(Ignoring sloppy writing as the reason…)

Star Fleet seems to like to compartmentalize information. Examples:

At least post ‘First Contact’ they had hints of the Borg before ‘Q Who’ but kept it quiet. Similarly the Genesis device information was on a need to know basis (although probably for good reason). There was also that Voyager episode based around the Omega directive that only Janeway knew about.

I've long accepted that SNW is basically an ensemble anthology show and TOS crew and others will rotate in and out as needed. The only fixed character is the Enterprise.

A lot to unpack here. Definite 'Best Of Both Worlds' vibes. Great end of season episode. Hopefully this time they have the resolution to the cliffhanger written.

I figured Batel would suffer the fate she did, even before the episode started. It was lazy writing that she should end up in the situation she did and so it happened. The writing team can and should do better than this.

Scotty appearing was a nice touch, and was well played by the actor. Given that Chapel is probably going to be rotated out for a while I think pairing him with Pelia for season 3 might be fun.

The Gorn were also well done, although the Aliens homages are getting tiresome and unless they are going completely retcon 'Arena' then there isn't a huge amount more than can be done with them. Thankfully so far they seem to using them sparingly. Hopefully they will move onto other TOS races in season 3. The Tholians, for example, have a unique feel and less alpha continuity to worry about.

Chekov was on the Enterprise during s1. Continuity with TWOK requires it. Plus some of the star dates for s2 episodes that starred Chekov where set before the star date for Space Seed.

But yes at this point we are ~6 years before TOS so Chekov would be in his late teens.

Anyone else notice that the 2 people on the shuttle down who didn't have plot armor (Ortegas and La’an) were wearing red shirts?

Yeah. There is definitely several stories that could play out here, for both M’Benga and Chapel.

Continuity wise McCoy didn't join the Enterprise until after the first couple of episodes of TOS s1, Mark Piper was the CMO for those so there is definitely a thread they could pick on prior to Kirk taking command of the Enterprise.

For Chapel we know she gets engaged to Roger Korby at some point. Will be interesting to see how they move the character to line up with 'What Are Little Girls Made Of?'

A bit of whiplash from the switch in tone from the last episode but this was a masterpiece. Strange New Worlds seems to be successfully synthesizing all the Trek shows that have gone before it to create something that is classic Trek, but also something new.

I wonder if the first episode of the season would have worked better if this had been before it in the running order?

A little bit of a dip from last week but otherwise an enjoyable episode even if it learned a bit too much on the fan service.

Although kudos to the writers for cleverly weaving around existing continuity and throwing in the Gorn misdirection.

The whole ensemble got something to do, except Ortegas who slowly turns into SNW’s Travis Mayweather: that one cast member that is just there physically but doesn’t get anything to do.

I get the feeling the writers don't really know what to do with Ortegas beyond that she "flies the ship".

Pretty solid episode. Usually I dislike time travel episodes but this one worked given that it gave La'an opportunity for character development and the beginning of closure. I was a little worried that were edging back towards the temporal Cold War plot thread from Enterprise with the ending. Hopefully they will stay well clear of it.

One thing is the last 3 episodes in terms of content have felt like they belong in the back half of season 1. Not that it is bad thing, but there is the feeling that we are waiting for the season proper to kick off.

It's been a good while since we had a good old fashioned courtroom episode. Given how high the bar had been set in the past, well done to everyone involved that they managed to comfortably clear it.

Way back in 'Encounter at Farpoint' Q when dressed as a soldier of one of the armies of World War III was shown using a retractable stimulant dispenser. Not sure if the green stuff was intended as a nod towards that.

To be honest when I was watching the scene I thought I had missed something from last season. Threw me off balance for the rest of the episode.