Strange New Wednesdays - Ad Astra per Aspera

0:04 Space the Final Frontier. These are the voyages of Strange New Wednesdays, It's continuing mission to explore episodes of Strange New Worlds, to seek out new information and new discussions, to boldly go where no podcast has gone before. Hello everyone, and welcome back to Strange New Wednesdays, where we continue to talk everything about the current season of Star Trek Strange New Worlds. Once again Red Alert, please be a warm spoilers or ahead, so if you haven't seen this week's episode, please stop, go watch it and then come back to join us. I am David Burns, I am Chief Engineer mister Scott, and I'm Wayne whited Scott. Welcome back from your away mission. We missed you last episode. I missed it, but you guys did a great job last week and I can't wait to dive into this one. Yeah me too.

1:19 So today we are discussing season two, Episode two, add Astra Perth Barrio through Hardships to the Stars. What does that mean you guys? I was kind of surprised to learn that it's the state motto of Kansas. I think it's kind of telling. I didn't see any kind of connection of Kansas to Star Trek. I'm sure there's something. Feel free to put comments in um, but no. I thought that was kind of interesting, But I think it gives a lot of depth to this episode. It really does. Yeah, Wayne, can you give us a quick recap of this episode? Yeah. Arrested for concealing her identity as an Illyrian, the Enterprise's first officer, Una chen Riley is placed on court martial for violating Starfleet's anti genetic modification laws as her commanding officer and friend, Captain Pike, travels to Ilaria to recruit her an attorney who also shares past history of Una and plans on using the trial for her own personal purposes. The case seems straightforward Commander Chin Riley violated the law and philossil flated her application to Starfleet, living a twenty five year long lie, but as the trial progresses, it seems like her transgressions may bring the fall of others she cares for, most concluding Captain Pike.

2:37 Nice. So, gentlemen, this was a very heavy, serious episode. Yeah. You didn't have any fighting or major special effects. This was an emotional drama driven in courtroom fight in a damn good one. I want to add, Yeah, it was a gripping episode. I mean, a lot of the courtroom episodes are thinking like you mentioned last time, Measure of a Man, the Drumhead, a lot of those episodes really draw you in and dive deep into the drama, and this is no different. I think this is one of the best courtroom episodes we've had in Trek. Yeah, I would agree with that. I agree too. Um. You know, this actually brought a lot of memories to the original series episode Court Martial. There were a lot of similarities to it. Really, this is perfect Star Trek.

3:29 All the shows have court shows, and this could because this could have been written for any of the series, it would fall in perfectly. It's It's a typical but perfect Star Trek episode. Yeah, you know, we get some really good character development in this episode. You know, we really get to know you know, a lot more than we ever have. But besides her, we got introduced to a wonderful new character. And you know I'm talking about Niam played e Tide. I believe her name is pronounced Ea Tied Badaki Badaki. I believe today did um. She was out standing in this episode. I mean I hung on every word that came out of her mouth, and when she basically used Una because Una wasn't prepared for the questions when she was put you know, on trial, you know, to answer questions. Um, you know, she just went after her because she wanted to get the correct answer from her. Who you know, who turns you in? And you know, she kept saying and finally she's that I did, and then she's why did you do that? Went into all of those details only to get those answers because of what she was going to present to the court later on, basically turning Starfleet's rules upon themselves, which I thought was incredible. Yeah, I don't mind saying I was in tears. Yeah when that, when that revelation happened, My first thought was, oh God, she did this herself to protect her crew. But it was so much

5:02 more than that, and it was just layers and layers and layers. Yeah, it just uh, even even Rebecca Romain, her performance in this was phenomenal, guys. Oh yeah, I mean when she was, you know, answering those questions and she was explaining what had happened to her, what had happened to her family, it was heartbreaking and so much in this episode is stuff that's going on in this world, in this society right now. You know, it has a lot to do what's going on, and just listening to being persecuted and you know, not being able to get the health, the medical help that you need because your family is scared. It was just, man, it was just your right, Scott. I mean it pros and tears. No, it absolutely did. I think you're bringing up two of the actresses that just shone so brightly, even though there there are some other stars in here that did so well, but absolutely their their dynamic as both former friends and as illyrians with different experiences, you know, those who were able to hide versus those who weren't. And when you hear that backstory, when you hear the kind of the crushing details behind it and all of it has laid bare in a courtroom, it was intense, absolutely, and I completely agree. A. T. D did an amazing job in this role, both as a lawyer and as somebody who felt slighted. I

6:35 thought her introduction with Pike was one of my favorite moments, absolutely stand out, and she she was so I don't know what else to say beside's dynamic in that courtroom when she you know, she interviews Admiral April and uses that as a platform to say, like, this is wrong. You guys defy your own prime directive on a regular basis. Yet you're not wanting to do this, even though that became an attack on April. Very necessary and when you see how she uses that at the end to perfectly wrap that up. I go back to Laon's line, which I thought was great, where she was like, why do I feel like I just get hit by a shuttle?

7:19 I feel like that several times? And on a second viewing, it occurred to me that Nia understood that in that moment when Laon is giving her the book and saying, you know, kind of giving her that I guess prop I don't know if that's the right word to kind of make her point about asylum. It was just so masterfully done, and I didn't understand it at that moment, and I was like, what's going to be going on here? Yeah, star Starfleet's biggest problem was because of the genetic thing and because it was of the eugenics War. Do you have anything on that?

8:01 Yeah? The Eugenic Swars, which was brought up first in the original series. Supposedly it was fought between nineteen ninety two and nineteen ninety six, so we're actually already passed that time. So uh, you know, star Trekers really went away from current our true current history. But apparently during the Cold War, the scientists attempted to improve human race using selective breeding and genetic engineering to create a racist superman. They called Augments. That that was what they were called. They rose to power, They dominated the earth over in the early nineteen nineties. They were led by a man named Khan Nunion saying who he ruled the Earth with an iron fist. But eventually humanity rose up against them and defeated the Augments. And but the war, which lasted four years, brought the deaths of tens of millions of people on Earth, but we won, and Cohn and about eighty of his men were they just suddenly disappeared.

9:03 Nobody knew what happened to him. But then later a few years later, in twenty twenty four, man named doctor Adams Song he he brought a ward a new eugenics warm and actually brought to Earth into World War three. And that is where the band for Geenetic Manipulation of on Earth. Started. It was after that they said no more, we're not allowing it, and then later on that band continued on into Starfleet. Well that's interesting. I didn't really know that about Adam song. Was that part of one of the other series, Yeah, that was part of the final season season four. Was one of the main stories in season four of Enterprise. Okay, okay, oh right, friends, Blinderprises are all there, right, Yes, that's right, Yeah, yeah, I remember that notes. Yeah, So, I mean, you see why it was such a big legal battle for you know, for them in this but when you know, he ate a way when you're eight away at it and basically turn it completely upside down on them about the prime directive and you know, all of those kind of things of you know, accepting people who you know want immunity or they need help.

10:13 You know, the Federation of Plans were supposed to be there for that. It's arfully supposed to be there for that. And how near it just turned that upside down was just jaw dropping. Man, I've loved that. That's the best part of the episode of my opinion. Yeah, I mean, it's a it's a fascinating um it's a fascinating part of the series. Getting into the genetically engineered people, you know, going all the way back to you know Cohn from Wrath of Cohn obviously, but getting into enterprise like you said, and then, Um, I think Doctor Basher in DS nine went through what I feel like as a similar story with doctor Basher. I presume when he when we find out that he himself was genetically engineered by his parents, and there's that kind of struggle about him, you know, them doing so because they felt like he wasn't good enough that he was, you know, that he was struggling academically and athletically and things like that. Similarities here where you've got somebody who you know, it's part of her culture.

11:09 It's not something she was choosing to do something it was to her when she was a child, right. Um, it's such a great callback to season one, Um I Forget in the Name of the is a Ghost of Illyria um where Laon and Una get into a fight and you hear Laan kind of spit the word augment at her. Yeah, She's like, I've lived with my all my life augment, everybody calling me augment and it's kind of like, oh my god, Like you see the pain of that that is that is forced with people that live with it, whether they choose to be part of it or not. It's really interesting. I think um Nia had another great line where she had all I think the entire arc with her in Lawn was fascinating. Um where she says, you know they've been telling you that there's a monster hiding in I do there is? There is not right.

12:03 It's because she has that last name doesn't mean that she's predestined to, you know, rise up and take over anything else like that. Exactly their individual decisions such a powerful angle to take with this, yere so um. I mean, any favorite moments in this episode. I think we've mentioned a few of them, but there are quite a few, because I mean some of the characters really got some great moments. They were little, but that's what Star Trek is bringing out character moments. You know, Pike when he would threatened to affixiate himself just to get to be able to talk to the way or a What a great character moment for him. And then also you're refusing to give over the personal logs that I like that too. I liked her standing up for what she felt was right. M and then as you said, Lan, you know, she's facing her own family history, the name that she has to bear, and the problems that come with it. So I just love I love character moments. That's what Star Trek is to me.

13:05 Yeah, there are so many good ones in this one, Scott, what about you? Wayne named off so many and there are so many. There are the one that I want to kind of fixate on a little bit. Um. I guess it isn't necessarily a moment as much of that mini mystery that was woven within this when we were trying to figure out who would have done this, and they didn't lean into it too much, but you could see how much that was weighing on Laan that she thought it was her personal log that was somehow you know, stolen and used to do this. I don't know about you two, but I did not see it coming until she admitted that it was her. But in that in that moment when Nia and Laan are speaking to each other and she's like, who stands to benefit from it? And I was like, I have number one, I have no idea who would ever won a betray una, especially if the core crew, But I have no idea who would benefit and then it hits you like a shuttle. I just love that. Yeah, there's so many moments in this episode that I just would just love to go into more detail, but obviously we can't. But one of the ones that I really loved to was the reverse effect when Vice Admiral Possk, he's the vulcan who was the other lawyer that was trying to you know, get her, you know, court martialed, when he turned the whole conversation onto Pike when he asked her the question when did your captain? When was your captain aware of this? And

14:39 she kept pausing, and then they went to you like different reaction shots of the crew because they're sitting on the ship watching the trial on Tito, which, by the way, guys, I thought that was incredible too. We're getting to see in the court, but we're also getting to see the crew watching the court going on, you know, from this ship. I thought that was a nice touch. But then just seeing the facial react actions, especially if Pike when he was really like, oh rap, you know this is going to turn into a conspiracy, which is exactly where he was going with it, and you know, she couldn't lie, so she had to tell the truth, and I just thought that was just an incredible perportance on the reaction shots from everybody, but even the reactions from when Nia was turning it on Starfleet. If you watch the lawyers, watch the judges, they knew they were had. If you watch their facial reactions, they're like a little ton of smirks were going on. They were like, oh, corrept Shee's goddess idea. I just thought that was so good. But the montage of the crew when they were on the witness stand and they were cutting back and forth and they were getting their responses of what Una meant to them, I thought that was fantastic. Yeah, there was a there was a great Easter egg in there that I'm not sure how many people call it, but when Spock says he's asked if there was something that he thought Una was hiding, and he was like, yes, Pensiant for Gilbert and Sullivan Musicals, I forgot that. That was in an episode called Q and a of short tracks where they're stuck in a turbo lift. Yeah, I forgot about that.

16:12 Listeners, go back and look for short tracks if you haven't gotten into that. It is a great subplot, especially the triple episode. M but that was a fun watch to really see a baby faced Ethan Peck in that. But yeah, that was that was such a such a great range of characters to call on. You've got doctor Ambenga, You've got Um Spock, and you've also got on Um and just there their different approaches to it and a great litany of witnesses to call on the stand. And I love the little continuity connections that they put during the courtroom scene such as well there, first of all, the new dress uniforms look fantastic, and they also look very similar to the original series. And then those little those those clunky memory cards that they throw in the little slots the original series, we solve those, and then we also saw yeah, and then we also saw during the courtroom that Una had her hand on the was like a lie detector, which is exactly what Captain Perk had in court martial. Yep, right, right, So wasn't there I'm gonna ask for I'm gonna ask Wayne to cannon check me here. Um the Menagerie episode, Yeah, that was the two parter where they basically did the flashback with Pike. Right, that's correct. Yeah, that's the one that showed the scenes from the original pilot episode. Yeah, it was also a courtroom episode two. Right. I think that's kind of an interesting tie. You know, you see a lot of those same

17:45 elements used here. Um, and it's another one where it's a it's an officer playing against type um and delivering a great performance. Absolutely so well, I'm pretty sure we'd probably gonna know all of our answers. But which characters do you think shine the most in this episode? Una? I mean, yeah, definitely hers, the number one's character. I mean it was her episode. Last week we had Spot, this week we had her. But really, I mean, all of them shine. They all were fantastic. They all had fantastic performances. So, you know, bravo to all of the cast. The chemistry on this crew is phenomenal. It really really is.

18:26 Yes, I'm feeling next generation level chemistry on this. Yeah, so good. Um Mine's gonna be Near with when on Una. I thought she was incredible in this and it's a tough decision between the two of them. But what Near brought a brand new character, what she brought to this episode just was over the top. And I've never seen this actress before. This is the first time I've seen her. I know she was like an American Gods and some other television stuff. I have never seen her before. She blew me away. Man. I just I have to say that she shined the most in this episode, both of both of them. Absolutely. I think it's an Emy worthy performance. I think it's an absolute crime if they don't at least get nominated for this. I loved seeing that Yetide was a big Star Trek fan and she's been aching to get onto this show, and what a way to enter it with a character of Niram. I wanted to ask, Yeah, absolutely, I wanted to ask the two of you first because I wanted to know I do want to repeat, so I wanted to find one that was a little bit different. I've got to go back to Latan. I love her arc. I think it was a really interesting choice to have somebody of the Nunian sing bloodline on the crew and to carry through what she's kind of going through and kind of showing another side of somebody who struggles with being called an augment. It builds on that when you hear the different names that Una has been called, and the persecution that she went through.

20:00 You get more depth into what Laon may have gone through in her own life, in her own Starfleet career. You know, I'm pretty sure that people know that she has a background of being, you know, a genetically engineered lineage, and she has maybe had to go through similar struggles but not be hidden. And the guilt that she shows the times when it's it's the first time that I've seen that that actress Christda Chong have lens where she's kind of stammering and unsure for somebody who is always like that. I think it was one of the early episodes when they had to go through the genetic engineering to blend in with with that planet. I forget what it was, and she refused the pain medication and she was like, this is going to hurt, and she was like, I don't care. I want the whole thing.

20:52 A character like that to see kind of wobble and kind of bend was fascinating, and I love the fact that we got to pursue her story a little bit in this too. Well. I'm probably gonna think what your answer is for the next episode. I mean, the next question I'm going to ask, But if you could be any Charac in the episode Who would you be? Scott? Uh? And I would I would want to know. Yeah, it'd be a lot because I'd know more about how she's feeling about the trial and the events leading up to it. Yeah. I feel like if we had a little miniso that shows, you know, kind of her flashbacks, or if somebody wouldn't to write something that shows that, I think that'd be fascinating. Wayne, what about you? Um, well, I'd want to be one of the judges because all those churches went through so much emotional turmoil that I wouldn't want to go through that. So I'd rather just be able to sit there, watch the whole thing, give my judgment, and then go home. Yep, David, what about you? For me?

21:45 It's spock surprisingly enough, with the exception of his heated conversation he had with Vice at which I'm sorry for that, um mean, and being put on the witness stand, but you know, he really got to sit back and watch, you know, in a situation like that's where I would want to be, you know, basically in the backseat watching. So yeah, yeah, absolutely, So, um, looks like the next episode is tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow. Um, looks like we get to see Captain Kirk again, is what it is? What it looks like leon as a Scott was just talking about, looks like she's gonna have a big role. That might be her episode to shine some more. So Yeah, yeah, I think we're going to get from from what I've seen a couple stills, there's uh, seems like there's good dynamics between Kirk and lan. Um. It also made me think, so if we're getting a little bit of time travel, it might be that we're getting into a fun episode, possibly some alternate timeline kind of things. Um. I do wonder if we're going to see a little bit of Carol Kane's engineer I hope so twentieth century Earth in this.

22:52 I think she knocked it out of the park. What a yeah for an engineer lover lover Ye, yeah, she definitely feels that feels the shoes of any from Scottie, you know, and all that. I love her, love her so much. I cannot wait to see more. Yeah, and I'm glad to see that Jim Kirk character come back. That actor did such a great job in that season one finale. It's great to see him coming back and having fun with the So what do you think it's gonna happen next, guys. I think we're going to get into lighter territory a little bit. I think we're going to get law On In in a position of leadership with this one definitely taking center stage, but not focused on you know, her her past with genetic engineering or her past on the Gorn or anything else like that. Um. I think it's interesting. We'll see a little bit of a different dynamic as far as if Captain Pike wasn't there, who would be in the crew. And it's not just Jim Kirk in the chair, but it's a couple of other changes that I think will be an interesting dynamic. Right, We've we've been hit so much, especially with this dis courtroom drama was so heavy, I think, and we've got the crew back together again. I think we're gonna start seeing those single episodes again for a little bit, you know, where we're exploring and having some fun stuff.

24:06 I think we're going to see the little bit before we go back into the coming war with the Gorns and stuff like that. So I feel that's where I'm going waining you. Oh, I agree, with both of you. I think we're going to continue the trend of really showcasing the individual characters. We're definitely gonna get into the light, lighthearted territory. We know that's coming up. But yeah, I'm as for the full storyline, I'm not really not sure where the season is going to be going or where we're going to end up, but I'm looking forward to seeing it. It's gonna be fun, man, It's gonna be fun. I cannot wait. Yeah, especially with last week with the Klingons and the Gorn. Ye, so many fun things to do. Yeah, and again talking about this crew, how the chemistry is just incredible with them. I cannot wait to go on further adventures with them. I just can't wait. Yeah, yeah, all right, So we're gonna open up a channel give us your thoughts, your predictions, and questions on social media. If you want to leave a comment, discuss what's next, or even how suggestions, you can find us at www dot film by podcast dot com. A film by podcast at gmail dot com if I'm a film by podcast on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Thanks everyone, all right, thanks, yes, let's say you later