Don’t you steal my man Jinaal! Spoilers.
There was really not a single thing about this episode that I liked. It’s not bad per se – everything is well done, the writing is largely (but not universally) OK.
The main plot is another case of ‘pretty action scene I don’t care about’. Involving a frankly preposterous monster – how on Trill does it have enough prey to eat and maintain itself? Jinaal has no real character so I don’t care particularly about him. The test he’s using is incredibly simple, crude and prone to error. And really at the end of it there’s been no real test or challenge for anyone other than the next clue.
And then there are subplots of really blunt nothings. Captain Rayner and Tilly conflict over how to be a leader – they both make good points, but it’s clumsy. Then there’s a breakup for a couple I don’t care very much about. And Saru has a combination ‘Politics 101’ and ‘Relationships 101’ lesson.
Quick Hits:
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USS Locherer in the opening scene looks like something from the old computer game Elite.
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Sigh, long distance relationship subplot. At least it has Commander Reno in it.
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I am counting this a a Deep Space 9 reference, given that the Shantara is a DS9 thing.
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Oh, a diplomatic subplot starring Sara and the Vulcan Purists. What a wonderful use of screen time in this final season…
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Starting to think my pre-spoilers joke (which I always write just off the episode title) might be more apt than I realised.
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The Tilly/Rayner plot is obviously a ‘someone learns a lesson’, but I’m really not clear who.
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Did no other Trill else remember about the enormous monster that can cloak and shoot lasers which lives in a nearby canyon? Personally I’d have a sign or a leaflet.
-Ah, the ‘on 3 joke’, Wonderful writing.
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Oh, the technology can bring people back from the dead. Definitely not going to come up again.
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It was all a secret test. Sigh.
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Oof, that is some clumsy diagetic voice over from Grey at the end of the episode.
921 down.