Under the Cloak of War

This episode was fantastic. Nice to see some background on characters and scenes from the Klingon war. This one episode was better than all of Discovery, most of enterprise and the first two seasons of Picard. Brilliantly written (I could do with no lens flash at all). Anson Mount is brilliant as Pike. This episode highlighted his diplomatic skills. And it's far from the first time Starfleet officers have lied or fudged facts (see: In the Pale Moonlight, one of the greatest episodes of Trek ever). Engrossing from the first second to the last. This is one of those episodes that will be rewatched again and again and again. Just superb.

We seem to go from fun, lighthearted in some episodes to deep and intense with STSNW following up with story-lines that mirror life in our world with perceptions from several centuries from now. Yet PTSD is still all too real in the veterans from the Klingon war. The deeper layers of torment from the horrors come forward in veterans under certain circumstances. It's why war isn't acceptable and is no solution with no winners, just profiteers. So it's the kind of episode that says "hey veterans, we get what your were called to do and what you've survived." In addition, there were/are nurses near the front lines that also have PTSD. Flashbacks are all too real. The character arcs and story lines unfolding throughout the series are really good.

The revelation and twist at the end was surprising. The last line is priceless. I think for some heroes that survive that line will speak to them, but I pray that it's not entirely true. In my work with veterans and active duty, I've witnessed lots of things that would contradict it. Admittedly, sadly, not always. Amazing performance by Babs. Well produced and directed.

The best thing about Strange New Worlds is that it has put sincere effort into developing its crew.

Although many people disliked Discovery, I mostly enjoyed it. However, I say that while having never finished S4 & stopped there, as I just lost interest in its characters. If you asked me right now to name the crew without looking it up, I'd remember Burnham, Saru and.... well that's it.

SNW is the exact opposite. I can instantly name Una, nurse Chapel, Spock, Uhura, Captain Pike, Ortegas, etc. Etc. Etc... even Hemmer (RIP), Sam Kirk or T'Pring! But most importantly for this episode, I remember Dr. M'Benga, who is the standout character for the entire series to this point (imo).

Older Trek ran 20+ episode seasons, so we'd get a lot of time to get to know everyone. We still haven't even hit the 20 episode mark in SNW yet, but they've already done a fantastic job exploring a lot of M'Benga's character & his unique place amongst the crew.

We were first shown he's keeping a secret from the crew, and that he has a sick daughter who's transporter pattern is being stored in sickbay in hopes that one day he can find a cure while exploring the stars in the Enterprise. We got to see he has a shared war history with nurse Chapel, which was later fleshed out in further interactions & flashbacks. We learned he was extremely skilled at combat, and suffers PTSD from his service in the Klingon War.

Now in this episode they peel back another layer of that onion, revealing he developed Protocol 12, a drug we saw them use previously, which allowed them to be temporarily enhanced fighting machines, and that he's got quite a notorious reputation that nobody knows about (aside from Chapel, presumably).

I don't want to get into any major spoilers, but needless to say, I thought this episode was excellent. I didn't even touch on the premise of a reformed Klingon General-turned Federation Ambassador visiting the ship, but that's just the vehicle use to explore more of our doctor & nurse's past.

If Deep Space 9 was written & filmed in 2023, this episode would fit right in. It reminds us of the multiple sides to Starfleet, just as there are multiple sides to people. With M'Benga, he may strive to achieve a certain ideal, but some wounds are still too fresh.

The end reminds me of what Captain Sisko said at the end of In the Pale Moonlight - "I lied. I cheated. I bribed men to cover the crimes of other men... I am an accessory to murder. But the most damning think of all - I think I can live with it. And if I had to do it all over again, I would." M'Benga seems to feel the same way about how things played out.

TL;DR - 10/10. Love the Episode!

Frankly my wife and I are not enjoying season two as much. Some of the episodes seem silly and downright pointless.

And then this. I was genuinely moved by this episode. Great story, good dialogue with some memorable lines (why we fight), some of the best acting I've seen. What toll does war take on people? Starfleet for all its idealism and the Federation for all its "smug optimism" (to quote Garak) cannot diplomatic courtesy its way past this. War is hell. And how much can we forgive war criminals no matter how much they appear to reform?

I changed my rating from 10/10 to 9/10 because of the ending.

What's strange is how much Nurse Chapel and Dr M'Benga have become the most interesting and compelling characters in the series. And props to Jess Bush and especially Babs Olusanmokun for their acting. Credit to Melissa Navia as Lt Vargas who gets to shine for a change.

"Under the Cloak of War" is by far the strongest writing in SNW thus far. Despite various flaws - the M*A*S*H undertones, hints to the TOS episode "Conscience of the King," the obvious folly of land war in the age of space war, a Klingon with straight human teeth who walks with a cane but can do Klingon Judo just fine - what the episode has to say is what's poignant here.

We learn the history behind Chapel's bond with M'Benga and their apparent super-human abilities exhibited in the season opener "The Broken Circle." It's not pretty.

The story telling here is very good, told in flash-back and tight dialog, with an ending that is both tragic and ambiguous - we will never know the truth.

The only complaint I have (there had to be one) was with the casting (or perhaps directing) of Robert Wisdom as Dak'Rah. He's just too Tony Robbins for a Klingon. His lack of prosthetic teeth was distracting.

Also interesting is the use of the STD "klingons" in the recap, an abhoration thankfully ignored thus far in SNW in favor of the TMP/TNG Klingons. Please please please keep it this way.

All in all a solid episode with above-average writing and competent acting.

Well done.