#snw 1x10

[startrekuniverse]

SNW || TOS

[chiefnooniensingh]

Fascinating.

STAR TREK: STRANGE NEW WORLDS 1x10 A Quality of Mercy

[emonydeborah]

snw episodes rated by Una

in which Una is my unit of measurement, not that this is what she would think of the events

All from memory bc who has time

SPOILERS FOR EVERYTHING

1x01: she’s literally the catalyst for getting Chris off his butt and the whole episode. Barely in it but she did all the detective work for everybody. “Somehow I knew you would” with the little smile and “La’an!” in the softest voice immediately established both relationships and my abiding love for her. She’s literally driving the plot but still not there much; 6/10.

1x02: she shares some LooksTM with Chris. Chris was slightly subdued at one (1) dinner party and Una went something is deeply wrong. Chris is sad and Una tells him to live his gosh darn life. Pretty sure she flies the ship a bit. She’s here. Can’t complain. 6/10.

1x03: OOOOHOHO here we go. Whatever camera angle it is that shoots from the floor to watch people walk away and makes them look tall was excellently utilized. Girl was STRIDING everywhere. Hauled a grown man over her shoulder and was greeted with the shock and awe she deserved. Told her biggest secret (!!!!) to help the crew!!! bc she would sacrifice herself for them!!!!! also she googled her glowworm episode like it had not happened her whole life (which I will accept as a writer thing. but she really looked at a picture of someone glowing bc of an infection and went 😮). Girlie managed a whole ship of sedated/crazy people and did not let anyone jump into the sun/warp core. Had a deep talk with La’an and revealed more of their shared history. Stunning. 10/10.

1x04 another case of I can’t complain. As my favorite character I want her to be happy, but I will take some internal bleeding and other catastrophic injuries. As a treat. The sheer power of ordering the medical staff to give away her blood transfusion and then knocking herself out before they could argue. Unparalleled. Had no impact on the main plot but what she did do in her sphere of influence was important and exemplary. I’ll take it. 7/10.

1x05: back at it again with the b-plot but I AM HERE FOR IT. GIVE ME LA’AN AND UNA BEING GOOFY. Loved the death glare at Joseph so he would confess and how she pretended not to be huffy about her nickname. La’an went can we… play a game… and Una went YEs sounds educational. For science. The look of absolute shock and betrayal when La’an shot her and her little “ow.” “People are idiots. You’re fun.” La’an went lol my childhood was a bleak horror scape and Una went absolutely NOT I’m going to commit crimes to rectify this. I like people having wacky misadventures while the plot is plotting somewhere. 8/10.

1x06 Chris forgot her name. She had to leave so she wouldn’t verbally tear him to shreds in front of his crew. Most likely explanation. Where was she I miss her. 4/10.

1x07: she locked the pirates out of the ship!!! We love a competent first officer shooting people on her bridge. She shook her head half an inch and Spock went absolutely whatever you say. Chris was thrown to the floor in front of her and she crossed her arms and watched him get up. “We’re starting a mutiny.” "Someone's breaking the rules today." Legitimately appreciated her teamwork with Chris in planting the mutiny idea. Would love to see it again sometime. 7/10.

1x08: bow and arrow. She checked on Joseph after and I appreciated that they carried that through from her finding out about Rukiya before. Una was here but she wasn't Una. Also. If we're real she wasn't really there. I liked the eye shadow though. 5/10.

1x09: "you should really try the omelet." The breakfast scene is my favorite and in fact the only scene. Nothing else happened with Hemmer or Spock or anyone. Really short episode. I would have liked to have seen her face when Chris snapped the tongs. She tried to follow the shuttle to the surface with scans and Chris went nah babe we're fine. Let her do her job Chris. Breakfast scene 10/10. Episode 5/10.

1x10: notable by her absence. She checked on Chris and once again told him to live his life. She's not there in the future but I won't take points for that because Chris immediately went where is my bestie. I cannot function without my work wife where is she. Her arrest kick-started the series and for our cliffhanger she was arrested again. I'm sensing a theme. What will they incarcerate her for next and how will Chris break her out this time. I will always appreciate Chris going absolutely feral for his first officer/life partner. 9/10.

2x01: prison. She tells Chris not to be stupid and he goes don't tell me what to do *cough* I love you *cough* Not a strong start for our girl but I trust her to overcome. Once again Chris is going off on a mission to save her. Lost points for the brevity of her appearance and the weird black jumpsuit. 4/10.

2x02: Girl sat in a chair and watched her friends say nice things about her for days. I would shrivel up and die. Una looks teary. Her lawyer put some heat on a guy who said he would NEVER hire Una if he knew her real race and Una said that was too mean leave him alone. La'an confessed her feelings in public. Spock gave the whole courtroom a heart attack to make Una smile. Chris hugged her looking panicky. please don't go away again. Una looked at Chris like she wanted to kiss him or perhaps sip one milkshake through two straws. The whole episode is about how great she is. 15/10.

2x03: unfortunately for most of this episode she did not exist. Liked the professional and sassy attitude towards Pelia but I must reduce points for Una not existing. 2/10.

2x04: Una succumbed to a disease she should canonically be immune to. Fridged almost immediately. Chris said I need some good fighters and took his doctor instead of his super strong first officer who was familiar with the terrain. Una called Chris out on relationship nonsense like the og she is but this cannot repair the damage. Drove me to writing fix-it fic. -10/10.

2x05: Una is canonically one of the girls. She hangs out with some very specific junior officers including her emotionally constipated son and her traumatized daughter. She laughs very loudly and I like to think the writers are purposefully making her more open now that people know her genetics secret. Tells Mr. Spock how to be a Vulcan. Part of a lineup to talk to Spock and is a head taller than the rest of the line. All in all a great time. 9/10.

2x06: she yells at her former professor who is also thousands of years old. I would simply perish. "yoU HaVe CruMBs oN yOuR uNifOrM" Starfleet said we need someone to get this defunct and thus far unmanageable station up and running. Send Una. "Oh good, I was afraid I'd miss the speech." Rebecca Romijn note- she is nine inches taller than Carol Kane, but she manages to look/act a lot younger and smaller than normal. Pelia takes about 14 seconds to get Una teary eyed. "My final paper was METICULOUSLY researched." 8/10.

2x07: "That's ridiculous, we can't just 'Not Look.'" "Like... a p i n - u p p o s t e r?" Girl is constantly baffled the whole time. One (1) young man was unnerved by her and she went he knows how I die. She then winked at him and he almost had a stroke. We see a picture of her as she is idolized in the future. Excellent. Different flavor than 2x06 but still 8/10.

2x08: lots of Significant Eye Contact with Chris. She said if you don't get this ship where it's going asap I will revoke your command and drive us there myself. "Everyone is on their own journey." I feel like she knows Joseph murdered a man in sickbay but we don't know for sure. She's out here being a competent first officer and telling the captain how the crew is feeling. I like the reminder of her priorities. Chris is here to explore and it's Una's job to make sure he has a functional crew to do so. 6/10.

2x09: Una Chin-Riley, musical theater nerd, had the absolute time of her life and I am so happy for her. Girl JUMPED into that first song with much soulful pushing of buttons. "A surprisingly beautiful baritone." Chris asked Uhura the singer how musicals work and Una answered. Is feeling her feelings so much these days she started singing about her job. Waltzed through the halls with James T Kirk. La'an went I would like to not do this please and Una said feel your feelings. Fly away with me. Accept yourself. Love yourself. "You came in here hot. On fire. It's making me sweat." The whole ship is singing and La'an is making friends. This was the best day of Una's life. 1000/10.

2x10: Una volunteered for a dangerous forbidden mission to save her husband's gf and spent the whole time stalking around the bridge like a tiger or a mom looking for sales at Target and giving hopeful speeches. She did tell Spock his gf might be dead but if you want to look for her go for it champ. "ORDERS CAPTAIN" Chris is hanging on by a thread. Una is the thread. Not a great end if I'm honest but she did look fantastic walking around murderously. 5/10.

[kajaono]

They gave SNW!Kirk the same German voice actor as AOS!Kirk? I am going feral over here!

No one told me Kirk already appears in 1x10 btw

[smallblueandloud]

on a much brighter note, i'm thinking about trying to write SNW-era spirk and it's difficult to do, because i cannot fathom a spock and kirk who don't already know that the other is very important to them!

like no wonder the 2009 reboots had to have a character who'd seen the old timeline (much less ambassador spock himself). can you imagine the torture of watching spock and kirk interact without knowing? without being aware of the relationship that would define them and their source materials? like goddamn no wonder you need someone to tell both of them to give the other a chance.

i try to think about SNW-era spirk and my brain immediately wants to either expand on 1x10 a quality of mercy or some sort of soulmate au. but even a soulmate au doesn't scratch the itch, because a soulmate au doesn't even manage to communicate to these characters that they will be very important!! and i can't imagine a spirk without the knowledge of their power.

[cicaklah]

fandom: star trek (snw & tos & movies)

pairing: jim kirk/his first officers, jim kirk/his daddy issues, (specifically kirk/ofc, kirk/carol, kirk/la'an, kirk/spock)

rating: first officers with benefits

summary: He always had a problem with sleeping with people under his command.

That’s what he always said when asked about it.

(It's not his fault you can read that sentence in two different ways.)

tagged: sleeping with your first officer, Unsafe Sex, Breeding Kink, Friends With Benefits, first officer with benefits, chain of command, having a type, links SNW and TOS and the movies, Movie: Star Trek III: The Search for Spock (1984), Daddy Issues, (spocks canonical death in wrath of khan is mentioned but he gets better), (this is why it is tagged chose not to use archive warnings)

---

The 'Jim Kirk Sleeps With All His First Officers And Its Fine Actually' story is complete!!!

I have a literal timeline for this fic, and I still think I've messed it up somehow, but what does it matter? blorbo fucks, that is what is important. anyway this is sort of the other la'an/kirk fic I wanted to write post 2x03 and 2x09, and I did so by picking up the hint in 1x10 that in the other timeline where Pike doesn't resign, La'an goes to be XO of the Farragut under Captain Kirk. In this, she still does, but only because Kirk becomes Acting Captain about 9 months after becoming XO, and poaches her.

anyway I still have too many star trek feelings, and now I need to go work on the subspace rhapsody fic. enjoy!!!

[walkingstackofbooks]

SNW 2x2 'Ad Astra per Aspera' thought-stream

Obviously this has spoilers, so I’ve put it under the cut :)

My mind is far too DS9. First thought on seeing little Una's parents argue? 'I wonder if this was ever a problem for Julian'. 😅

But also, poor Una, how scary that would be? Her parents aren't even hiding this argument from her!

"Two year prison sentence minimum" oooh like Richard Bashir got

"I can wait" I love Pike's stubbornness. He's a Very Good Egg

Genetic engineering as a metaphor for queerness is something I cannot unsee

Gosh I need to rewatch the last series

"Congratulations, you discovered empathy." Ohh I like her.

"You're a piece of work, Pike." "Yeah, but you still haven't said no..." His grin.

"After 25 years..." - if Neera and Una have been fallen out for so long, how come Pike appears to know her?

"Until two months ago my record with Starfleet was spotless. When they didn't know, they didn't care. The only thing that's changed is that they know the truth." ... "And now Starfleet are asking me to hide again so that no-one has to know an Illyrian climbed the ranks of Starfleet." ... "I shouldn't have to hide anymore. None of us should."... "I'm doing this for me. And for all the Illyrians who can't or just won't pretend to not be who they really are." (GENETIC ENGINEERING AS QUEER METAPHOR I CANNOT)

Pike in his apron!

I just don't see how this can work out for Una, knowing what we do about augmentation laws in the 2300s. Unless it's an Illyrian-only exception I guess?

20 YEARS?!!!!! Fuuuuu-

I really love Neera. She's unapologetically herself and she doesn't lessen herself or force herself to be nice just for people to accept her.

Neera's "Lieutenant Noonien-Singh." is SO pointed

Erica's Spock impression XD

Interesting to see Erica being a little Vulcan-racist, that makes future-her in 1x10 make more sense... Not a great look, but we know the Federation aren't always the best and I like the way this has been put in

"I regret you had to witness that outburst" -oh, Spock. That was very Spock of you.

If La'an obtains her evidence that the evidence about Una was gained illegally by her acting illegally, won't her evidence get turned down by the same rules?

YES UHURA. I mean I want Una freed but standing up for what you think is right against your mentor is pretty damn awesome

"My client is only here because of who she is and because she felt she had no other choice than to hide that fact, just like the millions before her who were forced to hide how they worshipped, how they loved, what they truly looked like, because it made others uncomfortable. Because it made others afraid." I am crying. Damn, Star Trek. You do good.

Frick. That didn't work. I thought her line of questioning was great, but I thought it would come to a point - maybe to make April say he would have liked to sponsor her, if he had known, or that he thought it wasn't a just law?

I still really love Neera, even if Una is probably right that this isn't going to help *specifically* Una

The hate in La'an's eyes when she's asked "Do you have any relation to Khan Noonien Singh?"

I do love their dress uniforms. They just fit in so well.

"An affinity for Gilbert and Sullivan musicals." On one hand I agree it feels weird when Spock is the comic relief but on the other hand I love this and I think it is actually a precursor of Spock's more subtle humour in TOS

"Would it be fair to say that you would not have joined Starfleet if not for Commander Chin-Riley?" "Counsellor, I wouldn't be alive if it weren't for Una." Una's unsteady breath <3

"I think it is illogical for Starfleet to punish itself." SPOCK IS AWESOME PLS OUTLOGIC THAT OTHER VULCAN

TOS music underneath their who is Una to mes!!!

If La'an thinks it was *her* personal log can't she see where that went?

"There is nothing wrong with you, Lieutenant. No hidden monster inside." Boy I love this plotline so so much (and wish we could have seen more of this for Julian shhh...)

"They look down at us for so long that we begin to to look down at ourselves." Damn.

Is La'an genetically modified or just has legacy DNA 200 years later?

Would it make sense for Una to have turned herself in? I feel like she's the only person we *know* who could have done it, and I feel this is leading up to the reveal of someone we *know*. But why wouldn't she have told Pike? And why so angry at Neera for putting the Illyrian cause first?

I'd... always though aspera meant hope XD Welp. It's not like I did ten years of Latin and have a degree in it right? 😅😅

(I looked it up - I'd got confused with "sperare" which means "to hope". Feel less bad :P)

"So many people from so many planets" pans to the mostly human command crew of Enterprise XD

"On what date did Captain Christopher Pike..." OH NO OH NO OH NO

Well, fuck.

He is a Very Odious Vulcan. Ugh. "She is clearly toxic" NO YOU ARE SHUT UP

Oh gosh, Una's going to be so guilty if Chris goes down with her

"All this tribunal needs to do now is confirm that status to absolve them both." I said I loved this woman.

"A law is not a mirror to society a law is an ideal a beacon to remind us how to be our better selves."

Yay!!!! She's free!

The communication whistle! phWEEE-oooo! I'd missed that <3

"But I am looking at a Starfleet crew who proudly serve under an Illyrian Commander." Idk why but this made me tear up again.

"If you're all here, who's flying the ship?" XD XD XD

HUUUUUG, Chris' face of scared upset relief 💔

YAY WE GOT UNA BACK, NOW THE WHOLE GANG CAN GO ADVENTURE!

Just realised we never got Chris' response to Spock stealing the Enterprise - more important things, I know, but man I wanted to be a fly on the wall there!

[fandomsnoccasionalscreaming]

SPOCK DID THE THING SPOCK DID THE THING

(SNW 1x10)

[ichayalovesyou]

I am never EVER EVER going to recover from how absolutely full to the brim with love for Spock Pike is.

He would do anything to protect him, no bones about it!

That man really is out here like “no stop that is my Emotional Support Surrogate Son I MEAN Science Officer.”

He called him “our boy” to his family I can’t deal with this.

He looked absolutely D E V A S T A T E D when he found out what happens to Spock in the Balance of Timeline. 😭

I am getting the father/son Pike & Spock dynamic I have ALWAYS dreamed of from this show and this episode especially! Oh my godddd

And Spock making the connection that Pike indirectly saves his life by sealing his own fate makes what Spock does for him in The Menagerie (albeit maybe misguided, we’ll see where the writing goes) AND how Spock sacrifices himself in Wrath of Khan hurt so much MORE!!!

My heart can’t take this…

[philosopherking1887]

SNW Kirk looks nothing like TOS Kirk, but he did check out Spock's ass as he was walking out the door, so...

[coolgenie]

Confusing choice to have Ortegas fill the role of bigoted crew member despite her character thus far never giving any indication of such biases. ESPECIALLY when Samuel Kirk, the very man who explicitly demonstrated this exact bigotry towards Spock in the previous episode, is RIGHT THERE. Did they literally just use Ortegas because she sits in the same spot as the bigoted crew member from Balance of Terror?

[startrekuniverse]

STRANGE NEW WORLDS

[data-is-my-favorite-android]

was also kinda surprised by the outright HOSTILITY Ortegas hurled at Spock for resembling the Romulans. Like… what tf?? 😬😬😬 what the hell happened to her in that timeline?? She seemed a LOT more aggressive than the plucky & fun-loving rapscallion Ortegas we know and love 🥺🥺

[emonydeborah]

trektober day 23: first kiss/lockdown

spoilers for SNW 1x10 and 2x02

"Sorry, Captain, the protocols are buried pretty deep." Chris leaned his forehead on the side of the turbolift.

"Can't you beam us out?"

"Negative, Captain," Spock reported.

"The point of the protocols is to keep biocontaminants from spreading," Joseph explained. "They're pretty pointless if you can just beam out."

"That's great, Doctor, except that there are no contaminants," Una said. She paced the length of the turbolift, arms crossed.

There was a slight pause, presumably for everyone on comms to decipher her tone. "We're working on it. M'Benga out."

"Well, I guess Captain Batel is going to have to wait," Chris sighed. He slid down the wall and sat on the floor, long legs taking up half the space. Una nearly tripped over him as she continued to pace. "Sit down, Una. We might as well get comfortable."

"I'm fine, sir," Una said through gritted teeth. Chris frowned.

"We've been in tighter spots than this," he said. "Literally. What's got you so antsy?"

Una looked down at him, and he blinked. He hadn't seen that appraising expression in years, but he knew what it meant. She was deciding whether to trust him or not.

"If I'm right," she said slowly, "about why Captain Batel is here, this isn't going to look good. She'll think I'm avoiding her."

"What? Why?" Una maneuvered around his legs and continued to pace. "Why do you think she's here?"

"To arrest me." Air froze in Chris's lungs. Una reluctantly met his eyes and grimaced. "I turned myself in, Chris."

"What?! Why would you do that? Why didn't you tell me?" Chris shot to his feet. "They wouldn't dare- Pike to bridge, send Captain Batel and her officers back-"

"Belay that," Una said firmly. She grabbed Chris's arms. "Chris, I've always known this might happen. At least this way it's on my terms."

"They can't just abduct you off my ship!"

"Chris." She squeezed his arms, grounded him in the moment with her. "It's okay. I'm ready for this fight."

"I'm not!" Chris burst. "You belong here on Enterprise. The loss to the crew- to me-" Something shifted in his brain, like puzzle pieces falling into place. He looked down into Una's eyes, knowing he was about to lose her, and suddenly everything was painfully clear.

He glanced at her lips, and Una's breath hitched. He leaned towards her, slowly, so slowly. She tilted her head and stretched up to meet him, and that was all the confirmation he needed.

He kissed her, and it was fervent and desperate and she tasted like strawberry lip gloss. Her arms slid up around his neck, pulling him closer, and he went willingly, anything to be as close as possible.

They only broke apart enough to breathe, chests heaving together, Chris's forehead pressed to hers.

"That was nice," Una said quietly, with the ghost of a smile. "Terrible timing, though."

"Better than never at all, right?" Chris said. He wrapped his arms around her waist, anchoring her to him as best he could. He kissed her forehead because he could do that, he wanted to hug her and kiss her and make her dinner and kiss her and take her riding and kiss her-

Una made a contented humming sound, and Chris's thoughts hurtled back to the present. "I'm not letting this happen," he promised, and Una pulled back to look him in the face.

"I turned myself in, Chris," she said gently. "I knew this would happen. Please respect my choice here." Chris met her eyes and found nothing but certainty. His shoulders sagged, and he nodded.

"Then I'm getting you out," he said firmly. "I don't care what it takes."

"I do." Una took his face in her hands and made sure he didn't look away. "Don't ruin your life for me, Chris. At least," she continued when he tried to protest, "stay within the law." Chris frowned, and Una quirked a smile. She pulled him into a second kiss, softer this time.

"Spock to Captain Pike." Una's face fell, and Chris sighed.

"Go ahead, Spock."

"The protocols have been satisfied, Captain. The turbolift will resume shortly."

"Understood. Thanks, Spock."

The floor jolted underneath them, and Una peeled herself away to fix her uniform and smooth her hair. Chris tidied his own appearance and watched the transporter deck slide closer and closer. Una flexed her fingers and bounced on her heels, and in the few seconds they had left, Chris took her chin and drew her into one last kiss.

He took her hand and didn't let go, even when they got to the transporter room. Together, they stepped through the doors.

[ashe-the-acorn]

I’m sorry but who is this stale ass piece of white bread. They can’t be serious this is the guy they got for Kirk, he has all the charisma of a concrete slab. Zero camp, zero joy, reading the lines like a kid in the 9th grade asked by the teacher. Like o don’t wanna get into how the whole episode was fucking just fan fiction balance of terror where Kirk and Pike team up with poor writing and it has pretty much zero impact beyond enforcing a pessimist status quo. Like I could have maybe tolerated the bland plot if at least we had a good Kirk, but no we get this cardboard cut out instead.

[smallblueandloud]

look i can't be angry at boimler for potentially breaking up spock and christine, but goddamn if i didn't hate how the show did it

really? the issue is that she makes him TOO HAPPY?? really?

okay, modern star trek has established that spock's greatest achievement is negotiating peace with the romulans. this was reiterated as recently as SNW 1x10. i'm assuming that's what boimler was talking about when he said that spock "needs" to be the vulcan half of him in order to "do the important stuff he's known for"

because, seriously. what a misunderstanding of nimoy!spock's character arc. over and over again, we are shown that his identity crises -- that his inability to be a "perfect vulcan" is causing him pain. over and over again, we see him growing in the direction of finding a balance between his two heritages. and in fact, it is him not being a "perfect vulcan" that allows him to reach out to the romulans. it is only when he is fully self-actualized (post-TOS movies, even!) that he is able to negotiate a peace that no other vulcan could have

the idea that, in order to become ambassador spock, he has to keep repressing his true self? that his greatest achievement was somehow at the expense of his own personal growth, instead of a direct result of it? gimme a fucking break.