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matt_zimmerAlso reviews for the latest episodes of Young Justice: Phantoms, Superman & Lois, Naomi, The Flash, the season finale of Star Trek: Picard, the series premiere of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, and the season (series?) finale of Moon Knight.
DC Showcase: Constantine: The House Of Mystery
I really shouldn't be surprised that sucked so much. Justice League Dark: Apokalips Wars may go down in DC history as the worst ending to any long-running DC franchise ever. It's beloved by SO many people, but it's utter crap. I am totally unsurprised at how unsatisfying the epilogue to that whole sorry canon was. I don't think I should even be as pissed as I am. But I'm plenty pissed.
The short was by turns gruesome and obnoxiously salacious, and the ending meant nothing with zero context. It's all awful.
I found the fact that both Universes have different art styles the one interesting thing. It says the series of DTVs that Butch Lukic is currently helming ARE the rebooted Universe from the Tuckerverse. There also suggests that before what happened at the end, Constantine is the only person left with memories of that Universe. This is almost certainly Matt Ryan's last performance as the character (they closed the door pretty firmly there at the end) and like the equally punkass way he went out on DC's Legends Of Tomorrow, he deserved a FAR better ending. People like Geoff Johns and Zack Snyder fall upwards at DC. True assets like Matt Ryan are treated like crap. It's really starting to piss me off. How about you? *.
Young Justice "Odyssey Of Death!"
Tomar Re doesn't survive many continuities, does he? Better death here than he got in Justice League at any rate.
So I liked the episode. And I feel like since I tend to go into detail about episodes I dislike (and there are a lot of them) that it seems unfair for me to simply say I liked it and leave it at that. The problem with doing a deconstruction of an episode I liked (but didn't love) is all I can essentially say is "The Zod stuff was cool. The Crisis cover tribute was cool. Metron was cool. The Promethean was cool. The Dr. Fate and the cliffhanger stuff was cool." Do you see my problem and why it's easier to talk about things I either have problems with or love? My shortest and least memorable reviews tend to be for things I judge "good". And I feel like after all the shots I've taken at the show, that me not saying anything but "Right on," isn't actually good enough.
Do you know why I am sure this is true? Because I spent just a measly sentence describing all the things I liked. And I'm gonna take a paragraph talking about the thing I hate. The Foragers. I don't just find their romance physically repulsive (although the clicking noises they make as they coo at each other are pretty gross) but the way they speak to each other makes me cringe. Starfire always puts the word "The" in front of everything. That's increasingly been part of the joke and obnoxious on purpose. Those two characters referring to themselves and each other in the third person (and by the same damn name) is so freaking earnest instead that I scowl. And how big of a jerk am I that this small insignificant part of the episode is the one thing I felt like going into detail about? Anyone who believes my reviews of Young Justice are unfair, on some level you are right. It's the fact that I don't spend a lot of time marveling over and dissecting "good enough" which is why anyone who thinks I don't cut the show enough slack has my number. What can say? There is very little for me to talk about when the show is solid. ****.
Superman & Lois "Truth And Consequences"
This wonderful episode reiterated two big things for me.
1. I love and value this show.
2. I am actually very easy to please. It's nice to be reminded of that whenever my endless negative reviews make me believe I'm a cynic. What does this show do right that the rest of The Arrowverse fails at? Why does this specific show resonate for me even if the political aspect is as bad as the rest of the Berlanti stuff?
Answer: I am a very simple and reasonable viewer. You can laugh at that notion with the amount of fans of beloved stuff I've invariably pissed off with my reviews, but damn it, it's true, and this episode proves it. If a TV show gives me what I want, I will respond positively to it. Joss Whedon's "You don't get what you want, you get what you need," spiel was ALWAYS utterly bogus. After I finished Dollhouse I was like, "I don't freaking need this!" But Clark pledging to tell Lana his secret at the end of the episode (with the support of his family) and the producers allowing him to do it is what I wanted. I think I recognize my own wants and needs very much, Mr. Whedon. I don't need help with that from the likes of you. Especially because you and I value and believe very different things.
When Clark tells Jonathan at the beginning that the problems they are going through don't matter, and that he's his son, and he loves him, I was again reminded strongly of how absolutely easy I am to please. It really doesn't take much to keep me happy. Keep that true thing in mind the next time I rail against Titans or Riverdale. I'm really not all that picky. You just think I am because television currently sucks so much. But that's not MY fault. I do actually love and enjoy good things. *****.
Naomi "Worst Prom Ever"
Great episode title.
The way Nathan broke up with Naomi at the end was SO freaking sweet. I have mentioned before my love of "Good hurts". That almost qualified. Except it was so damn romantic, I didn't actually feel any hurt at all. Damn good trick, there.
I railed against last week's episode. Naomi being given so much information at the beginning of the episode says my disdain was absolutely justified there. The show was definitely screwing us around for an extra week which is something I hate.
This episode however was pretty great. ****.
The Flash "Death Falls"
Here's something you may not know: If a good episode of a given show is spinning along for 35 minutes or so, if the last five or ten minutes are bad, it turns it into an actual bad episode. I thought the scares were suitable creepy until then, and I liked the debate Deathstorm raised about Frost being a real person. But that ending means this show is just as crappy as it always was.
And this is the exact problem with the rest of The Arrowverse too (save Superman & Lois, so far, knock on wood). Frost isn't dead. Nobody will believe that. Even if Danielle Panabaker were leaving the show, and they gave Frost a big self-sacrificing death to memorably send the character off here, that's not what happened in this episode. What happened was this show committed one of the absolute worst sins a television show can commit: It made its characters grieve a death that didn't really happen. Forget the annoyance of putting the viewer supposedly through an emotional wringer just to walk it back in a few weeks. Or doing the same thing to the characters. What every show that does a fake death or a fake-out dream sequence is telling the viewer is that it cannot be trusted. "I have lied and will lie about some hugely important and powerful things in the past and currently, and have no plans to stop lying to you." Do you as a viewer see this flaw in this type of writing? What happens when you abuse a viewer's trust over and over again? If and when the show DOES decide to kill off a character for real, the audience will not automatically accept it at face value. It won't land properly or hit them hard when it should. They will look for loopholes instead, and ways out of the scenario. That is dramatic poison, and this is not something I should need to point out. Anyone with even a cursory familiarity with writing should already know it too.
Can I tell you who I blame for this? You. Every single comic book fan reading this review is at fault. Because the entire genre has built itself an industry around the idea that death is impermanent and doesn't matter, and you've rewarded them with book sales. Instead of calling b.s. on this type of storytelling, comic book fans hang on the edge of every word of known and proven liars. Why? Why have you told creators through their pocketbooks that this low-down dirtiest method of storytelling is acceptable? Look what you have done. If every single one of you got as angry about this crap as you should get, it wouldn't happen.
Soap opera fans similarly have a high tolerance for b.s. storytelling, but the difference there is the women watching those shows know they are b.s. for it. It's a morbid joke among soap opera fans that their genre is ridiculous. And yet comic book fans instead demand mainstream critics and audiences to treat their nonsense seriously. They deserve Oscar and Emmy consideration, and are pissed when they are justifiably ignored instead. Geoff Johns wears that stupid hat while telling us in interviews that comic books are the modern Shakespeare, and creation myth allegories. While the books buy back several deaths a year. Geoff, do you truly think Shakespeare ever said, "Just messing with y'all!"? Was there ever a massive four-part play called "Reign Of The Hamlets"? Then shut up, man. You're embarrassing yourself.
I have pissed off a lot of comic book fans with my reviews, and I expect this one will be no different. Here is a suggestion for you: Get more pissed off. At the comics and superhero franchises themselves. Believe it or not, you DO deserve better. Maybe I'm taking shots at your sacred cows simply because they aren't sacred, and should never be confused for such. I have lost and will lose friends over this. But really, I rail against this crap every week, and no-one else does. What else am I supposed to think? *.
Star Trek: Picard "Farewell"
I personally loved it, but I suspect it's gonna get some blowback. Before discussing the things I love I feel like defending the thing that people will go into conniptions over.
It's the Khan foreshadowing. This takes place in 2024 and the Eugenics Wars supposedly occurred in 1996. Let me just state that Star Trek: The Original Series was WRONG to set the wars in that early timeframe and maybe this episode is wrong for suggesting the beginning of them now. But I don't feel like that is something that should be given a definitive date for since it supposedly either is about to occur or already did. And the reason TOS was wrong to set them in 1996 is that we all lived through 1996 and they never happened. The Reeves-Stevens have tried to retcon that idea in Star Trek novels that they happened and we just weren't aware of them, but the better answer is that TOS made a continuity mistake that can and should be ignored. And Soong being the genesis of them makes a TON of sense given Noonien Soong's first name and Arik Soong's history with the Augments. So I don't want to hear from canon nitpickers about this. I actually agree with you guys about how fast and loose they are playing things with Picard and Guinan's history. This however is fine.
Wil Wheaton's joy at playing Wesley as the Traveler is infectious. Literally the first time I've loved and enjoyed that character. It's very cool Star Trek managed to keep that under wraps.
I also LOVE the implication that Wesley as the Traveler was the guy Gary Seven reported to in "Assignment Earth". It's especially cool to think about because Wesley was (obnoxiously) created as a stand-in for Gene Roddenberry. It would be kind of neat if he was the dude who had actually always called the shots on the aborted spin-off Gene tried to get off the ground but couldn't.
Rios stayed in the past. Does this mean Santiago Cabrera is off the show? Depends on how many Rios holograms are still running around in the future.
The second Agnes did her whole hoary "new kind of Borg" speech at the end of the last episode I knew she was gonna be the Borg Queen we saw at the beginning of the season. I just didn't say so in case I was wrong.
But the REAL thing that made me squeal in delight was of course Picard and Q's hug at the end. How rewarding was that? And of course, it's not that Q is evil this season. He never was. He was doing Jean-Luc a favor and Picard did him one in kind as he died. That damn hug. This show is worthy to exist just for that. I just wish he and Picard interacted more this season.
This season was amazing, and the finale really got to me. My current favorite show on the air. I will be sad to see it go after next season. *****.
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds "Strange New Worlds"
This has gotten a very good reception because it is a very "Back to Basics" Star Trek show. I agree we needed one and I like it for that. But let me also put this weird idea into your head: Discovery and Picard both being so "divisive" is actually okay. I'm a Star Trek fan. As far as fandoms go, and risk-taking, Star Trek used to be one of the safest franchises you could imagine. I understand the need to cling on (groan!) to that. It's what I've always liked about the show too. But as many pleasant memories as I have about The Original Series and The Next Generation, the truth is a LOT of both of those show's runs were VERY shaky. The best Star Trek series was Deep Space Nine, which was, say it with me, DIVISIVE at the time. Now it is beloved. I'm not suggesting the same is due Discovery and Picard. Discovery in particular will probably not live up to Star Trek's standards years later in hindsight. But the truth is Star Trek has always been at its best when it takes risks.
Did I love what I just saw? Yes. Am I giving something that pleasurable a near-perfect four and a half stars? Yes. Is that still half a star less than what I gave Picard's finale on the same day? Yes. I appreciate this show for making Star Trek accessible again. But I specifically like Picard because it makes things about the franchise, and even the canon, uncomfortable. And it raises questions that SHOULD be raised. Will I enjoy Strange New Worlds every week as a return to form for Star Trek? Undoubtedly. Will I ever love it as much DS9 or Picard? I very much doubt it.
I'm glad we have a nice, regular Star Trek show on the air. That's good for all of us, the franchise included. But I don't see the label "divisive" as negative as many other Star Trek fans do. In point of fact, Star Trek has always courted controversy.
I liked the parallels the very first episode raised with our world. Like Picard's finale, it moved the date of the Eugenics Wars to fit into an upcoming Second Civil War (eerily plausible) and finally we got a LOT of firm details about World War III. That specific thing has been with the franchise since the very first episode of The Next Generation. It never seemed plausible to me back in the day but it feels familiar now after Putin and Trump. The reason I still don't exactly believe in this series and its ideals is because I don't see how we come back from that. And this is why Gene Roddenberry is a better optimist that me. He knew sucky stuff was coming, and decided that even if none of us lived to see it, humanity itself would be all right. Do I believe him? Do I agree? No, on both counts. But the best thing I can say about it is that I can't DISPROVE him. I think Roddenberry had a LOT of shaky ideas about sexism, grief, and psychiatry, but that specific thing can't be argued against because it's entirely speculative. And fiction IS speculative by definition. My idea of a paradise for humanity is also vastly different than Gene's (humanity as seen on The Next Generation is frightfully boring) but even if I don't agree with what would make a good future, I still want a good future. My argument is that the ideals of a better future for humanity should not be down to one man, especially if that man didn't really understand how people worked. And I think this episode and this show were strong because they didn't offer easy answers, and Pike had to do the best he could. And Starfleet was so peeved at the great job he did, they invented the Prime Directive so that no-one else can ever be allowed to do something that awesome ever again, which is something I like, because it's taking a shot at Starfleet and one of Gene's sacred cows. And I love that DS9 and Picard routinely did that. I expect that far less on this show, but I feel safer knowing the vision is probably something molded together by a GROUP of writers and producers instead of one dude. I like that very much.
Starting to see the genesis of why T'Pring soured on Spock. Can't blame a woman when the guy takes off on their wedding night.
Quick Question: This episode was written by Akiva Goldsman, one of the masterminds behind Titans. That is one of the worst television shows of all time and Goldsman has routinely turned in some of the worst fictional scripts for that show I had ever had the misfortune of sitting through. Why is his work on this show okay? For that matter, why is Geoff Johns' stuff on Stargirl okay? Titans REALLY should not be as bad as it is if its creators can actually deliver solid scripts elsewhere. It makes zero sense to me, actually.
But I digress. To make a long story short, it just feels great to be able to outright ENJOY Star Trek once again. But please keep in mind that Star Trek is often at its best when it makes us uncomfortable. It doesn't have to be either / or. ****1/2.
Moon Knight "Gods And Monsters"
That was surprisingly great. The show lost me last week, but when Marc tell Steven that he is his actual superpower it totally won me back. I also feel like the events of the episode made the pain and horror of the last episode feel worthwhile, which is no easy feat.
I'm glad the third personality wasn't forgotten. The reality is Khonshu is a total manipulative bastard and always has been.
Will there be a season two? The open ending says it's possible, but there was no teaser at the end of the credits promising it either. We'll have to see, I guess. I however would not like to leave things here.
Nevertheless, I was very satisfied with that. *****.
DC Showcase: Constantine: The House Of Mystery
I really shouldn't be surprised that sucked so much. Justice League Dark: Apokalips Wars may go down in DC history as the worst ending to any long-running DC franchise ever. It's beloved by SO many people, but it's utter crap. I am totally unsurprised at how unsatisfying the epilogue to that whole sorry canon was. I don't think I should even be as pissed as I am. But I'm plenty pissed.
The short was by turns gruesome and obnoxiously salacious, and the ending meant nothing with zero context. It's all awful.
I found the fact that both Universes have different art styles the one interesting thing. It says the series of DTVs that Butch Lukic is currently helming ARE the rebooted Universe from the Tuckerverse. There also suggests that before what happened at the end, Constantine is the only person left with memories of that Universe. This is almost certainly Matt Ryan's last performance as the character (they closed the door pretty firmly there at the end) and like the equally punkass way he went out on DC's Legends Of Tomorrow, he deserved a FAR better ending. People like Geoff Johns and Zack Snyder fall upwards at DC. True assets like Matt Ryan are treated like crap. It's really starting to piss me off. How about you? *.
Young Justice "Odyssey Of Death!"
Tomar Re doesn't survive many continuities, does he? Better death here than he got in Justice League at any rate.
So I liked the episode. And I feel like since I tend to go into detail about episodes I dislike (and there are a lot of them) that it seems unfair for me to simply say I liked it and leave it at that. The problem with doing a deconstruction of an episode I liked (but didn't love) is all I can essentially say is "The Zod stuff was cool. The Crisis cover tribute was cool. Metron was cool. The Promethean was cool. The Dr. Fate and the cliffhanger stuff was cool." Do you see my problem and why it's easier to talk about things I either have problems with or love? My shortest and least memorable reviews tend to be for things I judge "good". And I feel like after all the shots I've taken at the show, that me not saying anything but "Right on," isn't actually good enough.
Do you know why I am sure this is true? Because I spent just a measly sentence describing all the things I liked. And I'm gonna take a paragraph talking about the thing I hate. The Foragers. I don't just find their romance physically repulsive (although the clicking noises they make as they coo at each other are pretty gross) but the way they speak to each other makes me cringe. Starfire always puts the word "The" in front of everything. That's increasingly been part of the joke and obnoxious on purpose. Those two characters referring to themselves and each other in the third person (and by the same damn name) is so freaking earnest instead that I scowl. And how big of a jerk am I that this small insignificant part of the episode is the one thing I felt like going into detail about? Anyone who believes my reviews of Young Justice are unfair, on some level you are right. It's the fact that I don't spend a lot of time marveling over and dissecting "good enough" which is why anyone who thinks I don't cut the show enough slack has my number. What can say? There is very little for me to talk about when the show is solid. ****.
Superman & Lois "Truth And Consequences"
This wonderful episode reiterated two big things for me.
1. I love and value this show.
2. I am actually very easy to please. It's nice to be reminded of that whenever my endless negative reviews make me believe I'm a cynic. What does this show do right that the rest of The Arrowverse fails at? Why does this specific show resonate for me even if the political aspect is as bad as the rest of the Berlanti stuff?
Answer: I am a very simple and reasonable viewer. You can laugh at that notion with the amount of fans of beloved stuff I've invariably pissed off with my reviews, but damn it, it's true, and this episode proves it. If a TV show gives me what I want, I will respond positively to it. Joss Whedon's "You don't get what you want, you get what you need," spiel was ALWAYS utterly bogus. After I finished Dollhouse I was like, "I don't freaking need this!" But Clark pledging to tell Lana his secret at the end of the episode (with the support of his family) and the producers allowing him to do it is what I wanted. I think I recognize my own wants and needs very much, Mr. Whedon. I don't need help with that from the likes of you. Especially because you and I value and believe very different things.
When Clark tells Jonathan at the beginning that the problems they are going through don't matter, and that he's his son, and he loves him, I was again reminded strongly of how absolutely easy I am to please. It really doesn't take much to keep me happy. Keep that true thing in mind the next time I rail against Titans or Riverdale. I'm really not all that picky. You just think I am because television currently sucks so much. But that's not MY fault. I do actually love and enjoy good things. *****.
Naomi "Worst Prom Ever"
Great episode title.
The way Nathan broke up with Naomi at the end was SO freaking sweet. I have mentioned before my love of "Good hurts". That almost qualified. Except it was so damn romantic, I didn't actually feel any hurt at all. Damn good trick, there.
I railed against last week's episode. Naomi being given so much information at the beginning of the episode says my disdain was absolutely justified there. The show was definitely screwing us around for an extra week which is something I hate.
This episode however was pretty great. ****.
The Flash "Death Falls"
Here's something you may not know: If a good episode of a given show is spinning along for 35 minutes or so, if the last five or ten minutes are bad, it turns it into an actual bad episode. I thought the scares were suitable creepy until then, and I liked the debate Deathstorm raised about Frost being a real person. But that ending means this show is just as crappy as it always was.
And this is the exact problem with the rest of The Arrowverse too (save Superman & Lois, so far, knock on wood). Frost isn't dead. Nobody will believe that. Even if Danielle Panabaker were leaving the show, and they gave Frost a big self-sacrificing death to memorably send the character off here, that's not what happened in this episode. What happened was this show committed one of the absolute worst sins a television show can commit: It made its characters grieve a death that didn't really happen. Forget the annoyance of putting the viewer supposedly through an emotional wringer just to walk it back in a few weeks. Or doing the same thing to the characters. What every show that does a fake death or a fake-out dream sequence is telling the viewer is that it cannot be trusted. "I have lied and will lie about some hugely important and powerful things in the past and currently, and have no plans to stop lying to you." Do you as a viewer see this flaw in this type of writing? What happens when you abuse a viewer's trust over and over again? If and when the show DOES decide to kill off a character for real, the audience will not automatically accept it at face value. It won't land properly or hit them hard when it should. They will look for loopholes instead, and ways out of the scenario. That is dramatic poison, and this is not something I should need to point out. Anyone with even a cursory familiarity with writing should already know it too.
Can I tell you who I blame for this? You. Every single comic book fan reading this review is at fault. Because the entire genre has built itself an industry around the idea that death is impermanent and doesn't matter, and you've rewarded them with book sales. Instead of calling b.s. on this type of storytelling, comic book fans hang on the edge of every word of known and proven liars. Why? Why have you told creators through their pocketbooks that this low-down dirtiest method of storytelling is acceptable? Look what you have done. If every single one of you got as angry about this crap as you should get, it wouldn't happen.
Soap opera fans similarly have a high tolerance for b.s. storytelling, but the difference there is the women watching those shows know they are b.s. for it. It's a morbid joke among soap opera fans that their genre is ridiculous. And yet comic book fans instead demand mainstream critics and audiences to treat their nonsense seriously. They deserve Oscar and Emmy consideration, and are pissed when they are justifiably ignored instead. Geoff Johns wears that stupid hat while telling us in interviews that comic books are the modern Shakespeare, and creation myth allegories. While the books buy back several deaths a year. Geoff, do you truly think Shakespeare ever said, "Just messing with y'all!"? Was there ever a massive four-part play called "Reign Of The Hamlets"? Then shut up, man. You're embarrassing yourself.
I have pissed off a lot of comic book fans with my reviews, and I expect this one will be no different. Here is a suggestion for you: Get more pissed off. At the comics and superhero franchises themselves. Believe it or not, you DO deserve better. Maybe I'm taking shots at your sacred cows simply because they aren't sacred, and should never be confused for such. I have lost and will lose friends over this. But really, I rail against this crap every week, and no-one else does. What else am I supposed to think? *.
Star Trek: Picard "Farewell"
I personally loved it, but I suspect it's gonna get some blowback. Before discussing the things I love I feel like defending the thing that people will go into conniptions over.
It's the Khan foreshadowing. This takes place in 2024 and the Eugenics Wars supposedly occurred in 1996. Let me just state that Star Trek: The Original Series was WRONG to set the wars in that early timeframe and maybe this episode is wrong for suggesting the beginning of them now. But I don't feel like that is something that should be given a definitive date for since it supposedly either is about to occur or already did. And the reason TOS was wrong to set them in 1996 is that we all lived through 1996 and they never happened. The Reeves-Stevens have tried to retcon that idea in Star Trek novels that they happened and we just weren't aware of them, but the better answer is that TOS made a continuity mistake that can and should be ignored. And Soong being the genesis of them makes a TON of sense given Noonien Soong's first name and Arik Soong's history with the Augments. So I don't want to hear from canon nitpickers about this. I actually agree with you guys about how fast and loose they are playing things with Picard and Guinan's history. This however is fine.
Wil Wheaton's joy at playing Wesley as the Traveler is infectious. Literally the first time I've loved and enjoyed that character. It's very cool Star Trek managed to keep that under wraps.
I also LOVE the implication that Wesley as the Traveler was the guy Gary Seven reported to in "Assignment Earth". It's especially cool to think about because Wesley was (obnoxiously) created as a stand-in for Gene Roddenberry. It would be kind of neat if he was the dude who had actually always called the shots on the aborted spin-off Gene tried to get off the ground but couldn't.
Rios stayed in the past. Does this mean Santiago Cabrera is off the show? Depends on how many Rios holograms are still running around in the future.
The second Agnes did her whole hoary "new kind of Borg" speech at the end of the last episode I knew she was gonna be the Borg Queen we saw at the beginning of the season. I just didn't say so in case I was wrong.
But the REAL thing that made me squeal in delight was of course Picard and Q's hug at the end. How rewarding was that? And of course, it's not that Q is evil this season. He never was. He was doing Jean-Luc a favor and Picard did him one in kind as he died. That damn hug. This show is worthy to exist just for that. I just wish he and Picard interacted more this season.
This season was amazing, and the finale really got to me. My current favorite show on the air. I will be sad to see it go after next season. *****.
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds "Strange New Worlds"
This has gotten a very good reception because it is a very "Back to Basics" Star Trek show. I agree we needed one and I like it for that. But let me also put this weird idea into your head: Discovery and Picard both being so "divisive" is actually okay. I'm a Star Trek fan. As far as fandoms go, and risk-taking, Star Trek used to be one of the safest franchises you could imagine. I understand the need to cling on (groan!) to that. It's what I've always liked about the show too. But as many pleasant memories as I have about The Original Series and The Next Generation, the truth is a LOT of both of those show's runs were VERY shaky. The best Star Trek series was Deep Space Nine, which was, say it with me, DIVISIVE at the time. Now it is beloved. I'm not suggesting the same is due Discovery and Picard. Discovery in particular will probably not live up to Star Trek's standards years later in hindsight. But the truth is Star Trek has always been at its best when it takes risks.
Did I love what I just saw? Yes. Am I giving something that pleasurable a near-perfect four and a half stars? Yes. Is that still half a star less than what I gave Picard's finale on the same day? Yes. I appreciate this show for making Star Trek accessible again. But I specifically like Picard because it makes things about the franchise, and even the canon, uncomfortable. And it raises questions that SHOULD be raised. Will I enjoy Strange New Worlds every week as a return to form for Star Trek? Undoubtedly. Will I ever love it as much DS9 or Picard? I very much doubt it.
I'm glad we have a nice, regular Star Trek show on the air. That's good for all of us, the franchise included. But I don't see the label "divisive" as negative as many other Star Trek fans do. In point of fact, Star Trek has always courted controversy.
I liked the parallels the very first episode raised with our world. Like Picard's finale, it moved the date of the Eugenics Wars to fit into an upcoming Second Civil War (eerily plausible) and finally we got a LOT of firm details about World War III. That specific thing has been with the franchise since the very first episode of The Next Generation. It never seemed plausible to me back in the day but it feels familiar now after Putin and Trump. The reason I still don't exactly believe in this series and its ideals is because I don't see how we come back from that. And this is why Gene Roddenberry is a better optimist that me. He knew sucky stuff was coming, and decided that even if none of us lived to see it, humanity itself would be all right. Do I believe him? Do I agree? No, on both counts. But the best thing I can say about it is that I can't DISPROVE him. I think Roddenberry had a LOT of shaky ideas about sexism, grief, and psychiatry, but that specific thing can't be argued against because it's entirely speculative. And fiction IS speculative by definition. My idea of a paradise for humanity is also vastly different than Gene's (humanity as seen on The Next Generation is frightfully boring) but even if I don't agree with what would make a good future, I still want a good future. My argument is that the ideals of a better future for humanity should not be down to one man, especially if that man didn't really understand how people worked. And I think this episode and this show were strong because they didn't offer easy answers, and Pike had to do the best he could. And Starfleet was so peeved at the great job he did, they invented the Prime Directive so that no-one else can ever be allowed to do something that awesome ever again, which is something I like, because it's taking a shot at Starfleet and one of Gene's sacred cows. And I love that DS9 and Picard routinely did that. I expect that far less on this show, but I feel safer knowing the vision is probably something molded together by a GROUP of writers and producers instead of one dude. I like that very much.
Starting to see the genesis of why T'Pring soured on Spock. Can't blame a woman when the guy takes off on their wedding night.
Quick Question: This episode was written by Akiva Goldsman, one of the masterminds behind Titans. That is one of the worst television shows of all time and Goldsman has routinely turned in some of the worst fictional scripts for that show I had ever had the misfortune of sitting through. Why is his work on this show okay? For that matter, why is Geoff Johns' stuff on Stargirl okay? Titans REALLY should not be as bad as it is if its creators can actually deliver solid scripts elsewhere. It makes zero sense to me, actually.
But I digress. To make a long story short, it just feels great to be able to outright ENJOY Star Trek once again. But please keep in mind that Star Trek is often at its best when it makes us uncomfortable. It doesn't have to be either / or. ****1/2.
Moon Knight "Gods And Monsters"
That was surprisingly great. The show lost me last week, but when Marc tell Steven that he is his actual superpower it totally won me back. I also feel like the events of the episode made the pain and horror of the last episode feel worthwhile, which is no easy feat.
I'm glad the third personality wasn't forgotten. The reality is Khonshu is a total manipulative bastard and always has been.
Will there be a season two? The open ending says it's possible, but there was no teaser at the end of the credits promising it either. We'll have to see, I guess. I however would not like to leave things here.
Nevertheless, I was very satisfied with that. *****.
