Hoo boy, that hit me harder than I expected. We're rewatching Disco at the moment, and Tilly ranks high for me in that show. My partner squees almost every time SAM is on screen, so having both of these ladies in focus was a high point.

The theme of overcoming traumatic loss, both among the students and in the Doctor's withdrawal from personal connections... it brought up stuff from my own life, and I think the lessons conveyed in this episode were very considerate and well formulated. Healing through art and drama, huh? Thanks for that, Trek ❤️🖖

This show continues to go in unexpected directions, and digging deep in more ways than one. Very welcome after a few years where the most interesting talking point about current Star Trek has been the captain's quiff.

If anyone is curious as to why the Protostar crew have only had a single mention, Aaron Waltke has clarified that PRO was being written at the same time as SFA.

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

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

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

"The only thing that allows me to bear my infinity is not having to love anyone" may be one of the most devastating lines I've ever heard.

10/10. No notes.

In my view, perhaps the strongest episode yet.

Just goes to show that YMMV remains a truism.

I wonder why the old TOS fans like me are less impatient with fundamentals of human existence being presented through the growth of young adults?

Sincerely, resilience in the face of trauma is something many 30 and 40 year olds struggle with. I didn’t see this as sophomoric at all.

So, I wonder why episodes like this aren’t landing as well for folks 20 or even 30 years younger than I…

this is great Trek, among the best Trek, all about how to keep going after loss and failure, with help, and, just as important, by giving help if you can.

it got me all face wet like the end of TNG "The Offspring", Data's daughter, but the focus there was more on loss than what Data learned and how he grew from his loss. This ep was a celebration of that resilience after trauma.

great episode. I do wish the actress who plays Tarima was better acting. I think her scenes were the weakest

Maybe I'm just getting too old and grumpy for this teeny drama emotional crap, but for me this was the worst episode yet. I get that this was effectively trauma therapy after the Miyazaki incident, but boy was it not entertaining. It's all just "oh, we are so damaged, nothing will ever be the same". There's nothing really at stake, no tension, no climax, just whining and speaking way too much in metaphors for my liking. I'm still watching Star Trek here after all and not some artsy independent movie.

Since we didn’t really get to see, I wonder how Sam’s personality is going to change in next week’s episode. A whole 17 years, having an actual childhood, being added to your life could make for an interesting transformation.

Kasq looks like a location straight out of No Man’s Sky. What a creepy vibe it has.

So... I cried

I was not ready for the callback to “Real Life”.

Annotations for 1x08 are up at: https://startrek.website/post/36104352