Episode Discussion | Star Trek: Strange New Worlds | 2x08 "Under the Cloak of War"
Episode Discussion | Star Trek: Strange New Worlds | 2x08 "Under the Cloak of War"
Logline
Captain Pike and his crew welcome a Klingon defector aboard the USS Enterprise, but his presence triggers the revelation of some shocking secrets.
Written by Davy Perez
Directed by Jeff Byrd
So... I have loved this entire season but I am not sure about this one.
I'm a vet with PTSD, and I'll preface my upcoming comments by simply stating that maybe it hit close to home and made me uncomfortable. Maybe dealing with those feelings clouded my perception of the episode. However, the TNG and DS9 episodes dealing with PTSD are some of my favorite and are actually therapeutic for me, so maybe that's not the case.
Ultimately, the message was dour and I resent it a little since it implies that there isn't any healing that can occur from this type of trauma, which I believe is completely false. Sure, there might not be any healing for M'Benga as a character, but the thematic message of the episode implied some stuff I'm not really a fan of.
Furthermore, how is Pike supposed to operate as a Captain after both M'Benga and Chapel have committed conspiracy to cover up a murder? I think I will just have to head-canon this episode way. It'll join "Sons of Mogh" as an episode I just pretend never happened.
I'm fine with a bit of moral ambiguity in Star Trek. But I think this episode crossed a line. Hopefully we will see fallout from this come up later in the show.
I really hate typing this but M'Benga went from possibly my favorite character on the show to someone I sort of resent. And I feel like Chapel is right there alongside him. And it made Pike look ineffectual as a leader- he really should have reprimanded Ortegas.
Plus, back to it again, lying about the blade is conspiracy and it really shattered my perception of those two characters.
Anyways, this is just me rambling. I'll say something positive about the episode: I enjoyed seeing Spock struggle with seeing Chapel in distress and finally figuring out he needed to step away.
What a tonal shift from the last episode.
I think this was on par with DS9's Dominion War episodes, showing how the Federation ideals clash with the real world. It will certainly be controversial for being so "un-Trek". There's no happy ending, there's just the sinking feeling that a war never really ends in the heads of those that were affected by it.
The acting was stellar all around, particularly M'Benga and Chapel. [Edit: and Ortegas! Finally she got some material to work with that weren't funny one-liners, and she made the most of it.] And that final scene with M'Benga and Pike just demands a continuation in the future.
It was certainly an impressive, thought-provoking episode but if you'd ask me to rate this episode on a scale of 1 to 10 I'd have no idea where to put it. I'm still sitting here trying to wrap my head around what I just saw. I guess that's war for you. It doesn't make sense.
I want to call out to everyone the BRILLIANT usage of the medical transporter incoming warning during the war scenes of the episode.
I don't have PTSD, but I do have cPTSD which is close enough, and the way the sound designers utilized that medical transporter incoming warning seemed VERY clearly an attempt to demonstrate to viewers how PTSD triggers are formed.
Like--so many shows focus on explosions and stuff as a PTSD trigger. Because usually you talk about the soldiers as the vets, not the support personnel.
But with the MEDICS--that sound, going off again and again and again, when they were already overwhelmed and didn't have the staff or equipment to deal with the incoming wounded...
It's so clear to me that that sound alone, telling them they're about to get more dumped on their head when they can't even deal with the ones they already have, is meant to be fixated in the viewer's memory to sort of demonstrate how it'd get lodged as a trigger in the medic's memories.
It was just a fantastic use of sound design to help tell the story. They did it with such a deft hand that it didn't come off as poor sound design (as it could have), but was still CONSTANTLY THERE, putting everyone on edge.
I wouldn't be at all surprised if we hear that sound in a later episode and either Chapel or M'Benga (or both) completely hit the roof.
Edit: Unrelated to the sound, I also like how they had M'Benga and Chapel fix up the young man, even resorting to "medieval" medicine by manually pumping his heart--only for him to go out and then COME BACK dead.
It just gives a feeling of hopelessness. They spent so much time fixing him up--and he died anyhow after he was sent back into the meat grinder.
This was one of the best "connective tissue" episodes of Star Trek I've ever seen.
It provides context and ties together the Discovery Era "T'Kuvma War" with the eventual outcome in "The Undiscovered Country", while providing a layered, accurate and evocative image of Klingon Honor and "perceived honor" while staying true to the lore and expanding it in meaningful ways. It also has strong shades of "The Siege of AR-558". It now "makes sense" how the Klingons got from TOS to TNG. Wow!Dr. M'Benga is fast becoming one of my favorite characters. Robert Wisdom's Dak'Rah was terrific too!
Heghlu’meH QaQ jajvam
Edit: Spelling, Phrasing
Not much to say beyond this episode was amazing. I love how this crew can do it all - lighthearted comedy, to dark, emotional drama. The scars that Ortegas, Chapel, and M'Benga wore in this episode felt real. When Chapel hesitated at knocking the one guy out of the pattern buffer, and M'Benga just cooly smacked the button, it was a clear reminder that war is hell and it breaks people.
I liked that this episode and Quality of Mercy fleshed out (prime) Pike's weakness-- he's very much a diplomat, not a warrior. He avoids conflict to a fault, and this distinguishes him from other "diplomat" captains like Picard, who's more willing to show his teeth when necessary.
It really contextualizes why Starfleet Command told Pike to stay on his Five Year Mission during Discovery s1--ya just know he would have gotten the Enterprise banged up while trying to make nice withsome T'kuvma fanatics.
This episode was like someone said "Let's do our version of The Undiscovered Country" and then gave it to a bunch of DS9 writers to execute. It starts with very Roddenberrian premise - the promise of a former enemy becoming an ally. But then it brings in the gritty realism of what war is really like, ala "The Siege of AR-558", and the moral cost that war extracts - that maybe the monster you see is not just in the face of the enemy, but the face you see in the mirror, ala "Duet", "In the Pale Moonlight" and the other morally grey episodes that often marked the best of DS9's run.
I think that might've been the best SNW episode so far. Great guest role, all-round incredible performances from the regulars. Babs absolutely smashed it, obviously. Not going to go all out and say it's one of the top Trek episodes full stop till I've had time to think, but right now I can't think of many better ones!
One of SNW’s strongest episodes. My only critique would be that there’s no way Starfleet would let it slide that a crew member killed a very important ambassador — no matter what the story. There’d better be a future episode where Starfleet leadership tries to throw Mbenga under the bus or something.
Also, please spend a little more money on the Klingon headpiece so it doesn’t look like it came from Party City.
Could someone explain the food replicator? I thought they weren't invented yet? Or were they showing an early beta version that can't get anything right?
PTSD. Like many of us I struggle with it. I was taken how so many on the Enterprise have not gotten any sort of treatment. It also showed Pike as a bit weak of a leader. He should have known to keep certain people away from the Klingon. I did like that he didn't reprimand Ortega because he understood her feelings. BUT what was he doing inviting her to dinner that night without at least a long talk with her. Pike is wonderful and I'm struggling to understand his sometimes avoiding conflict... even a conflict he could have prevented.
The hand to hand combat was quite good.
Thank you P+ for adding an extra episode this week. I totally expected not to have this one this week.
I just have to say...
Holy fucking shit.
A bit of whiplash from the switch in tone from the last episode but this was a masterpiece. Strange New Worlds seems to be successfully synthesizing all the Trek shows that have gone before it to create something that is classic Trek, but also something new.
I wonder if the first episode of the season would have worked better if this had been before it in the running order?
Damn that was a heavy episode, i think i'm ready for the musical now. Wish we could have seen more of the Kelcie Mae.
I liked it, but two things went a bit too far.
The bio-bed acting up was just too silly of an issue to bring up. I mean this is starfleets flagship with the best of the best on board and M'Benga keeps working on this bio-bed, never fully fixing it? Sounds weird.
Second, they are making this whole keeping a person buffered in a transporter thing way too useful. Like the only downside seems to be that if you get a malfunction you may need to "delete" the person. I remember some episode of another series, was it Rikers clone in TNG? Where they were worried about integrity of the pattern, since it was stored so long. Did not seem to be a problem for his daughter though. Don't like how this is so trivialized, it would solve so many problems if this could be done "professionally".
As this week’s episode was pretty grim again, I’ve added detailed content warnings to Does The Dog Die at https://www.doesthedogdie.com/media/896237?index1=2&index2=8. Warning: Some of these can be a bit spoiler-y, but people who read DTDD usually value detailed CWs higher than not seeing any spoilers whatsoever.
It is great to see characters who were undeveloped in TOS get fleshed out. The characters feel real and motivated by their history. It beats interpersonal drama designed purely to create conflict within the crew.
I know Orville was widely disliked by critics for uneven tone because they wanted to shove it in a pigeon hole but variety is where episodal tv really shines. I don't think Orville did this as effortlessly as SNW is currently doing but it had its moments. Given the substantial departure from Discovery and Picard I wonder if Lower Decks or SNW could have existed in Kurtzman's Star Trek without MacFarlane showing there was still demand.
I hope they use the release of inhibitions in the musical episode to delve into the inner thoughts and feelings of some of the characters as they did in Buffy's Once More With Feeling. The characters revealed a hell of a lot in that episode. It would be a waste to back off after this episode and not use what on the surface looks like a lightweight episode to dig deeper.
This episode exists because of the stupid Starfleet rule of having traumatized veterans of the war have to interact positively with the supposedly bad-to-good turned war crime enemy. That's a classic example of people acting stupid for "plot" (e.g. we couldn't have this episode without the stupid bit).
Holy moly. This ep could be a turning point for more than a few characters.
I liked that CMO Benga could not move past his hate, while the Klingon did.
The Klingon had let go of his history and chose life: the doctor, chartered with saving lives, clung to his past and chose to take a life. And on a starfleet vessel, and a diplomat at that! Very interesting.
War does change people, however those changed people can change (for the better) again.
We did not get that line of hope here. Here, we got that death breeds pain which fosters more death.
What we witnessed were two warriors colliding on their redemption arc, with one (Klingon) further along than the other (benga). A dark passenger rides with the CMO…and that’s not great (for him, great for us in the audience).
The episode could be a turning point for CMO Benga and Capt Pike. Ultimately, he is responsible for the death of a Klingon ambassador on his ship.
MMM MMM, SAVORY STUFF!!! MORE!
Annotations are up at https://startrek.website/post/508416
Left me pining for the Romulan war in Enterprise s5. Also pissed we didn't get to see the refit of enterprise last episode (I did them both tonight)
But wow. SNW is sooo good. Another classic this season
@ValueSubtracted
Did anyone else wonder (spoiler warning):When Rah arrives on Enterprise, all the war vets hate him, but did M'Benga's damaged mind actually awaken his military instincts as a defence mechanism, compelling him to "finish" the unfinished mission to kill Rah?
When M'Benga & Rah first spar, M'Benga says he thought about not showing up but changed his mind because "Klingon judo is good exercise". Does he then use the session in a safe environment to A) trick Rah into...
Man, this had some serious Apocalypse Now kind of vibes. M'benga's heart was touched by the darkness of war, and he couldn't let go of it long after the war was over.
Ending was kind of lame, but I think it's also sort-of in line with Pike as a captain - he's a great diplomat and will always side with his officers, almost to a fault. The ending was one of the times where Pike was himself to a fault. Hopefully Star Fleet either somehow calls it out or throws M'benga under the bus for something.
A fantastic episode.
Certainly, another YMMV of episode as the season takes on radically different tones and tropes episode by episode.
In my view, it’s one of the few episodes in the franchise that tackles trauma authentically and successfully. I would put it the ‘best of lists’.
It’s astonishing how many standout episodes we’ve had already this season.
@ValueSubtracted
I rewatched VOY "Jetrel" some days ago by coincidence and see some parallels (and - of course - differences) on the meta level.M'Benga and Neelix both in trouble with their conscience (for opposite reasons) - Rah/Jetrel both ignoring the borders of M'Benga/Neelix, behaving selfless but having selfish reasons.
Wellmeaning Starfleet personnel that was not involved in the war pushing M'Benga/Neelix.I see that they replaced transporter chief Kyle with an Asian actress, given that André Dae Kim is now unavailable to Star Trek. I wonder if they will develop her character.