I liked the second episode, but again, not without a few issues.
Having a lighter episode after the intensity of the opener makes sense, and I think they pulled off the whimsy pretty well. Most of the jokes landed, and I liked the final reveal. They don’t outright say it, but come on, that was Trelane. The idea that Trelane is a Q has been floating around for decades, and I’ve always liked it as a fan theory. Seeing them basically stamp that into canon (even if unofficially) was cool. And who doesn’t love John de Lancie, even as a smug little cloud? That said, I’d have loved if they ended with the iconic Q flash just as he left the ship.
And they weren’t just implying Trelane was a Q. I’m not going mad, right? They were pretty much pointing to him being Q2 from Voyager.
Roger Korby was another solid nod to canon. But I didn’t love Chapel here. She was written poorly. She tells Spock not to wait for her, fine, but then he finds out like that? No heads-up? Just a public reveal in front of all his colleagues that she’s moved on with someone “better”? Come on. That’s just cold.
I don’t mind romance in Trek when it’s done well, but this arc hasn’t been. It’s all felt a bit messy. Maybe they want Chapel to come off badly here, so they can set up Spock’s colder attitude in TOS. But surely we’re not going back to the awkward puppy dog stuff from the 60s. I doubt that was the intention. I just think they didn't write her very well here.
Rhys Darby was great. Nailed the performance. I don’t care that they didn’t name him Trelane, it was Trelane. The scenes with Korby and Spock figuring it all out were a bit abrupt, but the dynamic worked and the comedy mostly landed.
Visually, the show continues to look stunning. I bet the set and costume departments had a field day with this one. But I’ve got to say, the anachronisms are starting to grate. It’s not just Wham! or the Guinness pint, it’s the whole vibe. The clothes, the hairstyles, the casual beer references, the modern body language. It all feels very 21st-century. One of the things Trek has always done really well is to pull away from our current pop culture and give you the sense you’re seeing something alien or evolved. Even if it looks dated now it's still dated futurism. It doesn’t have to be silver jumpsuits and sterile corridors, but when they go this modern it takes me out of it.
Still, overall I had fun with it. Probably needed something lighter before we go back into the heavy stuff. Just wish we had more than 10 episodes so this kind of thing didn’t feel like it was taking up valuable space. In a 20-episode season, this would have slotted in perfectly.
Oh, and before I forget, anyone else get redshirt vibes from the junior doctor and Ortegas brother? We don’t have a big expendable cast, and their sudden introduction felt like a setup for when we need stakes later on in the season. I know we have the likes of Ortegas, La'an and Pelia, but I'd like to think they're not going to kill everyone off who doesn't appear in TOS, so these characters felt kind of put there for that reason. We'll see I guess!