Yeah I just didn’t see the need for it except that it was maybe a bit of propaganda? But if you have a weapon of this level of mass destruction, that is all you need to gain “support”.

Nus Braka falls a bit flat for me. I just don’t get his vision for the universe. Is it anarchy? Does he want to rule? Is it just revenge? No idea. Again, ten episodes is not enough.

Yeah this was my highlight of this episode and I wished we could have seen her even more. I am also a bit sad that Thok was benched in the last few episodes, I think it would have been great to see her also in this crisis situation more

I think this was a solid, but a bit boring finale. I think it was strongest during the scenes where Reno was commanding. Everything else just dragged. Mostly because there are no stakes here. We know the Federation won’t end, or Nus win, or anyone die. It is clear from the beginning. But then it drags.

The “trial” made no sense to me. You already have the federation hostage. Why would you need to put on a show? Nus was a bit of a hollow villain, and I hate it when shows/movies/books/games try to give villains a reason for being evil. Especially when it is so convoluted now. Let Federation be the bad guy for once! I think it would be enough if Federation couldn’t have helped in a crisis situation. Such systemic failure is enough to push people to bad places. But here, we get the son of a secret weapon manufacturer turned terrorist. Meh.

But overall, this was a strong first season. The worst episode was “mediocre”, which is quite strong for a Trek series lol, and some real bangers. I think the 10 episode format is way to little and they should have cut one person from the main cast for better focus. I would have cut Reymi.

Is there any chance for a resolution of this story where Caleb’s mother does not die?

I think this was a solid episode, but very “by the books”. No real surprises here plot wise. Well except these deus ex machina mines

Yeah, I remember she said something to that effect, but it is a bit hard for me to believe that trained specialists in trauma therapy did not achieve anything, but Tilly with the power of drama did.

I am also not one of these specialists, but some methods used by Tilly seem… Counterproductive? Like cornering a traumatized young adult emotionally seems like it could backfire heavily.

But then again, I can’t think of any TNG episode that brings up trauma. Picard seems to be left alone with his Borg trauma, at least it’s never brought up again (except for the visit at Chateau Picard).

Some stuff just does not advance that much, even in long timeframes. By that logic, you could criticize the series for not everyone linking to a supercomputer and share information immediately instead of “talking” which has been the way to share information for millenia now. Or you could criticize TNG for not having come up with a solution to this yet.

Geordi chose the equivalent of a wheelchair that constantly kicks you in the balls. His VISOR gives him actual pain. Polaski gave him alternatives, even curing his blindness, and he refused. There’s also that DS9 episode with the alien that comes from a low grav planet and has to rely on a wheelchair for anything. Bashir could have “fixed” her, she refused.

Also, I am not saying I agree on every view that is brought up in Star Trek. There are (even today) many ethical discussions on what constitutes as a disability, and whether it would be ethical to cure it or not (or at what stage of life). I am just saying that in the world of Trek, the process of things has always been evaluated more important than the solution. That’s the spirit of the series.

The way it is done is very much Trek, though. Geordi didn’t get his blindness “fixed”, even though Pulaski gave him options to do so. In contrast to the genre of cyberpunk (which you brought up in a different comment), Trek is not about overcoming what it means to be human, but fully embracing the full human nature. Disabilities are not meant to be overcome or erased (but to what degree this is true could of course be debated), but accepted.

Likewise, I guess the process overcoming trauma is considered as the goal, because you learn something from it. Of course everybody could just take a happy pill every day, but likewise, they could create genetically enhanced superhumans that try to take over the universe. But this is not what Star Trek is about, and it never was.

But I agree that the psychological treatment is a bit subpar in this episode, and it is weird that they did not introduce a trained psychiatrist/counselor, but instead a Lieutenant who bears her own share of trauma. Definitely educational, but solely from a therapeutic perspective, probably lacking.

I think overall a solid episode. I agree with some commentators, the SAM plot should have been the main focus (basically because that would make it a Doctor episode). The stakes were indeed low, because you know SAM won’t die. I’m also intrigued in how she’ll behave from now on.

The theatre plot, no idea. Why do they need Tilly to do it? Especially if all she does is ask “What do you think this line means?” Like a high school literature teacher. You’d think they bring her because she experienced trauma herself, but it’s not even brought up really? Anyway, their therapy consisted of reading the lines, some drunk shouting and reconciliation. Not sure this is how it works.

The previous episode is still the weakest of the season to me, by far. This one again felt like two plots that were a bit cut short. I think the idea of dealing with trauma in these young people is a good theme for an episode, but I’m not sure what the episode is trying to tell me. I think it would have been more interesting to see the War Academy’s approach to trauma therapy (I mean it’s one of their cadets that died) and compare it to SFA, and then maybe we’d get something out of this. Overall, a 7/10 for me with a tendency towards 6.