Four-and-a-Half Vulcans

I love the series and the cast, Patton Oswalt was great, love the takes at the end.

But... it could be done so much better, for starters, the conversion itself, they should address why is everyone logical seconds after converting with no explanation, it was mentioned later by Spok, but again not the process, that should be the main reason why they fail so much in becoming funcional Vulcans, the difference in how they achieve logic, and emotional control, maybe that was cut, or it never was in the script... but is a huge oversight. Second... why the "new" Vulcans behave so ridiculous for the sake of it...? It will be more interesting if it was severe, grounded, credible with humor sparkled, not just a long gag... Una Chin-Riley also behaves weird and goofy... yes, she can be in love and being vulnerable, but they way is handled seems surreal, yes is a "fun" episode... with a fun guest... but regardless, it can be done in a more grounded way... I laughed, cringed... and get disappointed all at once... a good idea, that lacks finesse in execution...

SNW is stuck in neutral. Occasional silly is fine --- not every other episode. I don't want anymore Spock romance. The series is half over and it's time for Spock to become Spock. The human-Spock arc needs to wrap it up.

This episode had some genuine fun, it's not a 1, it was also awkward, it's not a 10. It's a 5.

This season has shown that the writers still have good ideas, but too often they waste them by turning dialogue and characters into comedy nonsense. They need to have more faith in the format, the values and the strength that Star Trek has, rather than constantly playing for laughs. There's three more episodes to go, so let's keep the faith, but season 3 is very much the weakest of SNW so far.

The idea of the crew getting first hand of another species psychology and point of view is novel. However, I do think the episode focused too much on the comedy and did not sufficiently address the struggles.

The acting took away from the story as well. Pike (Anson Mount) reminded me more of a Conehead than a Vulcan. La'an (Christina Chong) could have embrace more of the Romulanesque cold, paranoid, and calculating nature. Chapel (Jess Bush) did a better job of addressing the task centered natured of the Vulcans. Uhura (Celia Gooding) did a superb job of demonstrating the Vulcan arrogance in their beliefs being superior to otheirs.

While it was not a bad episode, there was a lot of potential story left on the table.

In that I mean the tongue in cheek episodes of the og 60s show and tng. The problem with that is that there are only 10 eps a season now vs the 20ish from the other shows. So it seems logical, that most eps should focus on a cohesive "serious" storyline and just have a single filler, maaaybe two. Just seems like a waste. As another review pointed out, this season is a little too focused on a specific viewer, that I'd say is in the minority, instead of what I'd think is the majority, who want a more grounded approach. That being said, I do enjoy these silly eps, it's nice to get an episode to put a smile on your face or even illicit a chuckle, in between the more serious or even dark core episodes. Again though, with shorter seasons, it's best to use the time wisely.