William Snakespear

I was curious if anyone had any theories around the entity that caused our characters so much distress, I had a look on here and remembered why I stay away from fandoms these days.

I'm not generally a fan of body horror, so I'm not sure I'll watch this one again, but I have Thoughts:

As I understand it, body horror is about getting under the surface. Peel back the layers, see what's really there. So what are we seeing?

For Kirk and Spock, the person who appears to them represents the path not taken. A better path, maybe: T'Pring, perfectly logical, brilliant, and self-possessed, a good Vulcan daughter; and Sam, the loving father, who eschews ambition for family and still has a place on the flagship. For each of them, staying true to himself is painful - but maybe less so than following another's path.

La'an sees a stranger: a lone woman, disbelieved, who destroys herself to save her crew and in the act destroys them as well. Is this a path she sees - and fears - for herself?

I like that we're seeing Kirk struggle with his choice. I like that he and Sam each reflect their semi-absent father: one by pulling his children closer, and one by pulling away.

(I'm baffled by fans who think this is inconsistent with STII. The movie established that Kirk wasn't there for David growing up, and that hasn't changed: David is an infant, Carol has cut them off, and he won't remember anything but what his mother tells him.)

I'm curious to know where we'll go with La'an's augment DNA. Will this lead to the end of her story? The show has done well by her so far; can they sustain it?

okay I've only seen the clip out of context but

Who the Hell Is in The writer's room??

Because I swear to God one of the more popular fan canons to leap off of shore leave (which of COURSE was a theo sturgeon ep) was that while spock never got to experience his Omicron Delta hallucination/manifestation, it WOULD have been his captain, alive, rested, well, and attentive to Spock's every need, whatever that may be.

And... and the clip that I saw??? Where it's supposedly a vacation gone wrong????

Spock who is fucked up, hallucinating Jim Kirk in his quarters to play chess with him.

Hallucination!Jim isn't visible when other people are in the room with Spock, but reappears the second they leave and proceeds to suggest they order vegetarian junk food (French fries).

THEN Spock mentioning the mind meld leaving a shard of Jimmy boy behind in his mind (which is ALSO the basis of a good percentage of spirk content)

And when Spock suggests that this hallucination might be because he's got some unmet emotional need, hallucination!Jim goes ahead and brings him in a hug, which Spock returns.

And Spock keeps insisting that he's not doing good, and he keeps getting told "Just pull yourself together", which isn't expected of anyone else.

It's like when you go to the doctor as someone who isn't very emotionally expressive and you say that you're in a lot of pain, and they're like, "No, if you were, you'd be writhing on the floor. Just do some yoga and don't bother anyone with your complaints."

And I can't shake the image of Kirk saying to Spock: "I believe you. How about you sit down and I get us some board games to pass the time?" Because when Spock says he's not okay, that's all Jim needs to hear. No accusations of overreacting or doubts because it's not how a human would look when drunk. Spock's not okay, period, end of sentence.

I desperately want to see more of the shenanigans and stuff everybody got up to XD

Una starts singing 15 Klingon ballads in karaoke

M’Benga starts bartending and dropping glasses everywhere but having a grand old time

Pike goes and starts getting tattoos and is just so bubbly and happy

Uhura throws a rocking party and lets go of all the stress and professionalism she holds onto when she’s working

Scotty becomes the biggest most adorkable idiot to ever idiot

Chapel absolutely wipes the floor with old ladies at bingo

La’an gets more aggressive than normal to let off all her steam

Spock hangs out with Kirk, dumps all his deepest darkest secrets on him, and starts seeing everyone as plants.

(as he should be there)

(as you should)