Star Trek: Strange New Worlds
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First, theyre both very much in demand and keep getting hailed with questions.
As Pike correctly surmises, Batels been passed over for promotion to commodore.
If they thought they were keeping it casual, they were lying to themselves.
They dont see each other enough, and the fact theydosee each other is hurting Batels career.
They clearly want to be together but, for many reasons, cant.
She leaves unhappy (and unfed).
Its a bummer of a night.
Its also about to take a turn for the dramatic.
Or so they thought.
An aerial photo reveals a landscape reshaped in the form of a Starfleet delta.
Now, having realized they contaminated a culture, they need to go correct their mistake.
(They follow the Prime Directive for a reason.)
He can only clean up one mess at a time.
Its a big mess too, one that involves piloting a shuttle down through a rough atmosphere.
Its the perfect job for Ortegas, who is excited to join the landing party for once.
Most of the time, I fly the ship.
It would be a rough journey even without incidents of memory loss and confusion.
This might not be entirely his fault.
But its not just those on Rigel VIIs surface who suffer from its effects.
Her condition baffles Chapel and unnerves Ortegas.
Then it starts to spread.
And above all, it means dealing with the Forgetting.
We dont lose the deeply held things, Luke tells them.
Everything else has to be preserved through body art.
(Shades ofMemento.)
The question of what meets the definition of deeply held things gets explored the rest of the episode.
Hes a true believer.
Meanwhile, back on theEnterprise, things have gottenreallybad.
Memory loss is starting to claim more crew members.
The outlook is grim!
Luke ought to know.
And, frankly, hes fine with it, at least for now.
I am Erica Ortegas.
And knowing how to do that saves their lives.
Everything else is inessential.
The problem is the planet itself, which causes those without protection to forget.
But those effects dissipate with protection, as Pike discovers while in the process of beating Zac senseless.
And with that, the day is saved.
Realizing he has to apologize to Batel, Pike makes some creative choices in transferring Zack back to Starfleet.
You brought me home, he tells her before asking forgiveness.
And who could say no to that?
As the episode ends, what was off again is now clearly on again.
They complement each other, however, even if they sometimes come to different conclusions.
Its not until his memories return that hes fully himself again and can restrain himself from killing Zack.
Hit It!
Where did Luke form those memories in the first place?
Are all Field Kalar palace castoffs?
How do those without memories fall in love and start families?
Theres probably not enough room in the episode to explore every aspect of Field Kalar culture.
Maybe that totem holds all the answers.
Reed Birneys performance as Luke makes it easy not to worry about these matterstoomuch, though.
Emotions are not facts, Spock asserts a couple of times.
But this episode doesnt entirely bear out that way of thinking.
Its hard to disagree with Una.
Pike and Bateldomake for a good match.
