Hegemony

Again, Wow. This episode did such a fantastic job of keeping me on my toes, not knowing if certain characters were alive or not, if this was going to be a two parter or not - one moment yes, but then no, but then yes - great acting, great writing, great production.

If I had one complaint, it would be the underutilization of La'an - I think she is an incredible character and actor, and the one with the Gorn backstory, yet she wasn't a central focus of the story. Given the nature of the cliffhanger, there will be the opportunity to give her character some Gorn related growth.

Played right, the Gorn will offer so many more robust stories. I can't wait for season three.

Probably this is one of the greatest episodes in the recent years and without no doubt one of my favorites of all times and it looks exactely as i wanted this series to be,it is scary, it has tension, a good story, good visual fx and i can sincerly tell i liked this episode as much i liked the two parters episodes from TNG, DS 9, or Voyager,the only issue with this episode it is the age of Scotty, i always thought he is the oldest character from the original crew, not the youngest and this seems to be another deviation from the original story which is another reason for the producers to put SNW in a different timeline, just to please the fans, but anyway the episode is a very good one, even if it was a predictible one, because we knew from the trailers that the gorns should be in at least one episode and probably the last from the season was the more suitable one. This episode really deserves its 10 stars.

A human colony is attacked.

It is difficult to judge the plot of this one before the story concludes, but it provides good setup and cliffhanger. I am not one to complain (much) about writers breaking continuity with previous Trek when the story is good, but the arc involving these particular antagonists will need to have a very good conclusion in light of how much revision of backstory appears to be happening prior to the events of a classic episode of the original series.

As for the species portrayal in SNW, there is a bit too much "Alien" similarities for me, and so far they appear to be one of those classic Trek baddies that have implausibly developed space travel. However, I accept there could be more backstory and explanation to come.

The characters are mostly used well, particularly the reintroduction of a classic who fits nicely into the mix and is played strongly by Martin Quinn. This is the best aspect of the episode for me.

As always the visuals, art design and effects are of a very high standard.

How are supposed Star Trek fans not getting why Spock has emotions? This is a younger Spock who hasn't undergone Kolinahr, the Vulcan ritual of purging emotions. A real Star Trek fan should've picked up on this by now. I suspect that at some point, Strange New Worlds will show him undergoing the Kolinahr ritual.

This storyline adds a lot to the mythos of Vulcan customs and their stages of maturation, as well as filling us in to Spock's past.

But hey, if you want to watch stereotypic cavemen men being dudes, watch some old westerns or just hit play on a Michael Bay movie or something. I don't think a progressive, socialist show like Star Trek is for you.

I love the whole "this isn't realistic" thing that goes on with viewers. There is nothing realistic about this show. It's science fiction with stuff that hasn't happened and probably never will. Like time travel. Warp drives. But their actions work within that world. Obviously, TV shows have features like the Spock/Chappel involvement. Back to the episode itself, the Gorn are obviously as formidable a force as exists anywhere. I sometimes wonder how they settle down enough to build spaceships and work with advance technology when they have the personalities of the monsters from Alien. But this episode is one of survival and reprisal and it sets the stage in an intense way that keeps us on the edge of our seats. We are introduced to Scotty, a real bonus, and there are a host of unfinished threats. My biggest problem is that as an old guy, will I live to see season three? Dirty trick.