As the year comes to an end, Caleb must choose between the life he thought he wanted and the life he’s built for himself at Starfleet Academy. Meanwhile, Nahla breaks protocol in one final gambit to keep a promise to Caleb.

Written by: Kirsten Beyer & Kenneth Lin

Directed by: Jonathan Frakes

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  • ValueSubtracted@startrek.websiteOPMEnglish
    3·
    4 hours ago

    But… are we sure he’s a genius if he never thought to try that moon’s name as an encryption cypher?

    It whizzed by pretty fast, but they did say it’s something he used to try pretty often, and eventually gave up on, and started concentrating on more complicated, “adult” searches. I kind of like that.

    “Oh hey, is that planet in the Federation now? You know the one, what’s it called?”

    It did stand out, especially when the planet in question is friggin’ Vulcan Ni’Var. I assume that’s some exposition for the newbies that will become relevant in the finale, but it was definitely odd.

    Caleb wanting to rejoin his mum over staying with his friends felt like a real betrayal. And his teardown of Darem and Genesis even more so. That was brutal.

    I’m definitely more attached to these kids than I expected. And Tatiana Maslany is talented enough that her sudden-but-inevitable betral next week is going to be a real gut punch.

    All in all, I agree that it’s a pretty good table-setting episode.

    • haverholm@kbin.earth
      2·
      4 hours ago

      they did say [the Ishana cypher] something he used to try pretty often

      …but not at all for at least two years? Because that was the cache of messages from his mum. It feels odd, but it’s probably best not to think too hard about it.

      This ep had some rough spots, like a concert where you can hear the orchestra is still tuning their instruments before they get started for real. I’m pretty excited for the symphony.

      • ValueSubtracted@startrek.websiteOPMEnglish
        2·
        4 hours ago

        My memory is hazy, but I think there was an, “I stopped trying after _____ happened” line. For the life of me I can’t think of what it was, and it’s possible that I hallucinated it.

          • ValueSubtracted@startrek.websiteOPMEnglish
            1·
            50 minutes ago

            Doing my rewatch now, and you’re correct. So it serves as an indicator that he’s changed as he’s grown up (and it’s not actually related to Anisha breaking out of prison, since he didn’t learn of that until months later), and also that she doesn’t expect him to have changed.

            • StillPaisleyCat@startrek.websiteEnglish
              2·
              36 minutes ago

              Good point. There are repetitive signals that her expectation is that he hasn’t materially changed.

              Beyond the ‘you grew up’ startlement at his physical growth and development, she expects his temperament, preferences ambitions and values are exactly the ones she saw in him at six years old.

              She’s not just missed the past year as a cadet in Starfleet, they both have missed his entire adolescent experience of youth separating themselves from their parents.

              Interestingly, the challenge of needing to catch up with who someone has changed into is foreshadowed by Caleb and the others’ difficulties in understanding who SAM is now - and her own struggles to reconcile who she was with who she is.