Star Trek Strange New Worlds Season 2 Episode 8 Review

Well this was something with a little more potential. Did they waste this opportunity?
Apologies for the creaking chair.
Enjoy :)
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[@boblum3360]

NuTrek where murder is normalized

[@wookieeMan06]

This could actually be a clever way to explain why he was not chief medical officer during the tos, and why he was demoted.

[@jtFacts77]

Maybe he wasn't demoted, but chose to take a lesser role. Also remember, TOS was shot in the 1960's. Different society during that time.

[@artboymoy]

I think this episode was strong but I didn't like the ending. I was hoping for something more clever. Like the ambassador is living a lie and M'Benga could hold that over his head like a sword for the good of peace and the Federation, maybe for his personal honor or something like that. The Ambassador continues living his lie and has to serve penance in making peace. So now everyone has war trauma as their backstory. Guess we sew that coming. Surprised Ortegas didn't make a snarky comment for the hell of it. Again, I felt it was a strong episode with the characterization and flashback but I just didn't like how it resolved. M'Benga straight up revenge murdered him and got away with murdering a high official. You'd think that they would know the ambassador didn't have a knife on him. I agree with your assessment of M'Benga. He needs to watch some Ted Lasso. I recall the DS9 episode "Duet" and TNG "The Wounded" and "The Defector" and how those were handled much better to leave off on a more positive note. But this shows says, if you feel you've been wronged by someone, and even if they're trying to make amends or help people, your personal discomfort takes resplendence and you should act on it. Great.... Oh and Clint Howard doing a part in this was much better than the one he did in Discovery. Are they going to roll him out for every series?

[@barrybranscum5085]

Completely agree on all points, especially the ending.

[@brachiator1]

I agree that the episode was fairly well done and was fairly ambitious. But I don't think it was complex. The doctor should have been prosecuted for murder and Captain Pike relieved of his command for letting the ambassador get killed.

[@balung]

Yeah, was it self defence? Or, murder? Yes, M'Benga should have been arrested. I, think he murdered him, why bring the Dagger to his surgery, he intended to murder him, to finish what he started.

[@valueofnothing2487]

Did I miss something? He did murder that guy right?

[@scarpad]

DS9 dealt with similar with o Brien but did it so much better, he didn’t murder, maybe he wanted to. But he said “ I don’t hate you Caddassien, I hate what you made me become” (during the war), much better writing. In this Trek everyone murders

[@kal0247]

DS9 had great actors and writers behind that show,can't say the same with Nu Trek.

[@AltheSpiderlord]

Next Generation episode i believe. "The Wounded"

[@trueLuminus]

To be fair, Sisko got a Romulan senator killed and dragged the Romulans into a deadly war, then erased the record. That trumps what M'Benga did.

[@kal0247]

@trueLuminus By bringing the Romulus in the war, which turned the tide of the war,what Sisko did was a necessity so the needs of the many out way the few.

[@trueLuminus]

@@kal0247 What Sisko did was illegal and immoral. You're attempting to justify the means to an end that was positive to the Federation. You've taken no thought of the damage it brought to the Romulan Star Empire. That's selfish and unforgivable. That's like me saying I'm going to raid your house, knockout your wife, and take all the food in your fridge just so I can feed a starving group of children. The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few, right?

[@aldunlop4622]

Unfortunately I’ve lost interest in this show. I’m a lifelong Trekkie but this show does nothing for me. I can’t say any of the characters are particularly interesting. I watched season 1 and the best I can say is it wasn’t too offensive. Then season just felt like more Kurtzman Trek. Don’t like it, don’t care,not interested, which is kinda sad. I just don’t connect with these characters at all.

[@jonchowe]

This would have been a great episode for a season 4 or 5 of a 20-30 episode per season show. The characters just arent developed enough for any of this to work. Thats why it felt so mixed; good plot beats, without characters to beat them.

[@steveday6671]

ok so the Klingon just sounds like a 21st century african warlord. theres absolutely nothing "alien" or "kilngon" about him at all. ditto the andorian who was played just like some US special forces guy from any number of vietnam and later films but wearing blue makeup. there is absolutely bugger all "strange" or "new" in this bloody series. its just all repurposed 20th/21st century badly written dialogue delivered by some clueless actor in makeup. obviously nobody watched the actors playing Martok, Gowron, Worf or Shran.

[@stopgeorge]

I agree with a lot of others out there. Generally, this episode was relatively good (with a lot of caveats). But the ending where Dr. Mumbles is now a murderer with Nurse Chapel as an accomplice and the Captain not relieving him of duties until it is sorted out -- again, this is antithesis of what we once knew as "Star Trek". The ending is another complete insult for me. We now have a murderer and accomplice as part of the crew we see each week -- and a captain who is proving himself to be completely useless. Unbelievable!! We are now seeing that even cold-blooded murder has no real consequences. And your going to tell me there are no surveillance cameras in sick bay?!!!

[@darthroden]

If its any consolation, Phlox is still a bigger murderer as far as killer doctors go in Star Trek.

[@PinkLlamaGrl]

Mbenga took an oath as a medical professional to do no harm. He needs to be tried and at minimum lose his rank and ability to practice medicine in Star Fleet.

[@TheRocco96]

The fighting looked silly, because the production didn't bother to hire a fight choreographer. That Klingon did't behave like a Klingon, he talked like Morgan Freeman. Once again, Pike had nothing to do. M'Benga is a Mary Sue, he can do anything. He's an engineer who fixes biobeds, he is a transport chief who knows how to keep injured people alive in the transporter buffer. He is a trained fighter. He makes potions that give superhuman strength.

[@mattrossesq]

The trauma of MBenga who suddenly is a black opps killer and apparently creator of enhancement drugs is a trained killer. What is with this show? Why can't he just be a doctor? This is indicative of over the top Disco level of writing. What were they trying to do? MASH? If anything this could have neen tied into a season 1 episode. Or skip it. This is ridiculous. The fighting was ridiculous. Where's the new worlds we explore? No where. This is not Star Trek. This is some other show with Star Trek stickers on the screen.

[@valueofnothing2487]

Nurse Chapel: "Totally" My god, even in this episode she acts likevhigh school student.

[@mattrossesq]

It should be called: Cooking with Anson Mount in a Star Trek Uniform.

[@ScottyKirk1]

THAT is too annoying and a terrible cheat to get the crew to open up in casual settings. Captains need better hobbies IMHO.

[@cellytron]

I always kind of thought, since they don’t have tear ducts, that the mourning roar thing they do when someone dies is their version of “crying”. Like it wasn’t super literal, it’s just like “that’s the equivalent of your weak human p’taq (sp??) tears”. But that’s just me

[@paulroach9684]

Thanks for watching so I don't have to.

[@heatherfyffe3618]

Thank you for these valid criticisms of this episode. I found it was a missed opportunity for sure. There are some good questions and conversations you can draw out of the episode, but you really have to draw them out. The episode did not present the questions well, nor did it offer the arguments for either side of the questions well, it did not *in episode* show the conflicts in a strong enough way. It was a cliche war-ptsd story without any depth. Lots of surface-level ideas presented, but didn't get to the meat of it the way that Star Trek usually does.

[@eliezerrodriguez5863]

Wasn't the war Burnham's fault !!

[@gizmo8760]

Indeed she did, with the Vulcan hello. But to be fair, the Klingons were going to attack the Federation anyway. Burnham just attacked first.

[@spriaubrey6543]

One of the things I have always loved about Star Trek is the professionalism even if it can be difficult. This episode messed that all up. Number One telling Pike that it's not fair to ask their crew to put their feelings aside and Pike allowing everyone behave emotionally without consequences. Ortega getting angry at the dinner table didn't bother me as much because I could see that happening in any Star Trek show; however, it was a bit much. In general, Ortega doesn't show a lot of professionalism to begin with...."No press." 😂 And the end scene was ridiculous. Somehow the doctor isn't held accountable at all. He just gets off scott free. Yes, Pike mentioned that there might be inquiries, but that's it! And WTH...they all know now that the doctor was the butcher because he had the knife, but he doesn't have to stand before Starfleet or Pike for what he did, especially after the comment about what's moral and what is wrong. It reminded me of the episode where Data fired a weapon in mid transport and you're left to wonder if Data actually tried to murder his abductor, but this wasn't done near as well. I could go on and on about all of the little details. Not a fan of this episode.

[@dandeliondown7920]

Speaking of a lack of professionalism, Number One bosses her superior officer around. She doesn't suggest he change course, she TELLS him to change course. And when he disagrees, she tells him what's "fair." Her reasoning was, "Federation or not, everyone is on their own journey." That is not a good message for a starship crew that needs to work together, far from a starbase, in dangerous situations. It might be a good message for a student, or a writer, or a philosopher, but a starship crew must be united. When M'Benga says, "I happen to know that there are some things in this world that don't deserve forgiveness" and "I'm glad he's dead", I am thinking that he is one SCARY doctor. Then Pike just walks away. FFS. Live long and prosper.

[@Random_Tangent]

Goofy cartoon episode with characters talking nonstop, next episode dealing with a child murdering Klingon and war trauma, next episode singing musical and romance with Kirk and la'an next episode gorn hegemony conflict. Wtf is up with the tone of this show?!

[@thumper8684]

You say M'benga should have gotten professional help. Who is to say he hadn't. Therapy isn't 100%. I have my share of trauma, and like the show says, it doesn't go away. You learn to deal with it. To me the ambassador was coded as psychopathic (or at the very least incredibly self absorbed). When he talked about the war with such emotion, the subject was himself. He was in a room with survivors on the other side. As a diplomat it would make sense to, at the very least, acknowledge that they had suffered too. I totally agree that the personal consequences for M'benga were seriously downplayed. That was manslaughter at the very least.

[@stewartmcminn7773]

Interesting story, badly told and pacing wasn't great. The ambassador not behaving like a Klingon i see it as hes trying to gain the respect by being more relatable to humans... though the second he beamed on board i had to pause it because i felt Snoop dogg just turned up. There could be another reason he acted strangely as it could've been his way of overcoming guilt by rejecting his Klingon side which is ridiculous.

[@sandyzalecki1145]

This one touched my heart because I understand grief. I lost my husband and I've been touched by grief for almost 7 years. I didn't quite understand the end of episode and the Klingon acted more like Yoda than a Klingon, but it was the best one this year so far.

[@dandeliondown7920]

Sincere condolences on your loss.

[@sandyzalecki1145]

@@dandeliondown7920 Thank you.

[@Monkofmagnesia]

Clint Howard's body appeared in the original series but his voice was dubbed over by voice actor Walter Edmonston.

[@reaverofjillsandwiches]

I'm actually surprised DS9 never went into what you said about redemption for Garek. They only alluded to things he did while working for the order, but you could never trust anything he said about those days. It would have been interesting to see him come face to face with consequences for some actions and see how he deals with it and how other characters react to it, likely Bashir. Especially tackling the question of does he deserve redemption. Ah well with AI we might get that story one day.

[@SimonLeicester]

Let me guess M’Benga gets killed off at the end of this season and Doctor McCoy gets introduced.

[@trueLuminus]

M'Benga served under Captain Kirk, so that's impossible.

[@MarcosCha76]

Alternate timeline so could happen

[@pdd6267]

Seems like the writers keep cannibalizing past episodes of ST and remake them with different characters and twist. This one resembled TOS "Conscience of the King".

[@ShazzPotz]

This ep is not really copied from "Conscience of the King". You might as well try to say this ep was cannibalizing "Journey to Babel" when an ambassador came aboard the Enterprise. Or maybe this ep copied "Errand of Mercy" when a war with Klingons raged. Enuff already, man.

[@sirequinox4874]

The Klingon was a known war criminal. So why wasn't he tried as a war criminal? This doesn't make sense, and the episode doesn't make sense. And the scenes between Spock and Chapel are just awful. It's like they were written by a child. And this whole storyline of a soldier turned doctor we have with M'benga is not the least bit interesting.

[@AltheSpiderlord]

This concept was done so well in "duet" in DS9

[@NitpickingNerd]

cause he blamed the war crimes on the war lords he supposedly killed . he said he killed them because he was repulsed by their actions. in reality he never killed them and just ran away , and later lied about it . that's why Joseph considered him not truly redeemed

[@sirequinox4874]

@@NitpickingNerd And why would they take his word for it? War criminals often try to shift the blame to someone else.

[@TwinsenR]

Glad I watched the first few seconds of this, I thought the next episode was the musical. 😂 Guess I'll watch this one tonight.

[@reaverofjillsandwiches]

Sounds like a story DS9 did better decades ago. Though in fairness I haven't seen this one as Iheard it was going to be a musical. Too casually seems to describe cbs trek.

[@gizmo8760]

Oh yeah, that was a great episode "Duet" with Kira against Amin Martiza pretending to be Gul Darheel, the Butcher of Galitep.

[@threetythreepercent]

There never seem to be any consequences to anyone’s behaviour. I liked the fact that the bridge crew snapped to attention when they realised the Captain was on the bridge, but no reprimand for shooting your mouth off is too relaxed. Una wanting to speed up the mission because of the crew’s feelings is too relaxed. They’re Starfleet officers, they should be professional and DO THEIR JOBS. If someone you don’t like is on board, TOO BAD. And I remain annoyed to an obsessive degree that Ortegas should be in a gold uniform. Command and Conn officers wear the same colour. It’s a basic bit of production design that NuTrek has got consistently wrong since Discovery.

[@scifiguy26]

Snarky Ortega shouldn't be in any uniform her ass should be kicked out of Starfleet

[@zignamuclickclickk]

Let's see... Spock disobey orders and steals the Enterprise Una lies to get into Starfleet M'benga murders a Ambassador Pike spends more time in the kitchen than the bridge constant insubordination, unprofessionalism (or sorry, un-pro-fresh) and straight out disobeying orders... but ZERO consequences. I love the new Starfleet!

[@stewartmcminn7773]

Mr lesley wore red as a helmsman though

[@threetythreepercent]

@@stewartmcminn7773Memory Alpha clarifies; “A versatile crew member who was assigned primarily to the operations division as an engineer or a security officer, Leslie served in several departments as needed.” Primarily an ops officer, so a red uniform is correct. Ortegas is primarily a pilot, so should be wearing conn gold.

[@stewartmcminn7773]

@@threetythreepercent desalle also wore gold/red

[@Käptn_Wirrbart]

So M'Benga kills someone in peacetime - and there will be no consequences again? Like the murder that Jurati committed. Can that be? That ruins again everything that this episode wanted to say. It would have been a much stronger statement if M'Benga had let him go.

[@MrXon]

You can't compare Jurati to M'Benga.

[@Käptn_Wirrbart]

@@MrXon Why? Both are/were Members of Starfleet. Both killed and the storyline just went on.

[@MrXon]

@@Käptn_Wirrbart Actually Jurati wasn't Starfleet, she was a scientist at the Daystrom Institute. M'Benga is Starfleet and a war veteran, who just killed his version of Bin Laden. Jurati was first controlled by a Romulan spy who made her kill then the Borg Queen, who also made her kill. If he did started the fight (ambiguous with the blurred glass) do you blame him? Im sure what happened here will come up again in the future, possibly why Bones became head of medical when Kirk took command.

[@gildor8866]

@@Käptn_Wirrbart I will add Worf to the list of Starfleet Officers who killed with the storyline "just going on". We might as well add Sisko (For the uniform, in the pale Moonlight). Difference between Worf, Sisko and MBenga compared to Jurati is that we understand why they did what they did, while Jurati killing Maddox was just stupid from any perspective. I agree there should be consequences, because MBenga is unstable. But we should not forget that the audience here knows a lot more than the characters except maybe Chapel.

[@iromek]

So I feel you are trying to use logic to explain another episode. The truth is that the writers clearly don't understand or are ignoring what Star Trek is. The language used, the way that aliens are misrepresented, all of this feels like they either don't know about Star Trek or don't care about Star Trek. Either way... it's wrong. I keep asking myself during each episode... "why can't this be written for intelligent adults, like TOS, TNG and DS9?

[@revrodgers]

No offense but everything evolves and brings different takes. I appreciate the art of old and new Trek.

[@trueLuminus]

7:00 I thought it was ridiculous, too. It just seemed all over the place. I guess they were trying to replicate tsunkatse. [EDIT] Also, what was the purpose of that last shot with the biobed?

[@NitpickingNerd]

broken biobed was a metaphor to M'Benga's soul

[@trueLuminus]

@@NitpickingNerd Ah, okay. Thanks.

[@Snipersounds]

Watching your video BEFORE the actual episode... Just in case!😂

[@TheRocco96]

Same here.

[@deeesher]

Well, this is a surprising turn of events! I haven't even bothered with the last few episodes because of how cringe worthy it's all been recently. But I might make the effort to check this one out. Because it sounds like they KINDA do what Trek is supposed to do: make you think. I'm absolutely fine and fully support the ambiguous "Was this the right thing to do?" decision making in Trek. I know I do have to temper my expectations, because you're right, fundamentally, they really don't understand Trek. Maybe they just got lucky this time conceptually? Although, I will add... Is it really possible for a human to straight up stab a Klingon in the chest?? I'm thinking he's going to be a bit more trained and more powerful than the average human soooo... But maybe he was weak after all the crying 🤦‍♂️

[@threeofeight197]

It should have been Pike dressing MBenga down. Like W Picard and Wesley. You don’t deserve to wear that uniform!!!!

[@colindempsey]

I'm looking forward to your review of the musical episode more than the episode itself!

[@meisner6895]

Thought was good! OH, and an episode NOT written/directed by usual Akiva, Kurtzman, Frakes lot. That couldn't have done anything right? Nah, (they must of been busy with Kennedy that week. Yeah!) But don't worry all you New Gens... dance number next episode! (Oh good, almost thought was going to be content again and something to follow :)

[@spockblocked6718]

Liked it for a change (almost want to say, no cartoons, no apron cladded cooking, no gen z incongruence juxtaposition display in writing and delivery). Interesting... (was deliberate?) even Uhura's usual abstract, off-timing siliques were rather debated. Lines like, "you have the luxury..." versus the factual sentiments, as with M'Beng vs. Pike; must of been deliberate writing. (Pike's usual "so progressive", head of the hollywood mentality pack didn't even have actually validation). Something was up with, gee, a war criminal turning ambassador for peace (typical Federation Admiralty mentality). M'Beng even said it, PTSD crew or no. Also, another "throw away", as you mention the show does, could be the buffer use to store a pattern. Like... he does with his daughter; even the scene with the heart problem retreating to office and in background is the exam chair his daughter uses.

[@AltheSpiderlord]

Sounds like the DS9 episode "duet" but 90% less clever. A member of Starfleet flat out MURDERS someone and gets away with it? Star Trek is DEAD.

[@shawnkeys4712]

I can't wait to see your review of the upcom8ng musical episode. Roddenbury would be turning in his grave

[@russellwashington6588]

This knuckle head didn’t recognize real Brazilian jujitsu but didn’t bother to try and research anything. Shows a lack of respect to the work imo I like that he acknowledged the lack of pro protocol on the bridge

[@sitoudien9816]

Nutrek is a copy of a copy of a copy. It wants to be taken seriously, but this episode almost got there. It want to create a moral dilemma for us to think. But it fails on execution of its ending. Gaping holes the writers want you to ignore. Doc has a knife and a motive. Chapel is an accomplice. It's a conspiracy. It should be a court martial not a tribunal. Murder on a ship. Failure of security officer Laan to investigate. Captain ultimately is responsible. Touchy feely Klingons, what next? Laughing Vulcans. Resistance is a choice. Vicious tribbles.

[@sodafiend289]

I didn’t have a problem with the ending in TNG Worf transports to Duras ship and murders him in front of Riker and Data and is given a reprimand by Picard as is back working on the bridge.

[@Sunstar808]

One of my favorite episodes. It’s rare to see a Star Fleet officer that is not cookie cutter for serious Star Fleet regulations. I was surprised M’Benga went as far as taking a life. There was a realism in the way M’Benga, Chapel, and Ortegas just not being able to get past The Ambassador despite trying to live up to their duty. It’s like a modern diplomats being told to make nice with Osama. Chapel covering for M’Benga goes beyond being best friends but two veterans who served together and bound by the horrors of war.

[@audreywoodward]

i felt this episode was a complex one that required two parts. A strong understanding of the Klingon war was required.

[@Skybaby79]

5: 28 “the writers don't seem to understand” Close, the writers have more than enough reference material to go by, they just don't care.

[@ScottyKirk1]

Clint Howard is always funny even in war.

[@eukaryotic366]

I agree. I don't believe the writers understand Klinglon culture at all.

[@freemars6170]

Your biobed, get an engineer thought is quite deep. Really good episode in comparison to previous ones. The problem is the whole character is wrong. M'Benga is a war hero butcher? The audience isn't going to be able to suspend their disbelief and the writers should know that, but to do "different" they do what's wrong or awkward anyway. They're always off, always defying everything, they can never just tell a story. They won't take the time to craft what they want into something that does flow, that does work, too impatient. The whole show is rushed, incomplete.

[@calamitysi]

You're looking good bro. Lost a bit of weight?

[@420Gold]

This was great for modern trek, decent for all trek. I actually enjoyed the episode, and enjoyed having an episode end with a resolution that sits in a grey area. I love when trek doesn’t take sides, but shows both, and picks a solution that isn’t perfect and is questionable. Most modern trek misses big on this. This episode at least made a good effort.

[@TheViatovao]

puqwI' jonlu'meH DuHbe'

[@Denny-ix9sx]

One more thing. Wasn't there another witness aside from Christine? Someone who saw the whole thing from behind that panel? We didn't see Chapel emerge from that angle did we? Didn't she enter from a different direction? Or was that just how they chose to show the incident shrouded and clouded from behind a semi transparent panel?

[@barrybranscum5085]

Just poor filming choice. That's OUR POV, even though it looks like it was Chapel's. Confusing and should have been avoided.

[@TheDruidKing]

"You weren't there, man."

[@andych8425]

Better line, M'Benga : "What about justice? What about the victims? Doesn't everyone deserve to pay for their actions? Pike : Are you asking for Rah ? Or for yourself ? Overall, I think this episode doesn't do much for M'Benga : 1) Even after Trask told him that every non-kilingon, including women and children, is a target. Still, M'Benga refuses to help Trask. Trask requests access to the supersoldier serum M'Benga made, seeing as it will help them gain an edge, otherwise they will fail. Still, M'Benga refuses. Has he never heard of "the needs of the many, outweigh the needs of the few?" OHHH WHOOPS, he deletes Alvardo's pattern buffer to beam in new casualities !!!! 2) Only after all said and done does M'Benga decide to suit up for an assassination. He changes his mind after everything Trask told him WILL HAPPEN, HAS HAPPENED. This makes the character quite stupid, character assassination equivalent to Pike in that Season 1 finale. 3) M/Benga is out for blood clearly. Since he knows the truth about J'Gal, the questions he poses to Rah looks like his validation that Rah deserves death. Indeed, we see him finally blow up at the end of the episode. On the episode : 1) Why the hell did the Federation decide to make Rah an ambassador ? That's like getting someone of Osama bin Laden's reputation to be the United States/Nation's ambassador. That will piss people off to no end, let alone multiple attempts to kill Rah. It's like spitting on the face on every officer who fought during the war. This is outright a bad idea and quite frankly makes the Federation VERY STUPID. I hate this modern tactic to make the Federation positively IMMORAL and not worth saving. 2) Pike sucks as a captain. he either cannot read people or unwilling to rock the boat, as we saw in the future timeline against the Romulans. He is a crappy captain who does not enforce discipline anywhere. The original Pike was not a hardass, in fact one might call him moany or weak for having PTSD, but he knew when to be tough given the situation where he had to protect the crew. 3) Rah is not a klingon. You have surmised the points quite well. 4) I like the idea that M/Benga will crack again. If only this means something in modern trek, because I doubt it will. 5) Ortega doing what she wants. I swear she's basically proto-Mariner at this point. 6) I hate the fact that they sidelined the Enterprise. AGAIN. I don't care if they said it was to ensure the Federation ideals can live on in Pike and crew. It does not matter because there will be nothing to stop the Klingons from hunting them down. It didn't fly with the Enterprise-E because you know, the Dominion had the Federation beaten severely and would have won, according to info from "Pale Moonlight". WHY THE HELL WOULD YOU SIDELINE SUCH AS POWERFUL SHIP WHEN THINGS ARE THAT DESPERATE !!!???

[@dandeliondown7920]

"I hate this modern tactic to make the Federation positively IMMORAL and not worth saving." Indeed, in STP, the Federation and Starfleet torture their own prisoners with medical experiments. I don't know why New Trek writers are doing that. Is it because they hate Old Trek? Is it because they are anarchists? Is it because they think it will sell to today's audience? Anyway, it sucks.

[@andych8425]

@@dandeliondown7920 I think they want to be anarachists without realizing what it really means.

[@TheIncredibleBeard_]

Surely the strange thing was Pike's 'um ok' to M'Benga's obvious lie 🙄

[@wookieeMan06]

this could explain how he gets demoted in tos

[@ScottyKirk1]

I think the doctor wasn't lying if you take him as meaning the Klingon "started it" back during the war.

[@TheIncredibleBeard_]

@@ScottyKirk1 it still paints Pike in a bad light. Mount is a really likeable actor, and that's about 90% of Pike's appeal. This season has done the character zero good and really just painted him as a passive presence.

[@MrXon]

Your point of the Ambassador not acting like Klingon... you didnt see it was all an act? He even said that he put the Klingon ways behind him, but it almost came back when he got burned by that coffee Spock was making him, he growled, but then he composed himself a moment later. It was all an act. Also, he may have started the fight with M'Benga, possibly tried to kill him since he knew he was lying about killing his men. I'm pretty sure this may come back in a future episode.

[@steveday6671]

having finally sat thru it all i can honestly say i agree with you, its not a bad story tbh its just the writers fail to hit the mark for the alien characters and they are all just human characters with makeup on. they could have made so much more of the klingon shame for running. the andorian however was unredeemable. he was played like some american GI character from Apocalypse Now.

[@balung]

M'Benga finished the job he originally started, ending the War Criminals life.

[@TheIncredibleBeard_]

Which isn't very Star Trek, is it

[@Denny-ix9sx]

I agree, M'Benga lost it, and murdered him because he was annoyed. It wasn't a situation where he had to kill him. I mean he might as well just kill santa clause while he's at it. I know that it is vexing for him to not be able to kill the disease that was eating his daughters life away and to have lost her in the way that he did. But it is at those time when I wonder just who is caring for the caregivers. he reached his limit and he couldn't hold it together and transcend it. This makes him unworthy to be a starfleet officer or the C.M.O. of the flagship. He is a war hero, and he was definitely worthy of the posting. But too much happened to him and he crossed the line. Would McCoy or Crusher, well Beverly maybe yes? We know Bashear would. But would Kirk, Picard, Sisco or Janeway? That's the star fleet standard. Did Joseph live up to it? No, he most surely did not. What if the Klingon's used that death as an excuse to raid federation colonies along the neutral zone? What if this incident had far reaching repercussions? The Ambassador was wrong for pushing it. This is true. He indeed courted his own death. But that is a very Klingon thing to do. Although most Klingon's would not go so easily. Jump juice batch #12 or not? This Klingon was indeed not Klingon enough. Way too friendly. A true Klingon warrior would never use dishonorable tactics or apologize for what happened in battle. They would crush the enemy or they would die trying to the last man. He was no General Martok. And certainly no Worf. But still, you don't kill a federation ambassador. Especially a crucial and irreplaceable one, and just get a slap on the wrist. You get locked up pending a full investigation. One that would conclude what we all saw for ourselves. Joseph lost it. The doctor checked out and the assassin completed the long standing mission. Again, the guy courted death. But he was a weak klingon anyway. So he died without honor.

[@gildor8866]

"What if the Klingon's used that death as an excuse to raid federation colonies along the neutral zone" - for the klingons he is a traitor who murdered his own men. That would be like the US attacking the british because Benedict Arnold was killed in London. And its made clear that this Klingon, who somehow obtained command (probably connections and by being born into a great house), shouted orders like "kill everyone who is not Klingon", ran away when the fighting actually came to him. He is a coward, he didn't even do the things that earned him his title of "Butcher of J'Gal" but has tried to tell a story that portraits him as something he is not. Certainly not the kind of Klingon we are used too.

[@just_another_watch_nerd6604]

SNW is the best Nu Trek has to offer but this season has been hit and miss. Appreciate your reviews as always Dangerman!

[@kal0247]

Considering Nu Trek has all been garbage,saying SNW is the best doesn't mean much,SNW isn't Star Trek science fiction, It's a comedy with a bunch of young unprofessional and insubordinate children who wouldnt last a minute under Picard or Sisko's command, Spock is portrayed as an idiot who's the butt of all jokes and what passes for men of that show are constantly out shined but the female crew,musician episodes blatantly changing continuity because the writters can't bother doing research on the source material not mention what passes for their writters aren't science fiction writers put activists which is clearly on display every episode. This show, like all Nu Trek, is unwatchable garbage,Star Trek died after Enterprise went of the air.

[@scifiguy26]

​@@kal0247exactly 👍💯

[@kal0247]

@scifiguy26 I like Anson Mount, and with the right material, he could have been a great Pike, but as long as Alex Kurtzman is in charge of Trek, it will be nothing a sad parody.

[@scifiguy26]

@@kal0247 yes when he was cast as Pike in the God awful Discovery I was looking forward to him getting his own show then we got this shit 🤷🏾‍♂️ Captain funny hairstyle, Cooking, get yelled at by its all-female crew Pike & they won't let him do his own Captain's log🤦🏾‍♂️

[@kal0247]

@scifiguy26 I couldn't have said it better myself. These so-called writters continue to drag Star Trek through the mud with these garbage shows,it's disgrace what they have done,Spock is just a clown, and Pike is captain in name but we all know those brave and stunning women of the show are the one who are running that comedy disaster of a show,can't imagine Kirk,Picard,Archer,Sisko or Janeway dealing circus of a crew.🤦🏽‍♂️

[@Cathoray2012]

Excellent analysis of this episode. The stand out to me was the direction of scenes between the present story and that of the past.

[@ZJBorg]

Not sure I’d call it straight up murder per say. It wasn’t premeditated or pre-planned. M’Benga is trying to get him to leave as well. Also of note was the Klingon’s cover of sorts is blown. Because it was thought he killed his own men he basically had to leave (implication seemed to be that he might of stayed), and he mentions the fact that all his work as an ambassador would be invalidated if the truth got out. They put the fight behind a screen so we don’t see much (nor does Chapel who covers for him but can’t know for certain the escalation). My guess is they’ll revisit this in another season since Pike obviously wasn’t buying it by episodes end. I didn’t really like the killing of him. While he’d built his Federation career on a lie there did seem to be genuine remorse and he’d obviously been doing some good. I agree him getting help would have been more impactful (and may yet happen). I’ll give them some credit for a more ambiguous ending that leaves you questioning it. I expected it to end like most past Trek iterations-our heroic cast member wants justice/vengeance, ultimately sees redemption and doesn’t only for some outside force to do it. Last note on the fight-think it was Jiu Jitsu. Problem could have been choreographed better but the M’Benga actor is a pretty well know Brazilian Jiu Jitsu black belt and champion. He’d pretty easily kick most people’s ass

[@jonchowe]

Not a fan of the show, but an above average episode, 3.5/10 overall .That said, Mbenga is more justified for what he did than Janeway was for killing Tuvix!

[@MrXon]

What would you do if you were an American, lost a loved one during 9/11 or fought in the war in Afghanistan, and Osama Bin Laden was made an ambassador and was there, kept pestering you, you keep telling him leave you alone but he doesn't, then gets physical with you and theres a knife nearby, what would you do?

[@lex2333]

I don’t know what I’ve just watched 🫨🤢

[@jaybeeeasy]

Racism rapped in bs is what we just watched.

[@CharlesCorp]

M'Benga is not know as the 'butcher of bj-gal' or however it is spelled, but the Klingon takes that and uses it for his work -- as they / he describes it in the episode, in the final fight M'Benga notes this directly to the Klingon noting he is living a lie -- but the lie works for him. This is also part of the whole 'issue' -- however the episode does not deal enough with the 'war-crimes' of the Klingons and this specific Klingon that makes M'Benga what he is and why he does what he does. This is multi-layered but i agree was not handled perfectly so some is 'lost' in the translation you have to really listen and pay attention to what they ' the actors' are saying and you see 'why' he did what he did -- at least my two cents.

[@ilpostino88]

Too critical- at least it’s not a musical episode ffs

[@jaybeeeasy]

I don’t know why this guy is lying we all seen it. Self defense and he had a witness smh.

[@ShazzPotz]

I totally agree with your statement of Dr. M'Benga's motive. It was self-defense, not murder. UK Danger Man often exhibits a lot of difficulty understanding SNW plots. He seems terribly distracted by hearing slang spoken by the Enterprise crew, or the sight of Captain Pike cooking sends UKdangerMouse into such a paroxysm of rage, he misses the next 5 minutes of the plot.

[@revrodgers]

Either you are a Trek fan or a Trek hater. Pick what you want to be. Trek is not perfect and there were some continuity issues but the heart of the episode was dealing with unresolved PTSD and not grief. The ambassador was a trigger for the crew and he revealed M’Banga back story. This was an excellent bottle episode and your digs are mostly reaches because they didn’t go in the direction you would have. Art is to be critiqued on its merits and not if you would have made those choices.

[@ShazzPotz]

You make an excellent point in writing "your digs are mostly reaches because they didn’t go in the direction you would have. Art is to be critiqued on its merits and not if you would have made those choices." UK Danger Man often wastes a fair bit of time on how he would have written the Klingons better, or introduced a therapist into the episode to psychoanalyze Dr. M'Benga and cure his PTSD, or goes off on some other tangent on how he would have changed the shooting script. Steve Shives on his channel is even worse. Steve spends half of his 40-minute SNW reviews extrapolating about how an episode should have delved further into Spock's Vulcan side, rather than his human side, or the writers should have brought a Romulan commander into the plot for this and that, or Pike should have slept with Spock's mom, or some such other malarkey. You can waste a lot of time listening to Steve discussing things which never happened in the episode. These guys display a pretty amateur skill at TV reviewing.

[@jaybeeeasy]

The real issue is the blk guy is the most dangerous guy on the ship if it was a anyone else on the ship they would’ve luv this esp.

[@america5283]

The show doesn't have a problem if one loves the show. your opinion is not fact. Just your opinion.

[@ShazzPotz]

Everything you wrote above is yeah, well, you know, that's just like, ah, your opinion, man.

[@jaybeeeasy]

@@ShazzPotz nah the 1 comment is fact yours is retarded.

[@ShazzPotz]

@@jaybeeeasy I guess you've never seen The Big Lebowski?

[@johnwhorfin5150]

the ambassador tried to kill the doctor because the doctor could bring the lies undone about punishing the Klingon war leaders by death when it was the doctor who dealt retribution. a lot of people just assumed it was vengeance but it was self defense. i reckon that we will see the truth down the track

[@ShazzPotz]

I totally agree with your statement of Dr. M'Benga's motive. It was self-defense, not murder. UK Danger Man often exhibits a lot of difficulty understanding SNW plots. He seems terribly distracted by hearing slang spoken by the Enterprise crew, or the sight of Captain Pike cooking sends UKdangerMouse into such a paroxysm of rage, he misses the next 5 minutes of the plot.

[@jaybeeeasy]

It won’t matter to the racist don’t be fooled their really pissed the blk guy is the baddest mofo on the ship.

[@zignamuclickclickk]

What is the point of M'benga? He's a psycho murder before. Mr. Highest Hand-to-Hand Kills. Knows about combat drugs (protocol 12) and it's uses. Goes on murdering during the war - killing the Klingon generals while using combat drugs even though he's a doctor. He then after the war, still goes on killing sprees while using combat drugs - while he is the chief doctor of the Enterprise. And now, as a doctor, murders the ambassador. Sounds like M'benga has always been a murder machine and still is a murder machine. There is no arc. There is no change. M'benga doesn't even seem to want to change. M'benga murders and still murders. What's the point? Oh, he's sad about it? Well do something about it! Stop taking combat drugs and killing people! Oh, I'm sad because I *have* to murder. M'benga is the worst doctor ever. So he has always known that he can save people by putting them into the transporter buffer until he can find life saving medical help later. So he's shared that technique to all of Starfleet medical and it is standard practice now and tons of lives are saved every day, right? RIGHT? M'benga refuses to make or give combat drugs to his Aenar black ops friend when he asks it for combat. He can't make any and wouldn't make any even if he could, he says. Then, after he's dead - he decides to go kill the Klingon generals and he MAKES the combat drugs and takes them! And then on top of that he even makes enough to give a dose to Chapel *just in case*. Oh well Aenar black ops friend, sucks to be you. And later in life, M'benga keeps making/taking combat drugs - Chapel even saying "you always have that with you" in S2E1. Doesn't seem like taking combat drugs is really a big thing for M'benga - some moral quandary or anything - just always carry them with you and pop them like aspirin. Why are we sad about M'benga's tragic back story? He's a straight up murderer. He decides to be a murder. Continues to be a murderer. Could easily decide not to murder, but instead *chooses* to murder. He's just a sociopath. He doesn't need help, he needs prison.

[@stewartmcminn7773]

Hes Unstable sums him up pretty well

[@TheIncredibleBeard_]

He never got over being killed on Arrakis.

[@dandeliondown7920]

In the STP timeline, Beverly Crusher must have learned medicine from M'Benga.

[@valueofnothing2487]

I guess the idea is to take your best character and just trash him. That's what the writers seem to want to do. Sorry, make that male characters. They trash Spock. They trash Pike by omission. They kill off Hemmer. And now they turn M'Banga into a murderer.

[@jaybeeeasy]

Self defense he even had a witness.

[@PolytronikDigital]

also , heres some design advice, your images are half cutting off the picard cartoon frame. This is super distracting, incredibly unbalanced , and a bit of a mess. Move your show stills to the LEFT with you in the middle.

[@barrybranscum5085]

What a mixed bag. This season of this show is just a mess. A lot of decent ideas, GOOD characters, good to GREAT actors, but relying on gimmicks when there is only 10-11 seasons? Such a bad choice. This season should have just been ALL exploration and character growth. This particular episode felt like it was trying to be some sort of weighty statement, but there wasn't enough story weight here to carry it. Not this early in the series. Swing and a foul ball, and that only barely.

[@PinkLlamaGrl]

Exactly!!

[@PolytronikDigital]

This "startrek" is now written by panels that don't understand what it is AND reviewed by an ignorance that never saw the original template of just how awesome it was. You need to break that mold by reviewing one of the pike episodes from the first FIRST season. This i keep telling you. Startek is not "the next generation" , it is Gene Roddenberry with William shatner and Lenard nimoy. You keep failing at these reviews because you have no actual point of reference.

[@ShazzPotz]

You (and most of your commenters here) are missing the whole point of why M'Benga killed the ambassador Rah. M'Benga had to kill Rah in self-defence because Rah attacked M'Benga in sick bay first. M'Benga did not murder Rah as you assert. That's why Pike let it go and there were no further consequences for M'Benga. Chapel testified she saw the whole thing and that M'Benga acted in self-defence. What's interesting is that the teleplay writer put that medical screen across the whole fight so we viewers could not see for ourselves exactly what happened. I think the writer was aiming for a big moral ambiguity ending. So each viewer is left wondering: Did M'Benga strike first and just outright murder Rah in a premeditated fashion? Or did Rah get desperate when M'Benga called Rah a war criminal who killed children with his own hands, so Rah decided to silence the only witness to his war crimes, and Rah tried to kill M'Benga, leaving M'Benga no choice but to stab Rah in self-defence? I think it was self-defence, not murder. But because of that big screen, I cannot say for sure. Last thing: I have a lot of trouble understanding Dr. M'Benga on SNW because he speaks in a rasping voice with his thick Nigerian accent. But in these heavy episodes that revolve around M'Benga, I have to say that Babs Olusanmokun sure does some stellar acting. The way he can portray waves of anguish sweeping across his face, and across his soul - emoting densely without raising his voice. This guy may just be the best actor on this whole show. This episode was riveting, harrowing and gripping - all down to the work of Babs Olusanmokun.