SNW: The Broken Circle
Jun. 16th, 2023 07:04 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
kathleen_daileyLess than what I was hoping for. Cut for spoilers.
- The dedication to Nichelle Nichols was a lovely and touching acknowledgment of her legacy.
- In ST: Picard, we learned about the Vulcans' mind-revision facility, Keslovar. This week in SNW we saw two Starfleet healers engaging in torture. I don't know what the writers and showrunners are thinking, but I can't imagine that many fans are going to be happy about another apparent renunciation of the idealism that made earlier Star Trek so appealing to so many. (OTOH, I haven't seen a lot of negative commentary on Keslovar from fans, so maybe the writers are way more in tune with the zeitgeist than I am.)
- And the long fight scene with Chapel and M'Benga trying to get to the airlock with the aid of glowing-green adrenal enhancer, or whatever--I kept thinking that the showrunners could have used all that time for actual storytelling, plot advancement, or character development. The scene may be classified as "action," but for me it was totally unsuspenseful and brought the whole ep to a dead halt. Pacing 101, people.
- Interesting to see that hijacking the Enterprise has apparently always been an almost consequence-free activity.
- While I like Ethan Peck's overall performance as Spock, I'm still having trouble getting past his physical appearance. For me, there's a lot of disbelief to be suspended.
- I'm also mostly liking Jess Bush's performance, though I can't see a credible way for her character to become the Chapel we see in TOS. I'd like to say, "I trust the writers to make it happen believably," but I don't. I hope to be proved wrong.
- Relatedly, the writers and actors are going to have to overcome the complete absence of chemistry between SNW Chapel and SNW Spock if that storyline is actually going to go anywhere (as Bush has suggested it will).
- I was very happy to see Carol Kane, and I'm glad that Pelia will be a recurring character. I'm wondering why they didn't make her an El-Aurian, though.
But we should see Pike again next week, so that's something to look forward to.
- The dedication to Nichelle Nichols was a lovely and touching acknowledgment of her legacy.
- In ST: Picard, we learned about the Vulcans' mind-revision facility, Keslovar. This week in SNW we saw two Starfleet healers engaging in torture. I don't know what the writers and showrunners are thinking, but I can't imagine that many fans are going to be happy about another apparent renunciation of the idealism that made earlier Star Trek so appealing to so many. (OTOH, I haven't seen a lot of negative commentary on Keslovar from fans, so maybe the writers are way more in tune with the zeitgeist than I am.)
- And the long fight scene with Chapel and M'Benga trying to get to the airlock with the aid of glowing-green adrenal enhancer, or whatever--I kept thinking that the showrunners could have used all that time for actual storytelling, plot advancement, or character development. The scene may be classified as "action," but for me it was totally unsuspenseful and brought the whole ep to a dead halt. Pacing 101, people.
- Interesting to see that hijacking the Enterprise has apparently always been an almost consequence-free activity.
- While I like Ethan Peck's overall performance as Spock, I'm still having trouble getting past his physical appearance. For me, there's a lot of disbelief to be suspended.
- I'm also mostly liking Jess Bush's performance, though I can't see a credible way for her character to become the Chapel we see in TOS. I'd like to say, "I trust the writers to make it happen believably," but I don't. I hope to be proved wrong.
- Relatedly, the writers and actors are going to have to overcome the complete absence of chemistry between SNW Chapel and SNW Spock if that storyline is actually going to go anywhere (as Bush has suggested it will).
- I was very happy to see Carol Kane, and I'm glad that Pelia will be a recurring character. I'm wondering why they didn't make her an El-Aurian, though.
But we should see Pike again next week, so that's something to look forward to.
