I understand that some people like this episode. For me, it's literally the worst Star Trek anything EVER produced. It's worse than Final Frontier, worse than any episode of Enterprise, worse than the Voyager episode where they turn into sexy iguanas. It's so reprehensibly bad that I have never in my life felt so intellectually insulted as I did watching this episode.
People say that a lot of people have missed the point of the episode; it's about a young commander who learns cynicism from having to deal with a troublesome crew member; it's about said commander not being mature enough to face an immediate challenge and how hard it is to be in charge. But to me, all that misses the point. The commander is not portrayed in that fashion, she's portrayed as the plucky protagonist struggling against the ineptitude of lesser beings. You're supposed to root for her and commiserate with her plight, but the problem is, she's just awful. She makes absolutely no attempts to do anything constructive in the whole episode, tries to get rid of her problems rather than solving them, and lays blame for her own personal failings on the very first problem she encounters, then calls that problem an 'idiot'. Would Kirk do that? How about Janeway? Even Bakula wouldn't do that.
Maybe all that would be okay if she wasn't portrayed in such an unaffectedly positive light in the episode, or there was any indication that she was supposed to be seen as just making rookie mistakes, but anyone that says that is in there is living in a dream world. Some people say this episode is just 'outside the box' and that Trek fans need to get with it, that not all Trek captains need to be portrayed in the same way. Well, an episode where Kirk sells Spock into slavery because he annoyed him would be pretty 'out of the box' too, but that doesn't mean it's good.
To all the people defending this episode, I ask you this: Imagine if you were a new Trek fan and this is the first thing you had ever watched. What would you think the show was about? What ideals would you think it seeks to convey or uphold? Do those ideals line up with anything Trek has ever represented AT ALL? This is the absolute nadir of all Trek.
People say that a lot of people have missed the point of the episode; it's about a young commander who learns cynicism from having to deal with a troublesome crew member; it's about said commander not being mature enough to face an immediate challenge and how hard it is to be in charge. But to me, all that misses the point. The commander is not portrayed in that fashion, she's portrayed as the plucky protagonist struggling against the ineptitude of lesser beings. You're supposed to root for her and commiserate with her plight, but the problem is, she's just awful. She makes absolutely no attempts to do anything constructive in the whole episode, tries to get rid of her problems rather than solving them, and lays blame for her own personal failings on the very first problem she encounters, then calls that problem an 'idiot'. Would Kirk do that? How about Janeway? Even Bakula wouldn't do that.
Maybe all that would be okay if she wasn't portrayed in such an unaffectedly positive light in the episode, or there was any indication that she was supposed to be seen as just making rookie mistakes, but anyone that says that is in there is living in a dream world. Some people say this episode is just 'outside the box' and that Trek fans need to get with it, that not all Trek captains need to be portrayed in the same way. Well, an episode where Kirk sells Spock into slavery because he annoyed him would be pretty 'out of the box' too, but that doesn't mean it's good.
To all the people defending this episode, I ask you this: Imagine if you were a new Trek fan and this is the first thing you had ever watched. What would you think the show was about? What ideals would you think it seeks to convey or uphold? Do those ideals line up with anything Trek has ever represented AT ALL? This is the absolute nadir of all Trek.