish we got more of him. The biggest touchstone for this episode being obviously Alien/Aliens, they did a great job replicating that feeling of tension and danger.

[@Atitagain-zm5nz]

These are not your grandfather's Gorn.

[@davidgipe997]

I think the death was impactful on an emotional level. I found it made me miss what we will miss with the character and that is a good sign of both acting and writing. To me the fact that he couldn't see was apart of the character, a characteristic of a whole person. I will miss him, and would of loved more, but I am glad he felt so fulfilled at the end.

[@LaraA55]

Wonderfully said and I agree, the writing for this character and the acting were brilliant.

[@yamagata008]

I love this show. I came over here because it is the only channel that loves every episode in general. I hope the renew the show. I will continue to watch!

[@Zam_from_NerdTube]

Yes this felt like a mix of Alien 3, Predator and Jaws but fuck me side ways this episode broke me at the end.

[@moviemaniacdjp]

In Korg's voice: "Duke! Oh, Duke's dead."

[@daiatnara971]

I'm really feeling my TNG-era Trekkie roots here, probably moreso than in other modern Trek since SNW has the old episodic format - honestly it took me a while to stop trying to spot where the plot loophole that would save Hemmer would be (like, oh he's going outside, Gorn don't like cold but Andorians/Aenar do, maybe the frigid temperature he can endure will put the chestbusters into hibernation or something to give them time to save him), because I just couldn't process that a main character wasn't going to have years of appearances, with at least one or two spotlight episodes per season; poor dude only lasted half a Tasha. Mind you he was amazing in the time he had, but while I can't say this episode did anything bad regarding him (except in the sense of killing him, I mean), I'm really feeling all those Hemmer episodes we'll never see now. But on a lighter note, here's an idea - a lot of folks are expecting Scotty, but I feel he'd be a bit junior to come in as Chief Engineer, so WHAT IF, as well as Scotty joining the crew, we also get a seasoned engineer to take the chief spot and mentor young Scotty as he develops into the miracle worker we're familiar with, and it's Connor Trinneer as Charles 'Fifth' Tucker V, and he's got slight points on his ears, and tells this story about how, yeah, grandaddy blew himself up one time, but sickbay patched him up good as new, they just put it in the logs that he died so him and grandma could go do secret missions like they're John Steed and Emma Peel in outer space?

[@MJosephB]

“Dying like a chump to Sherlock Holmes.” 🤣

[@sansintierra]

Loved the Alien nod of the episode (they even had an Oriana-Newt), and the fact they didn't go too deep into the horror genre but still managed to deliver a good monster hunt. ST is not about horror and doom, after all. The Gorn lose because they fight each other to establish dominance, the crew wins because they fight together and is willing to sacrifice themselves to save others. NGL, I'm all in for some alpha-ass-kicking. Without going into spoilers, I think this was a really well produced episode, lots of good and meaningful dialogue, keeping this series' trend of making me cry every episode. And yes, even without the final events, this felt like a season finale.

[@LaraA55]

Nodding my head in agreement...yes this episode had it all

[@dbcanada]

With the Gorn being so violent with each other, I can't imagine how they could have evolved enough to cooperate with each other (or even to read&write), let alone develop any technology.

[@voltijuice8576]

They said it was particular to newborns. Like when a batch of eggs hatches, only one survives. But yeah, it's hard to see them having a cooperative side based upon what's been shown. The detail I hated was that their spit apparently impregnates most humanoids, which alone would have allowed them to overtake most civilizations effortlessly. Tropey and not thought-out, but it didn't ruin the episode for me.

[@LaraA55]

Yes, I was thinking the same thing

[@augustjsb]

Dr. Strange definitely broke his oath. Dude flew a big ass starship into San Francisco. Surely he [did some] harm to someone.

[@Cdr2002]

Considering that Hemmer was kind of a guest character of a sort to begin with, I suspect the actor simply had conflicts with his schedule, and that motivated the death scene

[@Jayk129]

It sorta had to be Hemmer: look at the team they sent. It’s a prequel so we already knew Pike, Spock, Uhura, M’Benga, Chapel, and Sam Kirk HAVE to survive. That leaves La’an and Hemmer and I doubt they’d pull the “let’s kill the female Security Chief right before the end of the 1st season” trick twice.

[@Cdr2002]

@@Jayk129 makes sense Though I’m of the opinion that character deaths are not automatically necessary for storytelling, Hemmer’s was well done

[@calroy9108]

La'an's coming back, we saw her in the leaked scenes with you Kirk, how could you forget!? Jessie, you sure that's the real Kirk? I think Uhura's still in the next episode, one of the early promos appear to have her in an Ensign uniform and we haven't seen yet.

[@DesertRat11]

Oriana was played by Emma Ho, (First Servant) Ian Ho's twin sister. Both were also in Season 6 of The Expanse.

[@kaitlyn__L]

Oh, I’d recognised them as being those siblings from The Expanse, didn’t know they were siblings in real life!

[@Tuaron]

"The Otherworldly Jessie" does seem an appropriate title. Anyway, I really enjoyed this episode, one of my favourites of the season (the last couple had been fun but hadn't quite made the upper half of the season for me, but this is definitely up there), though I am sad about a few things, including aspects of it playing into tropes. The opening scene really solidified my love of Pike (honestly, I think he's made it into my Top 3 Trek Captains, with Picard & Sisko, sorry Kirk, Janeway & Beckett), and gave me more of that "crew actually seems to like and fit together" stuff I love (honestly, La'An hesitantly eating the food during the briefing was a nice fun moment giving us some levity before the darkness of the episode), but I also immediately clocked that two characters were tagged for death (at least once I realized the genre we were in, very early on). The bigger death of the episode was a heartbreaking shock, however - well played and written, even if I am dismayed to see it happen. Okay, this should be below the extended comment part so I'll let myself be more spoiler-y. I really liked Hemmer and am particularly sad to see him go because it means the end of a great character who was also a very important representative of a community that is often overlooked or minimized within Trek shows. That said, I appreciate that he isn't treated with "kid gloves" or turned ridiculously superhuman, giving him an appropriate showcase over the season (and in this episode) and letting him determine his fate in a way that saves the rest of the crew. I was also quite surprised to see La'An leave the ship now - it's an interesting situation for the Enterprise as the show heads into the final episode of the season, down at least 2 key members (and maybe Uhura, too? I'm not sure how to read that final scene). Again, a great moment for the character, so it may have been a surprise but it was a welcome one.

[@LaraA55]

Nodding my head in agreement, well said

[@charleslurio8881]

Very good review. (Fervently hope you don’t come out looking like Bill Shatner.😂) I guess I’m not so much into the details. The loss of Hemmer was a loss for the series I believe. Echoing what you said I think they’re trying to make a point of being able to either kill or move off screen major characters. This may be mainly just to set themselves apart but it also will allow room for eventually evolving into TOS’s complement. You said the actor who played Hemmer was blind himself. I happened to see him in an interview and recognized that at least one eye was not operating but I thought the other might have had partial vision? I say this as someone with basically one and a half operating eyes. Assuming the actor was fully blind or near to it I have to say they did a magnificent job making the audience believe that Hemmer could completely compensate for HIS blindness.

[@teacherdude]

Who would have guessed that the best Aliens- Predator mash -up would be in a Star Trek episode.?

[@stevengalloway8052]

😳 Wow. They actually took the life of Hemmer. THE most shocking moment of the season to me. On a brighter note, maybe this means Scotty will show up in his place... 😏

[@threeofeight197]

Boo Scotty. The basic bitch of engineering. I mean. I like Scotty he is great. But. We already know so much about him. Why not explore new characters. The aenar are so cool. Why nit explore that more. Ugh. It’s boring to kill him off now. Scotty better have like some kinda drama coming along w him or something new to make it interesting. Something besides giving incorrect repair estimates and speaking in an accent whilst loving Scotch.

[@RavBunneh]

This episode takes us where "No one has Gorn before." =:3

[@lcflngn]

James, thanks for your insightful comments, you astonish me. Please give Jessie a big hug!

[@8r0k3n1]

I am loving SNW. It feels like a modernised TNG with hints of TOS. I really didn't think I would connect with the characters as much as I have. but so sad to say goodbye to Hemmer.

[@cod3r1337]

I'm kind of split on this one. I really hate that they killed off my favovite character this early. But I also love the fact that I actually care. This is the first ST show since DS9 that managed to actually make me care about (or even remember the names of) any of the regular cast.

[@superpheemy]

I think the profound thing in Hemmer's death is that his blindness had no role in the manner of his death. Hemmer died because he's a crewman in harm's way and it felt like a consequence of being in a hostile environment. He acts and reacts like most anyone with his training and conviction would in the situation, throwing himself in front of danger to save another. What illustrates Hemmer's character trait is his understanding of his own physiology, which allowed him to recognize the Gorn gestating inside him, and his insight in putting together the clues the crew has encountered in the Peregrine. It wasn't "something's wrong" followed by a jump scare like poor Bentley (raises a glass) but a conclusion that he was not simply poisoned, that he was about to die as a host for another handful of deadly predators.

[@Faction.Paradox]

SNW was already a ray of light in my week, now its a perfect escape. Thank you Paramount, for giving me 52 minutes where I forgot all the awful things happening in our world. The fun dad energy was STRONG from Pike this episode and I love it. Has Trek really gone this long without doing a full on "Alien" like episode? That's impressive and amazing somehow. I felt like every single character got enough to do, so much so I dont think I could say this was a definitive La'an episode, or Chapel episode or Uhura episode. I loved Hemmer so much so quickly, I guess thats why he had to go I guess. Once again one of my favourites of the season so far (I keep saying that!)

[@joeespin4377]

this is surprising considering that kurtzman and co are expert at repurposing everything. they can't come up with anything new

[@LaraA55]

Yes, Snw is certainly my escape from the real world as well. I don't want it to end.

[@watcherofwatchers]

Hemmer's death, while hitting me directly in the feels, was a great moment in the series.... For the reasons you already gave and more. I would note that the identity-based questions diminish the impact of the representation when they aren't actually relevant. Hemmer's blindness was just a trait he had. It occasionally had some minor relevance, but mostly he lived with it as just a part of who he was. His blindness had nothing to do with his death, and nor should it have artificially protected him. Instead of creating an issue out of it, I think we should simply applaud the character, the actor (I had no idea he was really blind), and the amazing writing and directing that made the death of a minor character so emotionally impactful.

[@LaraA55]

Your last point is certainly on point. I didn't know the actor was blind...his character was so well written and the actor did a stupendous job in bringing Hemmer to life

[@deepstonecostco]

Call me a hater but I deeply found Hemmer's death unsatisfying. Even if it wasn't tied into his blindness it felt exactly like a Magical Disabled Sacrifice moment meant to just spur on the journeys of the other people around him, especially with how much noise Paramount made in Hemmer being played by a person who was blind as well. And not just that but it felt so rushed? There were no story beats that felt like it was leading up to it, no fears of who may/may not be infected, and Gorn were La'an's big thing not Hemmer's. If it had been revealed that SHE was infected (and maybe had become as such to protect Oriana or Uhura or something) and chose to go out her own way as a final F You to the Gorn... that still would've been tragic but at least would've felt in line with her story arc imho. But instead I just heaved a huge sigh and went "REALLY?" instead of actually feeling sad. :\ Sucks that an otherwise impressive and tense episode feels gutted by a Gotcha moment.

[@NCC-72545A]

They should take Hammer's blood back too Andoria, to the wall of heros. Even though we don't know him all that well, Hammer was one of the best in Starfleet. In his honor let's follow his example to fixing what is broken regardless of it being a person, place, or thing; helping a broken heart, fixing up a park, or putting a wheel back on a toy car for a child. 🖖Live long, and prosper, in our memories Lieutenant Commander Hammer. You will be missed. 😪🖖

[@LaraA55]

Love this comment

[@louisdarden108]

Hey, Jessie. I hope you're healing well and getting plenty of rest. I have a bit of good news: I started using a skin cleanser for my face, and today while I was shaving I looked at myself in the mirror and thought that I wasn't NOT a bit handsome. So that's nice. But, anyway, how are you doing?

[@rabnerd28]

When Sam starts fighting with Spock, it feels awkward because it's like, dude that's your future brother in law.

[@Seal0626]

Buckley's creature design was beautiful, imo. Spock's emotional state seems like something Sybok might be well placed to deal with. Sam Kirk's racism is concerning. I find myself hoping that they're trying to point out that people who are charming and friendly can be casually bigoted, and that that's something to look out for, but that's exactly the kind of thing that flies over the heads of the people who need to learn it. Not a fan of how Hemmer's fate was thrown in so abruptly at the end. Sure, the recap at the start told us that he was going to die, but the episode itself didn't bother with any breadcrumbs at all. This is weird, because they did it devastatingly well last week. I'm not particularly upset that Hemmer died - it's the way it was executed that was so disappointing. He got sprayed with something by a juvenile Gorn, carried on as normal, then said "Surprise! I'm actually infected and need to kill myself now.". It wouldn't have been impossible to give it some sort of foreshadowing. Have La'An look more suspicious, maybe seem unnecessarily nitpicky about how big the Gorn that sprayed him was, later to be explained that it matters whether or not it was developed enough to be fertile. Give him a crucial job that only he can do that will save everyone else's lives, but he can only do it if he allows his parasites to grow unchecked and develop past the point where they can be removed. Just chuck a bunch of odd little things into his behaviour and choices that are explained the moment he reveals that he's doomed. The way they handled it robbed it of all emotional impact for me.

[@ryderlynch2281]

For a monster of the week episode, I think this episode did better than The Orville's "Shadow Realms". In that episode, the aliens themselves and the interior of their space station really didn't strike me as menacing or threatening. Here the production team did an excellent job of creating an environment that was both menacing and threatening and all that they really did was redress several existing standing sets normally used for the Enterprise. And while we have elements of Alien, Predator, and Jurassic Park here (the immature Gorn kind of look like miniature Velociraptors), this episode incorporates those elements into its story rather well. Hemmer dying at the end was an abrupt surprise that kind of had me saying "Um, okay." It has me wondering if we'll see a new actor stepping into the role of a younger Montgomery Scott next season. We already know we'll be seeing a new Captain Kirk next season. So it wouldn't be too much of a stretch to see a new Scotty. Honestly I hope they do introduce a new Scotty, because the alternatives are a brand new character or a chief engineer we see for an episode or two before they're replaced by someone else. I have a feeling too that Uhuru will stay on the Enterprise or return to it after being absent for a while. The finale scene of her looking at the communications station basically says "Yeah, she'll be staying." And did anyone else roll their eyes when Pike's passcode was 2,4,6,8,10? I instantly thought of Spaceballs. "That sounds like the combination some idiot would have on his luggage!"

[@LaraA55]

I so agree with what you said about the Orville episode in comparison to this episode. The execution was so much better and it felt more tense and suspenseful. Also, it was quite dragged out in that Orville episode, whereas with this episode it just flowed.

[@beaver6d9]

While not perfect, I'd say it was pretty damn good. Of course I'm crushed by losing Hemmer, but I also respect the way they did it and the shock value. La'an's exit doesn't make much sense for me, at least with one episode left, but I was generally happy with all the various character beats. Spock's various emotional displays and moment with Chapel were excellent.

[@DansTravels5823]

I'm disappointed they killed off Hemmer, he was an interesting character I really wanted to see more of. Overall a very good episode.

[@benw9949]

I had trouble seeing stuff in the ep too often, not enough light or contrast. But I mostly got the idea and did follow what was visible. -- These are very different Gorn, reinvented from the TOS Born. Giving them genetically enhanced sensor invisibility, I'm not sure how that would be possible. -- Would've liked to see more of the Buckley big wheezy alien; no idea what he was. -- This felt too directly like La'an = Ripley and Oriana = Newt from Aliens, but we didn't get a Vasquez because Ortegas was back on the E. -- What? Why kill off Hemmer so soon? Just when we were getting to know him. Not a nice move. Dang. -- His final moments with Uhura and Spock were good. The ep is well done. -- Duke...saw that coming at the start. -- So we have (supposedly) La'an and Uhura off the ship for a while at least and no new chief engineer. Seems too soon for Scotty. I don't know what they're doing with this. Pretty good ep, but it felt like a middle connecting ep, and a little thrown together. Still, above average. Only one more ep to the season. -- No news when Prodigy's second half returns, either. -- Guess we'll find out what's next in SNW 1.10.

[@benw9949]

I liked the breakfast diner grill scene. Nice way to build characters again. -- Wanted more of Ortegas; she hasn't had an episode yet, maybe the char. we know the least about, but she's a highlight with her scenes. Very little Number One again. I don't get that. -- But we're getting good char. development and the cast has great chemistry.

[@benw9949]

I was going to write a reply on Jessie's question about Hemmer being the only blind / disabled character on the show and what we thought of that. But dang, I'd have to write a whole essay! My replies are way long as it is! Other fans have had some great stuff already in the replies. But I'm going to think on this one and likely will write an essay. No idea when I'll be done with it, and I've never done a video before. But I'll be thinking over the questions.

[@lesliedavid1244]

It’s been a really great week for this and The Orville.

[@GraniteCityHooligans]

I thought that this was the best Star Trek movie to come out in 25 years. I thought it was that excellent. For me this show has been a relief from what has been a bat shit insane month. I can't wait for next week's episode.

[@Seven35888]

This episode was stellar. Gave us some Alien Covenant teas with how the Gorn incubate, solid acting as usual from all the cast, creepy ambience throughout the ship and all that blood and gore😰😰also love Spock entering his Dark Phoenix era in that scene toward the end with Chapel🫣

[@arklestudios]

I get there's a lot of wiggle room with the Gorn given how little Alpha canon there's been about them over the decades, but it seems to me like this is a missed opportunity to flesh out a TNG race that happens to be monstrous looking, has had conflict with the Federation, and has a tendency to kill people just 'cause; the Sheliak.