Logline
A shuttle accident leads to Spock’s Vulcan DNA being removed by aliens, making him fully human and completely unprepared to face T’Pring’s family during an important ceremonial dinner.
Written by Kathryn Lyn & Henry Alonso Myers
Directed by Jordan Canning
So I’m not really the biggest fan of the episode. Felt a bit too obviously like mid-season filler or something. Though I didn’t hate it.
But what I actually really appreciated about it, reflecting on it just now, is that I don’t think it was predictable, like at all. You couldn’t quite tell if the episode was going to go full comedy, or romantic drama or some whacky sci-fi stuff with the wormhole aliens.
And I think that might be one of SNW’s strengths (?) A sort of comfortable and maybe confident fluidity around the tone and style it’s going for in any episode and at any point in time.
As far as I’m concerned, the weakest parts of the show were the parts that tried the hardest not to be “mid-season filler”: creating and resolving the doctor’s insane daughter-in-transporter-buffer situation, trying to set up a future “big bad” situation with Sybok, etc. I was very concerned from Alex Kurtzman’s description of this current season many months ago that they might have learned the wrong lessons from the first season, but thank goodness that they seem to have stuck with what made the first season good: brilliantly executed character driven episodic storytelling.
For real though, wtf happened with that mic drop reveal. Not that I’m complaining; I don’t feel particularly excited to learn about another previously-unheard-of Spock sibling.
Then again, the amount of times Sarek’s name was dropped in this episode is probably a clear breadcrumb that this storyline is coming sooner than later.
To be fair, Sybok was the original spontaneous Spock sibling, even though Star Trek V was chronologically later.
No its great. I love them bringing Sybok back so much. Its so stupid. Its the goofiest decision they could have possibly made and it embodies something I love about Star Trek, which is its refusal to throw away even the bad stuff. Every reminder that Star Trek V is canon keeps the franchise from getting too arrogant about itself.
I would guess that if we see Sarek in this series, it’s going to be either purely through another character’s view, or just mentions. It’s many years off still before Sarek gets over Spock’s decision to join Starfleet, and starts talking to him again.