Strange New Worlds Season 1, Episode 10: "A Quality of Mercy"

[Dr.]

Original stream date: July 7, 2020

Synopsis: In the season one finale, just as Captain Pike thinks he’s figured out how to escape his fate, he’s visited by his future self, who shows him the consequences of his actions.

 

[DKDetective]

So mad props to whomever guessed in one of the other threads (can't seem to find the post) this episode is

Spoiler

an alternate timeline exploration of what happens if Pike tries to change his fate and Kirk is not in command of the Enterprise during Balance of Terror.

Crazy good guess based on just the trailer and the promo clip.

 

[Holy Slapper]

So we did get Kirk this season already, granted one from an alternate future. And Scotty's voice too. Great season finale.

 

[InCali]

Loved the last episode. I forget which episode (8 maybe?) had me worried. I wasn't sure what the hell they were trying to do, but it stunk.

 

[Deck Rickard]

Loved the last episode. I forget which episode (8 maybe?) had me worried. I wasn't sure what the hell they were trying to do, but it stunk.

LOL you mean the episode where the cast was running around in some leftover Renn Faire costumes? Yeah, I wasn’t a fan of that one either.

This episode was great though. Really showed why Pike is a good leader and captain and the importance and wisdom of Spock in the years to come. Mount really crushed it in this episode. Jess Bush was also really heartbreaking in her brief scene. Good cliffhanger too.

One thing I’m not so sure about though is the guy playing Kirk. Is it too late to throw a boatload of money at Chris Pine to come in and replace him? I don’t know why but the new guy just doesn’t have the presence or the swagger that Kirk needs. Maybe he’ll get better but he just seemed dull here. Kirk was written fine IMO but the actor just didn’t sell it. Also, it doesn’t matter too much that he doesn’t really resemble Shatner but this guy looks like Jim Carrey to me.

 

[InCali]

LOL you mean the episode where the cast was running around in some leftover Renn Faire costumes? Yeah, I wasn’t a fan of that one either.

This episode was great though. Really showed why Pike is a good leader and captain and the importance and wisdom of Spock in the years to come. Mount really crushed it in this episode. Jess Bush was also really heartbreaking in her brief scene. Good cliffhanger too.

One thing I’m not so sure about though is the guy playing Kirk. Is it too late to throw a boatload of money at Chris Pine to come in and replace him? I don’t know why but the new guy just doesn’t have the presence or the swagger that Kirk needs. Maybe he’ll get better but he just seemed dull here. Kirk was written fine IMO but the actor just didn’t sell it. Also, it doesn’t matter too much that he doesn’t really resemble Shatner but this guy looks like Jim Carrey to me.

That was the episode. Lol. I was like, dude, I wanna watch Star Trek.

 

[Deck Rickard]

That was the episode. Lol. I was like, dude, I wanna watch Star Trek.

Yeah. Aside from the stuff with M’Benga and his daughter, that episode was painful to watch IMO. I don’t mind lighthearted stuff but that one just gave me “final season of Moonlighting” vibes.

 

[DKDetective]

LOL you mean the episode where the cast was running around in some leftover Renn Faire costumes? Yeah, I wasn’t a fan of that one either.

This episode was great though. Really showed why Pike is a good leader and captain and the importance and wisdom of Spock in the years to come. Mount really crushed it in this episode. Jess Bush was also really heartbreaking in her brief scene. Good cliffhanger too.

One thing I’m not so sure about though is the guy playing Kirk. Is it too late to throw a boatload of money at Chris Pine to come in and replace him? I don’t know why but the new guy just doesn’t have the presence or the swagger that Kirk needs. Maybe he’ll get better but he just seemed dull here. Kirk was written fine IMO but the actor just didn’t sell it. Also, it doesn’t matter too much that he doesn’t really resemble Shatner but this guy looks like Jim Carrey to me.

Agreed, I really enjoyed the episode, but Wesley feels really wrong as Kirk. The performance is too reserved and dry, and as you mentioned lacks the right swagger, charisma, and energy. The lack of resemblance also bugs me. The actor doesn't need to be a spitting image of Shatner, but just the overall mould of Kirk as he know him, which Pine was great for. Paul Wesley is very distinctively differently looking, with the dark hair, brown eyes, and very strongly stubbled, square jaw.

 

[Holy Slapper]

I think Wesley captured Kirk pretty well. In fact, I would not mind if hey decided to do years 4 and 5 of the 5 year mission with Kirk's crew. Split each year into two seasons.

 

[Gaultheria]

This episode explains Spock’s choice in “The Menagerie”.

 

[Gaultheria]

If he wasn’t already playing Pike, and if they needed someone to play movie-era McCoy,…

 

[Deck Rickard]

Those red movie uniforms have always been my favorites but something looked off about the one Pike was wearing.

 

[misjuevos]

I like time travel stuff. I liked this episode mostly because it was an alternate timeline. So they can do whatever they want. I don't have to be taken out of the story because of canon or continuity. Spock was Spock, they didn't try to force anything with him. This episode's tone is what I wanted from the whole season. I think Sam Kirk would've made a better James T Kirk. Just let him play both roles. I didn't like Pike and Kirk were at odds, seemed like forced drama. They are both dedicated to starfleet I think they would have gotten along better. I liked that we actually got to see Pike as the captain doing captain things. He reprimands his crew when needed and he takes charge, shame it took till the final episode. I didn't buy the closeness of Spock and Pike at the end because we hardly saw them together the whole series. I liked that they had everyone in gold stripes so we could actually see their stripes. Scotty I hope was just a quick cameo for this alternate timeline episode. We don't need to add another TOS crewman. I was worried last episode that they might add him since they need a replacement now.

I was kind of hoping we just stay in the alternate timeline and follow the war for a couple episodes. Then Pike could jump back later next season. As for the battle, I was wondering why the Romulans couldn't scan all the mining ships and see that they were just drones.

When Kirk is talking to Pike at the end he tells him his father served as first officer on the Kelvin, that was from the 2009 movie. Not sure it is the same timeline as this but is was a little easter egg.

 

[Gaultheria]

Agreed, I really enjoyed the episode, but Wesley feels really wrong as Kirk. The performance is too reserved and dry, and as you mentioned lacks the right swagger, charisma, and energy.

This was sort of Kirk’s version of “Tapestry” (the TNG episode where Picard got a chance to do his life over and played it safe and responsible). It looks like Kirk originally got to keep the Farragut after temporarily assuming command when Captain Garrovick was killed. He blames himself for Garrovick’s death…

MCCOY: Am I? I was speaking of Lieutenant James T. Kirk of the starship Farragut. Eleven years ago, you were the young officer at the phaser station when something attacked. According to the tapes, this young Lieutenant Kirk insisted upon blaming himself.

— TOS: “Obsession”

…and he’s been stuck on Garrovick’s ship ever since, feeling guilty, trying to emulate Garrovick instead of being his own kind of captain, and feeling really inclined to shoot sooner rather than later the next time he has to make that choice.

 

[Gaultheria]

When Kirk is talking to Pike at the end he tells him his father served as first officer on the Kelvin, that was from the 2009 movie. Not sure it is the same timeline as this but is was a little easter egg.

The audio faded out with a mention of George Kirk moving to Tarsus IV (TOS: “The Conscience of the King”) after his time on the Kelvin. The Kelvin is part of the prime and 2009 timelines.

 

[DKDetective]

This was sort of Kirk’s version of “Tapestry” (the TNG episode where Picard got a chance to do his life over and played it safe and responsible). It looks like Kirk originally got to keep the Farragut after temporarily assuming command when Captain Garrovick was killed. He blames himself for Garrovick’s death…

…and he’s been stuck on Garrovick’s ship ever since, feeling guilty, trying to emulate Garrovick instead of being his own kind of captain, and feeling really inclined to shoot sooner rather than later the next time he has to make that choice.

That is an interesting analysis, but there is nothing in the episode itself to support that. Its writing doesn't give us any sense that that is the version of Kirk we are watching.

Rather, the text of the episode is quite the opposite. Sam's comments to Pike and Pike's own analysis of Kirk at the end all state that this is supposed to be the aggressive inventive, ballsy Kirk we know and love. The problem is just that Wesley's performance doesn't really capture that.

 

[Gaultheria]

The title of this episode makes me wonder if the Organians (TOS: “Errand of Mercy”) are involved. Perhaps they’ve gathered enough data from watching (ENT: “Observer Effect”) to start meddling.

Hmm, Boreth is near the Federation-Klingon border, and so is Organia. Maybe Boreth is an old Organian colony, and the time crystals are super-high-tech things that the Organians left behind when they transcended. (I really don’t like the time crystals being just because the plot needs them.)

 

[Gaultheria]

That is an interesting analysis, but there is nothing in the episode itself to support that. Its writing doesn't give us any sense that that is the version of Kirk we are watching.

Rather, the text of the episode is quite the opposite. Sam's comments to Pike and Pike's own analysis of Kirk at the end all state that this is supposed to be the aggressive inventive, ballsy Kirk we know and love. The problem is just that Wesley's performance doesn't really capture that.

My sense of it is that this Jim Kirk has reined in the mad genius aspect of his personality in favour of responsibly emulating his role model. The aggression and intelligence are still there, but he doesn’t let himself waste time on creative solutions when direct action (IE, shooting) is possible. Take away the burden of command for a couple of hours, and he gets to let the mad genius out to play, coming back with a fleet.

Getting promoted too soon was a problem for Kirk in the movies, and it seems it was a problem for him in the Farragut timeline as well.

 

[Gaultheria]

At the end of the episode, just as Una is beaming away, look at the guard beside her. He’s staring straight up at the ceiling. Someone told him, the first time he transported, that that’s what you have to do, and he’s been doing that ever since.

 

[Deck Rickard]

I really do hope that Wesley improves but if not, then I hope we don’t see much more of him. It’s unfortunate because I feel they really nailed casting with Spock and Uhura. But you have to nail Kirk as well. Say what you want about Shatner but he was perfect in that role and Pine did a great job as well, even if the movies themselves weren’t always great. Wesley just seemed so… flat.

 

[misjuevos]

The audio faded out with a mention of George Kirk moving to Tarsus IV (TOS: “The Conscience of the King”) after his time on the Kelvin. The Kelvin is part of the prime and 2009 timelines.

ah, cool didn't hear that part.

 

[Gaultheria]

This episode reminds me of Andromeda 3x10 "The Unconquerable Man", wherein the gods decree that the timeline must be adjusted so that the original captain (a talented soldier whose heart is in the right place but who just isn't quite what the universe needs to prevent a big war) will be replaced with another talented soldier whose heart is in the right place and whose alignment is a little more toward the chaotic end of the chaos-order spectrum.

 

[vantheman77]

An interesting study in the command styles of both Pike and Kirk. Also shows why one's time will be up and why the other is made for the time.

 

[titansupes]

GodDAMN was that a great episode or what. Superb idea to reimagine a classic episode in the context of exploring part of what made that episode great and what makes these characters all tick. Hell of an interesting way to revisit prior material, IMO.

I got some dramatic Pike after missing him for the last few episodes, great leadership and moral conundrums, solid action etc. Leave us worrying for the fate of Una. And surely Chris will face some repercussions once it comes out that he knew.

Loved Pike and Spock's moment at the end, as well as Chapel's appearance. As emotional as I've ever gotten with Trek, personally.

Kirk... I do see what they're going for-- Kirk was often more business like in TOS than the movies (and especially the Kelvin movies) would have us believe, but it didn't really land for me here. Hope he improves if he's to be a recurring player.

Didn't realise this was the season finale, but what a banger to go out on.

 

[Deck Rickard]

It just dawned on me… Sam Kirk is Jim’s older brother, but he doesn’t exist in the JJ Abrams timeline. Which doesn’t make sense since the alternate timeline began on the day of Jim’s birth. So Sam should be there but inexplicably isn’t. Im sure people have already noticed this but I never thought about it before. Looked it up and apparently Sam was supposed to appear but they changed it so that the kid playing him was supposed to be Jim’s friend and not his brother. I guess they did this to make George’s death even more impactful but it’s still kind of a head-scratching decision given that the whole alternate timeline thing was done so that they wouldn’t disrupt the original continuity.