(Come on, SNW, break that four-star barrier! And what's going on with uhura's makeup?? We haven't seen anything this anti-feminist since ORVILLE!)
FOUR-STAR EPISODES: 0
AVERAGE EPISODE RATING: 2.7
The Broken Circle ***
Fast-paced excitement, as spock and crew steal the ship to respond to a distress call from la'an, while una is jailed and pike on leave. They discover a klingon mercenary plot to re-start the war, using a Federation ship cobbled from parts. The plot holes are the unlikelihood that spock would violate orders so egregiously (and everyone would go along), and the ease with which the klingon captain forgives all. We might have been able to overlook those, were the episode not so action-based, to the detriment of story and character. The wounds from the abrams era are too fresh for that to fly.
Ad Astra per Aspera ***
Pike recruits a reluctant illyrian lawyer to defend una. A classic TREK trial episode, with the case being argued that in coming to Starfleet, una was seeking asylum from the persecution she and other augments received on their home colony. There are many conceits of serial television that inhibit the creation of genuine drama. We KNOW una is going to be the rap. Despite that, the second time i watched this, i almost cried.
Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow ***
A dying time agent appears on Enterprise, and la'an is thrust back into the 21st century with james kirk, to foil a timeline-erasing romulan plot. Unfortunately, they don't know the nature of the plot and don't quite trust each other, having never met. They fumble around Toronto, and...fall in love. He dies, and she saves the world by preventing a child khan from being killed (a fascinating twist on "The City on the Edge of Forever"). Back aboard Enterprise, she's told by another agent she can never discuss it. She calls kirk, who has no idea who she is. A lot works in this one, and i'm not sure what that missing fourth-star element would be.
Among the Lotus Eaters ***
Enterprise visits a pre-warp planet unknowingly contaminated years earlier, on an away mission that went fatally wrong. They discover that one of their crewmembers survived, and used Federation tech to become emperor. Radiation on the planet constantly erases the memory of its inhabitants, except those living within the protected walls of the palace. P'ike, m'benga, and la'an lead an insurrection, while Enterprise suffers from the effects of the radiation as well.
Charades ***
While investigating a trans-dimensional portal left from a civilization that transcended corporeality, spock accidentally has his vulcan DNA erased. Back aboard Enterprise, he must participate in a pre-marriage ceremony with his in-laws-to-be. The crew teaches him how to lie, while he deals with a hurricane of emotions (including laughter and his attraction to chapel). Yes, these are TREK tropes...but done well. I even almost cried. And perhaps most notably, we see the first-ever TREK away mission of more than two people, with NO males. Pardon my binary pride, but...wonderful.
Lost in Translation ***
Uhura has hallucinations that turn out to be communications from an alien species being unknowingly massacred by Starfleet industrialization. A visiting james kirk (paul wesley - WOLF LAKE, EVERWOOD) befriends uhura. Tropey but well-done.
Those Old Scientists **
Unleash your shatnerian "NOOOOOOO!", as characters from the animated series LOWER DECKS are stranded on this Enterprise, via a time portal accident. Yes, it's appalling corporate overreach. Does the dialogue descend to the melodramatic condescension of LOWER DECKS? A bit...but on the road to "Sub Rosa", it becomes almost watchable. Skip it and you're fine...but it's not a complete disaster.
Under the Cloak of War **
Enterprise transports a klingon defector turned peace advocate...but is he a war criminal? No, m'benga turns out to have been the actual "butcher of J'Gal"...but he kills the klingon anyway. Gritty and dark, but the plot doesn't achieve contrivance-escape velocity. Oh well, clint howard's back!
Subspace Rhapsody ***
A damaged quantum probability field causes the crew to break into song any time they get the feels...and the effect will spread to the entire quadrant if they can't stop it. Forget the plot holes and inconsistencies, it's almost brilliant. The singing klingons feel achingly short-changed.
Hegemony ***
The gorn massacre a colony that has trade relations with the Federation. Survivors, including Starfleet officers, hope for rescue. Against daunting odds (and with the help of a stranded engineer named scotty), Enterprise finds a way through the blockade. In a wrecked ship in orbit, spock and chapel tangle with a space-suited gorn. A hair's breath away from four stars...again!
