The Sehlat Who Ate Its Tail

Moving into the second half of this most uneven season, this episode is hopefully an indicator of a better back-half. While mich of the episode is spent on a rather vague jeopardy plot, confronting a faceless enemy with more or unless unclear motivations and wildly exaggerated capabilities. This is like TOS"s Planet killer if were manned by a crew.

But along the way, it does what too few episodes this season have done: provide a good reason for the story that is told, as we're seeing Kirk learn some lessons about command. This culminates in a scene that's as good as this show has produced thus far when he and Pike wonder about the casualties of their successful mission. In this dialogue, finally the good old spirit of Star Trek comes through. Too often lately, it has been lost between all the jokes and romantic entanglements.

Great episode with a vibe of Star Trek: The Original Series.

Nice 'learning lesson' for James T. Kirk. Good dynamics between Science Officer Spock, Nurse Chapel, Ensign Uhura, Lieutenant Scott and Commander then Captain Kirk.

Fine foreshadowing of the future teaming up of known legacy characters.

Best episode of this third season.

Two good episodes in a row, for the first time since "Those Old Scientists" and "Under the Cloak of War" in season 2.

A real recommendation for a Pre-TOS series. Strong interactions between the cast, familiar dynamics, it was just really fun.

At the same time, however, the other half of the episode was entertaining and intellectually and morally challenging. The concept presented to us, the casual genre mix, and a big question that makes you think back to Voyager-the episode demands a lot, but it also shows a lot and gives a lot back. A little uneven in places, but the questions remain at the end, and that's a good thing.

An episode like this was needed. Not that S3 has been bad, actually the contrary and that's my point. They needed an episode as fantastic as this to really put a spotlight on how absolutely embarrassing it must be for the haters of this show to whine week in and week out. The very first user review on here of this weeks episode was a 3/10 whining about Paul Wesley as Kirk.

Just admit you don't actually watch the show and spare us having to weed through your objective lies and culture war nonsense.

The Sehlat that Ate It's Tail tells the story of Kirk's first big mission in a captain's chair and cleverly gives all his future TOS friends something to do alongside him. Wesley is fantastic in the episode, the special effects and dread level of this weeks alien problem are absolutely top notch. Spock felt the most like Spock he's ever felt in this series. The character work earns every single beat, and everyone has something interesting to do. This episode was so good I'm shocked that it was only the 6th episode. It has "season finale" levels of suspense oozing from every level of its production, and the ending is very Trekkian and has something important to say about the human condition.

If they thought an episode was a better one to end the season than this, I can't wait to see how the rest of the season unfolds. Easily a top episode of SNW.

I was super happy to have an episode that really feels like Star Trek. We had an actual adventure! They also managed to still have the Strange New Worlds quirkiness in there too, so I'd vote this episode as one of their best efforts. Fingers crossed that they can hold this course for the remainder of the season. It's been a rocky road, but now I've got some hope.