The Elysian Kingdom

Three things every father wants to hear from his daughter. This originally aired the week of Father's Day in the US.

This episode is not as strong as the rest of the season thus far, and the direction is very disjointed, as we're dropped into the rabbit hole without any real preparation. Things don't start to get weird and get worse, no, we're dropped straight into worse without knowing how we got there.

Nothing makes sense at all, until the end. It's not quite deus ex machina, it's just there's is no real mystery that can be figured out, until the end when all is revealed.

Then it all makes sense, and it's satisfying.

I am sorry to see a promising arc end, but at least they ended it well. Very well.

Happy Father's Day, everyone. Especially to every daughter's father.

This was one of Star Trek's classical side-line episodes, which often cause a lot of split opinions, but I firmly believe that these side stories placed completely outside of the usual "Trek environment" provide the necessary break from otherwise very serious episodes, and they keep things exciting and different.

Story-wise, I'd say that if you do like these kinds of episodes, you will find the plot very enjoyable. The story is interesting with many fun bits and it's a welcome change to see all of the characters in a bit more "goofy" roles. We also finally got some resolution into the long-running plot line with the doctor's daughter. It was truly very unique and interesting, with an absolutely amazing ending.

Acting-wise, I think it did alright. Even though some things certainly could've been better, I think the characters felt enjoyable for a one-off comedic take and the actors did a mostly great job at portraying their roles.

What's a bit surprising to me is how many other reviews here describe the acting in this episode very negatively. I mean, it's certainly different, but that doesn't make it bad, I think for what characters the actors were meant to play, they really did do a fine job, and I do not understand the huge backlash. I think it was mostly caused just by the general controversy of a different episode, but given the environment, I can't complain about the acting at all.

Watching this episode made me very nostalgic of similar classical trek episodes, and mainly reminded me of the Robin Hood episode in The Next Generation, which at the time had similar backlash for simply being different, but at the same time, it was so iconic and memorable, and simply fun to watch.

We just need to keep an open mind, episodes like these were in almost every trek show, and we should all take them lightly, enjoy the differences and foolishness and just have a laugh, not everything should always be so serious.

Even though this may not be one of the greatest Star Trek episodes there is one thing that you cannot deny, this episode was quintessential Star Trek. Every other series; Orginal, TNG, DS9, VOY all have episodes like this, and it wouldn't be Star Trek without them.

So, for these other reviews that say they are disappointed, or that it was lazy writing, you really don't know Star Trek at all.

Again, this episode may not go down in history as one of the greats but it was definitely enjoyable, with many funny parts and with an ending that put a tear in my eye.

Seriously. This was a very bad idea poorly executed. If you do make a farce or, at least a comedic episode, hire somebody who can write comedy AND who knows Star Trek history.

I have high hopes for this new series. But for some reason I just could not get into this episode that I ended up turning it off less than half way through. I can't exactly place my finger on what was bothering me, but it didn't feel like Star Trek. I'll have to come back to this. Maybe I didn't give it an honest chance and later it will make up for what I saw. If it does, I'll update this review.

Update: gave the episode another try. I fell asleep. That rarely happens.