I don't really know what to make of this show so far. For a start, I was put off before it even began by the fact that it's set between Enterprise and TOS. I want them to go further into the future, the next next generation if you will. And what the fuck have they done to the Klingons? Why don't they look like Klingons? Why have they got four nostrils? But I'm going to try to have an open mind about it.
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| Space. The final frontier. |
So we open with a "Klingon" giving a speech about how the federation sucks. We don't really get the full argument here, but when we do later I find myself admitting that he has a really good point. The Federation is trying to (non-violently) conquer the universe and the Klingons have a right to defend themselves. Whether being conquered by the federation is good or bad is a matter of opinion, but anyone who doesn't want that to happen has to regard them as hostile invaders.
We're then introduced to our protagonist, Michael. Who is a woman. So she was raised by Vulcans, did they name her? Did they just Google "common human names" and not realise that they're often gendered? It's weird and I don't know what point the show is trying to make by giving her that name. Anyway, she's with her Captain, Michelle Yeoh in the middle of a desert.
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| Saru, Michael and... whatever Yeoh's character's name is. |
The dialogue in this bit is really stilted and expository. We find out that they've known each other and been working together for years, but they don't seem like they know each other. It's a really bad introduction to the characters. But not as bad as the introduction we get to Saru. He's some kind of weird alien who can sense death somehow - that's fine, psychics already exist in Star Trek - and his character trait is that he's cautious to the point of cowardice. I'm assuming he'll get better over time, but right now he's just bad.
The actual plot begins when the ship encounters a mysterious alien artefact that turns out to be Klingon. Michael discovers this when she goes out to investigate it and accidentally kills a Klingon. To be fair, he attacked her. But on the other hand, she was trespassing. Sort of. It's not really important anyway.
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| What was that Klingon doing out there anyway? |
The Klingons collect their dead guy and do their Klingon thing. Sort of. Their language sounds a bit different for some reason and they've got these never-before-seen rituals, but they're kind of Klingon-y. They do the thing where they all scream at the body. They also need someone to replace the dead guy as "torchbearer". An albino commoner volunteers, which of course most of the Klingons find unthinkable, but the leader appoints him anyway. No one really raises much of a fuss though.
Back on the Federation ship, Michael warns them about the Klingons and they go to red alert. Saru, of course, wants to run away, but this is Federation space so the captain says they've got to stay. Then the Klingon ship decloaks.
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| This bit still looks the same. |
As an aside, I've never liked that Klingons have cloaking technology. They're all about honourable battle, facing your enemies openly. So why do they have cloaking technology? It's at odds with their entire culture. Sneaking and hiding instead of standing proud and defiant? That does not seem like the Klingon way. But it's well established by this point so there's probably no use trying to retcon it out.
The Federation ship tries talking to the Klingons but they won't respond. Instead they send the new torchbearer out to "light the beacon", which is apparently this hugely bright thing that also broadcasts a message to all the Klingon nobles. Everyone's freaking out and Michael goes to call her dad (who is Sarek, Spock's father, by the way). She asks him how to deal with the Klingons and he tells her that the only thing they'll respect is violence. If you see a Klingon, attack it. That's what the Vulcans do.
But the captain refuses to do that, so Michael knocks her out and takes command. Just before she can fire on the Klingons, however, the captain wakes up and has her arrested for mutiny. And rightly so. And then a bunch of other Klingon ships show up.
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| It's really dark in space. |
I'm a bit worried that this is going to be too actiony and it's almost certainly going to be too focused on the Klingons. It's like all the worst TNG and DS9 episodes. What I want from Star Trek is exploring strange new worlds, seeking out new life and new civilisations and boldly going where no one has gone before - they don't even say that at the start of the show, which disappoints me. The Borg, the Dominion, those made for shit episodes with none of the features I look for in Star Trek and this seems like an entire show of that. I'm not giving up yet, but it's not looking good.
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