Amac Productions

Oh my goodness, this episode is hilarious.

Spock sort of predicts his future.

La’an and Una do Enterprise Bingo to prove they’re fun.

Nurse Chapel has had many romance disasters. With different gender. Awesome. Bet that didn’t appear in the 60s. I love it regardless.

Spock and T’Pring do not like hijinks.

Yet they proceed to fall into it regardless.

Spock punches a guy. T’Pring concurs that this was logical given who he punched. M’Benga just wants to go fly fishing. Nurse Chapel avoids her love life by helping Spock instead.

She is so crushing on Spock.

Which as far as I know is true to the OG series and doesn’t change. Also, the sister episode of this one, in the OG series will feature T’Pring invoking a way to dissolve their bond. The one that Spock has a nightmare about.

But he fights Kirk and not himself.

Overall, this episode is kooky and wonderful.

The Enterprise is headed into a Starbase for repair after the attack from the Gorn. Everyone is getting a bit of shore leave due to this. Except Spock, Pike, Una, and La’an from the looks of it. Because they’re all workaholics.

Regardless of what they say.

Although, I think Pike will admit it just because he loves his job so much. What’s better rest than brokering a new treaty with people?

And when he earns that flag moment, he’s thrilled. That’s probably better for him than any shore leave any day.

Also, I must commend him for figuring out what the species wanted. Because I was confused as hell by their behavior. Especially when they said they didn’t want to see Pike again. I was like… What? You were getting along so well with him.

That they wanted Spock instead.

Then I was like, oh, I could see that. Maybe they felt Pike was too emotionally invested in the deal making. That Spock might fit a better neutral point of view. But then they were acting just like Spock, but Spock wasn’t Spock. And while T’Pring seems like a lovely person who does love Spock, she is not well versed in handling Starfleet matters.

While also battling the fact that she’s in his body trying to do his job while his human emotions ran a bit more amok (no pun intended, the word just fits) because he’s only half Vulcan. Presenting a harder challenge for him.

This is the age-old adage of walk a mile in each other’s shoes.

And the best part of shows like this, we can literally make that happen. We can just body swap because it’s fun. I don’t even care that the explanation is sort of flimsy.

We performed a ritual to bring us closer, and it wasn’t meant to do this, but we don’t know how to put it back either. Time to freak out.

Happened in Charmed. Smallville.

I love it. I love when we can make it happen really and truly. Learn what it’s like to be the other.

Because I don’t think T’Pring realized exactly hinges on Spock’s shoulders. Literal lives. Treaties. Peace. Allies. There’s so much at stake when it comes to Starfleet.

Meanwhile, and I think this is more important. I don’t think Spock realized what T’Pring has to deal with because of her relationship to him. And suddenly, I’m more upset about he’s going to treat her in the future.

Like it was one thing if it were an arranged marriage she just no longer wanted and they never cared for each other. But here, we’re presented with a relationship where they are really trying to make it work. She brought along a coworker so she wouldn’t have to work while she was there. Trying to prioritize time for just them.

While he did not. Again.

Yes, Starfleet is important. But she should rank somewhere pretty high on the bar too.

Just as he does for her.

Not to mention, what we heard from the criminal she was sent to capture. He didn’t want to listen to a word she said because she was involved with a half human Vulcan. How many other people treat her like that?

How many other people see who she loves and despise her? How much prejudice does she deal with?

And I’m not saying that he doesn’t. Clearly, he’s struggling with his own self-image as well. He admits that he doesn’t feel Vulcan enough to be with her. Something that he has been told his whole life. That his human half somehow makes him lesser than a full blood Vulcan.

However, he’s accepted in Starfleet.

While guess what Spock? She doesn’t have that.

She lives on your home planet. People apparently know she’s with you. She’s probably facing a lot of slighting because of it.

While that does not minimize what he deals with, it does illustrate there’s a lot they don’t know about each other. Which is why this was so important, to get them to talk about it. Share. Deal with it together. Especially if they want to get married.

But hey, I know that’s not going to happen.

And honestly, I can’t blame T’Pring for choosing someone else.

Not because she doesn’t love Spock. Not because he isn’t Vulcan enough for her. But because he’s not choosing her the same way she’s choosing him.

She loves all of him. Wants to understand him and what he deals with. Wants him to confide in her. But it’s hard when he won’t do those things. When he believes it himself that he’s lesser because of his human half.

I can understand that she wants a true bond with someone.

And I think Spock should look for that himself as well. Because it’s not T’Pring. And it seems like he likes distancing himself from Vulcan culture. Starfleet and how he feels while he’s there kind of speak to that.

After all, he felt more comfortable confiding in a friend about his fears than the woman he’s going to marry.

A bit telling there.

Oh, and are we getting a Chapel and Spock romance out of this? Is that where this heading?

Because she’s for sure crushing real hard. And he trusts her. There’s obviously something there.

Other things about this episode I liked!

Spock and T’Pring just tell Pike what’s going on rather than keeping up the charade. Yet somehow we end up in the charade a bit anyway to fool the people we’re trying to negotiate with.

T’Pring would probably make a terrible Starfleet officer.

Spock would be horrible trying to rehabilitate criminals.

Una and La’an being buddies and stretching the connection they have together was a wonderful choice. These are two very career focused women. Ones who have clearly never felt comfortable enough to just cut loose and do dumb shit because it’s fun.

However, they trust and feel comfortable enough with each other to agree to try it.

To see what the fuss is about.

With someone who understands why this doesn’t seem fun to you.

And I love that.

As someone who never cared to partake in that kind of thing, it was nice to see it on screen. But it was also nice to see that with the right person, it’s way easier to be an idiot with them. Because they’re not going to mock you. Or say it’s about time. It’s not about peer pressure. It’s not something to hold over your head. It doesn’t make you feel bad.

It’s just good, actual fun with that person you trust completely.

And I love that we got to see Una and La’an being close.

We knew they were. But this is different, getting to see it play out. Getting to see them be goofy and ridiculous together. While also use their smarts to one-up everyone.

Oh, and the interrogations. Just hilarious. Amazing. No notes. Ten out of ten. Please, please, please give me more of this duo.

I loved Una before and I wasn’t sure about La’an until last week. But this is just cementing this crew as one of my favorites. I do love the Next Generation crew slightly more. But this is crew is amazing as well.

They’re just so ridiculous.

Smart, yet dumb.

Amazing.

Please, please, please change nothing and give me this show forever.

I’m also really impressed with Ethan Peck and the actress who plays T’Pring. For playing characters who should – on paper – seem utterly boring or emotionless to play, they are anything but. Because of actors like them who bring them to life. Who captured each other’s mannerisms and the characters so perfectly that I really believed they were in different bodies.

From how they spoke to the way they stood. It was amazing and I cannot commend them enough for bringing these two to life while honoring the past.

Love it!

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