Enjoy this episode a lot! La'an was great as the "Evil Vulcan". I got some good chuckles out of that. The hair on Pike was great. The scene after the end titles was great! 4/5 for this one.
Star Trek SNW writers: "AI, we can't come up with a new story line, what can you give us?"
AI: "How about a mix of mainly "The Galileo Seven", plus the movie "Enemy Mine", and then throw in a bit of "Arena" at the end, and don't forget to make it all predictable in just about all aspects."
Star Trek SNW writers: "Perfect!"
Y'know, I really liked this episode up until the twist in the last act and then they went and shot it in both feet! Why in the name of everything Trek are the writers/showrunner of SNW hell-bent on borrowing from everything and redoing TOS in what is, supposedly, a prequel to TOS? I'll give this a 3/5 because it was entertaining until the twist hit. Then they drove it into a ditch...
I was bummed that my friend died right after the Season 2 finale cliffhanger. Now, I don't feel so bad that he missed out on Season 3 of Strange New Worlds. It wasn't worth the wait.
That said, it was a better season than Enterprise and the time-traveling space Nazis season .
"You unlock this door with the key of imagination. Beyond it is another dimension - a dimension of sound, a dimension of sight, a dimension of mind. You're moving into a land of both shadow and substance, of things and ideas. Star Trek: Strange New Worlds just crossed over into the Twilight Zone!".