{"id":1153094,"date":"2023-06-22T09:00:27","date_gmt":"2023-06-22T13:00:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.prime-wow.com\/?p=1153094"},"modified":"2023-06-22T09:00:27","modified_gmt":"2023-06-22T13:00:27","slug":"star-trek-strange-new-worlds-finds-the-limit-of-what-a-prequel-can-say","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.prime-wow.com\/?p=1153094","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Star Trek: Strange New Worlds\u2019 finds the limit of what a prequel can say"},"content":{"rendered":"

The following article contains spoilers for \u201cAd Astra per Aspera.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Prequels, especially for well-known properties, are straightjackets which limit their own storytelling possibilities. Dramatic license is hampered by the fact the audience often knows where these characters (and storylines) end up. And any violence to the extant narrative can jar viewers who likely know what\u2019s going on now contradicts what they\u2019ve already seen. Until now, Strange New Worlds<\/ins><\/em><\/a> has navigated this issue well, making a virtue of its well-known conclusion.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\u201cA Quality of Mercy<\/ins><\/a>\u201d deftly played with the fact Pike will eventually get his near-fatal dose of radiation. The episode served to make the tragic nature of his character both a benefit and a burden, making it compelling in the process. In comparison, \u201cAd Astra per Aspera,\u201d serves as an indictment of prequels, exposing the limits of what it can say, and do. Much as it presents a world that\u2019s hopeful of change, long-term viewers know that optimism is misplaced.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s not to say the episode is bad, because it\u2019s another confidently told<\/ins><\/a>, if lightweight, tale in a series that knows it works in that register. It helps that Star Trek wears the tropes of courtroom drama so well, since they\u2019re both prone to a melodramatic exploration of The Big Issues(\u2122). The subtext here is sufficiently broad that there\u2019s a multitude of readings it\u2019ll accept without too much stretching. And there\u2019s at least one actually funny comedy moment where we, once again, see how much more fun Spock is when he\u2019s played as a goofball.<\/p>\n

\"Yetide
\n
Michael Gibson\/Paramount+<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

Number One is preparing to stand trial for fraudulently entering Starfleet despite its ban on genetic modification. She\u2019s thinking about her childhood, where her parents worry about taking her to a doctor and therefore exposing her status. Captain Batel (Melanie Scrofano) \u2013 who for some reason is now a member of Starfleet\u2019s legal corps \u2013 offers a plea bargain with a dishonorable discharge, something Number One recoils at.<\/p>\n

Pike, refusing to passively accept his friend\u2019s fate, jets off to meet Neera (Yetide Badaki), an Illyrian lawyer and former friend of Number One, who has until now refused their pleas for help. His refusal to take no for an answer, and the lure of a high-profile case with which to stick it to the Federation, is enough to convince her to sign up. What follows is the usual courtroom drama, focusing on what prompted Number One to sign up to an organization that hates her.<\/p>\n

We learn Number One was inspired to sign up to Starfleet because of the visible diversity of its crews. But that isn\u2019t enough to win until Neera finds the contradiction between the Federation\u2019s fine words, its goals, and its laws. It\u2019s a subtle, pointed, critique of what Darren Franich dubbed the \u201cCalifornia liberal paradox\u201d in his essay on Star Trek: Insurrection<\/ins><\/em><\/a>. (And Star Trek is nothing if not a creature of Californian values.) He says that those people may wish \u201ceveryone to live comfortably, but would secretly prefer<\/em> that most people live comfortably someplace else.\u201d<\/p>\n

But the court finds Number One not guilty, and she\u2019s allowed to return to active duty on the Enterprise. At the happy ever after reunion in the transporter room, Neera says that while the case affected just one person, it\u2019s a \u201cstart.\u201d She adds that Number One\u2019s visibility as an Illyrian (second) in command of a starship will help turn people\u2019s hearts and minds toward her cause. It\u2019s a hopeful ending, and one that suggests Number One\u2019s story will kickstart a process of change and growth that will eventually see these prejudices and legal blocks go away.<\/p>\n

\"Anson
\n
Michael Gibson\/Paramount+<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

The issue with that ending, and how hopefully it\u2019s portrayed, is that long-time Star Trek viewers know it doesn\u2019t happen. Any hearts and minds that would be changed in this process would be a minority given that \u2013 from this point in Trek history \u2013 things won\u2019t change. Chronologically, we have \u201cSpace Seed,\u201d The Wrath of Khan<\/em>, \u201cDr. Bashir, I Presume\u201d and \u201cStatistical Probabilities\u201d as affirmations of the status quo. At least a century later, people with genetic modifications remain \u2013 in Trek\u2019s narrative \u2013 unable to serve in its premier military, scientific and exploratory branch.<\/p>\n

It lends the episode a tragic quality that isn\u2019t reflected in its presentation, but one that adds a layer of depth for dedicated viewers. Perhaps what I\u2019m describing as a limit of its storytelling is really a smart commentary on how hard it is to bend the arc of history toward justice. In fact, I think I\u2019ve just talked myself around, this is a wonderfully pointed exploration of this stuff, bravo Dana Horgan and Valerie Weiss.<\/p>\n

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https:\/\/www.engadget.com\/star-trek-strange-new-worlds-finds-the-limit-of-what-a-prequel-can-say-130027427.html?src=rss
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\nSource: Engadget – \u2018Star Trek: Strange New Worlds\u2019 finds the limit of what a prequel can say<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The following article contains spoilers for \u201cAd Astra per Aspera.\u201d Prequels, especially for well-known properties, are straightjackets which limit their own storytelling possibilities. Dramatic license is hampered by the fact the audience often knows where these characters (and storylines) end … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[99,110],"tags":[98],"class_list":["post-1153094","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-engadget","category-unfiltered-rss","tag-engadget"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.prime-wow.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1153094","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.prime-wow.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.prime-wow.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.prime-wow.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.prime-wow.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1153094"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.prime-wow.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1153094\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.prime-wow.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1153094"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.prime-wow.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1153094"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.prime-wow.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1153094"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}