#Picard moment for my boss

[spirksworld]

I got in trouble with my boss for talking to much and was told to keep things brief. I’m just like Data

[tinderbox210]

After watching the Picard finale yesterday for the 2nd time, and tearing up just as much as watching the first time, I think my brain is finally functioning enough again to pen down some of my thoughts.

Season 3 – what a ride!!!

I did have my ups and downs with the show. While I overly enjoyed s1, I was frustrated and disappointed with s2, mainly due to the way most of the new characters got sidelined (Soji, Elnor) or written off (Rios, Jurati). I always expected for Picard and the new characters to part ways eventually, to let the hatchlings have their own adventures, but I didn’t expect it to happen like this. Apparently it was a budget decision (also the reason why there weren’t more cameos) because they couldn’t afford keeping the new characters while bringing back the old TNG crew, which imo is a real shame. Especially the Raffi/Worf interaction this season showed that more new and old characters interacting could have been fantastic, and no lying, I would have loved so much to see the Stargazer under Rios’ command aiding the Titan last minute against the assimilated fleet – seeing those two legendary ships fight side by side... it could have been even more spectacular than what we got!

This all lead to me being very torn with reservations prior to s3. TNG was the first Star Trek show I’ve watched as a kid, it introduced me to the franchise and shaped me growing up. The show and the characters will always have a special place in my heart and I was very worried they would mess things up like other shows had (*cough*GilmoreGirls*cough*). But thankfully for me, that wasn’t the case – while I’m still sad for what we lost and could have been, I’m also very happy and grateful for what we got.

I loved season 3 and I think the finale was incredible on many levels and a more than worthy send-off for my beloved TNG gang.

There were so many moments I choked up with emotions while watching, so many impressions that stayed with me even after the ending. I think both DISCO and SNW delivered amazing season finales, but neither got the same reaction out of me like this one – from the mind-blowing cinematic action sequences to the intense emotional beats, it had a very natural flow and felt like the fitting accumulation not just of this season but of a lot what came all those years before.

Was it a perfect season/finale without any flaws? Of course not, because nothing is ever perfect and peoples’ opinions/reactions will always be subjective, but I hate the developed culture in fandoms that everything is black and white – that it’s either holier than thou and you’re not allowed to find a single flaw in it, or it’s the shittiest shit to ever exist with people trash talking every chance they get. I understand where some people are coming from being disappointed with this season and I share some of the criticism, but neither the show nor the finale deserve the hate it gets from some parts of the fandom imo (neither did the previous seasons, especially s1).

Vadic was an amazing villain (Amanda Plummer killed it in every scene) and bringing back the Borg made absolute sense to me. The Borg have been such a huge part of TNG, its legacy and Picard’s personal journey, but they’ve also been a strong focus point in Picard since the beginning. S1 had the ex-Bs, s2 had the alternative collective, so it didn’t feel contrived at all but rather inevitable for the prime Borg to be the final boss villain. And seeing that monstrous Borg queen in her nest (with the chilling voice of Alice Krige!), which reminded me lot of the xenomorph queen scene in Aliens, was truly something else! I think the whole plan to team up with the rogue changelings to infiltrate Starfleet so that they can assimilate the fleet via transporters was quite clever, unique and terrifying as transporters were never weaponized like this before.

I loved the emotional beats between the characters and that everyone got their moments to shine in the finale. Of course, I loved that we saw the Enterprise-D back in action and all its glory, taking one final flight to save the day (and what a mind-blowing flight it was!) before it got the well deserved resting place among the other legendary vessels at the fleet museum. I feared the ship would get destroyed along with a few familiar characters dying in the end, but thankfully that didn’t happen as I don’t think I could have handled it (Shaw’s death was heartbreaking enough). I’m actually glad the show decided against the common “kill half the characters in the finale to show it’s the end” trope to give everyone the happy ending they deserved.

Additional, some things I absolutely went feral and emotional about:

- Seven taking command of the Titan with Raffi right beside her and her speech to the bridge crew

- the Titan going berserker on the assimilated fleet as the last bit of Starfleet left (I wondered why no one else came to help despite the warning of staying away, because that felt a little weird considering Earth’s importance to the Federation, but since Prodigy already did that version, I can understand why they chose a different way here)

- the nods to Anton Yelchin and Majel Roddenberry

- seeing the TNG gang operate their old stations, with addition of Beverly taking over tactical and her raining fire and fury on the Borg cube!

- the flight of the Enterprise through the cube reminiscing Star Wars

- Riker and Troi’s epic love help save everyone and Deanna flying the Enterprise again (I loved that scene with the ship showing up above Picard and co. so much!)

- the chilling inside of the Borg cube and the Borg queen giving such strong Alien vibes

- Picard letting himself get assimilated again to save his son and their emotional scenes in the collective were just so powerful (Ed Speleers delievered so much!)

- the real human love of his family breaking Jack out of the queen’s hold

- the final shot of the Enterprise-D’s bridge reminiscing the ending in Generations (sleep tight, my love, you deserve it!)

- Seven getting promoted to Captain by Tuvok (I know, we all hoped for a Janeway cameo, but I’m happy Tuvok survived) and Raffi becoming her No. 1 (I was sad they broke up, but now the future seems full of possibilities with them finally staying on the same ship)

- Raffi and Worf’s goodbye (I really enjoyed their interactions) and Raffi finally getting the second chance with her family she worked so hard for

- the Titan getting renamed Enterprise-G (though I can’t recall what happened to the Enterprise-F – was it destroyed or renamed or do we have 2 Enterprises now?)

- Jack stepping into his parents’ footsteps (with Beverly being Admiral!) and joining Seven and Raffi on the Enterprise-G (now we need for Elnor to get transferred, because I really want him and Jack to become brothers!)

- the setup for the potential spin-off (give me Star Trek Legacy now!!!)

- the wholesomeness of final scene with the TNG crew at 10 Forward bar just reconnecting and playing poker

- the soundtrack!!!!

[reginaldqueribundus]

having a fun friday looking back at some of my star trek tags

#big riker milkers

#every morning quark's wardrobe chose violence

#bi riker or 'biker' if you will is much more important

#i mean riker was on a klingon ship for 0.005 seconds and a klingon woman announced she was going to jump his bones

#riker was tonguing worf's ridges as soon as he heard the words 'men kiss'

#and he used worf's strap-on to do it

#everybody who meets picard ends up with a dead wife

#suck on that jean luc

#it wasn’t his obsidian order implant it was the aggravation of having to watch quark mix horizonal stripes with leopard print day after day

#'hello luffy my name is elim garak and i work for cp9'

#w-when will Bashir-senpai notice me??

#ah yes better give myself the most magnum dong in the quadrant

#so now on top of everything else the bajoran vedek assembly is excommunicating sisko for blasphemy

#i thought 'why are all these clones of mccoy surrounding jim kirk as he pees

#worf i'd like you to meet the woman who fucked me to death

#GIVE. WORF. A JETPACK.

#they probably hooked the orb of time up to the holomatrix so they could go back and fight khan noonien singh or something

#cbs please give us a miniseries about molly and kyoshi o'brien dealing with their family curse

#imagine being trapped in the delta quadrant and the only version of cats you have access to is the 2019 movie

#when u order ur captain picard from wish

#not that i give af what gene thinks

#after all we got to see all of its terrible 1960s takes on gender

#some discussion of michael that isn't just blatant racism

#dr. b's foot fetish strikes again

#how the hell did voyager still manage to have more lines by men???

#the *real* miracle tech of star trek isn't the transporters or warp drive#it's their flawless voice recognition systems

#yeah but you also got your ass whooped by 2 ferengi carrying medieval swords

#star trek is absurd enough it doesn't need a giant buddha running starfleet thank you very much

#she was a wagon#(she had wheels you see)

#some people just see a lizard with marc alaimo's voice and go bug wild#and that's valid

#that awkward moment when your former boss killed your new boss's wife#while possessed by robo zombies

#the captain looks at me funny because i'm the reincarnation of his recently deceased best friend#my past life's klingon ex-husband gets upset if i try to date#and OH YEAH there's a murderer in my head advising me to kill people with this prototype teleportation rifle

#i too must acknowledge that problematic outfit yes but also seven very beautiful hnnngh

#they fight all the time but they also consider it foreplay so like? i guess they're just constantly flirting with each other 24/7

#has like 30 planets that are all identical to earth except everyone is gangsters nazis etc#and aliens who die if they don't get laid every 7 years#don't take them too seriously

#disco misses the mark in some ways#but holy god can we talk about *that* instead of your crippling fear of feminism#please i just want to have one (1) conversation about the show that doesn't involve the word 'sjws'

#i'm a vulcan kinny now i guess

#michael singing 'let it go' as she flies around in her angel suit

#tilly hitting osyraa with a frying pan

#poor sweet neelix would just go see the funny singing cat movie with zero clue that he's supposed to mock it or hate it

#LET HIM HAVE WEIRD TENTACLE SEX YOU COWARDS

i cannot choose a favourite

[thegreaterlink]

Reviewing Star Trek TNG - S2E12 "The Royale"

THE PREMISE

Following a tip from a passing Klingon vessel, the Enterprise finds debris from an Earth vessel orbiting an uninhabitable planet. They beam aboard a sample of the debris and discover its NASA markings and a 52-star American flag, dating the ship to the mid-to-late 21st century and determining that it had travelled well beyond the capabilities of ships of that era.

(I don't usually include images in the plot summary, but this made for a pretty good cold open and was almost the header image, so here)

Scans of the planet reveal a small anomalous area capable of sustaining human life, so Riker, Worf and Data beam down and find a revolving door in the middle of a dark void. Stepping through, they find themselves in an old Earth-style hotel and casino called the Royale, where they find themselves cut off from the Enterprise and unable to leave...

MY REVIEW

This kinda just feels like a holodeck episode which didn't take place on the holodeck.

But just like the holodeck episodes, the production design and costumes are on point, this time with some setting-appropriate music from Ron Jones thrown into the bargain.

But if the hotel isn't the product of a holodeck, then what is it?

Well, after many unsuccessful attempts to escape, the away team decide to explore the building when Data detects human DNA. They follow the signal into one of the rooms and finds a skeleton in the bed (which Data determines to have been dead for nearly 300 years) plus a NASA uniform in the name of Colonel Stephen Richey, a pulp novel titled "The Royale" and Richey's diary, which has only one entry.

They re-establish communications with Picard and report their situation while giving us our explanation: Colonel Richey was the commanding officer of the third manned attempt to break free of the solar system back in 2037 - so we have that to look forward to - but it was never heard from again after communications were lost. Richey's diary explains that he was the sole survivor of an alien contaminant that killed the rest of his crew. Feeling guilty, the aliens created the simulation of the hotel for him using the novel as a guide, believing that it represented humans' preferred lifestyle. Richey survived there for 37 years, with the shallow and cliché characters from the novel's story (which is currently playing out around them) slowly driving him insane. In the end, he welcomed death.

It might sound a bit far-fetched, but it's a pretty cool idea and much more creative than another holodeck malfunction.

It also explains a bunch of seemingly random background characters, such as a goodhearted bellboy trying to help his love interest Rita against a crime boss named Mickey D. Yes, the crime boss that these people are talking about so seriously is named Mickey D. So the whole time this was all I could think of:

Anyone else hungry? No? Just me? Weird.

Also, I'd like to point out that back on the Enterprise Troi is able to perfectly sense Riker's emotions even when he's on another planet and trapped in some pocket dimension thing. And yet half the time she can't read people on adjacent ships. Convenient.

Riker, Worf and Data try to blend in while they work out a plan. Cue Data playing blackjack and having some enjoyable banter with a fun side character named Texas, played by Noble Willingham. It feels like there's some missed potential for Riker and Worf to have their own comedic hijinks though. Then the pure-hearted bellboy gets iced by Mickey D. Never thought you'd see a sentence like that in a Star Trek review, didja?

Picard tells them that this is part of the story, then summarises the novel's vague ending: foreign investors buy the hotel for 12.5 million then go home and leave the assistant manager in charge. So Riker, Worf and Data need to make the necessary money through gambling... only it all goes off pretty much without a hitch, aside from a moment where they need to make sure they stay in character by being generous. It feels like a bunch of these episodes just forgot to have a climax.

The episode ends with Picard and Riker talking about what happened, like how an early 21st century vessel was able to make it so far.

Their conclusion:

My research tells me that the episode's original draft as written by Tracy Tormé was a kind of surreal nightmare about an astronaut being trapped in his most pleasant memory. That admittedly sounds more like an episode of The Twilight Zone than Star Trek, but it still almost definitely would've been a hell of a lot more interesting than what we got here.

6/10 - It's fine, but it could've been so much more.

Previous Episode | TNG Masterpost | Next Episode

[gar-trek]

no i care about ur tng s1 opinions !!

Well anon since you asked..... (imagine we are hiking together, lol :)

Alright... season one of TNG... well... it wasn’t great. In fact, if it was not a Star Trek show, I’m not sure I would have gotten through it at all. Now I'm not saying that I hated it, in fact there was plenty that i did actually like. But overall it just kinda boring and it was hard to really get into it. Sometimes mediocracy is a worse then just being flat out bad, ya know? To keep things comprehensive, since half of this was written in an RV and the other half is written whilst im on 3 hours of sleep, lets put my review into a nice list of things i did not like, and things i did about season one of TNG

The bad:

-I have talked about this before, but I think my main issue with TNG so far is the extremely awkward vibe it has. Shots linger way too long after characters are done talking. the jokes do not hit most the time. the dialogue is often stilted and awkward. The characters just do not feel real to me at all. It's just very very strange. I don't know if its a problem with the writing, the directing or the producing, or maybe just all three, but overall shit is just awkward all the time. I wish the charecters felt more real. Like yeah, maybe we didn't see much of Sulu in TOS, but they still managed to make him a guy you could imagine yourself meeting at a bar or whatever. what am i gonna go have some drinks with fuckin season 1 William Riker?? Nah, wtf is that bitches motivations and aspirations ?? that he wants to be captain and has blue eyes ?? what i am trying to say is that nothing feels real and no smart ass not because its a fictional sci-fi show, but because the characters all act super weird or literally just do nothing.

-Picard. I’m kind of turning the corner here but like... he just doesn’t do it for me as captain. I feel like since he’s the captain that makes him the “””””main character”””” and yet... what does Picard do? He’s just kinda boring. Like the man doesn’t even always bean down to the planet or whatever. And you guys already know my thoughts on his relationship with Wes... yeah :/ so no, I don’t hate Picard, I just kinda hate that he’s the captain.

-Where is the action ? Am I an old white male boomer for wishing TNG had a little more tits out violence like TOS did. I mean where is the punching? Where is the redshirt deaths and photon torpedos and shit. I need more violence, and I know that’s like, opposite of the message of Star Trek but dammit... more violence!

-Every single thing that happened to Tasha Yar in Skin of evil. I know you know :/ we all know. :/ and mini rant but in the beginning of that episode Worf and Tasha had a cute little moment and I actually thought “wow they would make a good couple actually or at least best buds” but.. well you know :/ too bad. Also I feel like they spent a lot of time trying to set up Tashas backstory and she actually had something interesting going on so like.... again too bad I guess :/

*cough cough*

anyway, here is what i did like:

-despite their awkwardness i do think some of the characters are neat. Geordi has to be my favorite, he just brings such a good vibe to the crew and I think the whole concept of his character is really interesting. I like Worf but I still feel like we don’t get enough Worf time and of course I like Data, tbh I never disliked him but he definitely grew on me more as I watched. Data does have the tendency to make me cringe... but like in the way your weird lovable friends do. And of course Wes, who deserves so much better then all the dumb ass situations they write for him.

-I think they do a good job of making it feel like the Star Trek universe without just copying everything they did in TOS. like its super different from TOS in a lot of ways, but still it feels like the same universe, and maybe even a little more true to the universe. like the prime directive thing is taken a lot more seriously, same with the federation not wanting to resort to violence right away, all that star trek jazz. its still there, its still trek.

-they don't do a bunch of annoying pandering. i feel like nowadays when they come out with remakes or spin-offs or whatever they always have to have a million callbacks like "hey remember this thing you loved?? here it is again exactly the same" because like yeah that is easy and it more fail-proof. like they could have just stuck a vulcan in the main cast, don't tell me you wouldn't have gotten Spock brain and just ate that shit up, but they were like nah and tried new stuff instead. and i respect that. because the callback episode they did do (naked now) kinda fuckin sucked. so good for them for trying to forge their own path.

okay anyway those are my general thoughts. More specifically, here are the epsidoes i think were the very worst

- Encounter at Fairpoint (literally the first episode and i kept checking my watch wondering when it would be over. it should not have been a 2 parter that was way too long. Q was annoying as hell. the main plot was not that interesting. )

- Where No One Has Gone Before (very tedious and hard to sit through. "oh we traveled too far into space.... oh we did it again! haha lol!" boring. did not like that Traveler guy sus as hell.... hated that Picard only made Wes and Ensign after the Traveler said Wes was important.)

-Skin of Evil (dumb stupid dumb)

-The Nuteral Zone ( i dont even want to get into this. i actually think this one stunk the worst and it was the last episode. so many things wrong)

annnnddd the episodes i liked!

- The Last Outpost (Ferengi Ferengi Ferengi Ferengi )

-Haven (how can you not love Lwaxana Troi this episode made me genuinely laugh so many times. lots of very good character moments here)

-Angle One (i really liked the concept of male wife girl boss society i thought it was funny and interesting)

-Conspiracy (i felt like this one actually kept me on my toes. also liked when that dude's head exploded)

annndddd that about sums it up people! was that a comprehensible review? no. was it long? yes. feel free to disagree with me or fight it out in the comments. what are your least favorite episodes from season one? do you agree with my takes here? let me know

[sigmastolen]

leverage: redemption 1.02 “the panamanian monkey job”

okay yes this feels right and good

ahhhh the quiet moments with hardison here are so good (and in 1.01, too) -- i love they way eliot gently guides and encourages him, and i love the way he and parker are so much on the same wavelength.  he’s always had grand plans and his skillset has always had a larger scope, and he’s always just done more because he's Good like that.  i’m sad to see him leave (and lbr if parker cries i cry) but i love that he’s grown so much, become so much more.  he didn’t have as drastic a personal journey in original flavor leverage, but that’s because it was only the beginning of his road.  he really has grown up in the 8 years between then and now and that’s okay.  it’s good.  (they really did frame this perfectly.)

love that parker, eliot, and hardison cross-trained (or, continued cross-training) into each other’s fields (also love that parker and eliot, who both work in largely physical disciplines, did this more successfully with each other)

i’m still not quite sure how i feel about the parker-hardison-eliot dynamic; there’s so much between them but we also see a divide between parker-and-hardison and eliot in terms of team decision making?  hopefully with hardison elsewhere we’ll get more of a sense of how parker and eliot are with each other (maybe it’s just me but the way they understood each other in og leverage is really important to me and i don’t want that to have fallen by the wayside)

also we saw parker step into the mastermind role at the end of s5 but in 1.01-2 sophie seems to be the de facto boss; is this going to continue? will it be a source of tension? everyone kind of stepped into their former roles for the reunion concert, but they’ve all changed and there are new people as well and so sophie, parker, and eliot all need to figure out who they are in this new team.

eliot’s reactions when breanna is describing what she does vs. hardison's hacking are golden i love him so much

‘jo grant’ ‘alistair lethbridge-stewart’ b l e s s

also the picard tug i just

everyone trolling wilson is very good, i like it

breanna is adorable and i love her and i want to protect her at all costs and i can’t wait to see her grow

sophie changing her shoes on the stairs broke my heart though

updated rock guitar closing theme, i am not sure how i feel about it

[grumpyalpacaman]

The Time My 9th Level Wizard Defeated a Beholder With One Spell

So some context for this one. My Half-Elf wizard is a lawful good pacifist named Aulin. Aulin avoids killing whenever possible, refuses to use any damage dealing spells and spends most of his non-adventuring time running a small school for poor children. He’s a naive, scholarly man who always tries to find a better way and avoid violence at any cost. At least, he was at the time this story takes place. He’s gone through some arcs since then and is nearly 20th level, but that’s a story for another day. My party is battling a group of dark elves on top of a castle they’ve invaded. This is the big culmination of the entire story arc of the campaign up to this point. They’re planning this big ritual that will eradicate all life in this nation because they received a vision from a beholder sealed within the walls of this castle. The prophecy states that the scion of evil, inheritor of the Abyss, will be born in this country, on this day. They don’t know who it is and so to ensure the continuation of the world (and themselves by extension), they want to wipe the nation of life.  My hero, the naive schoolteacher is giving his big Picard speech, “There is another way. We cannot make this kind of sacrifice based on the mad ravings of an insane monster!” The battle is nearly over, my companions and I are mopping up the last of the drow forces when their arch-priestess takes an orb, the focus for their ritual and throws it down a chute. A chute that leads directly to the magical prison of Va’al, the Beholder. My allies are too injured, I’m the only one that can do anything to stop this. 

I decide that to save so many lives, Aulin is willing to sacrifice himself. I fly down the chute, into the dark chamber and smash the orb to pieces at the last moment. The world is saved. Then a massive, glowing eye appears in the shadows, followed by a cackling laugh. I am face to face with a beholder. A monster that my entire party would likely be destroyed by, even at full strength. And there I stood, in its magic eradicating gaze with nothing but a sword, less than half of my hit points and my very meagre martial combat skills to defend me. Staring down a Beholder, a powerful wizard is basically just a regular guy. The DM tells me, “You have one turn to do SOMETHING before he kills you.”

I frantically start checking my sheet. I love playing this character. I made the decision to dive in knowing I was probably going to die but dammit, I’m gonna go down fighting. I don’t even bother looking at my spells, I know they won’t be any help so long as he’s looking at me. But Aulin is a notorious hoarder, holding on to various items and trinkets for long stretches of time. Something on my list had to be able to help me. Something catches my eye. A magic jar of dirt. It was a simple magical item that contained about a cubic foot of dirt that I could telekinetically manipulate into various shapes. At this moment, it was a regular ass jar of dirt. But against a Beholder, it might an alternative us. 

“I throw the jar of dirt in his eye.” D20 comes up with a 9. Not great and as I said before, my martial skills weren’t anything special. I burn inspiration, reroll, Nat20! The DM rules that Va’al is blinded by the dirt and shuts his anti-magic eye. DM says I have bought myself one round. I can cast one spell to get myself out of this. My first thought, Dimension Door. Teleport out of here and leave this monster to his prison. But no, he’s too dangerous. He incited this war with the dark elves through his visions and there’s no reason to believe he couldn’t do something like this again and destroy thousands more lives. I needed to rid the world of this creature, here and now. 

I don’t have many spells left and even at full strength, there was nothing I could do to kill a Beholder in one round. But I did have a nice scroll. Modify Memory. This triggers a bit of lore knowledge in the back of my mind. “I cast Modify Memory to make Va’al believe that I sliced him in half when I came in.”

The DM is curious. He’s good, always tries to say yes to his players and keep things fun but he’s not sure what I’m angling at. “Beholders are psychic creatures. Their thoughts can warp reality if they’re intense enough. I use Modify Memory to make Va’al believe that he has been sliced in half.“

DM puts away his screen and rolls his die in front of everyone. He wants us to know that no matter what, he’s not fudging this one. I’ve put my life in the hands in the dice. D20 comes up a 3. In spite of the Beholder’s great Wis Save, he fails. The DM rules that just because I have altered his memory, doesn’t mean the belief is strong enough to alter reality. Va’al’s will is going to fight this. He gets a second will save to resist his own eradication. It’s a brutal call, but I think it was fair considering I’m trying to OHKO a boss monster, totally out of my league. D20 comes up 5 and the DM reports that in a burst of psychic energy, the Beholder is ripped in half.

That wasn’t the last we’d see of Va’al. Beholders have ways of ensuring their own survival and the furious monster, embarrassed by his defeat at the hands of a lowly school teacher, has been resurrected and vowed vengeance against me. This remains my favourite DnD moment ever and a great example of why I love playing wizards.

[ncfan-1]

“I think I may be falling in love with you.” Can we talk about what a conspicuously weird thing that was to say?

I mean, it’s obviously an attempt at manipulation, but to what end, exactly? Narek’s stated goal is to try and coax information about other androids out of Soji, and she presented him with a golden opportunity to present himself as a confidant, and he just didn’t capitalize on it. Like, dude. She asks you if you believe her, and you say yes. Obviously, you say yes, even if you don’t mean it, because you’re playing the part of the caring boyfriend who, of course, has no idea what’s going on here, but if Soji ever wants to talk about anything that is going on, ever wants to talk about anything else that happens to her that she doesn’t understand, of course you will listen. I feel like the game plan here should be for Narek to try to position himself as Soji’s trusted confidant, but again, he had a golden opportunity, and he used it to say something conspicuously weird and inappropriate for the conversation instead.

But then, Narek hasn’t really been behaving in ways that would encourage Soji to regard him as confidant, in general. And once she’s had more time to think about it, maybe she’s gonna be wondering if there isn’t something a bit off about her new boyfriend.

[More of my highly disorganized thoughts under the cut]

I predicted earlier my hope that Narek would join the good guys, and then immediately experienced the regret that comes when you make such a prediction when you’re not even halfway through the first season yet. Nowadays, I’m still hopeful, but more uncertain. I think that, for now, what keeps him at least somewhat sympathetic is his interactions with his sister.

(As a note, I had to look up her name, and got the name of her cover identity on earth—Narissa Rizzo. I’d be shocked if ‘Narissa’ is her actual name, but then again, who knows if Narek is his real name, so these are the names I’m going to use when talking about them, since I’ve got nothing better to go with.)

First, let me just say: it took Romulan makeup and dim lighting for me to recognize Peyton List, aka Poison Ivy Mark 3 from Gotham, and I’m not sure what that says about me. I hope she gives as engaging a performance as she did when playing Ivy.

Okay, when Narek tells Narissa that he’s not sure if Soji knows exactly what she is, and, if ignorant, should probably stay that way as long as possible, I was just like “….why?” Isn’t your stated goal to get information out of her about other androids, and won’t your very scary boss get mad at the both of you if you can’t get that information? How are you supposed to do that if she doesn’t even know she’s an android? Is it because the moment she finds out you’ve been playing her the whole time is the same moment she finds out she’s got enough raw strength to oh, say, snap your neck like a twig? Is it because of the implications from this episode that Soji might be some kind of apocalypse maiden and you’d like to avoid doing anything that could trigger the apocalypse? Or is there another reason you’d like to share with the class?

On another note, I wonder if either Soji or Narek have thought to use any kind of birth control. Because literally the only way this situation could get even more fucked up would be if it turns out Soji can get pregnant and then does. Just imagine the first brother-sister back alley rendezvous after the pregnancy test. God, what a conversation that would be.

Anyways, from a writing standpoint, I can’t help but think that it means something, the way Narek and Narissa play off of each other. Because he opens with making nasty digs regarding her ears which, considering that probably involved cosmetic surgery which could have been quite painful to recover from, is, yeah, pretty nasty. But then she escalates it so much. First, in Episode 2, she makes it very clear that while she is interested in preserving his safety, if it comes down to saving his life or her own, she’ll throw him under the bus in a heartbeat. And then, in Episode 3, when discussing the state of affairs between Narek and Soji, she behaves a lot less like an impatient sibling than she does a jealous lover, and proceeds to get really creepy. (Someone please tell me I’m not the only one who got incestuous vibes from their back alley conversation. Please tell me I’m not the only one who got those vibes; I don’t rightly know how else I’m supposed to interpret the sniffing.) Seriously, I don’t think you’re winning any contests if you guess who comes off more sympathetically after their conversations, but at present, I’m not sure what it means that Narek has been portrayed more sympathetically than Narissa in both of their talks. We’re definitely meant to think that Narissa is the bigger fish in the pond, but beyond that, I’m really not certain.

(Another thing that interests me about them is how they’ve both thus far been rather ineffectual. The goal was to get information, and neither of them have succeeded yet. I thought about the contrast at first as being light touch vs. sledgehammer, and I think that still holds, but there’s another one I can think of: the fairly soft-spoken manipulator who doesn’t seem to know how to parlay manipulation into actual results vs. the violent loose cannon whose impatience got her target killed before she could get any useful information out of her. It’s too early to tell what it means that they’ve been ineffectual thus far, whether it means that they’re going to step up their game later on, or if they’re just not very good at their jobs, and are going to go on being not very good at their jobs. Both are equally possible.)

Similarly, from a writing standpoint, I can’t help but think that it means something that Narek was present and watching as Soji comforted the newly ex-Borg drone in Episode 2. But at present, it’s too early to say just what it means, if it means anything at all. What I think is that it would be very difficult for Narek not to develop some sort of empathy for Soji, whether he means to or not, but I’m not sure how much that would mean, either. When the time comes, I’m not certain whether or not it will be enough to change anything.

And with all of this is the elephant in the room, that the last live-action fiction show I watched while it was airing was Gotham. As anyone who has followed my blog for a while knows, I was largely… quite disappointed with Gotham as a show. Good cast, but everything else was a flaming train wreck. Gotham was a show where the most fucked up thing that could happen had a decent chance of actually happening. Gotham was also a show where many other things I thought had to mean something later turned out to be sound and fury, signifying nothing. That casts a shadow over my perceptions of Picard, and given how many other disappointments I’ve had with TV shows and movies and manga and comics, my operating method these days is to just not get my hopes up too much. If I prepare myself for disappointment, I can be pleasantly surprised if I’m not disappointed, but if I am disappointed, at least I won’t be gutted again.

-

Now to talk about something I am more optimistic about, even if I know no more about it than I do what I just talked about: what role Soji has to play in this story.

I’m actually most interested in Soji of anyone in this show, though I will likely talk less about her since I’ve found less to be anxious about. I’m very curious to see how she’ll cope with the revelation that she’s an android, since she’s all but certain to discover it in circumstances just as unhappy as Dahj’s discovery. I’d also like to see how she reacts to news of Dahj’s death, and get information on what their relationship was like.

I’m also eager to learn what the hell is up with the Zhat Vash’s fear and loathing of androids in general, and Soji and Dahj in particular. The agent interrogated in Picard’s house calls one of the two sisters ‘destroyer’, Rhonda (the ex-Borg drone and expert on Romulan mythology Soji interviewed; at least, I think that’s her name) associates Soji and/or Dahj with some sort of malevolent figure from mythology—I mean, if Soji’s presence is enough to trigger a suicide attempt, it’s likely Rhonda doesn’t regard her as a particularly benevolent figure. (Though this comes with the caveat that seeing as the mythological figures came in a sister pair, one who lived and one who died, it’s possible that there’s some sort of benevolent/malevolent dichotomy going on.) Are they just projecting their own fears onto Soji and Dahj, or is there something else to this?

Furthermore, I’d love to know what has drawn Soji to the Borg in the first place, because biologically, she’s only roughly three years old and wouldn’t have had a lot of time to develop this interest naturally, and, well, I don’t think it’s a coincidence, story-wise, that she is where she is, doing what she’s doing for work.

And then there’s Bruce Maddox. Considering there was an episode later down the line in TNG where Data exchanges letters with him, I had assumed he’d experienced character development since his appearance in ‘The Measure of a Man,’ and it would seem I was right. (Oh, and fun fact? In ‘Data’s Day’, the episode I referenced in the beginning of the preceding sentence, there was featured a Romulan who had been posing as a Federation ambassador for years.) But I do wonder for what purpose he created Soji and Dahj. It’s possible that he simply created them to be his children, that he created them for the sake of creating them. But I wonder about that, honestly.

Episode 3 raises the serious possibility that Soji and Dahj’s ‘mother’ is a hologram, or some other kind of artificial intelligence. While it’s possible for their ‘mother’ to be a hologram without there being anything more to their creation than just being created for their own sake, the fact that the purported ‘mother’ responds to Soji’s questions about whether she’s heard from Dahj with blatant lies doesn’t really gel with that. If there is anything at all to the Zhat Vash’s fears regarding Soji and Dahj besides projection and paranoia, then how does Maddox play into that?

Anyways, it’s only been three episodes and I probably shouldn’t try to form any concrete opinions on how things are going to go yet, but I’m very interested in seeing how things go.

[damejudyhench]

Six sentence Sunday. (On a Tuesday)

Thanks for tagging me @funkypoacher ! Tagging @paliseizy @corancoranthemagicalman @needsmoreexplosions @impalaanddemons and @vairasmythe

I do not have six WIPs to share I don’t know how y’all do it.

From I Fought The Law:

It took Pearl a moment to organise her thoughts. She wasn’t used to speaking them out loud, which meant second guessing them. Because we fucked and then I found out he was lying to me and apparently I want to give him the chance to do it again, was a part of it; but that was definitely unbecoming of a Captain.

“Because he’s the best we have at hacking terminals and we need him to reprogram it,” she said eventually.

“How come Parvati isn’t doing that? She’s the greatest engineer in the colony.”

“Parvati is working out what we need the ships to do. And it’s much easier for her to do that on the Unreliable, with ADA as backup.” And she’ll be less flustered, she thought, because she can handle four dimensional math with deadly chemicals way better than she can handle us staring over her shoulder. “Max is going to tell the terminal what to do, once Parvati tells him. Nyoka’s here to watch our backs.” It sounded so simple when she laid it out that way.

“Heist of the century, right? The Board’s not gonna know what hit em when we’re done, boss! How about me, what’s my job?”

“Rapt bait!” Max snapped before she had a chance to reply, and they were off again.

From an untitled thing about pre-OSI Max, which may also become part of I Fought The Law:

The Vicar of Max’s township when he was growing up was Benjamin Stryker. He made the same stupid joke about rejecting nominative determinism every time he came to the school for Scripture class. But when Max knocked on the Mission door he asked him to come in and told him he could call him Vicar Ben.

He lead Max through to his office, had him sit in a red padded leather chair. Max was at the stage where his arms and legs were too long for him, and at home he always seemed to be either perching or slouching against the wooden furniture. This was different; this was a chair he could relax in; only he couldn’t relax, because the Vicar was watching him from behind his desk with a calm smile, and he’d been sent to the Vicar for extra study because he was chaotic.

“I know what you did, Maximillian; I won’t shame you by making you confess to it again. But I will ask you: why did you do it?”

Max clenched his fists, pressing his lips together. His voice was changing, and it might betray him by cracking at any moment. He couldn’t have the Vicar think he was crying.

“He made me angry,” he said eventually.

Vicar Ben nodded.

From a stupid Aquabats Picard thing which I nevertheless had to stop writing cause it was making me sad:

The Commander walked along the beach like he’d done a million times before, only this time he felt drawn and driven by something inside, a feeling that was like hungry but not quite. He stopped, the surf pounding in his ears as the wet blue sand sunk away beneath his feet. Jimmy was there, just a couple feet away, like he’d been expecting him. He had his notebook with him, the one he used for music and science and super smart robot stuff; only right now he was sketching in it. The figures looked super familiar, but the Commander couldn’t quite recognise them.

“Would you like to finish it, Sir?” Jimmy asked, his voice all warm, calm and exciting at the same time.

The Commander groaned. “Dude, I don’t know how!” It was so distracting, Jimmy was right there in front of him, his bright blue eyes, his cool metal hands so strong but so skilful, and he needed the Commander’s help...

He woke with a snort, dawn light streaming through the window. The Commander used to be able to sleep like a champ; but now the afternoon naps he used to take for the pure enjoyment of it were a necessity. His hair was stiff and streaked with grey when he went to the mirror, sharpie in hand. He dressed in his favourite rashguard, then wandered down towards the beach through the traditional estate of the Bat Commander, his home ever since the resettlement of Aquabania. The younger him would have thought it was awesome.

Jimmy wasn’t there, because of course he wasn’t. He hadn’t been there for twenty years, and hoping any different was dumb. But the Commander knew now what he hadn’t in the dream. The sketch had been of Jimmy Jr, and that had to mean something, right? One of the few rad things about getting old was that his powers had finally come in. Or maybe they’d been there all along, but the young Commander had been too impatient to recognise his psychic visions as hints and metaphors rather than straight-up instructions.

Corndog Industries, that was the place to start. Corndog hadn’t been seen in years, but he’d built Jimmy, knew more about what he was capable of than maybe even Jimmy himself. If there was any hope at all, it was there.

The Commander raised his clenched fist. “Let’s go!” he announced, but there was no one there to hear him.

[chacusha]

TNG 3x21, 3x22, 3x26/4x01

Another set of really good episodes:

3x21 "Hollow Pursuits":

I get the feeling this episode is a fan favorite. If so, I can understand why. Barclay's holosuite fantasies are just so over-the-top campy it is wondrous. The cringe humor is intense, but in a way where the main character's actions are ultimately harmless, which makes the whole episode light in tone and low-stakes. The core of the plot is mainly others trying to reach out to someone who is struggling but struggling in a way specifically that makes talking to people hard. I especially like getting to see LaForge in his role as a department head/boss rather than in the more typical role of crack-engineer-providing-technical-solutions-on-the-fly. Which is a nice bit of worldbuilding (because surely the head engineer is probably chosen mainly for their ability to manage people, not just their engineering skills, right? That only makes sense!) AND a nice bit of character development for Geordi.

I also like the aspect here of Picard very quickly shutting down what could easily become a workplace bullying sort of situation and basically ordering LaForge to keep trying with Barclay, and LaForge, when he tries, is actually not a bad person to reach out to Barclay given their shared experiences with embarrassing holosuite programs and shyness around women. (I didn't really like the Picard-saying-broccoli joke, though. I mean, people make mistakes so I totally buy Picard accidentally saying this and being super embarrassed and awkward afterward, but the whole joke seemed mean-spirited in the same way the "Shut up, Wesley" moment seemed mean-spirited.)

It was fun watching the fencing scenes and realizing that Data / Brent Spiner is left-handed! Also, all the actors seemed to be having SO MUCH FUN in those Three Musketeers scenes, it just makes the episode really enjoyable to watch.

I love Deanna absolutely being able to dish it out but not take it when it comes to non-judgmentally processing people's fantasies. XD Lol at both Deanna and Riker being tickled at seeing the embarrassing fantasies Barclay has created for the other ("You ARE very tall.") -- they have such a fun, teasing dynamic too.

3x22 "The Most Toys":

Mainly, I just like how much this episode leans into the creepiness. I think they purposely put in a lot of features to make the whole situation a bit less horrifying and scary -- they chose Data to be the victim in this episode, for example, and it is established that Data is very strong and resourceful (so it's not really in doubt whether he will eventually be able to escape -- the tension in the episode mainly comes from what Data is willing to do and how he makes moral calculations) and feels emotions in a somewhat muted way (so his distress is not as intense as it would be for another character), and the whole plot relies on the fact that Data is a sentient android which is something that doesn't really exist and so there's a bit of distance / a layer of unrealism that ends up making the creepiness slightly less intense. But oof, it is still a lot.

The writing on this episode is just really good? Like, it's a really good exploration of how Data specifically would react to being in a situation like this -- how he would assert his will / desire for freedom / right to consent, what incentive structures would cause Data to comply with orders he views as illegitimate, why he might murder without necessarily experiencing an emotion of violation or vengeance (but of course it's possible to read Data as experiencing such emotions, or project such emotions onto him given his actions). It's all just really well-done!

3x26/4x01 "The Best of Both Worlds" Part I & II:

After watching this, my partner sent me a piece contending that it's arguably the best TNG episode. I don't think it's the best, but it certainly is way better than it has any right to be. (I agree with the piece's points that introducing assimilation and holding the significant possibility of Riker + Shelby becoming the new captain + 1st officer of the Enterprise are major strengths of the first part.)

Part II is a bit anticlimactic after the really strong first part but it's not a bad episode. I absolutely love the bit of competence porn where Riker instructs Shelby to separate the saucer section; she immediately informs him (as is her job as the foremost Borg tactician) of the problems with that plan; Riker immediately indicates his plan incorporates that information; and without losing a beat she selects her team and carries out his orders. It's SO GOOD. Especially given how it's established they have personal issues/friction with each other, the way they immediately put that aside in order to command the crew and coordinate a plan together is just *chef's kiss*

Also, the part when Riker attempts to lead the away mission to the Borg cube and Troi steps in and reminds him that he can no longer do that, immediately stepping up to counsel him in the way she always gave Picard her counsel. It's SO GOOD. In general, I always really liked Troi when she's a support character (rather than when she gets her own episodes which are more often than not terrible). But rewatching TNG again after watching TOS, I now realize that Troi is actually the closest to Spock from TOS in her role on the bridge -- she sits by the captain's side and offers sound advice in a cool, calm, and collected manner.

Also, Shelby is just a great character. "You're in my way." Omgg the balls. She is such a great character designed to unsettle and shake Riker out of his complacency. She obviously rubs him the wrong way but the greatest thing is that he can't even be mad at her because he knows that he used to be exactly like that.

I'm also amazed that they did not play Riker and Shelby's relationship for romantic tension at all. It is just great to see people professionally butting heads. I'm worried that the reason why was because Shelby was meant to be a longer-term character and so they didn't want to give her a romantic plotline right off the bat. (I had the same thought/fear with the female lead in the TOS episode "Assignment: Earth" where I was just shocked that Roberta had both a very distinctive personality AND absolutely no romantic plotline... but then I found out that it was meant to be a pilot of sorts for a spin-off series where I'm guessing they would have developed a romantic plotline; they just obviously wouldn't want to put such a plotline in the first episode of a planned series.) In any case, though, we got a well-written character (wow!) who they never used again (...). ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[theprocrastinatingalien]

Star Trek: Discovery - Which characters will survive to see Season 2?  (Plus a compelling fan theory)

Warning: Spoilers ahead for the first five episodes of STAR TREK: DISCOVERY.

We are just five episodes in, with ten to go.  Only four more before the Christmas break.  It’s probably a little early to be predicting the show’s second season - we don’t even know if there’ll definitely be a second season!  But it’s always fun to speculate.

So, this is my question - which of the main cast will still be main for the second season?

Historically, there aren’t many changes in the main casts of the Trek series.  In the Original Series, Deforest Kelley (McCoy) was promoted to the opening credits for the second season.  The Next Generation had the most changes, along the way losing Denise Crosby (Yar) and Wil Wheaton (Wesley) and firing Gates McFadden (Crusher) after the first season, only to reinstate her in the third.  For Deep Space Nine, Michael Dorn (Worf) was added in the fourth season, and after Terry Farrell (Jadzia) left in season six, she was replaced by Nicole deBoer (Ezri Dax) for the final season.   Voyager suffered just a straight exchange, replacing Jennifer Lien’s Kes for Jeri Ryan’s Seven of Nine.  Enterprise, however, stands as the only Trek series to leave it’s principal cast unchanged over it’s run.  Rumours that Jeffrey Combs’ Andorian Shran was to be promoted in the fifth season were sadly never realised.

But here, STAR TREK: DISCOVERY is a different kind of Trek.  We’re now in 2017, and the writers are very aware of popular series, where the trend is not to save your main cast, but to constantly put them in jeopardy.  Adventure is all the more exciting when you don’t know for certain if your favourite characters will make it out alive.  Series such as 24, THE WALKING DEAD and GAME OF THRONES, relish in killing off several main players each series… and the fans lap it up.

Apparently, we can expect the same from DISCOVERY, but only time will tell just how brave the writers are going to be.  I mean, we have had a number of deaths already, but they were- mostly - signposted…

Captain Philippa Georgiou.

Let’s be honest, did we think Michelle Yeoh’s character was ever going to survive?  Billed as the commanding officer of the USS Shenzhou, the fact she wasn’t the captain of the USS Discovery itself didn’t point to a happy end.  As predicted by many, Georgiou was killed in the second episode.  Now, her name was on the opening titles, but with the billing of ‘special guest star’, longevity wasn’t really wasn’t on the cards.  She has made an appearance since, via a holographic message, and we can expect future appearances - presumably in flashbacks, but possible also as part of the mirror universe(?).  The fact Georgiou was eaten by the Klingons (EATEN!!!!) Yeoh is never going to be a regular on the show.

Ensign Danby Connor

Actor Sam Vartoholomeos was announced early on, and it wasn’t clear whether his Ensign Connor would be a regular character or not. Sadly, one of the trailers actively showed him being killed, which took away the surprise when it happened in the show.  At least Ensign Connor can claim to be the first 'speaking role’ to be definitively killed off in DISCOVERY.

T'Kuvma

The cult leader, aiming to bring together the twenty-four houses of the Klingons.  Chris Obi was deemed to have a very important role… but T'Kuvma was killed by lead Michael Burnham just after killing Captain Georgiou. I’d say this was probably the first actual surprise death of the series.   But still, he wasn’t on the opening titles, so the chances of his longevity was already in doubt.

Commander Ellen Landry

This is an interesting one.  Not a particularly surprising one… other than how quickly Landry was dealt with.  Like the majority of the Discovery crew, she wasn’t introduced until the third episode.  The Chief of security (and I’d guess at second officer judging by her closeness to Captain Lorca), she wasn’t the nicest of people.  There’s was something shady about her.   Again, considering she’s the first crew member of Discovery we’re introduced to, and seemingly pretty important, with a bridge crew role, the fact she wasn’t included on the opening credits implied she wasn’t going to be around for too long.  Add to that we knew Shazad Latif’s Ash Tyler was coming in to be a security officer, and his name IS on the credits… the ONLY surprise, I guess… is that she died in only her second episode?!  Possibly a waste of Rekha Sharma, but a crowd pleasing moment - I don’t think Landry had many fans.

As noted, the above four characters are all missing from the opening titles.  Realistically, in all series, recurring and guest stars can be seen as cannon fodder.  A brave series will not shy away from killing off those named as main cast.   Which is why I’m going to predict which of the six DISCOVERY main players will survive until the show’s potential second year.

Michael Burnham

The producers have admitted they found it very difficult to cast Burnham, and were lucky to get THE WALKING DEAD star Sonequa Martin-Green.  Originally Bryan Fuller’s plan was to make an anthology series, with each season taking place in a different time period.  That would have been exciting, and I wouldn’t have minded that at all, but at the same time, it’s nice to build up a familiarity with the cast, watching them grow, both as individuals and as a team.  Anthology series miss that. Show bosses decided to veto that idea and a second season of DISCOVERY will see characters follow on… I have no real doubt that Burnham will still be the lead.  Too much as been made of the fact she’s a black female lead, to have her side lined.  Even if the series becomes more ensemble focussed, I’m sure Burnham will be a strong part of it.   I presume she’ll be entirely redeemed from her 'Mutineer’ status, and expect her to be reinstated, with a new rank and position. Whilst I wouldn’t be surprised if she ends up as a Captain in time, I think the second season will be a little soon.  Maybe Executive Officer?  Maybe the Science officer?  Depends on who the commanding officer is (see below).   The only thing, and really the only thing, that could get in the way of Burnham’s presence in future seasons is that pesky word 'canon’.  She has never been mentioned anywhere else in Treklore… and whilst that’s understandable (Discovery hadn’t been created yet!) the writers might feel the need to keep her a secret from the record books… I don’t think so, though.  I predict Burnham will be our lead for as long as the series runs… be that one, two or seven seasons.

Captain Gabriel Lorca

In every other Trek series, the commanding officer has been our lead, the audience entry point into the story.  Kirk, Picard, Sisko, Janeway and Archer, all heroes.  DISCOVERY is unique in that the main character is a lower level Starfleet officer. This mean’s the commanding officer can be… something different.  Captain Lorca is definitely something different.  Shrouded in mystery, already his attitude and actions are questionable and unlike those commanding officers names above. I like it. Lorca is interesting.  We don’t know what his motives are, not really.  He can keep secrets from us in a way the others couldn’t.   Jason Isaac’s doesn’t have a habit of playing heroes, more likely a villain.  Is Lorca a villain?  Or is Discovery playing with shades of grey?  Probably the latter, but that doesn’t discount the former.   Isaac’s has stated that he didn’t sign on until he was told Lorca’s entire arc.  I’ll say that again - entire arc.  To me that suggests Lorca won’t be a regular character come the show’s second season.  I wouldn’t be surprised at all if the last episode of season one, see’s Lorca, fully revealed as a villain and ultimately his demise.   However, I’d like to suggest something else.   I don’t know if we’ll ever fully know, or be able to call Lorca a 'hero’ or 'villain’.  He might be justified in his actions.  Or at least, justified in himself, even if not to others.  I do not see him continuing as a regular, certainly not as the commanding officer of the USS Discovery.  What I’d like to see, is Lorca to 'do a Krycek’.  In THE X FILES, the second season introduced a new partner for Mulder in the form of wet-behind-the-ears agent Alex Krycek.  He turned out to be a villain, but rather than kill him off, they had him run off and become one of those interesting rogue players, out for himself, shifting loyalties as he saw fit.  He’d pop up over future series, and you’d be guaranteed  that if the credits featured actor Nicholas Lea, the episode was going to be a big important one.  That’s the kind of role I’d love for Lorca.

Commander Saru

Actor Doug Jones has stated he’d love to see Saru’s homeplanet, or more people from his species in the second season.  That sounds like Saru might be around for it!  In some respects, I think Saru is the safest character for a return.  He’s the show’s only regular alien.  They created him from the ground up, and they’ll likely want to keep him.  If not for those reasons alone, then because Saru is already becoming a fan favourite, despite limited screen time.   We’ve already seen him promoted from a Lt. Commander science officer, to a first officer, and his relationship with Burnham is… complicated.  Complicated is good.  Whilst I have no doubt Saru will still be alive, what his function will be is less clear.  If I’m right about Lorca moving on/dying, Saru is the next in line to be the commanding officer.  We’ve already seen him in that position after Lorca was captured by the Klingon’s. In theory, Saru could become our first regular alien captain.  (Spock didn’t become a captain until the movies). That, in turn, would allow for Burnham to be installed as his first officer. An interesting way to continue their relationship. However, I predict something else. I reckon the showrunners will bring in a new captain.  Maybe with another 'name’ in the role, to get in new interest?  I predict a new captain, with Saru continuing as the first officer.  This would also keep Burnham further away from the captain’s chair, which is possibly the best thing for the series at this point.  

Lieutenant Paul Stamets

Stamets’ is a tricky one.  He’s a science officer, not an engineer, but is essentially the chief engineer on the USS Discovery. That’s because the ship was built entirely around Stamets’ work on the spore drive.  Now, we know that the spore drive is doomed to failure.  We know that because if it was a success every ship made after it would use it.  Enterprise’s D & E, the USS Defiant, the USS Voyager… but none of them do.  That says it all.  Discovery will likely be the only ship (RIP the USS Glenn) to use the spore drive… and we’re not entirely certain how long it will be able to continue to use it.  Either way, Stamets’ role is very linked to it.  No Spore drive, and probably no use for Stamets.    Episode 5 saw Stamets link himself to the drive and something odd has happened to him.  He saw the universe, and our last image of him was his 'delayed’ mirror image.  This might well tie in somehow to the mirror universe, but might be more personal to Stamets. I have no idea what Stamets’ storyline will be from here on in, and that makes it hard to predict whether he’ll stick around for season two.  I’m going out on a limb and say, yes.  I think the Discovery will continue to use the spore drive in future seasons, or a version of him.  Maybe with Stamets 'plugged in’… but I believe Stamets will continue in his Engineer/Science role.  They could shift him to a more straight forward science position of course, but I’ll edge away from that.

Question/Theory.  Whilst everyone is suggesting Stamets may now be something to do with the Mirror universe, I’ll just pose the question… do we know how the Q Continuum was created?  Could Stamets be the start? He has access to the entire universe, after all… (If he is, then no, I doubt he’d be a regular in season two… but it’s a fun question to ask).

Cadet Sylvia Tilly

Ah, Tilly.  The first character in Trek to drop the F-bomb.  Her place in History is now secure.  She young, and unsure… but she has ambition.  She might be annoying to a few, but to many she’s a comedic character, adding light to the shade.  She is supposedly a talented engineer and this is something to watch out for.  I believe she might end up the chief engineer should Stamets move on… or, and this is what I predict, she’ll work with Stamets to sort the spore drive - for the time being, anyway.   I did consider she might have been put in to win the audience over, be the ultimate likable one, before getting killed off by Lorca or something to cement an 'aww’ factor.  But the more I watch, the more I think, we’ll see Tilly change, and grow.  We’ll see her progress through the ranks.  I’m expecting Ensign Tilly to head up the Engine room with Lieutenant Stamets in season two.

Lieutenant Ash Tyler

Our last regular character… but one which is surrounded by a very interesting fan theory.  One I’m totally behind.   I, like many, believe that Tyler is in fact the Klingon Voq, surgically altered to look human.  There’s so much evidence to support this… both in the story, and in real life/behind the scenes.  If this is true, then expect Lorca’s pet tribble to out his cunning plan in the last third of the season… and that mean’s Tyler’s role will be done.  I don’t see Voq/Tyler continuing into season two. Probably killed by Burnham in the season one finale.

Haven’t heard the Tyler/Voq theory?  Behold the evidence:

In episode 4, L'Rell (Mary Chieffo) offers Voq a visit to her matriarch or spies but it’ll cost him… 'everything’.  Episode 5, Tyler has been in a Klingon prison cell, on L'Rell’s ship, and look’s surprisingly spritely. She also has a thing for him.  He’s been on the ship for seven months.  But we know (from the previous episode) she’s been with Voq stranded on T'Kuvma’s ship for the first six months of the war.  The story doesn’t check out.  In real life, actor Shazad Latif (who has been credited on the titles since episode one, but has only just appeared in episode 5) was originally announced as a Klingon back in December.  Months later he was reannounced as Ash Tyler.  We know he was about for filming back in the early episodes (he was out on the town with co-stars… check their social media).  The description of his character was a protégé to T'Kuvma - a description that certainly fits the Voq character.  His character may have been named Kol, and we now know Kenneth Mitchell plays Kol, and opposing Klingon presence… and finally, you try googling the 'actor’ credited for Voq. You will only see one credit, and it’ll be Voq.  Basically, Shazad Latif plays Voq, has been there since the beginning, and this explains a lot. 

It’s actually quite clever, and I think many fans will welcome this plot twist if we’re correct. It works on many levels.  We know, in the TOS era, Klingon’s should look human, but there was no real way for a 2017 series to 'do’ one of those Klingon’s.  But look at Latif.  The colour of his skin, the black goatee… he’s a pretty good fit for a modern take on the Human looking Klingons.  It also gives a practical explanation for the new look Klingons.  The new mask-type makeup on the Klingons allow a complete change of identity.  You can’t tell what the actor looks like under the Voq makeup.  Imagine the character with Worf-style makeup.  You can clearly make out actors… such as when Avery Brooks and Tim Russ have 'played Klingons’.  For this plot twist to be pulled off, Klingon’s needed a bit of a redesign.  If the theory is right, maybe as fans we can cut the show some slack.

So there we are.  To answer my question - which of the regulars will still be regulars come season two?  Burnham, Saru, Tilly and possibly Stamets.  I don’t believe for a second that either Lorca or Tyler will continue on. 

Furthermore, I think we’ll get a new Captain in… maybe a female one?  I wouldn’t be surprised if Wilson Cruz’ Dr. Culber gets upgraded to regular.  Right now he’s only a supporting player.  This could mean he’s got a bullet with his name on it.  But he does play one half of Trek’s first ever gay couple.  That might be enough to keep him alive, unless Uber-Stamets somehow kills him off in season one? I predict an upgrade though.

What do you think?  Do you believe the Tyler/Voq theory? Will Lorca survive the season?  What’s going on with Stamets?  Will Saru receive another promotion?

Let me know!

[gewmme]

The Little Ensign Part 2 (Data x OC)

She had been here for a total of two hours and she already hated it here, she could feel the judgmental stares from her peers as she roamed the ship. Our young Kasey James had already met Captain Picard and William Riker, and the next thing on her agenda was to report to sickbay for a physical.

However, there was a problem, she had no idea where the sickbay was. You'd think someone as smart as her would be able to figure out where it was, but alas, she was lost.

So what did she do? She asked the computer for directions. It seemed like an alright idea at the time, since she clearly hadn't factored in her awful sense of direction. She looked around, completely perplexed, this did not look like sickbay.  "Computer, where am I?" She inquired curiously. "Main Engineering." Came it's reply. She furrowed her brow, thoroughly confused now. She hadn't expected to end up even further away from her destination, much less in engineering.

To her surprise, a certain Chief Engineer rounded the corner, an amused smirk gracing his features. "Lost, Ensign?" His amused, yet almost smug, voice cut through the noise of the present surroundings. She chuckled sheepishly, giving an awkward smile. "Maybe a little." She admitted. The man gave an understanding smile before introducing himself. "I'm Geordi La Forge, the Chief Engineer, Where were you headed Ensign?" He questioned. "I was uh headed to sickbay for a mandatory physical." She replied, eyes widening in astonishment, he was Geordi La Forge, the Chief Engineer, the Boss of Engineering, the Head Honcho, the Big Cheese, the--

Her thoughts were soon interrupted by a man poking his head around the corner. "Geordi, Lieutenant Markell requires your assistance." The man spoke in a calm, soothing tone. Geordi nodded to the man in question before responding. "Data, while I go help Lieutenant Markell, would you mind showing the little Ensign here to sickbay? She got lost on the way there." He chuckled, flashing a quick, yet friendly smile to the young Ensign before heading off to go assist the Lieutenant.

The man- Data, turned his attention to Kasey, his head quirking to the side in an almost confused manner. She raised an eyebrow, wondering what was going on in that head of his. "You are going to sickbay?" he inquired. She answered with a simple nod. "Fascinating." He mused, seemingly intrigued by the concept. "How so?" She queried. He paused for a moment before replying. "Your destination was sickbay, however, you did not arrive there, you instead ended up in Engineering, which is quite far from your intended place of arrival." She sighed. "Yeah yeah my sense of direction is horrible, I even had help from the computer and I still ended up here." He processed this information for a moment before nodding in acknowledgement. "Shall we go then?" She asked, attempting to steer the conversation from her sense of direction. He nodded in agreement, grabbing her sleeve before starting off in the direction of the turbolift.

"Sir, why are you holding my sleeve?" She questioned, raising a brow. He turned his head, looking back at her as they waited for the lift. "Did you not say that you have a bad sense of direction?" He answered, quirking his head to the side in the same confused manner as before. "Well yeah but.. I can probably follow you without getting lost, I don't think I'm that bad at directions." She muttered, a slight scowl on her face. He pondered this for a moment, stepping into the turbolift. "Deck two." He stated, the lift beginning to move. The two of them stood in an awkward silence until the doors opened. He exited with an irritated Kasey still in tow.

She stared at his hand that was holding her sleeve. He was treating her like a child, of course he was. How stupid could she be to think that maybe someone would see her as an equal, not just a little girl trying to be an adult. Honestly, she should have known better than to--

"Ensign?" A voice brought her out of her thoughts. "You appear upset, have I offended you in some manner?" Data inquired, raising an eyebrow. "No, I'm fine." She lied.  He tilted his head to the side, seemingly pondering something. "My research of human behavior has led be to believe that you are being untruthful." He concluded.  

Research of.. human behavior? Yikes, he speaks like he's not human.

Wait.

Wasn't there an android on this ship?

And didn't Lieutenant Commander La Forge refer to him as Data..?

Oh.

"You're an android." She stated flatly. "Yes, are not all personnel on the ship aware of that fact?" He questioned. She pressed her lips into a thin line before responding. "I knew there was an android on the ship, however, I had no idea it was you." "Intriguing. How is it that you could not tell, am I not far different than humans?" He queried, tilting his head. "I don't know, maybe you're just a lot more human than I expected." She mused. He seemed to ponder on this for a moment before nodding and continuing to walk.

Her gaze shifted back to his hand that was holding her sleeve. She sort of understood why he grabbed her sleeve now. It wasn't because he was treating her like a child, she simply got lost a lot and he thought of that as the proper solution to the problem. She couldn't blame him, he didn't know how she felt about it. And if she was being completely honest, she'd found that she didn't really mind anymore.

"Ensign, we have arrived at sickbay." He stated, letting go of her sleeve.  She looked up, her arm falling to her side. "Thank you Lieutenant Commander." She gave an awkward smile before entering the sickbay.

Meanwhile, Data stood outside the door a moment longer, still pondering on what she had said earlier. The android in question had found this young Ensign to be quite intriguing, he would have to ask Geordi about her later.

Wattpad: HtmlBrunch

Ao3: GemmaTheBrunchmaster

[newshirtonlines-blog]

Im The Big Sister Which Makes Me The Boss shirt

Argh, knew there was one Im The Big Sister Which Makes Me The Boss shirt . Leftovers is a god-tier show and Regina King is one of the best actresses working today. Can’t wait to see what Lindelof brings us. Not very familiar with the source material nor the Snyder film but nonetheless this would definitely be in my honorable and on the verge of cracking into the top 5 I hope they just call it The Picard Show and it’s either a talk show or one of those sitcoms where it’s the name of the star. Im The Big Sister Which Makes Me The Boss shirt, hoodie, sweater, longsleeve and ladies t-shirt

Classic Ladies

Hoodie

Sweatshirt

Unisex Discovery season 1 started filming at the end of January Im The Big Sister Which Makes Me The Boss shirt . and premiered that same year in September. Depending on what they’re eyeing for episode count, and delay before the next season of Discovery, I could see it making it for fall 2019. But you’re probably right, early 2020 might be more likely. But there’s other stuff too like Too Old to Die, Young, Good Omens, Deadly Class, His Dark Materials, and other shows I’ve read about but that I’m definitely forgetting at the moment. Probably not 2019, but Amazon recently bought many interesting things: Snow Crash, Ring World, The Three-Body Problem, Wheel of Time, Lazarus, and probably more. And I’m not so much excited about them buying the Lord of the Rings rights. Yeah, I’ll admit I was sure that the show wouldn’t release until. But given the Showrunner and Netflix have stated that they aim to get it out by 2019 I ended up chucking it on the list. If it does come out next year I’m sure it won’t be until October at the earliest. I saw this week that they’re making a Sly Cooper cartoon. Since I played the games already, I definitely know that they can make it work as a story arc-laden series. For the record, I don’t despise Greg Berlanti. Early flash and arrow are still some of my favorite comic book television. I absolutely adore the later seasons of LoT but that credit is moreso towards Phil Klemmer and the cast. Also, Love, Simon is still one of my favorite .movies of the year. You Can See More Product: https://luxuryt-shirt.com/product-category/trending/ Read the full article

[tshirttrend]

Im The Big Sister Which Makes Me The Boss shirt

Argh, knew there was one Im The Big Sister Which Makes Me The Boss shirt . Leftovers is a god-tier show and Regina King is one of the best actresses working today. Can’t wait to see what Lindelof brings us. Not very familiar with the source material nor the Snyder film but nonetheless this would definitely be in my honorable and on the verge of cracking into the top 5 I hope they just call it The Picard Show and it’s either a talk show or one of those sitcoms where it’s the name of the star. Im The Big Sister Which Makes Me The Boss shirt, hoodie, sweater, longsleeve and ladies t-shirt

Classic Ladies

Hoodie

Sweatshirt

Unisex Discovery season 1 started filming at the end of January Im The Big Sister Which Makes Me The Boss shirt . and premiered that same year in September. Depending on what they’re eyeing for episode count, and delay before the next season of Discovery, I could see it making it for fall 2019. But you’re probably right, early 2020 might be more likely. But there’s other stuff too like Too Old to Die, Young, Good Omens, Deadly Class, His Dark Materials, and other shows I’ve read about but that I’m definitely forgetting at the moment. Probably not 2019, but Amazon recently bought many interesting things: Snow Crash, Ring World, The Three-Body Problem, Wheel of Time, Lazarus, and probably more. And I’m not so much excited about them buying the Lord of the Rings rights. Yeah, I’ll admit I was sure that the show wouldn’t release until. But given the Showrunner and Netflix have stated that they aim to get it out by 2019 I ended up chucking it on the list. If it does come out next year I’m sure it won’t be until October at the earliest. I saw this week that they’re making a Sly Cooper cartoon. Since I played the games already, I definitely know that they can make it work as a story arc-laden series. For the record, I don’t despise Greg Berlanti. Early flash and arrow are still some of my favorite comic book television. I absolutely adore the later seasons of LoT but that credit is moreso towards Phil Klemmer and the cast. Also, Love, Simon is still one of my favorite .movies of the year. You Can See More Product: https://luxuryt-shirt.com/product-category/trending/ Read the full article

[luxuryt-shirt]

Im The Big Sister Which Makes Me The Boss shirt

Argh, knew there was one Im The Big Sister Which Makes Me The Boss shirt . Leftovers is a god-tier show and Regina King is one of the best actresses working today. Can’t wait to see what Lindelof brings us. Not very familiar with the source material nor the Snyder film but nonetheless this would definitely be in my honorable and on the verge of cracking into the top 5 I hope they just call it The Picard Show and it’s either a talk show or one of those sitcoms where it’s the name of the star. Im The Big Sister Which Makes Me The Boss shirt, hoodie, sweater, longsleeve and ladies t-shirt

Classic Ladies

Hoodie

Sweatshirt

Unisex Discovery season 1 started filming at the end of January Im The Big Sister Which Makes Me The Boss shirt . and premiered that same year in September. Depending on what they’re eyeing for episode count, and delay before the next season of Discovery, I could see it making it for fall 2019. But you’re probably right, early 2020 might be more likely. But there’s other stuff too like Too Old to Die, Young, Good Omens, Deadly Class, His Dark Materials, and other shows I’ve read about but that I’m definitely forgetting at the moment. Probably not 2019, but Amazon recently bought many interesting things: Snow Crash, Ring World, The Three-Body Problem, Wheel of Time, Lazarus, and probably more. And I’m not so much excited about them buying the Lord of the Rings rights. Yeah, I’ll admit I was sure that the show wouldn’t release until. But given the Showrunner and Netflix have stated that they aim to get it out by 2019 I ended up chucking it on the list. If it does come out next year I’m sure it won’t be until October at the earliest. I saw this week that they’re making a Sly Cooper cartoon. Since I played the games already, I definitely know that they can make it work as a story arc-laden series. For the record, I don’t despise Greg Berlanti. Early flash and arrow are still some of my favorite comic book television. I absolutely adore the later seasons of LoT but that credit is moreso towards Phil Klemmer and the cast. Also, Love, Simon is still one of my favorite .movies of the year. You Can See More Product: https://luxuryt-shirt.com/product-category/trending/ Read the full article

[frozendoorgaming]

Morning Mist #44

Announcements, Releases, Trailers

Marvel Announces a New VR Experience Featuring Letitia Wright, Benedict Cumberbatch, and More

Red Dead Redemption 2 PC Release Date & Epic Exclusivity Announced

Psychological horror Martha is Dead revealed with unnerving trailer

Void Terrarium gets charmingly weird teaser trailer

This Is The First Death Stranding Trailer That Makes Sense

Halo Infinite: Check Out 3 New Screenshots

Disc Creatures looks like a cute throwback to classic Pokémon

Daedalic Unveils A Year Of Rain Release Date

Microsoft Flight Simulator Preview: A Stunningly Detailed Aviation Simulation

Pirate-y "open world farming game" Stranded Sails dated for PC and consoles

Pac-Man Party Royale Coming Out This Year

The Bradwell Conspiracy is releasing next week

Rumoured House of the Dead 1 & 2 remakes officially confirmed

Ultima Online designer Raph Koster making new sandbox MMO

Ring Fit Adventure Preview: Come for the Workout, Stay for the RPG

Milestones, Industry

Watch the 24-hour Pokémon Sword and Shield livestream here

Mario Kart Tour is Nintendo's most-downloaded smartphone game at launch

Detroit: Become Human Has Surpassed 3 Million Copies Sold

Frogwares has rescued Sherlock Holmes: Crimes and Punishments

10 years on and 20 more to go - Mojang on the present and future of Minecraft

The Writers Guild of America Won’t Award Video Game Writing Until a “Critical Mass” is Made By WGA Members

Gearbox Software and Former Lawyer Wade Callender Mutually Drop Lawsuits

Mike O’Brien is leaving ArenaNet and Guild Wars 2 to form a new studio

Gaming chat client company Discord issued an unknown number of layoffs this week

Ustwo Games Accused of Union Busting Over Austin Kelmore Dismissal

Deals, Freeware

Walmart is offering this last gen Ryzen CPU is for its lowest price ever

Quirky 60-second puzzle adventure Minit is currently free on the Epic Store

Deftly dodge deadly hazards in free action game Deff

GOG is celebrating its 11th anniversary with a huge sale

Gang Beasts, Gonner and more going cheap in a Steam charity sale

HTC Vive Cosmos Hands-On Impressions

Get A Free Month Of Origin Access With This 10-Second Step

Get Ghost Recon Breakpoint for free when you buy a Samsung SSD

Information

PSA Magic: Arena is holding an event this weekend where you can win one copy of every standard card

Assassin's Creed Odyssey celebrates anniversary with new mount, epic encounters and global stats

Ghost Recon Breakpoint is out today, but the servers are down

Apex Legends is getting undead players and a new map for Halloween

Destiny 2 launches its next raid on October 5 and drops the ban hammer on cheaters

After years of waiting, Destiny 2: Shadowkeep finally gives fans a huge plot moment

Dr. Mario World employs Dr. Luma, and I'm not sure it has a medical license

Pokemon Go Adds A New Shiny Pokemon

Pokemon Sword and Shield Won’t Have 18 Gyms After All

Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled's spooky seasonal grand prix event starts tomorrow

Etc

Wendy's has released a tabletop RPG where you have to fight McDonalds

Robot Chicken tackles gamer stereotypes in new Overwatch League sketch

EA leaks personal details of 1,600 FIFA 20 Global series players

Intel vs AMD: Which CPU is better for cooking pacakes?

Microsoft's classic Ergonomic Keyboard returns with an emoji button

Magic: The Gathering Reveals My Little Pony Crossover

Star Trek Picard: New Character And Story Details Revealed At New York Comic-Con

The Best Cooperative Board Games

Death Stranding Timefall Album Features Chvrches, Bring Me The Horizon, More

Overwatch boss Jeff Kaplan is for any representation in Smash, but prefers Tracer

Coach, Michael B. Jordan Team Up To Sell You $95 Naruto T-Shirts