Strange New Worlds Season 1, Episode 7: "The Serene Squall" (SPOILERS)

[DKDetective]

Pirates!

 

[Dr.]

My initial reaction: this was the first dud of the series. I thought the tonal shifts between drama and comedy were clumsy; certain scenes were highly contrived, verging on silly; and the guest villain gave, IMO, a distractingly hammy performance. But other fans/critics appear to have liked the episode — with opinions ranging from excellent to, at worst, serviceably entertaining. So… I’ll probably give this a second watch and see if a reassessment is in order.

 

[misjuevos]

This one had the writers from Episode 2&4. Another mix of serious and levity between the two writers. I dislike both of these writers take on Spock. So needless to say I disliked all the Spock stuff in this episode. It figures these people would use Sybok, the worst movie of the TOS movies. Not to mention they already did the sibling thing with Michael. So now we get another run at this. Everytime they try Vulcan things it is bad. It seems like only 1 or 2 of the writers get Spock. You can see a big contrast in his demeanor based on the writers of the episodes. I still haven't pinpointed the writer, but I think it might be Bill Wolkoff. I will have to wait and see if he does another episode. They were doing good with showing Spock just nerve pinching. But then they ruined it by showing him use force and his strength on the last guy on the bridge.

The twist in the episode was good. I was dreading if we were getting a counselor based on the first part of the episode. The pirate crew stuff was bad. They could have just stuck with the takeover of the ship. We didn't need to see Pike and Una and the pirate crew. That was distracting from the better story, the ship takeover. We could have just had the away team thrown in the Enterprise brig and not go to the pirate ship at all.

 

[Dark Raven]

I actually enjoyed this episode more than the other ones. It was great to see Nurse Chapel have a more prominent role too.

I thought that Dr Aspen looked more like a villain and thought she'd make a good one instead of just a counsellor. So it was good that she did turn and hammed it up. She kind of reminded me (not looks wise) of Hela in Thor Ragnarok.

Did Uhura play today? I don't recall seeing her. And another episode without Hemmer whom I didn't miss at all. I think they should just get rid of him since he doesn't add anything and isn't even missed when he's not there.

 

[KaijuDude1992]

It's weird because I probably shouldn't have liked this episode as much as I did, but I did end up enjoying it, especially the hammy performance from the main villain but I can see why some wouldn't like it.

I don't know what it is about the actress, but for some reason I just bought her in the role and honestly her wardrobe alone was screaming villain turn the entire time she was on screen lol.

She definitely reminded me of a young Cate Blanchett and while I'm not going to say the performance itself was anything special, I thought it fit the fun, energetic tone of this episode quite well overall.

It was cool seeing Nurse Chapel getting more to do as well.

 

[TheVileOne]

I actually enjoyed this episode more than the other ones. It was great to see Nurse Chapel have a more prominent role too.

I thought that Dr Aspen looked more like a villain and thought she'd make a good one instead of just a counsellor. So it was good that she did turn and hammed it up. She kind of reminded me (not looks wise) of Hela in Thor Ragnarok.

Did Uhura play today? I don't recall seeing her. And another episode without Hemmer whom I didn't miss at all. I think they should just get rid of him since he doesn't add anything and isn't even missed when he's not there.

Kirk's brother is the one they need to get rid of.

 

[Dark Raven]

It's weird because I probably shouldn't have liked this episode as much as I did, but I did end up enjoying it, especially the hammy performance from the main villain but I can see why some wouldn't like it.

I don't know what it is about the actress, but for some reason I just bought her in the role and honestly her wardrobe alone was screaming villain turn the entire time she was on screen lol.

She definitely reminded me of a young Cate Blanchett and while I'm not going to say the performance itself was anything special, I thought it fit the fun, energetic tone of this episode quite well overall.

It was cool seeing Nurse Chapel getting more to do as well.

Well maybe a bit of Cate Blanchett, but I thought also she reminded me a bit of Jennifer Grey (pre nose job) in a dark and not curly wig. Haven't seen her before in anything.

 

[titansupes]

Yeah a bit off tonally.

The away team were just a little too flippant for me, especially Pike himself. I felt that way about him last episode as well. Mount's charming as hell and I love that, but I think they just need to tilt the balance back to the serious professional end of the scale a little more.

Everything on the Enterprise I enjoyed a lot though. Captain Angel-- who was so obviously a bad guy from the start-- while she needs to bring it down a notch (but is no hammier than Q if we're being honest) I think will make a fun recurring villain.

And I like Sybok. So I'm definitely good with a big reintroduction.

 

[Dark Raven]

Yeah a bit off tonally.

The away team were just a little too flippant for me, especially Pike himself. I felt that way about him last episode as well. Mount's charming as hell and I love that, but I think they just need to tilt the balance back to the serious professional end of the scale a little more.

Everything on the Enterprise I enjoyed a lot though. Captain Angel-- who was so obviously a bad guy from the start-- while she needs to bring it down a notch (but is no hammier than Q if we're being honest) I think will make a fun recurring villain.

And I like Sybok. So I'm definitely good with a big reintroduction.

I didn't see Pike as being too flippant for a professional. His attitude seemed a bit like Kirk in "A Piece of the Action" where he was making up the card game "Fizzbin" when dealing with these gangsters. Pike was dealing with space pirates and treating them accordingly. I think it fit the tone of the episode and the villains. In other episodes where it's more serious I'm sure Pike will act accordingly.

 

[Silvermoth]

Absolutely superb episode. Captain Angel is the first proper Star Trek villain of the new era. Absolutely adored her

 

[Dark Raven]

Absolutely superb episode. Captain Angel is the first proper Star Trek villain of the new era. Absolutely adored her

But I don't think she'll be a full on villain like Khan but more of a continual thorn in their side and perhaps occasional antihero or even ally when necessary.

 

[Deck Rickard]

Yeah I think Angel will come back as kind of a Q type of character who will antagonize the crew but also occasionally help them out. After all, they didn’t actually kill anyone.

Also, Jesse James Keitel KILLED it this week. I absolutely loved Angel/Aspen and despite being dressed like Hela, I have to admit they had me fooled at the beginning. I thought they were going to hook up with Spock, haha.

Also, Chapel was badass and I’m really digging the love triangle between her, Spock and T’Pring. Missed Uhura though. Weird that she was completely absent. Didn’t miss Hemmer though haha.

Lastly, I’m excited we are getting Sybok. I might be the only person on earth who likes Star Trek V, but I make no apologies for that. Sybok is a great character. I wonder who they’ll get to play him.

 

[TheVileOne]

I might've misinterpreted this, but is Sybok the Vulcan lover Angel mentioned?

 

[Gaultheria]

Sybok is a great character. I wonder who they’ll get to play him.

Since Sybok's partial reveal in this episode resembled how Heroes first showed Sylar, I'm wondering if Zachary Quinto is a possibility.

 

[Deck Rickard]

I might've misinterpreted this, but is Sybok the Vulcan lover Angel mentioned?

Yeah; she called him something else but Spock said that was just an alias.

Since Sybok's partial reveal in this episode resembled how Heroes first showed Sylar, I'm wondering if Zachary Quinto is a possibility.

I suppose it’s possible but I doubt it since… well, he’s also Spock.

 

[Gaultheria]

I suppose it’s possible but I doubt it since… well, he’s also Spock.

‘Zackly. Someone would get to remark on the family resemblance.

On a more serious note, Sybok is a mirror for Spock, since Sybok’s path is one that the pressures in Spock’s upbringing could have led Spock to choose instead of the path of logic. It would seem fitting, to me, for Sybok to be a different version of Spock in the out-of-universe sense as well.

 

[Dr.]

Well, I watched this a second time; and my initial (negative) opinion improved… somewhat. I did note, however, that the episode was more-or-less serious up to about the 20-25 minute mark — after which, it switched to comedy mode. And it’s this contrast that, for me, continues to grate. Seems like most of “wacky” or humorous Star Trek adventures (including SNW’s “Spock Amok”) establish their tone early on. Thus, the audience is primed to expect lightheartedness from the get-go and there’s no surprise when the hijinks continue.

Also… I still think the Spock-Chapel kiss — even as a successful gambit which thwarted the villain — was cringeworthy.

Also, also… Though Keitel as Dr. Aspen was fine, her hammy Captain Angel could have been, IMO, dialed back several notches. However, Keitel has said that the campy approach was by design; and the creatives on the show seemed to love the result. Now, she also mentioned something else that was interesting: there’s a sensitivity about trans actors playing villains — inasmuch as this perpetuates negative stereotypes. Keitel, though, relished the role. (Indeed, many actors say villains are more fun to play than heroes.) But I wonder if the hammy-ness of Captain Angel was, at least in part, a way to defuse possible negative blowback from certain quarters...

In any case, the Sybok tease seems to indicate that Captain Angel could/might return in future episodes. If so, maybe (hopefully) the character will be a bit less “scene chewy,” less over-the-top.

 

[flickchick85]

Catching up now - for an episode that started relatively seriously, this definitely went in a direction I wasn't expecting, lol. The actress playing Angel went full ham and I was not mad. Looking forward to her inevitable future appearances. Sybok reveal was cool too.

 

[DarthSkywalker]

Pirate Captain Pike is the best Pike. That is all.

 

[DarthSkywalker]

Yeah I think Angel will come back as kind of a Q type of character who will antagonize the crew but also occasionally help them out. After all, they didn’t actually kill anyone.

Also, Jesse James Keitel KILLED it this week. I absolutely loved Angel/Aspen and despite being dressed like Hela, I have to admit they had me fooled at the beginning. I thought they were going to hook up with Spock, haha.

Also, Chapel was badass and I’m really digging the love triangle between her, Spock and T’Pring. Missed Uhura though. Weird that she was completely absent. Didn’t miss Hemmer though haha.

Lastly, I’m excited we are getting Sybok. I might be the only person on earth who likes Star Trek V, but I make no apologies for that. Sybok is a great character. I wonder who they’ll get to play him.

She was great. Two very different performances in one episode is not easy to pull off, but she did it flawlessly. And yeah, it felt like Spock had three love interest in one episode. He's definitely living up to the "Sexy Spock" moniker.

 

[Deck Rickard]

She was great. Two very different performances in one episode is not easy to pull off, but she did it flawlessly. And yeah, it felt like Spock had three love interest in one episode. He's definitely living up to the "Sexy Spock" moniker.

I just binged the new Queer as Folk; I highly recommend it if you haven’t seen it yet. Jesse is one of the main characters and she is fantastic.

And yeah… Spock is shaping up to be the most wanted Vulcan in the galaxy hahaha.

 

[Sithborg]

Yeah, I loved this episode. When Angel went full ham, I loved it. Yeah, Pike had fun on the pirate ship, but very entertaining. Really looking forward to seeing them back. I do find some of the recontextualization of Spock's human/vulcan issue interesting. Sometimes, Star Trek is just a fun little space western adventure.

I must admit, Tendi has me wanting to see more Orions under a more... modern view.

I know everyone is all about Sybok being back, but I can't believe they brought in that homewrecker Stonn, even though I do realize they are bringing in Spock's true love next season...