In the Season 2 premiere, The Broken Circle, with Una (Number One) still under house arrest, Pike goes out to help her, leaving the Enterprise in Spock’s almost capable hands. However, when the crew get a call from La’an, Spock decides to act on his human instincts and recruits everyone to help him free the ship from the space dock.
The plan is overheard by the Lanthanite, Pelia, a new member of the crew and an old friend of Spock’s mother, Amanda Grayson. She gets onto the bridge and reveals she knows what the crew is doing. Spock cannot talk his way out of it, but Pelia denounces that as Amanda’s son and half-Vulcan, he would have a good reason for breaking the ship free.
Spock is surprised that Pelia knows his mother. But he cannot get more information from her as the plan works and the ship is released.
The crew finds La’an, who has contact with The Broken Circle syndicate. She also has contacted Oriana, the little girl, the crew saved from the Gorn and her parents.
The Klingons then kidnap Dr M’Benga and Nurse Chapel and almost die as they attempt to escape.
Spock And Pelia Talk More About Amanda
Spock shares blood wine with the Klingons in good faith, and Pelia is there to share it too. She reveals that Amanda was the first human she revealed herself to. A drunk Spock says he’s always been fascinated by her species.
Back on the Enterprise, Spock nurses a massive headache as he receives a verbal lashing from Admiral Robert April, who had ordered the crew to stay put. Spock says he did what he believed was right, and April tells him that if he pulls a stunt like that again, he’s out of Starfleet.
In the sick bay, Spock stands over an unconscious Chapel, whom he has been crushing over for a while, despite being betrothed to T’Pring. M’Benga tells him she will be okay in a while. Spock tells him he cannot express his feelings despite being visibly upset and doing everything he can to hide it.
We Need More Spock Backstory!
The Broken Circle was an entertaining episode, especially for a premiere. Carol Kane steals the show as Pelia, which is fun to watch. She will be a great addition to the crew. Though, we need her to be a second mother to Spock. She’s not afraid to call him out, and Spock is surprised at how open she is regarding her knowledge of his family and whether she knows about Michael is a whole other story. Not that it matters at this point, given where the Discovery is in the timeline, almost 1000 years in the future.
There has always been an almost emptiness to Spock since Michael voluntarily disappeared. Last season, there were a few references to Sarek, Spock’s father, but nothing to do with Amanda. Pelia could be the key to unlocking more onscreen lore about Spock’s family.
The Broken Circle was a great start to an incredible Season 2 of Strange New Worlds.
