I think this is suppose to reset Spock back to status quo for when the series ends next season. I don't think we're suppose to see him align his human/vulcan self.

I love me a good causality loop, but I don't feel like this was good example of one.

The diplomacy stuff on the Enterprise was fun. But oddly the dinosaur planet plot actually didn't feel as impactful.

Like it honestly feels like not a lot happened on planet. Which is a shame, because there were dinosaurs!

I feel like more of the dinosaurs should have had feathers, to keep up with contemporary understanding of dinosaurs. But I understand the pop culture short hand to help establish the cliche and not confuse the audience.

I also really like Season 3, but I do feel it is the weakest of the 3 seasons we got so far.

I don't like destiny episodes. It makes it feel like nothing matters. Like in ENT's Shockwave, the crew just follows Daniel's plan it and it all works out.

I feel this was not a very strong season, but I did enjoy it and that they experimented with the shows formula a bit. But over all, I feel this is the weakest of the 3 seasons we have so far.

Also, what's up with all the mind melds? I went back and watch Dagger of the Mind, the first time we see an onscreen mind meld, and Spock says that he never mind melded with a human before. I guess he could always be lying, as that is definitely within Spock's ability, but it seems like a trivial thing to lie about. But I get it, don't be a slave to canon when we got a story to tell.

But to be realistic, it'd have been easier to make a program that could fire the phasers at the same time rather then a mind meld. And at the same time, there are many times in Star Trek where literally basic cyber security or actual computer programming could have saved the day, and at the end of the day that's just not good compelling story telling.

I'm also a bit disappointed that they did not find a contrived techno babel solution to save Gamble. But I get it, he's not bridge crew, so is expendable.

It was nice that Pike and Batel got to experience a happy ending that we know will never come.

I don't think I much like this episode though.

I personally am looking forward to the inevitable crossover episode with Strange New Worlds.

To be fair, if you look at her quarters, she does tinker with things a lot. So it's not exactly out of left field that she might have the mechanical knowledge to tinker up some jury rigged devices.

A Darmok, The Enemy and Arena episode is not what I was expacting but I was pleasantly surprised.

I don't mind retreading old stories, after all recycling plots is a Star Trek tradition.

I'd have been happier without the reveal of the Metrons. I get it, as a callout/foreshadowing of Arena, but I kind of feel that is took away from the emotional beat of the Gorn being killed by the security team. Then to also have it handwaved away with a memory wipe, so that it is only meant for us, the viewers. I don't know man... I kind of like the deepcut, but it's also distracting.

I guess it was also a bit necessary for us to understand the Gorn a bit more to have the all seeing eye narrate to us that the Gorn pilot was lonely and is the reason Ortega was spared.

Anyway, I loved this episode. We got a whole episode for Ortega. Addressed her PTSD that had been sitting in the backseat for this entire season. And I love these kind of survival episodes. Like I really enjoyed ENT's Shuttlepod One for the same reason. Just seeing characters fighting for their lives and also accepting their death in a cold and uncaring Universe. It's good compelling Star Trek.

The only thing I wish is that SNW's best episodes didn't feel like the best of TOS.

I didn’t appreciate that despite the extra long (and extra long feeling) runtime of this one they had three of the Vulcans return to human off screen.

I feel like Pike and Uhura already had external character growth on screen to explain why it wouldn't take much convincing for them to go back. I kind of wish they showed what convinced Chapel.

But I think it makes sense to also emphasis La'an because they're trying ti build up the relationship with Spock, so they do kind of need more screen time.

Great episode. Extremely cringe but it works for me.

God, the amount of bullying Spock must have put up with as a kid. It's no wonder he joined Starfleet. We even see it in one of the movies where he kicked the shit out of another Vulcan kid.

And incase someone needs a reminder on how Pike and La'An knew what Romulans are. La'An ran in to one in Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow. And Pike runs into them in A Quality of Mercy. Both dealing with wacky time displacement nonsense and conanically Romulans aren't revealed until TOS's Balance of Terror (which A Quality of Mercy is a remake of).

La'An is a terrible Romulan. She should have kept her plotting closer to the chest. Also funny how Pike saw through her behavior but didn't do anything about it. Does show Vulcan's are inherently bias towards other Vulcans. Which we even saw brought up when Batel calls out Pasalk.

This was a very fun episode, and does show off the complete bullshit logical fallacies that make up Vulcan society without having to deal with Vulcan society.

Eugenics and genetic engineering is bad, but exotic material to hybrid a human with an alien species might be ok? Seems odd after they gave shit to Stamets for getting tardigrade DNA. I guess Starfleet does play pretty loose with what is and is not consider legal for genetic modification, so I shouldn't be too worried about that, but I am...

That was an ending alright. I feel like the epilogue was nice, with no killing of a main character for no reason (looking at you ENT) and everyone got a pretty happy ending. And Calypso at least is canon, but it'd have been nice to have more context on what the end game is.

But my problem is that the emotional pay off just doesn't feel deserved. I really just don't feel connected with the characters and crew enough. I really feel like more episodes (or a lot more) to really flesh things out would have helped a lot.

But you know what I think I might actually like. A movie. I feel like tightening up the epic galaxy ending plot in a 90 to 120 minute feature film would feel better then a 10 ep season. I doubt we'll get one, but it'd be nice to see what kind of nonsense Burnham gets in to since they end it on a pseudo cliff hanger (as is DISCO tradition).

But what was up with Detmer and Owo being side lined for the second half of the season. I was expecting some kind of pay off for that, but nothing... It seemed unnecessary.

Where the devil has T'Lyn been for the past 2 eps? I'm actually totally fine without her being in the show in every episode. Makes the world feel more lived in knowing people have other responsibilities, and the like. After all, they probably have a life off screen.

Anyway, fantastic episode. The idea of parodying a clipshow episode but with original content, I love it. Almost wish they lampshaded Shades of Gray which was the Season 2 clipshow which didn't make a lot of sense as there wasn't enough show to clip from.