S01.E08: The Elysian Kingdom

[starri]

Quote

The USS Enterprise becomes stuck in a nebula that is home to an alien consciousness that traps the crew in a fairy tale.

[AnimeMania]

Original Airdate: Jun 23, 2022

[paigow]

If Pike ever gets his personalities split by the transporter, [because why not take that from Kirk as well] Sir Rauth might show up again...

[AnimeMania]

I an not sure why they didn't try to sell the fact that they were in a fantasy, everybody's acting was so deadpan.

Christina Chong was holding Runa (her dog in real-life), the dog was continuously licking the exposed portion her breasts during the entire scene while she was talking.

[dwmarch]

Another really fun episode, funny and emotional in good proportion. The Princess Bride by way of Star Trek. Why didn't anyone think of it before?

I liked how some of the characters kept some traits from their original selves (such as Nurse Chapel asking about the dopamine levels on the second scan) while some got to play against type altogether (like La'an singing).

Interesting choice to have Hemer as the one who is immune rather than Spock. Hemer felt the intrusion and actively blocked it. Spock just wants to be a wizard I guess.

Loved the TOS throwback in not even trying to construct new sets, just putting potted plants and fake greenery all over the existing ones. It shouldn't work but it does.

The episode is also pretty dark depending on how you look at it. An energy being manipulated M'benga into giving up his child. He doesn't actually know if she's happy or if the adult version of her was real. The energy being could manipulate technology with ease so it's possible the whole thing was an illusion. Then again, comforting illusions for people who would otherwise be suffering falls under feature rather than bug for this show.

[LydiaMoon1]

This episode was better than last week, albeit still lacking in some areas. I saw a critique that suggested that the episode would have benefitted from including a B subplot to break up the fairy tale, rather than spending all of the time on the storybook story alone. I concur. The storybook plot dragged a little at times. Pike was amusing as a simpering coward and tough-as-nails La'an was entertaining as the pampered princess, but I wish the rest of the cast had utilized a bit more camp. Don't get me wrong, the episode was good. It had the potential to be great.

Of the characters that didn't change, I enjoyed Hemmer more than I did Dr. M'benga. The Dr.'s performance was just so muted. The actor always seems so low energy. It's fine when he's in the background, but front and center? Nah. His separation from Rekiah could and should have been heartwrenching, but it felt like....IDK...like he was ready to go eat a ham sandwich. There just wasn't much emotional resonance there, at least not to me. Some of the emotion was undercut by the writing and the direction, I admit. Like Rekiah, I wanted to change the ending. It would have been much more of a gut punch if she hadn't returned as an adult after she disappeared, and the scene after she left should have concentrated on M'Benga's reaction. What did losing his daughter in a way that he could have never imagined make him feel; grief (?), loss (?), confusion (?), devastation (?), relief (?)....Whaaat?? I just don't think that was conveyed well at all. Like I said, it should have been devastating and dramatic. Instead, it was more like...Oh, okay.

Anyway, the beautiful little girl that plays Rekiah is adorable and sweet and I don't blame Deborah one bit for wanting to whisk her away. I hope she shows up from time to time in future episodes to visit her father and help out when needed, since she's basically a goddess now.

Edited June 23, 2022 by LydiaMoon1

[MissLucas]

So, this is what happens when the showrunners take a box-set of Farscape, grind it to dust and put that in the writers room coffee machine. Needless to say, I approve! 

Everyone was having a blast - Mount and Navia were great as sniping courtiers and clearly enjoyed playing a different power dynamic. And kudos to the costume and set decoration/props department. They went all out on the fairytale premise. 

The only quibble I have is timing. They now aired two hijinks episodes back to back. Might have been better to pace them and air them in between more dramatic episodes. (Of course there was drama in the end too - but that nearly disappeared among all the crazy.)

Edited June 23, 2022 by MissLucas

[Llywela]

Okay, that was hilarious until it was heartbreaking. A bit of a surprise, though, to have the sub-plot of little Rukiya wrapped up so soon and in what ended up being a fairly muted fashion. That felt like something that could have run longer and ultimately involved more people. In the end, only M'Benga and Una even knew she was ever on the ship, if I recall correctly.

The cast clearly had great fun filming this and I loved how many of them got to play against type as very different fantasy personas, allowing the actors to show their range while also, in some cases, providing an opportunity to learn a bit more about their regular characters. We got to see more of Hemmer than we usually do, for instance, and learned that there is more to him than his usual brusque self - he had so much fun hamming it up as the wizard, really got into character!

Episodic storytelling with serialised character stories is how all Trek should be written. I still wish PIC had been more like this. Those characters deserved this kind of showcasing too.

[Stardancer Supreme]

Thank you, SNW, for the ugly cry I didn't know this episode would bring out.  I lost my father recently and I was totally with M'Benga and Rukiya. 

The fairy tale come to life was so surprising and hella funny.  I especially loved Uhura being the vengeful Queen!  It gave us another insight into the crew; Pike the Boy Scout becoming a cowardly minion, La'an becoming a pampered princess, etc.  That Christina Chong used her actual dog in this episode was a plus.  I wonder what the dog showed up as in M'Benga's scan? 

It was cool that Hemmer was the only one able to counteract the illusion, yet still be a part of it.  I'm sure the crew could have upped the camp of it all, but I liked what we got.  That part about Una and Ortegas' characters "knowing each other well" was a bit surprising, since the characters didn't know each other in the book; was that Rukiya spilling some tea? 

I figured that the cure for Rukiya would come with a steep cost. I was okay in the decision he made, since she couldn't stay in the sickbay transporter buffer forever.  Letting her go caused the waterworks for me; I cried even harder when she came back to reassure her father that she was okay.  Now I want to know what happened to Debra M'Benga.  That was probably the only way he could go in peace.

[Llywela]

3 minutes ago, Stardancer Supreme said:

That part about Una and Ortegas' characters "knowing each other well" was a bit surprising, since the characters didn't know each other in the book; was that Rukiya spilling some tea? 

I don't think so. I think it was just Rukiya changing the story into what she thought it should be - it called back to that scene at the beginning where she told M'Benga how she thought the story should end, she wanted those characters to team up and change the ending. So, given the opportunity for a little live-action roleplaying of the story, she made the change, tweaking the story into more of what she wanted it to be.

[Sharpie66]

When I saw the episode description on Paramount, I just cringed, remembering Q-pid from TNG. But, this really worked! Loved the scenery chewing from Mount, Chong, and Gooding, especially Christina Chong—she had me rolling.

I actually liked that they brought grown-up Rukiya back so quickly. I was really concerned how they had it end with having the child make such an important decision. On the one hand, yay agency. On the other, she is still a little kid. So, I was really ambivalent until she returned to reassure her father (and us) that it was the right choice. I think if this was a network show with 22 episodes in a season they could have spread it out a bit longer, but that’s not the case.

As for Hemmer he wasn’t unaffected. If he had been, he would have remembered those five hours. It looks like Rukiya turned Castor into a meta-aware character to accompany her father like she adjusted the Huntress and Sir Addy’s relationship. Btw, loved the gender-blind casting for Addy!

I’m going to have to rewatch later tonight. Someone in a YT comment said that the book had been written by Benny Russell, which, if so, well, that’s just perfect!!

[paigow]

6 hours ago, LydiaMoon1 said:

I hope she shows up from time to time in future episodes to visit her father and help out when needed, since she's basically a goddess now.

18 minutes ago, Sharpie66 said:

remembering Q-pid from TNG.

This nebula entity seems more limited than Q... but this was like TOS!Zefram Cochrane mashed up with TOS!Shore Leave

[starri]

30 minutes ago, Sharpie66 said:

When I saw the episode description on Paramount, I just cringed, remembering Q-pid from TNG.

I was expecting/dreading a rehash of DS9's "If Wishes Were Horses" but this was so much better on basically every single level.

While I don't want to say that I'm glad they dispatched Rukiya, the idea of a kid on a pre-TNG starship really bugged me, even if she was only being pulled out of the transporter occasionally.  Since it turned out to be the happiest possible ending, I'm glad they went this route, rather than having M'Benga cure her and then have her running around the ship constantly.

[marinw]

I'm glad they wrapped up the Rukiya stoyline, that was in danger of dragging on for too long.

Random thoughts:

I loved M'Benga's old-style test tubes and other lab equipment.

Spock looks a lot like Adam Driver/Kylo Ren with his longer hair.

"A raven would have been too much?"

This Episode reminded me a bit of the mirror episodes in that the cast could be all over the top. Anson Mount had enough ham for several sandwiches.

Edited June 24, 2022 by marinw

[HerkyJerky]

UO, but this was STUPID!

[CarpeFelis]

Pike was hilarious. I couldn’t help wondering if Anson Mount was channeling Jonathan Harris as Dr. Smith!

[Chit Chat]

1 hour ago, HerkyJerky said:

UO, but this was STUPID!

We fast forwarded all but 10 minutes of it.  At least the doctor's daughter went on to have a wonderful life.   The rest was a waste of time.  

[sugarbaker design]

It wasn't my cup of Earl Grey, but I did enjoy the nod to Ronald McNair of the Challenger with the mention of McNair Airbase.

[Sharpie66]

I liked that the Crimson Guard were actual Red Shirts!

[historylover820]

I have mixed reactions to this.

OK, for the most part, I was loving this episode. Anson Mount was killing me. There were several times when I laughed out loud at him, and I don't usually laugh out loud when I'm alone. But I loved every single moment when he was on screen, acting this completely different character.

And Christina Chong also had me rolling, with her dog and then her singing. (And Anson's little double thumbs up after that.)

But, except for things like The Princess Bride (one of my favorite movies), I'm not the biggest fan of fantasies. The Lord of the Rings trilogy is epic and gorgeous, and I have the expanded trilogy, but I haven't watched them in years. Fantasy and fairy tales just really don't do it for me, for some reason. And while I love the humor, we've now had a fantasy, out-of-character episode almost back to back with a body-swapping episode (I know there's an episode in between, but that's not really my point.) This episode probably would have been better placed next season. 

Don't get me wrong--I love the light tone of SNW. It kind of feels like we've got too many comedy episodes.

I was also really surprised at the wrapping up of M'Benga's daughter's subplot as well, and that is also why this episode may have not landed quite right for me. Here's the thing--I hate the idea of having sick children just for drama. And it really didn't articulate this in my feelings until this episode. I hate it. At least they didn't kill her off, but it's kind of the same idea for M'Benga. He lost his daughter. I'm a Christian, and I believe in life after death in a better place where there's no more sickness, no more death. I'm going through my own health issues right now, and while I believe there's a better place after death, I'm not ready to go there. So, this ending where M'Benga has to essentially let his daughter die because she'll be in a better place--that didn't exactly sit well. And if this is the reason why SNW decided to introduce this subplot in the first place, what was the real point?

But, as I said, I was cracking up throughout 99% of the episode. It's so much fun to see a cast having so much fun.

[Frozendiva]

2 hours ago, CarpeFelis said:

Pike was hilarious. I couldn’t help wondering if Anson Mount was channeling Jonathan Harris as Dr. Smith!

Never fear, Smith is here.

[Frozendiva]

The costume department did a fantastic job. I loved Uhura's fingernails. I did get distracted a bit by the dog licking its owner's chest.

So the nebula's inhabitant was lonely and found a companion? The doctor didn't have a lot of options for his daughter. He certainly couldn't keep her in the transporter buffer for years. She got to make her own choice, to have her own adventures and live on in the nebula. A happy ending, or the best ending she could have (at least for now).

I had a few good laughs. Anson Mount was so un-Captain-like. I still found a bit of the dialogue mumbly and I had a sound issue for about a minute when Hemmer and the Doctor were looking at how to get out of the mess. And figuring out that it wasn't the Doctor's story, but that of his daughter, wanting to rewrite the fairy tale. I also liked that Hemmer's antennae worked.

[Sharpie66]

33 minutes ago, Frozendiva said:

3 hours ago, CarpeFelis said:

Pike was hilarious. I couldn’t help wondering if Anson Mount was channeling Jonathan Harris as Dr. Smith!

I was getting the Chamberlain from The Dark Crystal, only not as evil.

[QuantumMechanic]

Well, that was the first dud for me. Had some amusing bits but overall I didn't like it. Very week. And since the crew was being driven by the storybook rather than their inhibitions being released we didn't even get to see any inner/hidden stuff coming out like we did in TOS's "The Naked Time" -- i.e. we learned nothing about the crew at all, other than M'Benga. So IMHO it was a big zero, waste of time for the entire crew except M'Benga.

I was surprised to see them wrap up the sick child plotline so soon. I wasn't that much of a fan of how they did that, either. Sure, send her off with the alien you have all of 3 minutes of contact with and know nothing about. And 10yos have such great judgement.  That said, I am glad to see resolved and past us and (hopefully) see M'Benga move on.

[dwmarch]

41 minutes ago, QuantumMechanic said:

we learned nothing about the crew at all, other than M'Benga.

Ortegas and Number One might be more than friends, I doubt that particular sub-plot came from the book written for children.

[thuganomics85]

As mentioned above, this was definitely giving off similar vibes to "Q-pid" and "If Wishes Where Horses" and I can see it not being for everyone.  But I was having a blast.  And the last ten minutes were surprisingly heartbreaking and emotional as well.

Loved all the production value that went into the costumes and settings of course, and the cast seemed to be having the time of their lives here.  Fun seeing them get to play against type like Celia Rose Gooding getting her "evil queen" on and especially Anson Mount having a blast getting to play a shady, simpering coward always out to protect his own ass.  But I think my MVP is Christina Chong as a vapid, arrogant princess.  Wish we had more of her in that role, because that was all kinds of amazing.  Kind of hope M'Benga left that part out of the story though, because if La'an ever found out, I wouldn't put it past her to shove him out of an airlock to hide the evidence!

Glad to see Hemmer again and I liked the explanation over why he wasn't effected by the hallucination/story.  Spock would have been a logical (sorry) choice too, but I think Hemmer makes way more sense in the grand scheme of things.  Plus, he was having so much fun getting his "magic" on!

Hope Ortegas gets a focused episode on her soon, but until then, Melissa Navia really knows how to nail down the one liners and reactions shots!

Interesting that the other helms-woman also played a significant role in the story.  I wonder if her character will be expanded on at some point.

I can see why some might have found Babs Olusanmokun to be underplaying it too much here, but it worked for me.  I chalked a lot of it up to M'Benga always knowing deep down that Rukiya couldn't be saved and this finally allowed him to accept it and say it out loud.  I still thought he did a good job with M'Benga's reaction to finally letting go.  A bittersweet ending, but at least his daughter will live on in a different, more alien way, and he can move on.

Maybe a filler episode in some ways, but I laughed quite a bit, so that's pretty much a win in my book.

[Llywela]

2 hours ago, dwmarch said:

Ortegas and Number One might be more than friends, I doubt that particular sub-plot came from the book written for children.

It didn't come from the book, it came from Rukiya's desire to have those two characters team up, as stated to her father before she cast those two crew members in the roles. It was not a reflection of any relationship between the two in their normal lives. I'm not sure Una and Ortegas have had any meaningful interaction this season at all, before this episode.

[QuantumMechanic]

4 hours ago, Llywela said:

It didn't come from the book, it came from Rukiya's desire to have those two characters team up, as stated to her father before she cast those two crew members in the roles. It was not a reflection of any relationship between the two in their normal lives. I'm not sure Una and Ortegas have had any meaningful interaction this season at all, before this episode.

Exactly.  Just like Pike is not at his core a simpering coward.  The crew were forced into playing extrinsic roles.  This isn't the Psi 2000 virus exposing crewmembers' true selves/hidden desires.

Edited June 24, 2022 by QuantumMechanic

[Llywela]

16 minutes ago, QuantumMechanic said:

Exactly.  Just like Pike is not at his core a simpering coward.  The crew were forced into playing extrinsic roles.  This isn't the Psi 2000 virus exposing crewmembers' true selves/hidden desires.

Yep, just as La'an is definitely not a simpering maiden at her core, Spock is not a secret traitor, and Uhura is not a power-mad queen! Not to mention that little Rukiya, hidden away in the transporter buffer all these months, would have no way of knowing anything at all about intrapersonal relationships among the crew. Which is why none of the groupings in the fantasy reflected any known relationship dynamics at all. Rukiya simply wanted to tell the story her own way - to create her own fanfic AU RPS, in effect - and used the personnel on the ship as unwitting actors to achieve that goal. We can't read anything into the roles they were forced to play, it was just fun to see them all playing against type.

[marinw]

Celia Rose Gooding looked fantastic in her Evil Queen Getup and was clearly having a ball.

[starri]

1 hour ago, marinw said:

Celia Rose Gooding looked fantastic in her Evil Queen Getup and was clearly having a ball.

The outfit reminded me more than a little of an 80s fantasy movie, although I couldn't decide which one.

[NutmegsDad]

18 hours ago, marinw said:

Spock looks a lot like Adam Driver/Kylo Ren with his longer hair.

YES! We thought the same thing.

[tennisgurl]

This show in general has very old school Trek vibes, and this episode felt very TOS/TNG, especially them using the usual sets for the fantasy story but with some added props and designs to show that something weird is going on, that seems very TOS, I can see something like this happening with Kirk and company. I can already imagine that this will be a divisive episode, like many Trek episodes that use fantasy elements, but I really enjoyed it. It was hilarious watching the cast really ham it up in their fantasy architypes, especially Ansen Mount as a sniveling coward, Celia Rose Gooding as an evil queen (in a fabulous outfit), and especially Christina Chong, who was clearly having an absolute blast as the vain girlie princess, complete with her own puppy dog. The ending took a real turn though, I am really surprised that they ended the Rukiya plot like this, I really thought that some passing alien would provide a miracle cure for her, but I guess this was her best option. M'Benga could hardly keep her in that pod forever, I am glad that she got to live some kind of life that she seems happy with. I am also happy that we got to see her adult self so that we and M'Benga could see that this was the right call, not a bad choice based on a fathers grief and a little girl finally finding a friend. I'm really surprised that they ended this so quickly, but I am also glad that it wasn't drawn out. 

Glad that they used so much of the ensemble in this episode, Hemmer especially got a lot of time to shine as the wizard of technology, I love how into his role he got, even though he was the only person other than M'Benga who knew what was actually going on. I like seeing a bit more of him beyond his rather clipped demeaner, turns out he has quite the dramatic side when the occasion calls for it. 

This was a fun episode with a lot of great production values, especially in the outfits, a lot of laughs, and a real punch of an ending. I am very curious about where M'Benga goes from here, I hope that this isn't something that is never or rarely brought up again. Even though he knows that his daughter is alive and happy somewhere, this would still be a terribly hard thing to deal with as a parent. 

[paigow]

6 minutes ago, tennisgurl said:

I am very curious about where M'Benga goes from here,

He has no reason to stick around when Kirk takes over... so he will go to that Vulcan hospital and clear the path for McCoy...

[Starchild]

He does stick around though. Or maybe he goes and comes back?

[Ottis]

Way too early for this kind of episode. We’re still learning about these actual characters. Hard to have them play against type this early in a series. Though Uhura was excellent.

Also, it was boring.

I was glad M’Benga started playing along relatively quickly, to get things moving.

Yay, a Jeffries tube!

By the way, what happened to the knowledge the Chosen One’s dad left M’Benga to help his daughter? Hope that nebula alien isn’t a psycho.

Bet his daughter comes back one day as an adult. Oops, I spoke too soon. Teaches me for posting as I watch.

Edited June 25, 2022 by Ottis

[paigow]

1 hour ago, Starchild said:

He does stick around though. Or maybe he goes and comes back?

He is Chief Medical Officer now... McCoy was the same for Kirk after the Gary Mitchell episode

[historylover820]

M'Benga is on McCoy's staff. He's in a couple of TOS episodes. McCoy introduces him as an expert in Vulcan physiology.

[Cthulhudrew]

This reminds me a lot of the sort of ST: TNG episodes that popped up once in a while. Unfortunately, this was so over the top and singularly focused that I couldn't finish watching it at all. I don't know if it had to do with the characters involved (I find M'Benga to be a good supporting character but not interesting enough as a main, and can't stand Ortegas).

[LittleIggy]

Really enjoyed this episode! I love Hemmer even more now. I’m sure everyone had a blast playing those crazy characters, especially Anson Mount. 
Uhura looked as if she was wearing nail guards like Qing Dynasty empresses and concubines wore (I’ve watched a lot of Chinese historical dramas). Loved Ortegas’ gender bender role.

[Affogato]

I really didn't want to watch this, but I enjoyed it more than some of the other episodes. Surprise.  I liked Hemmer asking everyone to cover their eyes, and he doesn't need to because 'wizard'. Clumsily trying to get into his role. As many have mentioned, Anson Mount was hilarious as an abject coward.

I thought M'Benga (I forget the name of the actor) did some good acting. When he is talking to Rukiya the child, in his quarters, as she is disappearing in a rainbow flash of light, he is supportive and positive and then, she leaves and a look of loss passes over his face.

Because the fantasy is a child having them act out her favorite book it actually made sense, and didn't bother me. The thing that I'm beginning to find annoying is sentient nebulas. I honestly don't have a clear grip on that in general, and also, in particular, why having one friend would be that wonderful? Does the nebula (Deborah? Laura?) suck in sentient space ships for them to play with? What is going on there?

That said, it bodes well that they have brought one of their stories to a conclusion.

Edited June 25, 2022 by Affogato

[Affogato]

16 hours ago, tennisgurl said:

This was a fun episode with a lot of great production values, especially in the outfits, a lot of laughs, and a real punch of an ending. I am very curious about where M'Benga goes from here, I hope that this isn't something that is never or rarely brought up again. Even though he knows that his daughter is alive and happy somewhere, this would still be a terribly hard thing to deal with as a parent. 

It is possible he continues to try to find a cure for her illness and eventually takes it to a larger, better set up facility, leaving the CMO job open for McCoy.

[jcbrown]

On 6/23/2022 at 7:21 PM, Sharpie66 said:

I liked that the Crimson Guard were actual Red Shirts!

That was hilarious!

On 6/23/2022 at 5:13 PM, marinw said:

Spock looks a lot like Adam Driver/Kylo Ren with his longer hair.

The actor playing Spock looked fantastic here. He can grow longer hair and some scruff anytime, please.

We really enjoyed this episode in my house.

[LittleIggy]

47 minutes ago, jcbrown said:

The actor playing Spock looked fantastic here.

He is Ethan Peck, grandson of the legendary Gregory Peck.

[thecdn]

On 6/23/2022 at 8:17 PM, HerkyJerky said:

UO, but this was STUPID!

Agreed. Didn't like much of it at all.

On 6/23/2022 at 1:24 PM, LydiaMoon1 said:

The Dr.'s performance was just so muted. The actor always seems so low energy. It's fine when he's in the background, but front and center? Nah.

Exactly. Way too much of a character who is so quiet.

[paigow]

16 hours ago, historylover820 said:

M'Benga is on McCoy's staff. 

Which makes no sense if he had already been Chief Medical Officer... 

[LittleIggy]

What if Deb the Neb isn’t a totally benevolent being? What happens if/when Rukiya gets tired of being stuck with her? We don’t know if the “adult Rukiya” was just a mental manipulation that Deb the Neb created to make M’Benga feel okay. 🤔 A few of the things I thought of later. Still loved the episode!

[paigow]

2 hours ago, LittleIggy said:

What if Deb the Neb isn’t a totally benevolent being? 🤔

She might be like the skin of evil that killed TNG!Tasha

[jcbrown]

4 hours ago, paigow said:

She might be like the skin of evil that killed TNG!Tasha

Geez, I hope we never see anything that lame again.

[MissLucas]

For a moment I thought she was going to throw a hissy fit about Rukiya being 'imprisoned' à la Isabella from 'Imaginary Friend'. Starfleet definitely has nebula issues.