#snw speculation

[mai-komagata]

wait so the doctor in the farragut died right? maybe this is an opportunity for the farragut to hire a doctor from georgia... they dont even need to show him yet or hire an actor but maybe kirk just mentions his new friend in passing every once in a while... ;)

[ichayalovesyou]

Strange New Worlds tie-ins to Deep Space Nine in order (so far):

In “Tears of The Prophets”, Benjamin Sisko receives the Christopher Pike Medal of Valor for defending DS9 when it was under siege by Dominion forces.

On Pike’s personnel file in the Star Trek Discovery episode “Brother” Pike has the Carrington Award on his list of Starfleet commendations. An award Bashir was the youngest nominee for but did not win in “Prophet Motive”.

The author of the children’s book Dr. M’Benga is reading Rukiya in “Ghosts of Illyria” and “The Elysian Kingdom” which shares the book’s title is by sci-fi/fantasy novelist Benny Russel. An ancestor of Benjamin Sisko whom the Prophets gave Sisko a first hand glimpse into the life of in “Far Beyond the Stars”.

Rukiya gives up her ailing body and joins with “Debra” (her mother’s name, not entirely unlike how a Prophet was Ben Sisko’s mother). Debra is an entity whom does not fully understand corporeal reality or linear time. Rukiya stops experiencing time linearly and returns to her father as an adult to comfort him and reassure him he made the right choice, telling him that she’s certain they’ll see eachother again.

General cinematic/personality parallels between Pike and Sisko: Highly decorated fighting captains, paternal figures who love to cook, with fates that are as much pre-written as they are sealed by their conscious choices.

A tweet on July 23rd, 2022 by Eric Goldman, and I quote: “Asked if we could catch up with the DS9 characters (beyond the Lower Decks episode). Alex Kurtzman says ‘Sisko’s a critical, critical character for everybody. Conversations have definitely been had.’ #StarTrekStrangeNewWorlds #SDCC”

All I’m saying is, a SNW & DS9 crossover is basically confirmed at this point right?!

[trekkiehood]

Ok I am NOT saying that Pike should change his fate but couldn't he just... Step down as head of the Enterprise after saving himself lol.

Like "oh time to go live happily ever after on my farm! I've loved a good life!" After saving everyone. Bc then... It would be a lot less drastic change at least.

[marlinspirkhall]

SNW producers: We're going to explore a relationship we thought had potential, but was never explored in the original series

Me: Spock and Uhura?!

Me, equally excited, but suddenly 100% more naïve: CHAPEL and Uhura???

[ichayalovesyou]

SNW Theory: Una is Why Pike Survives The Accident

In Ghosts of Illyria when La’an is infected with the Light Virus, she attempts to jump into the warp core and Una stops her. But not before they both recieve severe exposure to radiation, Una’s Illyrian genetic modifications save them both.

When she held onto La’an, it provided her with chimeric antibodies that not only spare them both from the radiation but allowed Chapel & M’Benga to use the antibodies from La’an to derive a cure from her blood.

Whose to say those antibodies aren’t still present in La’an’s body?

In A Quality of Mercy, Admiral Pike says that two cadets die in the accident. Maat Al-Salah, and presumably the girl whose console explodes that Pike fails to drag out in time before becoming grievously wounded and exposed himself.

Those cadets die from that level of exposure, Spock dies from a similar level of exposure in WoK, but Pike doesn’t, why? Unless…

Una (likely out of necessity) does something similar for Chris, protecting him the way she saved La’an. If/when she saves him, similar chimeric antibodies would be in him.

It would not prevent him from being injured or prevent him from being severely irradiated, but he would survive long enough for medics to get to him and prevent it from killing him.

I think one of the many reasons Pike actively chooses to live the difficult life the accident’s aftermath leads to. Other than he’s not one to give into despair, and is acutely aware of his own worth to those who love him. It’s this:

Even if Starfleet medicine can’t do much to help his quality of life, what they learn from his survival will lead to better treatment for Delta radiation survivors like him. If Pike possesses chimeric antibodies from Una that made the difference between life and death for him. That would absolutely support that notion.

[ichayalovesyou]

I have some questions about Una in SNW - what do you expect her arc/role to be next season? I think Una can be a difficult character for the writers, because her role as first officer is difficult to flesh out. She can only be "in charge" when Pike isn't. While Pike is on the bridge, she can just give general advise, without having specific responsibilities. She is neither Science Officer like T'Pol and Spock, nor a diplomatic link like Chakotay and Kira. And a really big problem is that her personality is kinda really similar to Spock's. So getting a triumvirate dynamic is going to be very hard. How would you tackle that?

Una Analysis!

Based on what your assumptions/judgement seems to be, I feel the urgent and STRONG need to defend Una and how she’s been dealt with thus far before I get into what I think the plan is for her next season.

I don’t get the inference she’s been difficult for the writers to handle or flesh out, I just think they’re saving the juiciest stuff for next season (for reasons I will soon explain). We already know a significant amount about her.

Una’s Command Style

She’s only in charge when the captain is not because that’s how it always works with first officers. The captain is down on the planet getting into trouble, first officer is up on the ship unraveling other major plot threads (like in Lift Us Where Suffering Cannot Reach & Ghosts of Illyria and so on). She frequently takes a helm or weapons systems position. She’s a unique diplomatic tie because she is a closeted Illyrian, which will undoubtedly now bear its consequences. She challenges and serves as a foil Chris’s placating nature by being the more stern and ferocious between the two of them. Although she is deeply gentle with the people closest to her, La’an, Joseph and Chris in particular.

Una’s Unique Personality

She has a different relationship map from Spock or Chris. Spock’s closest relationships are Chapel and Pike, Chris’s are Spock & Una, Una’s are Chris & La’an. Spock has other friendships that get explored such as Hemmer & Uhura, while Una deepens her relationships with La’an & Joseph. Chris, because he is the Captain, is closest to his best friend (and possibly ex?) Una and his surrogate baby brother Spock. Those relationships cast her personality in different lights, lights very different from Spock’s tumultuous identity crisis. She’s tackling the increasing difficulty of hiding her true colors, acting as friend and mentor to La’an, and clearly still grappling with the romantic feelings she likely still has for Chris that were established in The Cage & Short Treks.

Pike is Pathos, Una is Ethos, Spock is Logos

I don’t think she’s much like Spock at all. Other than the fact she is suppressing a hidden nature as he often does. If anything she’s a little closer to who Spock will become more than who he is now in many ways. Whether that is because of her somehow still remains to be seen. She is a tactical thinker yes, but she is as emotional of a person as any non-Vulcan aboard. She takes a very hands on investigative role in Ghosts of Illyria & Lift Us Where Suffering Cannot Reach, it almost got her killed in Memento Mori as well. If Chris is compassion, and Spock is logic, that makes her action.

Every triumvirate has had a Ethos-Logos-Pathos dynamic within it. On Kirk’s Enterprise, he is the ethos to Bones’s pathos and Spock’s Logos. On Picard’s Enterprise, he is the Logos to Riker’s Ethos and Deanna’s Pathos. The SNW triumvirate is a lot more similar to Picard’s Enterprise. Una & Riker are similar as they are both the Ethos or Action in their triumvirate as well as first officer. Although the roles are swapped as Spock remains Logos, but Pike is absolutely Pathos. There is plenty of room for growth in that!

How the TOS Triumvirate Evolved

I feel like people forget how little screentime Bones gets in season one of TOS before they realized Kirk & Spock needed someone to balance the dynamic. DeForest Kelley wasn’t even in the title cards until season two! Kirk had a relationship with Bones and a relationship with Spock, but Spock & Bones didn’t get into the meat of their fascinating character dynamic until the second and third season.

I think it stands to reason that season one put particular emphasis on Chris and Spock’s relationship, and Chris & Una’s this season because those relationships were extremely important to gratify for the needs of the finale, in which Chris gives into his fate to spare Spock, and gets Una unjustly taken away from him. That and, since it is the first season, the writers probably wanted to focus on the characters that were brand new and of plot importance like La’an. As well as characters that were huge draws to the show because of Discovery which means, Spock & Pike.

Since Kirk is going to be featured at least once next season, I’m sure at least some focus is going to be pulled away from the Spock & Chris dynamic for that. If Una is still there (and I’d bet money she will be) that gives much more room for her to develop more complex relationships with Spock and Chris. We also don’t know if La’an or Una will still be gone when the other returns, without the La’an & Una dynamic that’ll give more interesting avenues for either of them to grow. On top of that, I’m hoping next season will feel less need to focus on the two characters we’ve already gotten introduced to (Pike & Spock) in favor of better exploring the rest of the cast, Una included! Who knows what the next Chief Engineer is gonna do to the character relationship map of this series too!

Predictions For Una’s Return

As much as it’s a little bug of anxiety in the back of my brain, and I don’t love the fact that penal colonies are still A Thing. I doubt the story would just throw Una in jail and be done with it, whether it’d take a whole episode of nonsense to lock her up or not. I don’t think it would befit the message Star Trek generally tends to promote which is “prejudice is bad”. Una being a Starfleet officer arrested and removed from duty pretty exclusively based her species would severely undercut the message of Star Trek as a whole, including the darker ones like DS9 & Discovery.

My biggest concern other than the very low likelihood they’d be like “Una’s in jail forever now” after all the amazing plot material brought up by Ghosts of Illyria & Pike’s “this isn’t over” comment is what comes after the trial. I really hope she’s reinstated as first officer and gets no punitive action taken for her standing up for herself and her people, like being unable to rejoin Starfleet. Even if it’s something like she decides she has a higher calling and leaves to advocate for Illyria joining the federation, that would feel kinda abrupt and ooc for her knowing how much she cares about Starfleet and her career. Considering how much promo material had herself, Chris, and Spock advertised as the main trio, I doubt this would be the decision either.

I also just wanna say I DO NOT think anyone snitched on Una, especially not La’an (Ghosts if Illyria was deliberately framed as a learning experience for her, she and Una have a bond, and one of her core tenets is “knowing when yo bend the rules”). What I think is gonna be the big reveal is Batel was sent to confirm suspicions after the events of Ghosts of Illyria, and used schmoozing Chris as a way of clandestinely downloading information that revealed Una’s true species. We’re gonna get a good ol’ fashioned court martial episode in the front half of SNW S2, right down to the betrayal/bitterness of a captain’s former lover like Court Martial & Measure of A Man.

[ichayalovesyou]

Insane The Elysian Kingdom Theory GO!!!!!

I’m about to blow some DS9 fans fuckin minds with a Strange New Worlds Easter egg that my friend found.

So you know that children’s book Dr. M’Benga is reading to Rukiya?

Look at the author

Take a closer look

BENNY

RUSSEL

Do you know what that means?!?!?

HES REAAAAAAL!!! AND HES A HUMAN BEING DAMNIT!

We know Far Beyond The Stars was a vision given to Sisko by the Prophets to motivate him not to resign from his post on DS9. The Prophets don’t process time linearly, the end of the show Sisko becomes the Emissary and has basically joined them. The baseball he left behind being a promise of his return. It’s also established the Prophets have the power to leave and possess humanoids across time and space. Which is how they ensured Sisko would be born at all!

The fact there is a children’s fantasy book, The Elysian Kingdom, written by him, HAS to mean Benny Russel was a real person and not some metaphorical human the Prophets projected Sisko onto to prove a point.

Would that mean if he is somehow Sisko/The Emissary himself OR was possessed by The Prophets the same way Sisko’s mother was (and is maybe perhaps a direct ancestor of Sisko). That this is how he had visions of DS9 in the first place?

What if the “entity” M’benga is referencing in the teaser is tied to Russel somehow and they just don’t know it yet because Benjamin Sisko hasn’t even been born and I don’t think Starfleet has even discovered Bajor yet!

WHAT IF THE ENTITY

IS THE EMISSARY 🤯

[ichayalovesyou]

Man if something has not aged well at all in the Star Trek universe it’s the whole “penal colony” thing, for real.

Like… yuck.

Like even if there’s like rehab and stuff built in and they’re not being exploited and abused. Even if it’s not like an American Prison Industrial Complex situation or a literal actual penal colony like 19th century Australia was

People don’t get better in a vaccuum with just doctors and other prisoners/patients around. Being isolated from the people you care about for an extended period of time (especially if they’re not an enabler) can seriously fuck with your head, and it’s one of the many reasons prisons don’t work.

There were a lot of things about A Quality of Mercy that I absolutely adored. But also things that seriously bugged me.

Particularly, that La’an said “nobody can talk to [Una]” because she’s in a penal colony. Like, wtf???

Like, how long do you go to a penal colony for falsifying your records to get into Starfleet? If in both timelines she got arrested right after they dropped off supplies to Outpost 4 she’s been in prison for like SEVEN YEARS?! That seems like a lot, especially if the goal is rehab and release. It’s not like she’s a war criminal or a violent offender, the only thing she did was lie to work around a speciest, messed up law.

Also, considering she’s an Illyrian why wouldn’t the Illyrian government be at least a little involved? Or at least invested in her somehow if she really is the first? Especially since clearly there’s a number of them that would like Illyria to be able to join the Federation but are being blocked by prejudice? Even if there’s legal stuff where she’s under Federation jurisdiction as a Starfleet officer, they’d probably have at least a statement to make!

I’ve got a lot of questions, and I really hope the next SNW season doesn’t just ignore them or worse, let the timeline stay as it is in that regard because the implications are… not a good look.