Star Trek: Strange New Worlds: Under the Cloak of War
July 27, 2023 5:53 AM - Season 2, Episode 8 - Subscribe
When the Enterprise hosts a Klingon ambassador, Dr. M'Benga is haunted by moments when he was forced to take extreme measures.
What is Memory Alpha good for? Absolutely FanFare:
• Robert Wisdom (Dak'Rah) is perhaps best known for his role as Howard "Bunny" Colvin on The Wire.
• The "Perez Accords" mentioned by Ortegas may be named after episode writer Davy Perez.
• Clint Howard (Commander Martinez) has played numerous weirdos throughout Trek, all the way back to one of the earliest TOS episodes, "The Corbomite Maneuver."
• Luna being called "the Moon" by natives was established in DS9: "Valiant."
"It turns out that pumping your body full of adrenaline and pain inhibitors is bad for your health."
- M'Benga
Poster's Log:
Well, I think we've gotta be something like 25 for 25 on Trek ambassadors always being bad news. I think making the true A-story be the flashback was the good call; the on-ship stuff with Dak'Rah suits a B-story, given its low level of narrative propulsion (right up until the ending, that is!).
No Trek episode is ever going to really capture the reality of war (it's been said no televisual narrative fiction can, although I hear Come and See may be the closest anyone's ever come), but the episode this made me think of the most was, to my own surprise, not DS9 "Nor the Battle to the Strong," but rather DS9: "The Siege of AR-558"—which I think might have been a more elegantly-written and true-to-life treatment of war, generally. OTOH, that was not this episode's purpose; this was more personal and more Trek/sci-fi, and it did what it intended.
I just love how touchy literally every Enterprise officer is. The A-game of acting continues on this show, which is now right up there with DS9 and VOY in that department if you ask me. Robert Wisdom did an excellent job threading a difficult needle, too: he's…so likeable! But…TOO likeable! Politically so, though less overtly oily than Trek politicans tend to be.
Poster's Log, Supplemental:
Googling indicates that the U.S.S. Kelcie Mae might be a reference to the subject of this fundraiser, who worked in some capacity in the Toronto film community. SNW is shot in Mississauga, next to Toronto.
One of the PA announcements mentioned the crew's "personal datapads." Back in the day, the Trek version of this concept was called PADDs, and "datapad" was a Star Wars term.
What is Memory Alpha good for? Absolutely FanFare:
• Robert Wisdom (Dak'Rah) is perhaps best known for his role as Howard "Bunny" Colvin on The Wire.
• The "Perez Accords" mentioned by Ortegas may be named after episode writer Davy Perez.
• Clint Howard (Commander Martinez) has played numerous weirdos throughout Trek, all the way back to one of the earliest TOS episodes, "The Corbomite Maneuver."
• Luna being called "the Moon" by natives was established in DS9: "Valiant."
"It turns out that pumping your body full of adrenaline and pain inhibitors is bad for your health."
- M'Benga
Poster's Log:
Well, I think we've gotta be something like 25 for 25 on Trek ambassadors always being bad news. I think making the true A-story be the flashback was the good call; the on-ship stuff with Dak'Rah suits a B-story, given its low level of narrative propulsion (right up until the ending, that is!).
No Trek episode is ever going to really capture the reality of war (it's been said no televisual narrative fiction can, although I hear Come and See may be the closest anyone's ever come), but the episode this made me think of the most was, to my own surprise, not DS9 "Nor the Battle to the Strong," but rather DS9: "The Siege of AR-558"—which I think might have been a more elegantly-written and true-to-life treatment of war, generally. OTOH, that was not this episode's purpose; this was more personal and more Trek/sci-fi, and it did what it intended.
I just love how touchy literally every Enterprise officer is. The A-game of acting continues on this show, which is now right up there with DS9 and VOY in that department if you ask me. Robert Wisdom did an excellent job threading a difficult needle, too: he's…so likeable! But…TOO likeable! Politically so, though less overtly oily than Trek politicans tend to be.
Poster's Log, Supplemental:
Googling indicates that the U.S.S. Kelcie Mae might be a reference to the subject of this fundraiser, who worked in some capacity in the Toronto film community. SNW is shot in Mississauga, next to Toronto.
One of the PA announcements mentioned the crew's "personal datapads." Back in the day, the Trek version of this concept was called PADDs, and "datapad" was a Star Wars term.
It was a lot better than I initially thought it'd be. The end was ominous.
posted by Ivan Fyodorovich at 11:02 AM on July 27, 2023 [4 favorites]
posted by Ivan Fyodorovich at 11:02 AM on July 27, 2023 [4 favorites]
I really liked this episode. It subverted my expectation that we would end on a stereotypical platitude about forgiveness being necessary for moving past your trauma and getting closure.
I'm still thinking about all the facets of the story: the irony of how the weapon was used as evidence, the callback to storing people in the transporter buffer, and the way that the final reveal instantly changes how we see both M'Benga and Dak'Rah, and how absolutely grotesque it makes Dak'Rah by Klingon standards (something we should have seen coming given his defection and how contemptuous and dismissive he was of Klingon culture).
I think that we have a tendency (both in fiction and regrettably in real life) to assume that someone who defects to "our" side is some kind of principled hero who has seen the light -- but sometimes they're just an opportunist in a desperate situation. But it's also strongly implied that the pretence became real for Dak'Rah at some point, as was lampshaded earlier in the episode -- in the final showdown he genuinely appears to be trying to reason with M'Benga. I carefully rewatched the scene, and it doesn't look as if he intends at any point to kill him to stop his secret from getting out.
I'm still not sure if I buy someone who trained as a doctor also being so extremely good at hand-to-hand combat while hopped up on murder serum that he is actively and specifically recruited for this stealth operation, but I realise that Starfleet is a military organisation, this was during wartime, and it was set up in a previous episode, so... fine.
I like having lots of thoughts about an episode because it was good, not because it was dumb.
posted by confluency at 11:19 AM on July 27, 2023 [20 favorites]
I'm still thinking about all the facets of the story: the irony of how the weapon was used as evidence, the callback to storing people in the transporter buffer, and the way that the final reveal instantly changes how we see both M'Benga and Dak'Rah, and how absolutely grotesque it makes Dak'Rah by Klingon standards (something we should have seen coming given his defection and how contemptuous and dismissive he was of Klingon culture).
I think that we have a tendency (both in fiction and regrettably in real life) to assume that someone who defects to "our" side is some kind of principled hero who has seen the light -- but sometimes they're just an opportunist in a desperate situation. But it's also strongly implied that the pretence became real for Dak'Rah at some point, as was lampshaded earlier in the episode -- in the final showdown he genuinely appears to be trying to reason with M'Benga. I carefully rewatched the scene, and it doesn't look as if he intends at any point to kill him to stop his secret from getting out.
I'm still not sure if I buy someone who trained as a doctor also being so extremely good at hand-to-hand combat while hopped up on murder serum that he is actively and specifically recruited for this stealth operation, but I realise that Starfleet is a military organisation, this was during wartime, and it was set up in a previous episode, so... fine.
I like having lots of thoughts about an episode because it was good, not because it was dumb.
posted by confluency at 11:19 AM on July 27, 2023 [20 favorites]
I was not prepared for the end of this episode. For most of the way through, though effective in its use of flashbacks (especially the flashcuts to indicate trauma responses), I thought we were getting a lite version of DS9's "Duet". I mean, he was called the Butcher of J'Gal in this episode, how can I not think of the Butcher of Gallitep from the Cardassian occupation of Bajor?
I was pleased that after a season that has been heavy on adventure and comedy that SNW can do searing (war) drama like Trek always has but I guess I was assuming that we'd have a stalemate kind of ending - maybe he was the butcher, but at least he's trying to put things right?
I was so naive. This show really brought it. I don't think the episode is quite at "Duet" level but it's 95% of the way there and just the reality of M'Benga's backstory makes him truly fascinating.
(So many background TOS characters are getting multi-layered backstories in SNW, it's going to be so strange watching TOS again with this stuff in mind.)
Clint Howard! So pleased to see him again in Trek.
posted by crossoverman at 4:00 PM on July 27, 2023 [5 favorites]
I was pleased that after a season that has been heavy on adventure and comedy that SNW can do searing (war) drama like Trek always has but I guess I was assuming that we'd have a stalemate kind of ending - maybe he was the butcher, but at least he's trying to put things right?
I was so naive. This show really brought it. I don't think the episode is quite at "Duet" level but it's 95% of the way there and just the reality of M'Benga's backstory makes him truly fascinating.
(So many background TOS characters are getting multi-layered backstories in SNW, it's going to be so strange watching TOS again with this stuff in mind.)
Clint Howard! So pleased to see him again in Trek.
posted by crossoverman at 4:00 PM on July 27, 2023 [5 favorites]
When I tell you I *gasped*
Before this episode, I was worried they weren't going to have a very nuanced depiction of anti-Klingon bigotry. Ortegas' reflexive GRAR made it seem like it was just going to be a callback to TOS tropes, instead of being handled as an actual serious topic.
I was also expecting La'an to be featured more in this episode, given the previous allusions to her military service with M'Benga. I love that they chose instead to focus on further developing M'Benga and Chapel's characters. (Completely here for providing Chapel with real interiority and complex motivations!)
Because holy crap, the writing was so damn good and M'Benga just BROUGHT IT. His portrayal of the cost of war was just haunting, and I am so glad he was given the opportunity to shine.
More than that, I love that we weren't just let off the hook with a 'forgiveness solves everything' narrative. Healing is so much more complicated than that! And I appreciate that being acknowledged, even within (especially within?) my competency-porn escapist shows.
I can't say enough about the range of this show and this group of actors. That they can put this and a cartoon mashup back to back and make them both work this effectively? Amazing.
They just keep raising the bar!
posted by Space Kitty at 10:17 PM on July 27, 2023 [14 favorites]
Before this episode, I was worried they weren't going to have a very nuanced depiction of anti-Klingon bigotry. Ortegas' reflexive GRAR made it seem like it was just going to be a callback to TOS tropes, instead of being handled as an actual serious topic.
I was also expecting La'an to be featured more in this episode, given the previous allusions to her military service with M'Benga. I love that they chose instead to focus on further developing M'Benga and Chapel's characters. (Completely here for providing Chapel with real interiority and complex motivations!)
Because holy crap, the writing was so damn good and M'Benga just BROUGHT IT. His portrayal of the cost of war was just haunting, and I am so glad he was given the opportunity to shine.
More than that, I love that we weren't just let off the hook with a 'forgiveness solves everything' narrative. Healing is so much more complicated than that! And I appreciate that being acknowledged, even within (especially within?) my competency-porn escapist shows.
I can't say enough about the range of this show and this group of actors. That they can put this and a cartoon mashup back to back and make them both work this effectively? Amazing.
They just keep raising the bar!
posted by Space Kitty at 10:17 PM on July 27, 2023 [14 favorites]
(Sorry, Babs Olusanmokun plays Dr. M'Benga, and deserves to be a household name!)
posted by Space Kitty at 10:24 PM on July 27, 2023 [10 favorites]
posted by Space Kitty at 10:24 PM on July 27, 2023 [10 favorites]
Woah, tonal whiplash after several of the goofy episodes this season. Not mad about that, just struck by the contrast. I also appreciated the payoff on some of the Chapel/M'Benga stuff from the first episode this season. Some of us raised our eyebrows at the berserker serum Protocol 12 and all the fisticuffs from the nurse and doctor. Also I at least was wondering why they were such comrades, had I missed a story? No, they just hadn't shown it yet. And here it all is and it came together nicely.
I also liked the M*A*S*H vibes of the first half, particularly the scenes of wounded coming in and the incessant "Incoming Transport". (I think that was a callback to a specific episode?) This show is M'Benga's but centering us on Nurse Chapel at the start helped make the story seem bigger.
I'm disturbed and a little confused at what M'Benga's plot is, factually. I think we learned all this:
Also can I just say Babs Olusanmokun is incredibly ripped? I was feeling awkward because there was nothing erotic in the moment he's in the shower. It's a ritual cleansing, exhaustion, grief, and growing rage. But the man is an anatomy lesson. I imagine Protocol 12 helps burn off body fat and sculpt muscles.
posted by Nelson at 7:11 AM on July 28, 2023 [10 favorites]
I also liked the M*A*S*H vibes of the first half, particularly the scenes of wounded coming in and the incessant "Incoming Transport". (I think that was a callback to a specific episode?) This show is M'Benga's but centering us on Nurse Chapel at the start helped make the story seem bigger.
I'm disturbed and a little confused at what M'Benga's plot is, factually. I think we learned all this:
- M'Benga is also The Ghost, a black ops soldier expert at killing hand to hand.
- M'Benga is also the Butcher of J'Gal. That title does not refer to all the civilian casualties but rather the assassination of several Klingon leaders. Everyone thought Dak'Rah did that as part of an escape but actually it was M'Benga on a black ops mission.
- M'Benga was also supposed to assassinate Dak'Rah during that battle but didn't finish that part of the mission.
- M'Benga killed Dak'Rah in his medbay on the Enterprise. Not in self defense but as extrajudicial justice because Dak'Rah had personally killed children during the war.
- M'Benga invented Protocol 12 and keeps it a secret because it's medically dangerous.
Also can I just say Babs Olusanmokun is incredibly ripped? I was feeling awkward because there was nothing erotic in the moment he's in the shower. It's a ritual cleansing, exhaustion, grief, and growing rage. But the man is an anatomy lesson. I imagine Protocol 12 helps burn off body fat and sculpt muscles.
posted by Nelson at 7:11 AM on July 28, 2023 [10 favorites]
M'Benga invented Protocol 12 and keeps it a secret because it's medically dangerous.
More like M'Benga invented Protocol 12, Starfleet used it for a while, but it's dangerous so it's now banned, but since he's in the inventor, he knows how to make it when he personally needs it, off the books.
posted by Servo5678 at 7:49 AM on July 28, 2023 [7 favorites]
More like M'Benga invented Protocol 12, Starfleet used it for a while, but it's dangerous so it's now banned, but since he's in the inventor, he knows how to make it when he personally needs it, off the books.
posted by Servo5678 at 7:49 AM on July 28, 2023 [7 favorites]
I guess we're supposed to not exactly know what happened in the fatal scuffle between M'Benga and Dak'Rah?
M'Benga has tried to turn aside Dak'Rah at every turn. We see M'Benga turn and begin moving away from the case that still has the knife in it just before we cut to the view through the frosted glass. They grapple, M'Benga shouts "Don't!" and then there's the SFX "knife slices into flesh".
Why shout "Don't"? Why put us on the other side of the glass so that we don't see what happens? It's not to be not-graphic, since we see blood pouring from the fatal wound on Dak'Rah.
To me it seems just possible that Dak'Rah sees the potential loss of his legacy and in the moment decides that suicide by the knife of The Butcher is the only possible way to preserve it. Not that the story this tells, of attacking an unarmed medical officer apparently at random and then being stabbed to death with your own weapon 2 seconds later seems like a great end for a Klingon warrior.
posted by the antecedent of that pronoun at 8:39 AM on July 28, 2023 [5 favorites]
M'Benga has tried to turn aside Dak'Rah at every turn. We see M'Benga turn and begin moving away from the case that still has the knife in it just before we cut to the view through the frosted glass. They grapple, M'Benga shouts "Don't!" and then there's the SFX "knife slices into flesh".
Why shout "Don't"? Why put us on the other side of the glass so that we don't see what happens? It's not to be not-graphic, since we see blood pouring from the fatal wound on Dak'Rah.
To me it seems just possible that Dak'Rah sees the potential loss of his legacy and in the moment decides that suicide by the knife of The Butcher is the only possible way to preserve it. Not that the story this tells, of attacking an unarmed medical officer apparently at random and then being stabbed to death with your own weapon 2 seconds later seems like a great end for a Klingon warrior.
posted by the antecedent of that pronoun at 8:39 AM on July 28, 2023 [5 favorites]
I wondered if the stabbing was meant to be ambiguous given the action was behind frosted glass. But on rewatch it seems clear it's not self defense. Not entirely premediated, but M'Benga's rage had been building. Dak'Rah never attacked him.
I suppose it's possible Dak'Rah intentionally provoked M'Benga as some sort of honorable suicide. But I don't think so, it seems out of character. I think he was just an overbearingly smarmy "let's be friends" diplomat and pushed M'Benga too far. It also seems unlikely M'Benga would have revealed Dak'Rah's secret, M'Benga's not exactly excited to be known as a black ops killer.
What Dak'Rah did do was keep wheedling and asking for M'Benga's help. Also putting his hands on M'Benga. CheesesOfBrazil remarked in the post "I just love how touchy literally every Enterprise officer is." But Dak'Rah was even more touchy, putting his hand on M'Benga several times through the episode. Each time I was sure M'Benga was going to lash out and try to break that arm. So awful. And so weird for a Klingon! Part of his trying to assimilate into Starfleet, I guess.
Anyway in the medbay before any violence M'Benga is clearly very upset. The whole episode is about M'Benga's growing rage and in this scene it comes to a head. Dak'Rah puts a friendly on M'Benga's shoulder one last time. Then we cut to the frosted glass and there's a bit of grappling but not a serious fight, it looks like M'Benga was trying to get Dak'rah's hands off him. The last "Don't" is just M'Benga trying to get Dak'Rah to back off. Here's the subtitles from the scene
The final scene with Pike and M'Benga talking is interesting. Pike's clearly not buying the story. M'Benga manages to convey his pleasure at Dak'Rah's death, that it's justice, while not quite confessing to it. "I told you, I didn't start the fight." That's not quite a lie, my read was M'Benga considered this an extension of the events during the war years ago, the fight that Dak'Rah started.
That final scene also has two great lines worth quoting
I suppose it's possible Dak'Rah intentionally provoked M'Benga as some sort of honorable suicide. But I don't think so, it seems out of character. I think he was just an overbearingly smarmy "let's be friends" diplomat and pushed M'Benga too far. It also seems unlikely M'Benga would have revealed Dak'Rah's secret, M'Benga's not exactly excited to be known as a black ops killer.
What Dak'Rah did do was keep wheedling and asking for M'Benga's help. Also putting his hands on M'Benga. CheesesOfBrazil remarked in the post "I just love how touchy literally every Enterprise officer is." But Dak'Rah was even more touchy, putting his hand on M'Benga several times through the episode. Each time I was sure M'Benga was going to lash out and try to break that arm. So awful. And so weird for a Klingon! Part of his trying to assimilate into Starfleet, I guess.
Anyway in the medbay before any violence M'Benga is clearly very upset. The whole episode is about M'Benga's growing rage and in this scene it comes to a head. Dak'Rah puts a friendly on M'Benga's shoulder one last time. Then we cut to the frosted glass and there's a bit of grappling but not a serious fight, it looks like M'Benga was trying to get Dak'rah's hands off him. The last "Don't" is just M'Benga trying to get Dak'Rah to back off. Here's the subtitles from the scene
M'Benga: I said no.What was ambiguous to me was what Nurse Chapel thought. She only saw it through the glass. She tells Pike the same story I did ("it was too much for M'Benga"). Then she and La'an imply that Dak'Rah attacked M'Benga with the Knife of J'Gal, an extension of Dak'Rah's murderous ways. My read is Chapel and La'an are helping cover for M'Benga because of their shared wartime experience.
Rah ( grunting ): Don't be stupid.
M'Benga ( grunting ): You're a war criminal.
Rah: Don't you see it?
M'Benga: Get your hands off!
Rah: So selfish a human!
M'Benga: Don't!
The final scene with Pike and M'Benga talking is interesting. Pike's clearly not buying the story. M'Benga manages to convey his pleasure at Dak'Rah's death, that it's justice, while not quite confessing to it. "I told you, I didn't start the fight." That's not quite a lie, my read was M'Benga considered this an extension of the events during the war years ago, the fight that Dak'Rah started.
That final scene also has two great lines worth quoting
You have the privilege of believing in what's best in people.posted by Nelson at 9:10 AM on July 28, 2023 [10 favorites]
Some things break in a way that can never be repaired.
I originally thought Chapel was on "our" side of the glass, but after Dak'Rah falls we see that she is in fact standing right behind them.
posted by the antecedent of that pronoun at 9:13 AM on July 28, 2023
posted by the antecedent of that pronoun at 9:13 AM on July 28, 2023
Placing Chapel outside the scene is indeed an effect of that cut to the frosted glass (as an implied answer to the question of what is she seeing when she stops) and makes it seem like she is more obviously lying about seeing everything, but that misdirection may be a choice in view of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds’ ‘Under The Cloak Of War’ Director Reveals The Purpose Of The Ending, And The Alternate Takes They Filmed (via Reddit) and because the set plans (PDF) (via TrekBBS) confirm that Chapel's entrance past the shelves with skulls is already inside M'Benga's office with the medical transporter.
posted by channaher at 2:10 PM on July 28, 2023 [4 favorites]
posted by channaher at 2:10 PM on July 28, 2023 [4 favorites]
I loved this, and I love it more every time I think about it, and I keep thinking about it.
posted by invincible summer at 4:12 PM on July 28, 2023 [2 favorites]
posted by invincible summer at 4:12 PM on July 28, 2023 [2 favorites]
I think that this was not only comparable to "Duet" and "The Siege of AR-558" in content, tone, and quality, but to DS9 in general in its nuanced approach to ethics, especially following and/or during war. (Plus, jambalaya!) And we find out how M'Benga came to create Protocol 12, or "space speed" as I still like to think of it. There's something queasily plausible about a doctor being a skilled assassin/black ops commando; it was part of the idea behind Hannibal Lecter, at least before Thomas Harris made him a parody of himself. Also fascinating that the martial art that M'Benga and La'an have been practicing was mok'bara, in the manner of some of the American servicemembers who fought the Japanese and later occupied Japan brought some of its martial arts back to the States.
posted by Halloween Jack at 5:44 PM on July 28, 2023 [5 favorites]
posted by Halloween Jack at 5:44 PM on July 28, 2023 [5 favorites]
My feeling was they were going for a M*A*S*H* vibe with the set up of the close to frontline medical station, the way that they were transporting in multiple loads of wounded, similar to the waves of helicopters carrying wounded in that show, plus pressure on staff, etc.
posted by biffa at 5:11 AM on July 29, 2023 [7 favorites]
posted by biffa at 5:11 AM on July 29, 2023 [7 favorites]
The name of the Klingon equivalent to _The Art of War_ is "mL'parmaq Qoj". Is that "The Love of War"?
posted by hanov3r at 9:02 AM on July 29, 2023 [3 favorites]
posted by hanov3r at 9:02 AM on July 29, 2023 [3 favorites]
My feeling was they were going for a M*A*S*H* vibe with the set up of the close to frontline medical station, the way that they were transporting in multiple loads of wounded, similar to the waves of helicopters carrying wounded in that show, plus pressure on staff, etc.
An alternate universe M*A*S*H* in which Hawkeye is really a secret commando who kills enemy soldiers rather than going out of his way to help them.
posted by fairmettle at 6:09 PM on July 29, 2023 [3 favorites]
An alternate universe M*A*S*H* in which Hawkeye is really a secret commando who kills enemy soldiers rather than going out of his way to help them.
posted by fairmettle at 6:09 PM on July 29, 2023 [3 favorites]
This episode was enjoyable and well-acted but really hard to swallow because of everything Nelson points out.
Where I'm coming from is that Bones was a great character because he was written to be aware of his limitations: "Dammit Jim; I'm a doctor, not a miracle worker." But… Bones was a miracle worker in the context of a 1960's television show and 1960's medical technology. His curmudgeon-y, is-that-all? humility was a bridge that connected the audience from the present to the sci-fi future - to make magical technologies like the tricorder and the medbed something the audience could swallow.
M'Benga, as he's written, has none of that humility. Season one established that M'Benga is someone who would break any rule for a personal reason. Season two established that M'Benga will break any rule for a bunch of bad reasons. This episode seems to ask," So, he's an amoral, vengeful, murdering scorekeeping supersoldier; the audience will keep on cheering for him, so what do we do with that?"
M'Benga is given limitless plot-power for personal vengeance while facing no repercussions; that makes for more of a Marvel superhero/supervillan than a Star Trek Doctor. And to have Nurse Chapel lampshade Doctor d'k tahg mass-murderer is flawed and ugly.
> I also liked the M*A*S*H vibes of the first half, particularly the scenes of wounded coming in and the incessant "Incoming Transport". (I think that was a callback to a specific episode?)
Thank goodness we can blame this on the Klingons (who might have red blood or maybe they have purple blood: OR BOTH nobody knows until the show clears this up!). Yeah, but that reminded me of the panic-worthy kitchen ticket printer from first season of The Bear. Except The Bear did it a lot better because they had the time to set up the dread of being in the weeds.
posted by peeedro at 8:22 PM on July 29, 2023 [2 favorites]
Where I'm coming from is that Bones was a great character because he was written to be aware of his limitations: "Dammit Jim; I'm a doctor, not a miracle worker." But… Bones was a miracle worker in the context of a 1960's television show and 1960's medical technology. His curmudgeon-y, is-that-all? humility was a bridge that connected the audience from the present to the sci-fi future - to make magical technologies like the tricorder and the medbed something the audience could swallow.
M'Benga, as he's written, has none of that humility. Season one established that M'Benga is someone who would break any rule for a personal reason. Season two established that M'Benga will break any rule for a bunch of bad reasons. This episode seems to ask," So, he's an amoral, vengeful, murdering scorekeeping supersoldier; the audience will keep on cheering for him, so what do we do with that?"
M'Benga is given limitless plot-power for personal vengeance while facing no repercussions; that makes for more of a Marvel superhero/supervillan than a Star Trek Doctor. And to have Nurse Chapel lampshade Doctor d'k tahg mass-murderer is flawed and ugly.
> I also liked the M*A*S*H vibes of the first half, particularly the scenes of wounded coming in and the incessant "Incoming Transport". (I think that was a callback to a specific episode?)
Thank goodness we can blame this on the Klingons (who might have red blood or maybe they have purple blood: OR BOTH nobody knows until the show clears this up!). Yeah, but that reminded me of the panic-worthy kitchen ticket printer from first season of The Bear. Except The Bear did it a lot better because they had the time to set up the dread of being in the weeds.
posted by peeedro at 8:22 PM on July 29, 2023 [2 favorites]
Doctor M’Benga is beautifully acted, but there were so many things about this episode that didn’t work for me.
Like, who would the Ambassador be convincing for — the Klingons who think he butchered his own, or the Starfleet people who he actually did oversee getting butchered?
What was the battle of J’Gal about? If it was a 24th century war, how in the world was it conclusively ended by a drug-taking guy with a small knife?
And they don’t have better PTSD treatments centuries in the future? Or the sense to keep people away from the genocidal generals who fought against them three years earlier?
It felt like they really wanted that final conversation, where Pike and M’Benga hash out whether some people are truly unforgivable, but I didn’t feel like they got us there in the most honest way possible…
posted by hungrytiger at 11:14 PM on July 29, 2023 [4 favorites]
Like, who would the Ambassador be convincing for — the Klingons who think he butchered his own, or the Starfleet people who he actually did oversee getting butchered?
What was the battle of J’Gal about? If it was a 24th century war, how in the world was it conclusively ended by a drug-taking guy with a small knife?
And they don’t have better PTSD treatments centuries in the future? Or the sense to keep people away from the genocidal generals who fought against them three years earlier?
It felt like they really wanted that final conversation, where Pike and M’Benga hash out whether some people are truly unforgivable, but I didn’t feel like they got us there in the most honest way possible…
posted by hungrytiger at 11:14 PM on July 29, 2023 [4 favorites]
Yeah, it just seemed stupid to order all your damaged war vets to have dinner with the guy who supposedly butchered all their comrades and contributed to them being psychologically damaged. The scenario felt really forced as a result.
posted by biffa at 1:19 AM on July 30, 2023 [5 favorites]
posted by biffa at 1:19 AM on July 30, 2023 [5 favorites]
If it seems unlikely that someone accused of war crimes would be regarded as a man of peace, consider the case of Henry Kissinger, awarded the Nobel Peace Prize not long after the bombing of Cambodia. Remember that Trek is usually more about the present day than the future.
posted by Halloween Jack at 7:38 AM on July 30, 2023 [15 favorites]
posted by Halloween Jack at 7:38 AM on July 30, 2023 [15 favorites]
So basically, M'Benga is now the O'Brien of Strange New Worlds. How will they make him suffer next?
posted by briank at 8:03 AM on July 30, 2023 [4 favorites]
posted by briank at 8:03 AM on July 30, 2023 [4 favorites]
So basically, M'Benga is now the O'Brien of Strange New Worlds. How will they make him suffer next?
Power outage results in his daughter (who is STILL in transported stasis) being abruptly rematerialised as a pile of goo.
posted by His thoughts were red thoughts at 5:11 PM on July 30, 2023
Power outage results in his daughter (who is STILL in transported stasis) being abruptly rematerialised as a pile of goo.
posted by His thoughts were red thoughts at 5:11 PM on July 30, 2023
Oh no, his daughter grew up but exists as pure consciousness or energy in that nebula from last season.
posted by Pryde at 5:28 PM on July 30, 2023 [6 favorites]
posted by Pryde at 5:28 PM on July 30, 2023 [6 favorites]
That hugely significant plot development had completely slipped my mind too.
posted by migurski at 5:32 PM on July 30, 2023 [2 favorites]
posted by migurski at 5:32 PM on July 30, 2023 [2 favorites]
The one thing that I wondered throughout was: uh, what was Pike up to during the war? I looked it up (Memory Alpha says that Discovery established that he was commanding the Enterprise on one of its five-year missions, and was not involved in the fighting) but I feel like they could have explained it during the episode, unless I missed it?
posted by BungaDunga at 5:33 PM on July 30, 2023 [2 favorites]
posted by BungaDunga at 5:33 PM on July 30, 2023 [2 favorites]
I would like to know how Rah went from being a enemy, to a defector, to an effing Ambassador without any of the accusations of war crimes being reviewed in any kind of tribunal. Wouldn't that have been the very first thing the Federation did once he showed up on their doorstep?
I know that Trek likes to make TPTB fairly venal, but that decision is gobsmackingly politically naive. Why would anyone take him seriously as an Ambassador, even if he did give them good intelligence about Klingon military capabilities? Especially anyone outside the Federation: what credibility does he have?
It has only been 5 years or so since the war: Rah would have needed to go through an extended period of public relations cleansing to be acceptable in diplomatic circles. (Kissinger notwithstanding: the Federation is supposed to be better than the US.)
posted by suelac at 6:58 PM on July 30, 2023 [1 favorite]
I know that Trek likes to make TPTB fairly venal, but that decision is gobsmackingly politically naive. Why would anyone take him seriously as an Ambassador, even if he did give them good intelligence about Klingon military capabilities? Especially anyone outside the Federation: what credibility does he have?
It has only been 5 years or so since the war: Rah would have needed to go through an extended period of public relations cleansing to be acceptable in diplomatic circles. (Kissinger notwithstanding: the Federation is supposed to be better than the US.)
posted by suelac at 6:58 PM on July 30, 2023 [1 favorite]
Watching this for a second time, I think the way the ambassador’s hand falls away from the knife is meant to convey that he has stabbed himself.
I missed that on first viewing, and if that is correct, telling the truth about what happened will require M’Benga to answer follow-up questions about why.
Revealing he’s the Butcher is unthinkable, so they decide a sketchy story about self-defense and a fight the doctor didn’t start is a better option.
Does that seem plausible to anyone else?
posted by FallibleHuman at 8:16 PM on July 30, 2023 [1 favorite]
I missed that on first viewing, and if that is correct, telling the truth about what happened will require M’Benga to answer follow-up questions about why.
Revealing he’s the Butcher is unthinkable, so they decide a sketchy story about self-defense and a fight the doctor didn’t start is a better option.
Does that seem plausible to anyone else?
posted by FallibleHuman at 8:16 PM on July 30, 2023 [1 favorite]
what was Pike up to during the war?
There was something that was in the second season of DIS that said that the Enterprise was deliberately kept out of the fighting: "With the Federation-Klingon War underway, Starfleet elected not to recall the starship and leave the vessel as an instrument of last resort, so ordered Pike and his crew to remain out of the fighting."
posted by Halloween Jack at 8:22 PM on July 30, 2023 [3 favorites]
There was something that was in the second season of DIS that said that the Enterprise was deliberately kept out of the fighting: "With the Federation-Klingon War underway, Starfleet elected not to recall the starship and leave the vessel as an instrument of last resort, so ordered Pike and his crew to remain out of the fighting."
posted by Halloween Jack at 8:22 PM on July 30, 2023 [3 favorites]
Oh no, his daughter grew up but exists as pure consciousness or energy in that nebula from last season.
I 100% forgot that and thought he had just left his daughter in stasis.
posted by His thoughts were red thoughts at 9:02 PM on July 30, 2023
I 100% forgot that and thought he had just left his daughter in stasis.
posted by His thoughts were red thoughts at 9:02 PM on July 30, 2023
I see that the flashback Klingons were the Discovery type insectoid looking ones.
posted by Marticus at 9:46 PM on July 30, 2023
posted by Marticus at 9:46 PM on July 30, 2023
On pondering this episode, I'm wondering whether they're working up to explaining why M'Benga is no longer chief medical officer in Kirk's time.
posted by zadcat at 11:25 AM on July 31, 2023 [8 favorites]
posted by zadcat at 11:25 AM on July 31, 2023 [8 favorites]
“On pondering this episode, I'm wondering whether they're working up to explaining why M'Benga is no longer chief medical officer in Kirk's time.”
I've been assuming that there will be a character arc for him like that.
posted by Ivan Fyodorovich at 12:17 PM on July 31, 2023 [4 favorites]
I've been assuming that there will be a character arc for him like that.
posted by Ivan Fyodorovich at 12:17 PM on July 31, 2023 [4 favorites]
I would like to know how Rah went from being a enemy, to a defector, to an effing Ambassador without any of the accusations of war crimes being reviewed in any kind of tribunal. Wouldn't that have been the very first thing the Federation did once he showed up on their doorstep?
When someone on the other side confesses to killing a bunch of his own people to end a war, how much time and effort are you going to spend proving that he killed a bunch of his own people?
posted by Etrigan at 12:47 PM on July 31, 2023 [7 favorites]
When someone on the other side confesses to killing a bunch of his own people to end a war, how much time and effort are you going to spend proving that he killed a bunch of his own people?
posted by Etrigan at 12:47 PM on July 31, 2023 [7 favorites]
I see that the flashback Klingons were the Discovery type insectoid looking ones.
Yeah, the "previously on" used clips from DISCO because that is previously the only time the war with the Klingons has been depicted.
posted by crossoverman at 10:38 PM on July 31, 2023
Yeah, the "previously on" used clips from DISCO because that is previously the only time the war with the Klingons has been depicted.
posted by crossoverman at 10:38 PM on July 31, 2023
This was an excellent episode of a dark Star Trek show and I, for one, can’t wait to get back to the goofier exploratory stuff.
posted by coriolisdave at 4:09 AM on August 1, 2023
posted by coriolisdave at 4:09 AM on August 1, 2023
I, for one, can’t wait to get back to the goofier exploratory stuff
You're in luck! This week is the musical episode.
posted by hanov3r at 3:57 PM on August 1, 2023 [3 favorites]
You're in luck! This week is the musical episode.
posted by hanov3r at 3:57 PM on August 1, 2023 [3 favorites]
Thanks for the warning.
posted by biffa at 12:55 AM on August 2, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by biffa at 12:55 AM on August 2, 2023 [1 favorite]
I see that the flashback Klingons were the Discovery type insectoid looking ones.
The (Deep Sea) Fishlons
posted by juiceCake at 10:35 PM on August 2, 2023
The (Deep Sea) Fishlons
posted by juiceCake at 10:35 PM on August 2, 2023
This was really pretty harrowing to watch, and surprisingly morally complex/ambiguous for Star Trek. I'll be thinking about it for awhile. Babs Olusanmokun was just tremendous in this.
I'm not surprised to see I'm not the only person who thought of this as "the Kissinger episode". While I like the sentiment above that the Federation would hold themselves to a higher standard than the US when it comes to the overnight rehabilitation of a war criminal, sometimes the rehabilitation of a villain is just too compelling a story for the powers that be to turn down. It was an interesting choice not to have us see what actually happened in the scuffle. We know from the previous sparring that Rah could overpower M'Benga without really breaking a sweat. So it's not actually clear to me what exactly went down, and clearly M'Benga isn't saying. I don't think this is the last we'll hear of this arc - I agree that it felt like there would be other repercussions down the line for M'Benga.
I uh...if you happen to be binge watching this season I strongly recommend taking a breather between this one and the next, cause the transition in tone is, er, sudden.
posted by potrzebie at 2:28 PM on August 4, 2023 [4 favorites]
I'm not surprised to see I'm not the only person who thought of this as "the Kissinger episode". While I like the sentiment above that the Federation would hold themselves to a higher standard than the US when it comes to the overnight rehabilitation of a war criminal, sometimes the rehabilitation of a villain is just too compelling a story for the powers that be to turn down. It was an interesting choice not to have us see what actually happened in the scuffle. We know from the previous sparring that Rah could overpower M'Benga without really breaking a sweat. So it's not actually clear to me what exactly went down, and clearly M'Benga isn't saying. I don't think this is the last we'll hear of this arc - I agree that it felt like there would be other repercussions down the line for M'Benga.
I uh...if you happen to be binge watching this season I strongly recommend taking a breather between this one and the next, cause the transition in tone is, er, sudden.
posted by potrzebie at 2:28 PM on August 4, 2023 [4 favorites]
This [next] week is the ....... episode.
I did not appreciate this spoiler about next week's episode in this week's discussion.
posted by fairmettle at 10:11 PM on August 4, 2023
I did not appreciate this spoiler about next week's episode in this week's discussion.
posted by fairmettle at 10:11 PM on August 4, 2023
I saw a parallel between Rah and M’Benga. Both have killed a lot of people in their pasts and are rehabilitating their image. Rah killed civilians. Are we sure every one of M’Benga’s (90?) confirmed kills was a Klingon warrior?
posted by kirkaracha at 10:23 PM on August 4, 2023 [2 favorites]
posted by kirkaracha at 10:23 PM on August 4, 2023 [2 favorites]
Wow, wild to see my own feelings change so abruptly from S2E1 "why did they pair up the two random main characters on this dumb 'roid rage subplot that they're definitely going to survive" to S2E8 "Chapel and M'Benga have an UNBREAKABLE BOND, we don't get enough scenes with Chapel and M'Benga together."
(Also -- this was an M'Benga episode, but I've become such a big fan of Chapel that I'm relieved to see that she gets to have other important relationships on the Enterprise beyond Vulcan rumspringa stuff.)
posted by grandiloquiet at 1:37 PM on August 13, 2023 [4 favorites]
(Also -- this was an M'Benga episode, but I've become such a big fan of Chapel that I'm relieved to see that she gets to have other important relationships on the Enterprise beyond Vulcan rumspringa stuff.)
posted by grandiloquiet at 1:37 PM on August 13, 2023 [4 favorites]
I thought this was one of the best episodes of Trek I’ve ever seen, and so was the one immediately previous, and I thought the first couple episodes of the season were not.
This episode seems to ask," So, he's an amoral, vengeful, murdering scorekeeping supersoldier; the audience will keep on cheering for him, so what do we do with that?"
I think that’s why the glass was there. To keep Mbenga’s image with the audience cleaner. Seeing him clearly attack and murder a nonviolent opponent in cold blood might be too much even for this audience.
I’m not sure how the crew felt about the General killing his men….it seemed to me that Ortega et al despised him for it, but that the General was spinning it as the act of defection that earned him sanctuary. Of course the truth would have been most damaging to his image on the Klingon side…and perhaps his self image. I doubt he would have been able to act as a diplomat effectively with a story of ‘I fled while my top men were slaughtered protecting my back’.
The other tv episode that this reminded me of was from House. James Earl Jones portrayed a genocidal tyrant who came to the hospital for treatment (and ends up dead). That character was, I think, better done - he was convincing as a man who thought that he actions were bad but justified. I have to think that most villains feel this way….perhaps especially the genocidal ones. Dak'Rah seemed almost too repentant, especially for someone who was clearly lying about the way he felt most of the time. That is the one thing that didn’t quite click for me. He just kept begging M’Benga to accept his redemption as real instead of getting defensive once the veil was pierced.
posted by bq at 10:56 AM on September 23, 2023 [1 favorite]
This episode seems to ask," So, he's an amoral, vengeful, murdering scorekeeping supersoldier; the audience will keep on cheering for him, so what do we do with that?"
I think that’s why the glass was there. To keep Mbenga’s image with the audience cleaner. Seeing him clearly attack and murder a nonviolent opponent in cold blood might be too much even for this audience.
I’m not sure how the crew felt about the General killing his men….it seemed to me that Ortega et al despised him for it, but that the General was spinning it as the act of defection that earned him sanctuary. Of course the truth would have been most damaging to his image on the Klingon side…and perhaps his self image. I doubt he would have been able to act as a diplomat effectively with a story of ‘I fled while my top men were slaughtered protecting my back’.
The other tv episode that this reminded me of was from House. James Earl Jones portrayed a genocidal tyrant who came to the hospital for treatment (and ends up dead). That character was, I think, better done - he was convincing as a man who thought that he actions were bad but justified. I have to think that most villains feel this way….perhaps especially the genocidal ones. Dak'Rah seemed almost too repentant, especially for someone who was clearly lying about the way he felt most of the time. That is the one thing that didn’t quite click for me. He just kept begging M’Benga to accept his redemption as real instead of getting defensive once the veil was pierced.
posted by bq at 10:56 AM on September 23, 2023 [1 favorite]
> If it was a 24th century war, how in the world was it conclusively ended by a drug-taking guy with a small knife?“Four thousand throats may be cut in one night by a running man with a knife.” —Klingon proverb (TOS: “Day of the Dove”)
My headcanon now is that M’Benga was the running man who inspired the Klingon proverb.
posted by Syllepsis at 10:07 PM on November 6, 2023 [5 favorites]
It's interesting to me that Dak'Rah just kept pushing too hard on every level.
He wanted everyone in the Federation to see him as an easy-going beacon of hope. But both parts of that are a lie - not only is he a cowardly war criminal, he's not easy-going in the slightest. He's all over the ship to get maximum entertainment and attention. He's got to have everyone in the room fawning over him. He won't give war veterans the slightest bit of breathing room, he's all up in their personal space, touching them and telling them to heal. Even he is surprised that M'Benga agreed to do the martial arts thing. It all seems like a dominance thing.
Could someone please remind me what Klingons think about killing civilians? I'm pretty sure Worf would find it dishonourable but he's an outlier in a lot of ways. It's possible that a lot of Klingons would have a similar opinion of the General as M'Benga does, not because of (the lie about) killing comrades to defect, but for his actions before that.
M'Benga was always checking to see how far he'd take the lie, too. He wasn't going to expose him, but he was curious. The ending changes my interpretation of his early reactions in the episode, from general war PTSD to specific ethical dilemma PTSD. I'm definitely thinking that he's not going to leave the Enterprise for an exciting research opportunity, it'll be a more serious reason.
posted by harriet vane at 5:04 PM on November 15, 2023 [2 favorites]
He wanted everyone in the Federation to see him as an easy-going beacon of hope. But both parts of that are a lie - not only is he a cowardly war criminal, he's not easy-going in the slightest. He's all over the ship to get maximum entertainment and attention. He's got to have everyone in the room fawning over him. He won't give war veterans the slightest bit of breathing room, he's all up in their personal space, touching them and telling them to heal. Even he is surprised that M'Benga agreed to do the martial arts thing. It all seems like a dominance thing.
Could someone please remind me what Klingons think about killing civilians? I'm pretty sure Worf would find it dishonourable but he's an outlier in a lot of ways. It's possible that a lot of Klingons would have a similar opinion of the General as M'Benga does, not because of (the lie about) killing comrades to defect, but for his actions before that.
M'Benga was always checking to see how far he'd take the lie, too. He wasn't going to expose him, but he was curious. The ending changes my interpretation of his early reactions in the episode, from general war PTSD to specific ethical dilemma PTSD. I'm definitely thinking that he's not going to leave the Enterprise for an exciting research opportunity, it'll be a more serious reason.
posted by harriet vane at 5:04 PM on November 15, 2023 [2 favorites]
Could someone please remind me what Klingons think about killing civilians?
TOS: "Errand of Mercy" makes it pretty clear that they don't care one way or another. Kor has no compunction against killing Organian hostages to force them to give up Kirk and Spock.
posted by hanov3r at 7:18 AM on November 16, 2023 [1 favorite]
TOS: "Errand of Mercy" makes it pretty clear that they don't care one way or another. Kor has no compunction against killing Organian hostages to force them to give up Kirk and Spock.
posted by hanov3r at 7:18 AM on November 16, 2023 [1 favorite]
Wouldn't the Kissinger parallel be more like: Kissinger moved to Cambodia and was their ambassador? Or like, if the US had Osama Bin Laden as an ambassador?
Feel like they kind of bungled it with "he PERSONALLY murdered kids", which simplified things too much, and was also just an assertion that was not shown IIRC.
It felt like they really wanted that final conversation, where Pike and M’Benga hash out whether some people are truly unforgivable
If so it could have been a better conversation. A central question is like, where is some proof that Rah has changed? What could he do to prove it to M'Benga? Why can't M'Benga acknowledge that Rah's doing good? They do not really address each other head on, which is how things go irl, but the effect in a TV show like Star Trek is that it does not really feel like the show thought it through.
I feel like if Rah stabbed himself with the knife they should have built up to and shown that, and if M'Benga stabbed him, then M'Benga should turn himself in.
Oh no, his daughter grew up but exists as pure consciousness or energy in that nebula from last season.
Yeah it's nbd, she just made a decision, as a child, to irreversibly go live a million forevers with a lonely creepy nebular entity who doesn't respect boundaries. It's fine!
posted by fleacircus at 8:03 AM on February 1
Feel like they kind of bungled it with "he PERSONALLY murdered kids", which simplified things too much, and was also just an assertion that was not shown IIRC.
It felt like they really wanted that final conversation, where Pike and M’Benga hash out whether some people are truly unforgivable
If so it could have been a better conversation. A central question is like, where is some proof that Rah has changed? What could he do to prove it to M'Benga? Why can't M'Benga acknowledge that Rah's doing good? They do not really address each other head on, which is how things go irl, but the effect in a TV show like Star Trek is that it does not really feel like the show thought it through.
I feel like if Rah stabbed himself with the knife they should have built up to and shown that, and if M'Benga stabbed him, then M'Benga should turn himself in.
Oh no, his daughter grew up but exists as pure consciousness or energy in that nebula from last season.
Yeah it's nbd, she just made a decision, as a child, to irreversibly go live a million forevers with a lonely creepy nebular entity who doesn't respect boundaries. It's fine!
posted by fleacircus at 8:03 AM on February 1
If you’re able to watch the Extra Scenes for this episode (deleted? scenes, available on DVD etc), I highly recommend you check out the very short but sweet bar scene featuring Ortegas, Chapel & M’Benga.
It’s lighthearted and set immediately after Ortegas springs them from the awful dinner.
It's interesting to me that Dak'Rah just kept pushing too hard on every level.
Exactly. Because grandiose narcissists who are only out for themselves at all times be :::constantly::: projecting fake greatness like.
posted by edithkeeler at 5:40 AM on February 19
It’s lighthearted and set immediately after Ortegas springs them from the awful dinner.
It's interesting to me that Dak'Rah just kept pushing too hard on every level.
Exactly. Because grandiose narcissists who are only out for themselves at all times be :::constantly::: projecting fake greatness like.
posted by edithkeeler at 5:40 AM on February 19
You are not logged in, either login or create an account to post comments
posted by sixswitch at 7:05 AM on July 27, 2023 [5 favorites]