Episode Discussion | Star Trek: Strange New Worlds | 2x04 "Among the Lotus Eaters"

Written by Kirsten Beyer & Davy Perez

Directed by Eduardo Sanchez

LoglineReturning to a planet that dredges up tragic memories, Captain Pike and his landing party find themselves forgetting everything, including their own identities as he confronts a ghost from his past.

ieightpi ,

Definitely felt like classic trek this week. Fun episode. I was really hoping we would get a more in depth episode for Ortegas’ character. I did read something last year that she was getting her own episode, so im going to assume this wasn’t it.

CeruleanRuin ,
@CeruleanRuin@lemmy.one avatar

I did let out a big guffaw when I realized their bait and switch. Started it out like it was going to be an Ortegas focused episode, and then Spock comes in and pops hers and everyone else’s bubble with his Vulcan science. Loved how she put the hat back on as she was walking away, as if to say “I’m gonna wear this for a while longer because I can, dammit.”

rother_stuebs ,
@rother_stuebs@mastodon.online avatar

@ieightpi
She didn't get her own episode but at least a cool hat.😉

@ValueSubtracted

astroturds ,

A very TOS episode that I thoroughly enjoyed!

Can we let La’an have a few happy moments in this season? That woman must be riddled with PTSD by now.

It was great to finally get Pike back! Has he ever told his girlfriend that he’s almost certainly going to be disabled? What a pickle he’s in. I think if I were in his shoes I would have let the relationship end. The guilt must be driving him insane.

I feel like they might be messing around with the timelines so that they can save Pike from his horrendous fate and just say it’s an alternate timeline compared to TOS. Normally I’d be against that, but it’s Pike and I love him so much that I almost want them to do it.

StillPaisleyCat ,
@StillPaisleyCat@startrek.website avatar

The nature of a time crystal is that it’s a fixed event in every timeline forward.

Once Pike drew the crystal on Borath, it was locked in.

astroturds ,

Thanks, I should know that, I’ve seen every episode!

In a kind of sad way he does have a happy ending. I just don’t want it to happen to him. Poor old Pike!

timeisart ,

oh wow tf was that lol… didn’t know I was signing up for Strange New Worlds: Dementia Simulator…! , great episode!

CCatMan ,

Great episode. Wish there was more time to explore the planet with the away team. Also, what does Una do again? I can already see why Spock replaces her as first officer…

1Fuji2Taka3Nasubi ,
  • Still somewhat annoyed that there is no seat belt on the shuttle, even if it is to maintain continuity with TOS. M'Benga looked like he was going to bang his head and get a concussion when they were landing.
  • La'an: They won't see us coming.
    Zac: We totally saw you from the other side of the planet a hemisphere away.
  • What was Zac trying to accomplish? He lured them there with the Starfleet Delta, but he was not going to hitch a ride home. He expected whatever ship that comes to inspect to... forget and go away, or suffer some disastrous result when the crew become unable to function? Why not just stay low and be king if he wasn't planning to leave?
Basilisk ,

It wasn’t intentional. The Starfleet Delta was something Zac’s followers had done to honour him, it wasn’t intended as a lure.

khaosworks , (edited )
@khaosworks@startrek.website avatar

Zac didn’t intend for Starfleet to notice the delta. He was content to just stay on Rigel VII as High Lord Zacarias, thinking that Starfleet would never return to the planet because of the debris field and the radiation. But then the Kalar used the delta as a symbol and it got spotted.

PIKE: Zac. We saw your message, the, um… the Delta in the garden. It’s why we came. Isn’t that why you did it?

ZAC: The people here adopted it as my symbol. I should have known better. It’s all getting torn out tomorrow.

1Fuji2Taka3Nasubi ,

Thanks. I tried to watch with subtitles off and predictably missed some of the conversation.

G59 ,

Can the writers stop making La’an suffer? she can’t catch a break lol

Disgustoid ,

Miles O’Brien: “First time?”

Disgustoid ,

Wow, these SNW writers really bring it each week, don’t they? Not to say every episode is perfect but I’ve found every single one to be very entertaining and exactly what I want out of Star Trek in 2023. The combination of standalone stories mixed with underlying character development and arcs is perfect.

As for this week, the idea of encountering a planet that could make you forget everything was weirdly creepy, if not a bit implausible. Even if this wasn’t her showcase episode, I grinned at Ortega’s “I AM THE PILOT!” moment. Also enjoyed the away team being out of sorts on the planet which I thought was well done and not an action overdose like the season opener.

Schal330 ,

Wow, these SNW writers really bring it each week, don’t they?

Don’t they just! Genuinely excited whenever I fire up the episodes and watch the intro everytime (love the intro music!)

Disgustoid ,

I know the feeling! SNW’s theme and opening credits definitely bring back memories of eagerly looking forward to TNG every week. It’s easily my favorite Trek theme since TNG.

theothersparrow ,
@theothersparrow@lemmy.one avatar

SNW really is a masterclass in balancing episodic and narrative storytelling.

I’d love to attend a workshop/lecture with Goldsman, Myers, et al.

TeaHands ,
@TeaHands@lemmy.world avatar

Really enjoyed this episode, it didn’t make the most sense at times but made up for it with an extremely disturbing core concept. And there is comfort in the idea that even without a significant portion of our memories, we’re still “us”.

I’m confused about one thing though and maybe I just missed something so someone can enlighten me. If the palace is so well-protected that just literally being inside it for ten minutes is enough to completely reverse the memory loss, why was Pike first affected by it while standing in the palace? Is it just that they weren’t in there for very long during their first encounter with Zac, and the symptoms caught up with him, or did I miss something about how that worked?

Argonne ,

Yeah this episode didn’t make much sense. Outside of the disturbing concept and well directed drama, this episode felt pretty weak

TeaHands ,
@TeaHands@lemmy.world avatar

It didn’t really bother me, still thought it was a very good episode, but I am glad it’s not just me being stupid!

polymorphist_neuroid ,

OK, can someone help me out? I had major deja-vu with the scene where Spock tells Ortegas she can’t go on the field trip away mission. Wasn’t there another episode where Ortegas was about to get to go on an away mission and got told she couldn’t at the last minute? Or did I maybe see that scene in a preview or something?

ValueSubtracted OP Mod ,
@ValueSubtracted@startrek.website avatar

That scene was shown at one of the major conventions last year, so you may have seen it then.

r2vq ,
@r2vq@lemmy.ca avatar

It was shared late last year as a preview. YouTube

FormerGameDev ,

Outside of Pike and Batel’s relationship, are there any points in this episode that look to connect to anything else in the currently ongoing plotline in SNW? I didn’t really notice anything, it seems like this might be the most standalone episode.

khaosworks ,
@khaosworks@startrek.website avatar

Batel’s promotion was nixed by Judge Advocate Pasalk because of her conduct during Una’s trial in “Ad Astra Per Aspera”.

M’Benga mentions that the reason he and La’An were along was because Pike needed people who could fight without phasers (as per “The Broken Circle” and “Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow”).

That’s basically it, I think.

deepthaw ,

M’Benga

You mean “Dr. Seen-Some-Shit.”

Disgustoid ,

I don’t know if we’ll ever see a full episode with flashbacks to everything he’s been through, but oddly enough I don’t mind the intentionally vague references to it so far–leaves it open for our imaginations (and fan fiction) to fill in the gaps.

theinspectorst ,
@theinspectorst@kbin.social avatar

At the start of the episode, when Ortegas was getting ready for the away mission, I thought this episode would have the scene from the start of the season 2 trailer where she (gleefully) pilots a shuttle down to a planet.

At least we know she will eventually get to go on an away mission!

IcePenguino ,

Memory loss is one of the scariest things in the known universe. This is a horror episode to me.

deepthaw ,

Similar to how we refer to TOS episodes as “The Nazi Planet” and “The Gangster Planet” this one will be “The Alzheimer’s Planet.”

crazycanadianloon ,

Ok, at the risk of sounding like a filthy casual, it’s only now when I’m digging into Memory Alpha that I realized we’re finally getting visualization of what Pike was so miserable about in TOS the Cage. I was like, why does Rigel VII sound so familiar…

This is the kind of retcon I live for!!

TeaHands ,
@TeaHands@lemmy.world avatar

I’ve been watching Trek since I was basically a baby but don’t have anywhere near the depth of knowledge of most people posting here. We are still valid!

deepthaw ,

I like that the original away mission failing wasn’t some weird magical thing - it was just a mission that went bad in a fairly mundane way.

sarcasticsunrise ,
@sarcasticsunrise@lemmy.world avatar

Nothing to add pertaining to this last FANTASTIC episode; I really just wanted to say I appreciate everyone posting here. After Reddit, I thought these kind of threads were done for, but here we are. So even if no one reads this, thank you and much love 🙏

Jon-H558 ,

I mean its a little far fetched a simple helmet protects the kmal yet the enterprise hull let it through no problems (until pack modulates the shield), but wont let that get in the way of a good story.

echo ,

their helmets are made of a special ore that blocks the radiation. it’s a goofy explanation, but there is a reason why they act differently than the enterprise hull

  • All
  • Subscribed
  • Moderated
  • Favorites
  • •
  • [email protected]
  • random
  • All magazines
    •