#she and Spock were honestly well matched in that respect

[vulcanistic-tendencies]

S1E2 Charlie X: "To The Victor"

As her grandfather was often fond of observing, Janice was a go-getter. She had very little trouble deciding what she wanted, how she wanted it, and what she needed to do in order to make it hers. It made her a formidable adversary in most strategy games and team sports, to say nothing of the rare occasions when someone or something tried to interfere with her career goals.

It didn’t do much for her love life, though.

See, Janice was pretty. She didn’t mind that – in fact she worked very hard each morning to apply her makeup and to press and arrange her hair just so to match the latest fashion. She enjoyed looking good, and any extra effort it took was simply worth it.

But looking good meant being chased, being sought, being fawned and fought over. It meant leers and lewd gestures and lewder comments made just within earshot. It made her into a prize to be won.

Well, Janice was no one’s fucking prize, and if anyone was going to be winning anything, it was her.

Enter Lieutenant Nyota Uhura.

When Janice had been assigned to the Enterprise as Captain Kirk’s person yeoman, she was less than thrilled. She’d had her fair share of unwanted suitors of every class and gender, but in her experience, high-ranking men tended to be the worst.

It came as a pleasant surprise, therefore, when Kirk turned out to be friendly, charismatic, and unfailingly professional both on and off the bridge. His gaze and touch were never anything but completely appropriate and respectful. Beyond that, he had a presence about him that could instantly set everyone at ease. Honestly, if he hadn’t been extremely off-limits due to their respective ranks and positions aboard the ship, Janice may have been tempted to test some decidedly less-than-platonic waters with him.

Ah, well. Maybe in another life.

Kirk’s command crew was fairly easy to work with as well. Granted, First Officer Spock could often be blunt to the point of rudeness, and Chief Medical Officer McCoy was something of a serial flirt, but on the whole they were harmless. Janice even found herself becoming fast friends with Lieutenant Sulu, who shared her sardonic sense of humor and took a genuine interest in her painting hobby after catching her hard at work in an empty rec room during her second week. (She did her best to reciprocate by showing interest in his botany projects, though in truth some of the more mobile specimens were…unnerving to her.)

Then, there was Nyota.

If Janice was pretty, Nyota was gorgeous. There was a softness to her features, an almost ethereal kind of beauty that was only enhanced by the gentle grace with which she moved. Her smiles were wide and bright, her voice smooth and musical whenever she spoke. And when she sang…

Well. Janice normally wasn’t one to wax poetic, and maybe that was for the best because Nyota Uhura was certainly not in need of any poetry. She supplied all of it quite skillfully herself.

Perhaps that was what Janice found so intimidating. Nyota was a woman self-possessed; by no means just a beauty, she was also sharp as a tack, fleet of foot and wit, and surprisingly – dangerously – mischievous when the mood struck her.

She was the first person Janice had ever encountered who truly gave her pause. Not because she wasn’t sure what she wanted when it came to Nyota, but because she wasn’t sure what she could have.

Enter Charlie Evans.

What struck Janice the most about Charlie was his sincerity. He was awkward, sure, and clearly a little out of his depth when it came to understanding and adjusting to the culture of the Enterprise, but who could blame him? His life up to that point had been a blank slate – totally unburdened by social rules and customs – and as such his actions and words bore an honesty that was as refreshing as it was unnerving.

He was sweet. Genuine. A good kid. All he really needed was some guidance.

Just not from Janice.

The very moment they met, she could tell she was going to have trouble with him. His eyes – wide and bright and ever so confused – landed on her like the glowing light of a meteorite on a collision course. She knew those eyes. She knew very well what they meant.

She also knew that she was unequivocally the worst possible person for him to hitch his poor naïve adolescent wagon to. Sure, Janice was nice – she was polite and professional and friendly, but she wasn’t…gentle. She wasn’t sweet or tender or patient. Not like Kirk could be.

Not like Nyota was.

She tried, of course. She tried to be soft for Charlie. She tried to ignore the weight of his eyes on her. It didn’t work. The meteorite still came. It still careened right into them with the sharp sound of a palm hitting flesh.

And then, Janice simply wasn’t.

.

.

.

Reenter Yeoman Janice Rand.

She didn’t talk about Charlie after everything was over with. She wrote her report, because that was her job, and she submitted to a brief psych eval, because that was Dr. McCoy’s job, and that was that.

From what she could tell, Kirk and the others who had been present for Charlie’s departure were of a similar mind. Better not to dwell.

And yet…

And yet Janice could not keep the image of Charlie’s wide, earnest eyes out of her head. The simple, terrible truth he spoke so plainly to her.

(“You can understand, can’t you? You know about being with somebody? Wanting to be?”)

Yes, Janice did. She did, and yet for the first time in her life, fear and doubt had kept her frozen in place.

Well, no more of that.

She found Nyota alone on the observation deck, watching the stars and humming softly to herself. Despite her new resolve, Janice hesitated in the doorway.

Charlie had been alone for too long. He didn’t know how to work around the needs of others, how to cope with rejection when it came. Janice – well, she didn’t like rejection, but far better that than this hopeless pining she was doing now. Life was just too damn short to waste time like that.

And so, Janice went to go get her.

[lionesshathor]

tried my hand at text-based RP. enjoy this spock and mccoy banter!

Spock:

Whoever "borrowed" my padd will return it by the end of the day, or I will turn the ringer on full volume, for a full 24 hours

Leonard "Bones" McCoy:

alright, alright! I'm returning it now! lordy, I had no idea the ringtone was set to "bananaphone"

never getting that song outta my head now

Spock:

It was Jim's idea as a way to insure it was returned promptly

Leonard "Bones" McCoy:

ugh, figures

Leonard "Bones" McCoy:

definitely works

now excuse me while i staunch the bleeding in my ears...

Spock:

It could be worse, his original suggestion was the "baby shark" song

Leonard "Bones" McCoy:

oh, that's not much worse

i always learned that song differently anway

Spock:

I forgot, you have a daughter. She enjoys it?

Leonard "Bones" McCoy:

not that much anymore, she's just discovered "the song that never ends"

and its sequel, "i know a song that gets on everybody's nerves"

Spock:

My sister enjoyed the never ending song

Leonard "Bones" McCoy:

michael? haven't heard from her in ages

and for god's sake, don't put anymore earworms in me

*grump grump*

Spock:

If you took up my offer to learn meditation they would not be able to get stuck in your head

Leonard "Bones" McCoy:

I'll do that when you admit to actually having an injury before falling flat on your face

Spock:

I was pushed

Leonard "Bones" McCoy:

mr. "tries to walk out of medbay during surgery"

you were BLEEDING PROFUSELY

a grasshopper could have pushed you over

Spock:

I was referring to the incident on the planet, we have already discussed the fact that the anesthesia had an effect on me. I did not walk out on purpose, I was hallucinating

Leonard "Bones" McCoy:

really? did your perfectly meditated brain fail on you?

next you'll be telling me that "bananular" is a word

Spock:

When drugged, yes, it can fail. I am not a machine

Bananular?

Leonard "Bones" McCoy:

as in, "bananular phone"

did you even listen to the song when you let Jim pick your ringtone?

Spock:

I let Jim pick, to make him stop complaining so I could finish my work

Leonard "Bones" McCoy:

you know what, next time you call me illogical, ill just say BANANULAR

Spock:

It is technically not my ring tone, it is an alarm to make people return my padd

Leonard "Bones" McCoy:

*facepalm* oooof course you did

let me guess, your actual ringtone is on a frequency only those pointed ears of yours can hear

Spock:

No? You have heard my ring tone, it is currently in the hall of the goblin king....

Leonard "Bones" McCoy:

doesn't ring a bell

do you mean mountain king?

Spock:

Yes

Leonard "Bones" McCoy:

hmph. don't even know your earth music right

Spock:

I am man enough to admit my mistakes

Leonard "Bones" McCoy:

now "tenessee stud" is a real classic

Spock:

Stud?

Leonard "Bones" McCoy:

...do i need to explain what a stud horse is to you?

its a song about a man and his stallion

they ride around on adventures in the ancient west

Spock:

That is the premise of most songs you recommend

Leonard "Bones" McCoy:

because theyre GOOD

respect the classics!

Spock:

Classic like "save a horse ride a cowboy" ?

Leonard "Bones" McCoy:

oho! when did you listen to that one?

did you hear "she thinks my tractor's sexy" perchance?

i still have my "save a horse, ride a tractor" shirt somewhere

Spock:

I listen to all your recommendations when I have time. They are.... interesting

Jim stole that shirt

Leonard "Bones" McCoy:

he did WHAT

Spock:

He wears it to bed regularly. I highly doubt you both have one, therefore he stole it

Leonard "Bones" McCoy:

that sonuva-

MY SHIRT

did he swipe my "not everything in Iowa is flat" shirt too?

or my Georgia peach shorts?

Spock:

I do not know about the shorts, but the flat shirt he does have, he bought matching "booty shorts"

Leonard "Bones" McCoy:

...well, the joke does fit him better

he always had bigger pecs

BUT IT'S STILL MY SHIRT

also since when did it have a matching booty shorts set?

last time in cedar rapids i didn't see anything

next time you see him, tell Jim that the iowa shirt is meant for women

see how he reacts

then get me a replacement

for BOTH

Spock:

He may have gotten them from the replicator. I give you permission to steal your clothes back, do not open the drawer in the closet, it is broken, and jim will notice someone else has been in there

Leonard "Bones" McCoy:

how could i open a broken drawer?

Spock:

When opened it will not close unless you do it at an angle. It is difficult for me, and jim.

Spock:

Also, do not go when jim is there

Leonard "Bones" McCoy:

let me guess, he's hiding somehting in there?

a secret stash of gummy bears, maybe?

that jim always had a sweet tooth

Spock:

No, I do not believe there are sweets in our room. You forget, jims diet is something we both agree on

Leonard "Bones" McCoy:

do we, now? this could be an historic occasion

Spock:

We have agreed for years on this

Leonard "Bones" McCoy:

us? thinking alike for year?

i need a drink

Spock:

We agree on many things

Leonard "Bones" McCoy:

*spits out drink*

*cough cough*

ugh

if you're gonna get nasty, i'm gonna leave

Spock:

Nasty? We both enjoy salad.... you told me last week

Leonard "Bones" McCoy:

I enjoy a good slaw. what you eat is cattle feed

Spock:

Cattle would be poisoned by my regular diet

Leonard "Bones" McCoy:

of leaves? i doubt that

get yourself a corn dog or something on a bun

honestly, you're so gaunt and lanky

you need something that will really stick to your ribs

Spock:

The spices are poison to most earth creatures

[thesearchforspirk]

1 x 8: ‘Balance of Terror’ {Subtext Study}

Please read my manifesto here if you haven’t already- it better explains my beliefs as per the Kirk/Spock dynamic and what I aim to accomplish with this blog.

An admittedly shorter study as this episode is without any strong Kirk/Spock interaction to mull over. There are some interesting possible parallels here, but even in that respect I’m not sure I’ll say anything that the TOS Commentary hasn’t already said about this episode. For all these reasons this episode was a bit of a white elephant for me, so if you want to skip this write-up I’ll understand. Either way:

Our episode opens with a wedding on board ship and never has Kirk looked happier to perform his duties as Captain. The fact that this wedding goes smoothly is very important to him (because he cares that much about his crew and is that much of a romantic and I just love him ok) so when he gets a message from Spock that some Earth outposts are in trouble he privately, quietly acknowledges so that no one else will hear. Some shit is about to go down for sure.

(the fact that Scotty escorts the bride down the aisle thrills me to no end- it has nothing to do with this blog, I’m just a shameless Scotty fangirl) 

Sure enough the shit does, indeed, hit the fan and two Earth outposts are attacked by some mysterious vessel. The wedding must be abandoned and postponed (someone really does NOT ship this) so everyone can assume emergency battle stations as the Enterprise runs to help. On the bridge Kirk tries to gain as much info as he can about the attackers, though there doesn’t seem to be any definite info. A certain navigator is keen to help though, offering up, “there can’t be much doubt who’s attacking, sir”. 

He may be right about that, as it seems the earth outposts are in place to guard the neutral zone, an area agreed upon after a war with the Romulans a long time ago. It turns out said navigator had family members who died in that war so he’s got a bone to pick with the Romulans. Kirk tells him, however, that it was their war and not his so don’t make this a personal thing, bub...even if the attacker of the hour is Romulan, I guess. 

Spock replies that a few of the earth outposts have been completely decimated, indicating that the Romulan power must be greater than they thought. Kirk and Spock exchange some concerned looks as the gravity of their situation becomes apparent. 

Do you remember our cute wedding couple from earlier? We see them again, hard at work in what appears to be the engineering sector. The groom says, “Happy wedding day- almost.” and the bride jokes, “You won’t get off my hook this easily. I’m gonna marry you mister, battle or phaser weapons notwithstanding.” “Well, meanwhile, temporarily, at least, I’m still your superior officer- so get with it, Mister!” So, apparently cutie pie groom who has a striking resemblance to another certain cutie pie on the ship is his bride-to-be’s superior officer. She just so happens to be seated at a control panel acknowledging orders. I guess that’s pretty inconspicuous enough. 

(yeah...nothing to see here)

More on this later.

The bridge crew have to watch helplessly as Outpost 4 is taken out while they’re talking to one of the guys on it. Despite being surrounded by iron and deflector screens the Romulans were still able to disintegrate another outpost so, understandably, Kirk and Spock share some more increasingly concerned looks. After this, Spock says that the vessel appears to be turning back towards Romulus. Kirk wants the Enterprise to follow the ship silently, but the navigator argues (as well as Sulu) that all decks should maintain security alert. Since the vessel was able to do so much in such a short time, it could be that there are spies aboard. Kirk decides to oblige them (another thing I love about Kirk- not letting his crewman talk down to him, but taking and considering and sometimes even heeding advice when its given to him by his inferior officers).

Anyway, Spock manages to get a peek into their ship and what do you know, it’s Sarek! I mean. It’s a Romulan. Same actor as Spock’s dad. The significance here is that they look like Vulcans. It’s telling that it seems everyone looks over at Spock in some kind of horrified realization, except for Kirk- though I think ultimately this is more testament to Kirk’s character than it is anything subtextual; he’s not the sort of person to assume that a person’s resemblance to someone else means they’re in some kind of cahoots with them because he’s not a racist asshole. 

Until Undiscovered Country, anyway. Anyway! 

Everyone else is staring accusatory at him though and I guess Spock can feel the eyes on him, because he looks over at a very hostile bridge. Kirk is having none of it. He sweeps around the bridge, most of the eyes going back to their work as he passes except for the impassioned navigator. Kirk has to tap said navigator’s panel to remind him where his gaze should be. Even still, this jackass can’t help himself but mutter that Spock should be in charge of decoding anything from the Romulan ship. 

You’d think most people on the Enterprise would know what a dumb thing that’d be to say in Kirk’s presence, but alas. 

Kirk orders that he repeats himself and offers that he really means he’s complimenting Spock on his ability to decode. Navigator says he’s ‘unsure’ of that. Kirk spins his chair around and says, “Well, here’s one thing you can be sure of, Mister. Leave any bigotry in your quarters, there’s no room for it on the bridge.” and the navigator gets the message- as one would hope. 

It should be noted that Spock’s reaction when Kirk starts laying into the guy says a lot about how Kirk must usually react when someone talks smack about his first officer. I have no doubt Spock could handle himself if he had been left to do so, but Kirk won’t hear of that. So, in my humble opinion, this is still a precious moment between them even if not anything irrefutably subtextual. 

(this is totally an ‘oh shit he’s gonna kill him’ look if you ask me) 

Meanwhile we get an inside look into the Romulan’s ship and see an exchange between Captain Sarek and who appears to be his second in command. They talk of war and stuff, the point being they seem to know each other well and are brothers in arms. We also get a preemptive look into the fact that Captain Sarek and Kirk seem to think a lot alike as commanders. It would seem a parallel is being drawn here perhaps. 

So, what about the almost-married couple? Their presence in this certainly isn’t incidental and is yet another pairing of people who know each other well, have fought and worked alongside each other, but seem to share a romantic layer to their relationship as well. 

Huh. Interesting stuff, that.�� 

Kirk calls another emergency briefing, including the bigoted navigator from before. He makes some more implications about Spock knowing all about “these people”, to which Kirk tells him to back off again, but Spock actually agrees with him, that if the Romulans are anything like how Vulcans were in the pre-logic time then attack is necessary. Thankfully, they also realize that a comet is nearby and if the Romulans should go through the tail they would end up dragging out debris enough to be spotted even with their cloaking device.

They attempt this in what appears to be a huge gamble- and lose. Captain Sarek has them turn away at the last minute, having guessed Kirk’s move. Kirk himself says “He did exactly what I would’ve done” further cementing a parallel between him and Captain Sarek. They do manage to finally hit the Romulan vessel by firing blind, which causes the second in command to sacrifice himself by being hit by falling debris in order to push Captain Sarek out of the way. 

Unfortunately for the Enterprise something short-circuits (near Spock’s panel for some reason) and they’re helpless when the Romulans fire back at them. They back up enough that the shot doesn’t hit them as hard as it might have. Rand also uses the opportunity to press herself against Kirk a bunch and he obliges her, but once again looks moreover pretty uninterested. Can’t blame a girl for trying. We also get another shot of cute almost-married couple, groom-to-be helping bride-to-be to her feet after the impact. So. That’s a thing. Just file it away for now.

More parallels are drawn to the way Kirk and Captain Sarek think and the Romulan second in command is hurt and eventually dies. Fortunately, Spock has the phasers working again, which for reasons I do not understand, rely on the wiring beneath his panel. Whatever, technology. He sure looked cute lying there fixing it, anyway. Kirk is full and ready to violate neutral zone treaty to follow and finish the Romulan vessel if needed, but Captain Sarek utilizes some trickery by throwing debris and the body of his second in command out the side of the ship. Spock and Kirk call his bluff, but have lost the ship on the senors. They decide to turn everything off and hide to see if the Romulan vessel will reveal itself.

The waiting game lasts over nine hours, in which Kirk goes back to his room, conflicted. Rand walks in to offer him something to eat and he looks rather loathe to see her, honestly- but he’s polite and tells her no thanks and please make sure the door closes behind her on the way out, thanks very much. However, when McCoy walks in Kirk looks genuinely pleased and relieved. Rand, honey, it may be time to swim for open waters. Anyway, he and McCoy have a sweet moment in which Kirk is feeling lost and stressed under the circumstances and McCoy says there’s only one of him, only one that could get them through this situation. 

Back on the bridge their silence is interrupted when Spock accidentally presses a signal button (which is hilarious in and of itself) and of course now racist navigator is newly convinced Spock is some kind of Romulan spy (to which Kirk attempts to assure him otherwise). Kirk manages to match the Romulan vessel’s moves by blanket firing again, but Captain Sarek’s got another trick up his sleeve; he sends out a nuclear warhead with the debris. Kirk manages to intercept it with a phaser but the Enterprise suffers its own casualties. 

The two of them remain in a holding pattern as Captain Sarek is hesitant to attack again, he just wants to go home- alas, he has a duty to crush the enemies of his homeland. He seems as tired as Kirk, honestly. Racist navigator moves to go help groom-to-be with weapons control and when Spock asks if they need any help, he spits back, “This time we’ll do things without your help, Vulcan.” It’s no way address a superior officer and maybe Spock should’ve said something- or maybe he realizes now isn’t the time or place. Either way, he leaves without reprimand just as the weapons room begins to flood with, uh...toxic purple gas, I suppose.

Anyway, time’s up for the Romulan vessel. They hit critically, Kirk interfaces with Captain Sarek one last time and they relate as kindred spirits before Captain Sarek is forced to self destruct. Elsewhere, Spock has managed to rescue racist navigator from the purple gas (and Kirk pointedly asks Spock first if he’s alright even though it’s the navigator that’s laying wounded on the table lmao) but was not able to save groom-to-be. 

Kirk goes to comfort the bride and says, “It never makes any sense. We both have to know that there’s a reason.” She assures him she’s alright, but Kirk looks to be on the verge of tears after she leaves. He’s defeated the Romulan vessel, but there’s no victory in it on either side. 

While, again, this episode lacks any strong subtextual interaction directly between our boys, it is interesting that the two other pairings featured (Captain Sarek + his second in command, the groom/bride to be) hold resemblances to the both of them and the various aspects of their dynamic. It would certainly have been sufficient to have had the Romulan commander and his SiC be the only parallel present, there really isn’t much need for the soon-to-be married couple that I can think of outside of plot stakes. Heck, we don’t even see much of them. I would argue the stakes are high enough in this episode without the engaged couple, so what purpose do they really serve?

Indeed, it could simply be an addition they put in to highlight just how tragic war is- as Kirk and Captain Sarek come to find within one another, even without the groom’s death. For this reason, this explanation is a bit flimsy, given especially that we already have a parallel drawn between the Romulan commander and his SiC. Groom-to-be even looks like Kirk and happens to be his bride’s superior officer. Coincidence? The universe is rarely so lazy. 

That’s about all I have for this episode. I anticipate something a bit meatier to chew on with our next episode, “What Are Little Girls Made Of?”

[justanothercinemaniac]

Epic Movie (Re)Watch #160 - Star Trek Into Darkness

(GIF originally posted by @forquicksilver)

Spoilers Below

Have I seen it before: Yes

Did I like it then: Yes.

Do I remember it: Yes.

Did I see it in theaters: Yes.

Was it a movie I saw since August 22nd, 2009: Yes. #227

Format: Blu-ray

1) The opening scene for this film is a lot of fun. It is a nice isolated adventure which reestablishes the world and the dynamic of the crew while also setting up some character interaction/arcs to come.

2) Hmm, wonder which Star Trek film this is going to take reference from...

Spock: “Doctor, the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few.”

3) Remember this question:

Kirk [when he has to either save Spock’s life or follow the prime directive]: “If Spock were here and I were there, what would he do?”

Bones: “He’d let you die.”

4) London.

The opening scene with Noel Clarke in London - with his obviously sick daughter, elevated by Michael Giacchino’s subtle and somewhat haunting score - does well to set up the titular darkness the film features. It is somber, slower paced, and much more clawing than what we’ve seen before.

5) Sassy Spock returns!

Captain Pike: “You givin’ me attitude, Spock?”

Spock: “I am expressing multiple attitudes simultaneously, to which are you referring?”

6) Kirk’s key conflict throughout this film is how he deals with mortality. Outside of the death of his father, it is not something he is familiar with. And even that was something which occurred literally the day he was born, meaning he has no memory of it. Yet it still guides his actions. Everything he does - letting the indigenous species from the beginning see the Enterprise to save Spock, attempting to save the species in the first place - is striving to prevent what happened to his father. Kirk plays god not out of ego but because he doesn’t wish anyone to feel the emptiness he knows from that kind of conflict. But he has to learn to let it happen. He has to learn to deal with it, otherwise he’ll go on a bad path. Look at what he almost did when Captain Pike died. He almost let himself get played and go against the core beliefs of Starfleet just to make sure no one else got hurt. But death is a part of life. And he will come face to face with death in a way in a similar-yet-unique way as he did in Wrath of Khan.

7) The whole “Kirk loses his command, has to go back to Starfleet academy, only to become a first officer and immediately get his command back” thing feels sort of frivolous. I feel it would have been much more effective to have him just be on probation or something, because this sort of undermines the lesson he was meant to learn. There’s not much of a consequence to it.

8) The bar scene between Kirk and Pike (calling back to how they met in the first film) is something I have mixed feelings about.

Kirk: “How did you find me?”

Pike: “I know you better than you think.”

Kirk [in reference to the bar fight from the first film]: “Yeah, that was a good fight.”

Pike: “A good fight? I think that’s your problem right there.”

For the most part I think it is a nice piece of the film. It gives us one last good look at their relationship, Pike’s mentorship, and the respect Kirk has for Pike before Pike’s death in a little bit. However - for me - it doesn’t feel like it matches up with when Pike was railing on Kirk earlier in the film. At all. There is this dissonance there I just cannot remedy.

9) The key conflict between Kirk and Spock in this film is interesting. We’ve moved past the place of sheer conflict they started out in the 2009 reboot to a place of respect but there’s still this dissonance between them. They’re not the strong pair that we are used to yet. The best friends. That’s what they become in this film, but they’re not there yet.

Kirk: “Do you understand why I went back for you [to save your life]?”

[Spock does not have an answer.]

10) Hey look, Robocop!

11) At the meeting of the captains, Kirk - even though he’s been disgraced - still says his piece. Yes it took some convincing but he notices something no one else could and stood up for it. And so continues the tradition of Kirk standing up for himself.

12) Spock’s mind meld with Pike plays into his own arc of dealing with death (similar to Kirk’s) very well, but more on that later.

13) Alice Eve as Carol “Wallace”.

With one noteworthy exception, I truly enjoy Carol’s presence in this film. Alice Eve has always been a favorite of mine and I think she does well in the part. Carol Marcus was an interesting character in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan and it’s fun getting to see this younger side of her. She is probably one of the characters with the most underused potential from the original series of Star Trek feature films and I’m glad that - at least for this film - they decide to explore that potential more. More on that one exception later though...

14) It is good to see that Kirk, Bones, and Scotty - while all loyal to Kirk - care more about making sure he is okay than following him blindly. They all act as voices of reason to their captain and their words do set in, it is just a delayed settling.

15) I think Scotty resigning was a nice surprise. I honestly was not expecting it and it lends itself to a few things:

Kirk realizing just how sketchy some of this stuff is.

Kirk being pushed/pushing himself to places he’s never been before.

An organic & unique way of including Scotty later in the film.

16) Love this.

Kirk [about Spock]: “Sometimes I want to rip the bangs off his head. I don’t know, maybe it’s just me.”

Uhura: “It’s not you.”

Kirk: “It’s not? [Beat.] Wait a minute, are you guys fighting?...Oh my god, what is that even like?”

17) Even Chekov knows what a red shirt in Star Trek means.

Kirk [giving Chekov’s Scotty’s old job]: “Go put on a red shirt.”

Chekov [nervously]: “Aye sir...”

18) So one thing that sort of confused me was the fact that Carol is British in this film while in Wrath of Khan she was American. My theory is that the results of the Kelvin made Admiral Marcus (her father) a much more paranoid man, which we know lead to his wife leaving him. I feel like his wife is British and since Carol takes on her mom’s maiden name I have a feeling she grew up more with her than in the original timeline. Hence her British accent. But that’s besides the point...

19) I like that Uhura knows and uses Klingon in this film. In Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country, Nichelle Nichols objected to a scene where Uhura had to hurriedly learn Klingon since she felt her character should already know it. In this film, she does! Yay! Progress!

20) According to IMDb:

When calling down to the shuttle bay, Sulu commands the crew to prepare the transport captured during the "Mudd incident last month", a reference to the same character who appeared in Star Trek: Mudd's Women (1966) and Star Trek: I, Mudd (1967) as a rogue trader. He also appeared in the comic prequel "Star Trek: Countdown to Darkness".

Last I heard, Rainn Wilson (of “The Office”) would be playing Harcourt Mudd in the upcoming Star Trek TV show “Star Trek: Discovery”. Moving on...

21) I feel like I’d be Kirk in this scenario.

Kirk [as Uhura and Spock start arguing on a dangerous mission to the Klingon home world]: “Are you - are you really going to do this now?”

22) This is so important to Spock’s arc throughout the film:

Uhura: “At that volcano, you didn't give a thought to us. What it would do to me if you died, Spock. You didn't feel anything. You didn't care...”

Spock: “Your suggestion that I do not care about dying is incorrect. A sentient being's optimal chance at maximizing their utility is a long and prosperous life.”

Spock [later]: “You misunderstand. It is true I chose not to feel anything upon realizing my own life was ending. As Admiral Pike was dying, I joined with his consciousness and experienced what he felt at the moment of his passing. Anger. Confusion. Loneliness. Fear. I had experiences those feelings before, multiplied exponentially on the day my planet was destroyed. Such a feeling is something I choose never to experience again. Nyota, you mistake my choice not to feel as a reflection of my not caring. Well, I assure you, the truth is precisely the opposite.”

That’s it. Right there. I don’t think there’s any more analysis needed. Spock is dealing with death in a similar way Kirk is, except he is dealing with much more relevant and painful memories he is trying to avoid. Kirk has to learn how to deal with those kinds of experiences as opposed to death as a concept.

23) Remember how I said I love that Uhura can speak Klingon now?

Uhura [convincing Kirk to avoid a fight with Klingons]: “You brought me here because I speak Klingon. Then let me speak Klingon.”

I love that she takes such an active role on Kronos of trying to avoid conflict. I love that she puts herself out there for her crew and her team. I just love it all.

24) Here we have Kirk just beating the shit out of “John Harrison” and “Harrison” not doing anything about it because it doesn’t really effect him. Or the plot. I get that Kirk is dealing with how “Harrison” killed Pike, but can’t we just have him hit him once, see it does nothing, and move on?

Also I will talk about Benedict Cumberbatch as “John Harrison”, just not yet.

25) I love Carol Marcus in this film. I think she’s smart, competent, is able to hold her own with Kirk well, and just works really well. However, I hate - hate hate hate - this moment:

So according to IMDb:

Writer Damon Lindelof apologized on Twitter for the seemingly gratuitous and much criticized scene where Alice Eve strips down to her underwear. J.J. Abrams would counter the criticism later when he appeared on Conan O'Brien's talk show and premiered a deleted scene featuring Benedict Cumberbatch showering. For her part, Eve staunchly defended the scene, and stated that she was very proud to show her her body after working out intensely for the shot. She has maintained that doing the scene was not forced upon her, and that in no way she felt exploited by this.

I like that Eve herself was comfortable with it, that makes me a bit more comfortable with it. However, gratuitous is totally the right word. It literally serves no purpose other than to objectify Marcus when she is so much more than her body. It’s eye candy for Kirk in a film written by guys, directed by a guy, and produced by a guy. And at the end of the day the filmmakers DID cut the scene with Khan, they did not cut this scene. I just...do not like this moment. At all. It feels pointless and makes me sad every time I see it. Again, I like that Eve was comfortable with it. But from a storytelling standpoint it just does not need to exist. At all.

26) I do enjoy the scene immediately following Carol’s strip down, which is where she and Bones take a torpedo to a nearby safe space to try and open it up only to risk blowing it up. It’s a simple, short, yet tense scene which I think is an elegant piece of conflict. It also plays into something which was a regular occurrence in the first film: the idea of if something can go wrong it should go wrong.

27) Alright, Benedict Cumberbatch as John Harrison.

(GIF source unknown [if this is your GIF please let me know].)

Cumberbatch as Khan is a very mixed bag for me. Like I have a lot of different feelings about it. I like that he is able to play the intellect/physical prowess of the character well, but obviously no one will ever be able to touch Montalban’s performance so there’s not really a point in trying. Since this is an earlier version of Khan, he’s a lot less wrathful than what we’re used to. He’s also less poetic and greener (as is the rest of the crew, in relation to the later of those two). But Cumberbatch is also able to give Khan a brief vulnerability we are not exposed to in Wrath of Khan, specifically in his care for his crew. So in terms of the performance alone, I think Cumberbatch does a nice job. He is a terrific actor so I’m not surprised. But...

I don’t think they should have gone with a white actor, if I’m being honest.

For one thing, Ricardo Montalban is Mexican. And based on what I’ve read about the character’s episode in the original series (I’ve never seen it myself, so I might not be totally right here) he was a ruler of Asia and the Middle East before being deposed and cryogenically frozen (I read on Wikipedia that he’s Sikh, but it still is Wikipedia so there’s a chance that’s not 100% accurate). None of this really screams, “white british guy,” to me. This is a criticism of the casting, not Cumberbatch or his performance.

In an interview with Trekmovie.com, cowriter Bob Orci said:

"Basically, as we went through the casting process and we began honing in on the themes of the movie, it became uncomfortable for me to support demonizing anyone of color, particularly any one of Middle Eastern descent or anyone evoking that. One of the points of the movie is that we must be careful about the villain within US, not some other race"

I do understand the issue there, but Khan is not meant to be representative of all Middle Eastern people or a certain ethnicity. He is a visual representation of himself but he is an individual. It’s not like you are writing him to be the big bad Middle Eastern bad guy. You’re writing Khan, and in the past Khan has been non-White.

Again, this is not a criticism of Cumberbatch himself but of the casting decision. I think Cumberbatch does a fine job in the film, I just think a non-white actor should have been cast. Now that I’m done talking about that...

28) This is Kirk at his most frightened.

He see no way out right now. Admiral Marcus is going to blow his ship out of the sky with his crew, so he pleads with Marcus to just take him and spare his crew. He knows what it feels like to lose a loved one in a situation like this, he knows the hole it leaves in your heart even if it isn’t one he can’t define in the same way as Spock. He wants to spare them so they can go home to their families. Just like he wished his father was spared. And when he can’t do that...

Kirk [to his crew]: “I’m sorry.”

I think Kirk’s emotional conflict in this film is one of its standout elements (possibly its strongest), and whatever other issues this film may have I’m glad it does that well.

29) Fans of voiceover actors will recognize Nolan North as a member of Admiral Marcus’ crew.

North is most famous for his role as Nathan Drake in the Uncharted series of video games, but also has voiced Deadpool on a number of occasions and even the Penguin in the Batman: Arkham video game series. He’s one of the most prolific and talented voice over actors there is and I believe JJ Abrams included him because he’s a fan of his work.

30) Similarly, Bill Hader voices the computer on Admiral Marcus’ ship and would collaborate with JJ Abrams again on Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens as a voice consultant for BB-8 with Ben Schwartz.

31) I think it’s nice that the tribble (a fan favorite from the original series) is included, but it’s sort of just awkwardly placed while Kirk is talking with Khan just so it can establish a way to resurrect Kirk later in the film.

32) The dive Kirk and CumberKhan make from the Enterprise to Marcus’ ship is a great set piece in the film. Supported by strong visual and great action, it has the potential to be considered iconic Trek a few years down the road.

33) It makes so much sense that Zachary Quinto Spock would call Spock Prime to ask about Khan.

(GIF originally posted by @tomfooleryprime)

Spock Prime: “Khan Noonien Singh is the most dangerous adversary the Enterprise has ever faced...”

Spock: “Did you defeat him?”

Spock Prime: “At great cost, yes.”

34) I like that Kirk is not stupid enough to actually trust Khan.

Scotty [after Kirk tells him to stun Khan when he’s given the signal]: “I thought he was helping us.”

Kirk: “I’m pretty sure we’re helping him.”

35) Wow, the ego on this guy.

Admiral Marcus: “If I’m not in charge our entire way of life is decimated!”

That does not justify the horrific crimes, attempted murder, or extortion you’ve committed. This guy pisses me off way more in 2017 than he did in 2013.

36) Khan crushing Marcus’ head is very strong for me. It feels like it’s straight out of a horror film and really shows just how dark this character is willing to get in the fulfillment of his wrath (see what I did there?).

37) The preceding mental chess game between Spock and Khan is very nice, though. It shows just how smart each is, how they’re intellectually matched, and see to succeed Spock must use Khan’s ego (a flaw he has always had) to his advantage. Khan underestimates Spock and just how crafty he can get, to his own disadvantage.

38) Remember note #3? Where Kirk was wondering what Spock would have done if the roles were reversed? Well Trek fans know what Spock DID do when the roles were reversed in the past (alternate timeline? I don’t know). We know Spock very willingly sacrificed himself to save the crew, and so does Jim.

Spock [about the trick he pulled on Khan]: “It’s what you would’ve done.”

Kirk: “And this...this is what you would have done.”

Kirk admits that he’s afraid and that has been his conflict all along. He’s afraid of death, or mortality. Not just for him, but for his crew as well. For his loved ones. But his need to keep them safe outweighs his fear for himself. And this is how Kirk learns to face mortality, by sacrificing himself (as opposed to dealing with Spock’s death in Wrath of Khan). As I said before, a similar-yet-unique way of facing that conflict.

39) Of course this had to be somewhere in the film.

40) When the Enterprise crashes into the San Francisco bay it destroys Alcatraz. JJ Abrams had a 2011 TV series on Fox named/surrounding Alcatraz that was cancelled in its first season. Hmmm....

41) I like the final chase between Spock and Khan through San Francisco but I always feel its sort of extra. Fun to watch but maybe a little long. The real climax was Spock/Khan’s mental chess game and then Kirk sacrificing himself, this just does not carry the same amount of conflict with it.

42) So Khaan’s blood can...cure death?

Whatever you can do to keep James T. Kirk alive, I guess.

43)

Kirk: “Dr. Marcus, I’m glad you could be a part of the family.”

Okay, I actually googled why Carol Marcus was left out of Star Trek Beyond and the reason I found I actually REALLY like. This is a quote from Simon Pegg, who cowrote Beyond in a somewhat rushed amount of time.

“With this it felt like we would under-serve her if we included her, she might end up feeling like she hadn’t been given the amount of screen-time she deserves, so rather than bring her in and just have her be a supporting role, like, have her not be in this one, and when the time comes [bring her back], the worst thing to do would be to have her in the film and have that character be killed, and that felt like a cynical thing to do. We thought rather than have Carol Marcus not be used to a reasonable capacity, let’s just not include her, have her be alive, in canon, and ready to come back at any time.”

I’m actually REALLY glad they went that route, because more often than not characters are included out of obligation and killed off because they can’t think of anything better to do with them.

While I do enjoy Star Trek Into Darkness, it is a mixed bag for me. I think the acting is still topnotch and the conflicts each character deals with (ESPECIALLY Kirk and Spock) make for incredible storytelling. Sometime it can feel a bit extra and convoluted however, I’m disappointed in the whitewashing of Khan (even if I do think Cumberbatch did a nice job), and I find the underwear shot of Carol gratuitous. Overall I think it’s a good film just not a great one, and occasionally a problematic one. I do enjoy it. It’s not like I feel like I waste 2 hours of my life whenever I put it in, and this is about the third time I’ve seen it. I just am very aware of its flaws. I hope some of that makes sense. If you want to watch it, watch it. If you are more of a fan of it than I am, fantastic! It’s still a good Trek film (there are much worse Trek films out there), but if it comes down to watching this or any of the rebooted Star Trek films I’d go with any of the other two. Or even better, Wrath of Khan. Maybe I should stop talking now.