In this week’s Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, Spock and Chapel end up in a shuttle accident where aliens try to “fix” Spock by removing his Vulcan DNA. This causes an issue when he suddenly feels every human emotion under the sun, forcing him to embrace his humanity. To make matters worse, his future in-laws want to hold the traditional Vulcan engagement dinner. T’Pring’s mother is incredibly judgemental, hates Spock and strongly disdains humans. Her father is less stuck up but has to agree with what his wife wants.
Also, editor’s note. I wanted to apologise for not reviewing last week’s episode. I didn’t watch much of last week’s episode as I got busy. Hopefully, I can go back and write one. Anyway, back to this week’s review.
Spock has been taught to be Vulcan his whole life, and this episode allows him to embrace the side he was told not to use. It gives him an immense appreciation of his mother and the crap she has endured for much of her life, all because she married a Vulcan and half-Vulcan child with Sarek.
Speaking of Amanda, this is her first appearance in Strange New Worlds after being referenced in the Season 2 premiere by Pelia. Also, the moment she sees Spock with the beanie on, she knows instantly something is off.
Spock and Pike attempt to hide that anything is wrong. But when Spock has a sudden outburst of emotion, he reveals the entirety of his Vulcan DNA has been stripped.
Chapel Attempts To Find A Cure
Nurse Chapel came away from the accident without a scratch on her. She spends the entire episode trying to find a way of restoring Spock’s Vulcan genes. At the same time, she struggles to keep her feelings for Spock to herself. What’s more, she’s a terrible liar. When she recruits Uhura and Ortegas to help her communicate with the aliens who stripped Spock of his Vulcaness, she keeps referring to him as her “friend.”
Uhura and Ortegas both see her apparent feelings for Spock and tell her that if she wants the old Spock back, she must admit how she feels.
Spock Feels EVERYTHING!
Upon awakening from his unconscious state after the shuttle crash, Spock instantly feels funny and hungry. He even feels every emotion that comes with being human, including lust (much to the horror of La’an). He develops a love of bacon after telling Pike earlier in the episode that he can’t smell it. Though, Vulcans are believed to be vegetarian.
During his social interactions with his friends, Spock laughs at everything and over time, it starts freaking Number One, Uhura and Ortegas out. They and La’an help Spock pretend to be Vulcan. At the same time, Chapel and M’Benga struggle to find a cure.
Amanda, meanwhile, is thankful that Spock finally has the chance to embrace his humanity, and she teaches him how to lie, something Vulcans aren’t exactly known for.
Also, during meetings with the science team, Spock snaps at Sam Kirk for being untied, terrifying him when two other science officers have to hold Spock back.
T’Pring’s Mother Is… Intolerable
T’Pring arrives on the Enterprise, not in the greatest of moods. She had been fighting with her mother for hours about what to wear to her meeting with Spock. Little does she realise that Spock is fully human, wearing fake ears to cover his human ones. Unlike her mother, she is not judgemental and accepts him for who he is.
Upon her parents’ arrival, T’Pril judges everything. She even takes swipes at Amanda because she’s human. Nothing anyone does is good enough for her. When she insults his mother and everything he does, Spock is forced to take it. He excuses himself and screams into a pillow before he can compose himself.
T’Pring and Spock, on separate occasions, put T’Pril in her place.
Spock Finally Understands His Humanity, And It’s Thanks To His Mother
Upon saying his goodbyes to Amanda, he tells her that thanks to her, he understands his humanity and spent so much time trying to be a Vulcan that he ignored his humanity altogether. He also admits to understanding how she felt for so many years as he grew up, as she was ostracised because she was human. The memory she showed him during the engagement dinner was when the Vulcan children allowed him to play with them.
In the episode’s closing, T’Pring temporarily breaks the relationship off as Spock could be open with his human friends about his situation, but not with her. He then sleeps with Chapel after he tells her that his relationship with T’Pring is on hold.
This episode was severe fun as we saw a side of Spock we’ve never seen before. If anything, this is our favourite episode so far.
