Strange New Worlds 1x08 - 'The Elysian Kingdom' ~~ { ** Spoilers Within ** }

ilovesmybrick

Strange New Worlds 1x08 - 'The Elysian Kingdom' ~~ { ** Spoilers Within ** } Warning: This thread will contain spoilers 

AMKC

Just started watching it now and all I will say is wow what a start to it.

I would say this could be an episode that a lot in here might not like so much but I am loving it so far. I would say it's similar to the TNG episode where the ship is transformed by the alien device and a little similar to the TOS episode where they start behaving strangely.

It's certainly a different take on things but there is a good reason for it and it's still Star Trek.

It's hilarious watching Pike in this one and yes there is plenty of eyecandy in it too.

It was good to see Uhura and Hemmler had big parts to play in this episode but it was Mostly about Doctor M'Benga. The characters in this were all played different to how you would expect them to be. Anson Mount once again is brilliant in this.

ilovesmybrick

I honestly don't know what we did to deserve this show. I usually really dislike the dress up/holodeck accident episodes. Some of my least favourite episode types. But this was so much fun!

Anson Mount seems to be having a ball, the constant little asides and quips from characters in the background, and a really nice story about the daughter behind it and a powerful ending. Wonderful stuff. This series is just knocking it out of the park.

And I need that map of the Enterprise, so very good!

corkie

https://memory-alpha.fandom.com/wiki/The_Elysian_Kingdom_%28episode%29

Wasn't too taken with this episode.

The good points was seeing characters portrayed differently than normal.

Good to see a solution to the Rukiya arc.

somuj

Rubbish. Couldn't wait for it to be over.

Getting rid of that ridiculous kid stored in the transporter buffer was the only positive thing about it. Can't store them in the buffer in any other series. Scotty was the only one who figured out how.

Worse than last weeks episode.

Spear

I'm not sure what to make of this one. It seems like a pure comedy episode, then takes a sudden left turn into what should be a major character dilemma. The hidden kid in the attic/buffer arc does at least lead up to something, but the resolution doesn't carry any weight as there wasn't much build up for the M'Benga/Rukiya relationship. Maybe if they had made more of an effort to show the docs growing desperation in previous episodes it might've had more impact.

It was nice to see the main characters playing against type so much, and laying it on thick as they did so. Plenty of Hemmler time too.

AMKC

It

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119239668#Comment_119239668

How could you not love that episode?

I thought it had everything a brilliant start and fun middle and a brilliant ending that even resolves one of the story threads that has being going on since the beginning of the series. It was fun to see how the actors would do out of character playing different characters to there standard ones and they all knocked it out of the park.

fritzelly

Can someone pinch me and tell me I'm not dreaming? At this stage it must be impossible for them to screw up the last two episodes and even if they did I wouldn't care as the rest have been brilliant and a pure joy to watch

Anson Mount - frigging hilarious

TheValeyard

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119240437#Comment_119240437

Michael Burnham comes back for last two episodes to save the galaxy from an emotional threat.

fritzelly

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119240756#Comment_119240756

I hope they have orders "shoot to kill" if she attempts to enter the set

eadrom

That was great 😄

Took me a moment to recognise La’an when she showed up and I couldn’t stop laughing once I did.

I wasn’t so sure about how the doctor’s daughter storyline ended to be honest. I felt like he was giving her up a little easily to this almost entirely unknown entity and she isn’t old enough to make that decision herself. Kinda saved in the episode by having her pop back in to say it’s all good but still a poor choice, imo.

really fun episode anyway though. I loved it.

TheValeyard

I liked the episode. It was different, the crew were involved and B'Menga was the central role - imagine that..... An episode where a another crew member has the central role and not Burnham centric show.

I really liked how they resolved the daughter situation, it was different and brilliantly done. Could sense the feels for it.

The cast seemed to have fun making that one! Playing outside the box there.

La'an alone made this episode great. They really should golden handcuff the writers, creative crew etc to be involved in any new stuff going forward.

ilovesmybrick

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119240437#Comment_119240437

Like, to be fair, they all seem to be a well chosen cast, Hemmer was also fantastic in it, and the other cast were great fun in their new roles. But yeah, Anson Mount has been a gift in this show. In 8 episodes we've seen a great stretch of his range and unlike most Trek cast at the moment (not naming names...) he can go from fairly heavy hitting emotional beats, like the end of "Lift Us Where Suffering Cannot Reach", to awful dad space pirate jokes at the end of "The Serence Squall". He actually seems to like what he's doing. Fantastic stuff and great casting all round. So far each of the cast members that has been given the chance pretty well holds up their own as the episodes focus.

fritzelly

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119241109#Comment_119241109

Well I imagine if he wasn't full on in to it after his "rehearsal" in Disco I guess he would have said no so I'm guessing he's a bit of a Trekkie at heart and jumped at the chance. He has been brilliant and so have the rest of the cast - you wouldn't normally see this kind of well oiled symmetry until usually the second season but they are all playing off each other so impeccably it makes you feel right at home watching them

Slydice

Oh jeez! I need to take a moment! That episode was so good!

What a thing! Episode eight in season one! Well done to all involved!

Such a great episode!

I was so excitable and loving the episode and thinking Anson Mount deserved an Emmy!

but then WHAM! with the Heart and Soul!

It was just so good!

I near died in that scene at the end between M'benga and his daughter Rukiya 😭

fritzelly

I think at the end M'benga made the right choice - he had spent years trying to find a cure to no avail and here's a chance for her to live a real life rather than a few minutes here and there in the real world and like early on he said you can make your own ending...and she did

Slydice

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119241414#Comment_119241414

😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭

GSPfan

This episode made me laugh and honestly cry.

The fun stuff was just the whole character shift for all the actors. Mount was hillarious. La’an was funny and very attractive. Everyone else done so well.

I’m delighted they made his daughter come back straight away to tell him it was the right decision and that she’ll see him again. Otherwise I was cursing his decision to just give her up. I know she was basically dying and he felt like this was the lesser of two evils but I’m not sure I could ever as a father just give that up. It was quickly redeemed by the pop back of her older and happy. Thankfully.

But yeah, yet another enjoyable episode and possibly the maddest 8 episode run of any Star Trek series ever. They must have a bucket list of episode types they want to do and are ticking them off the list. What an brilliant show this is.

Some other thoughts…

• All the crew getting time to shine. Love it.

• Pike is probably only second to Picard in my favourite Captains list.

• Uhura put them away, it’s a family show.

• Una and Ortegas knowing each other “really well” was so funny.

• Hemmer had so much personality in this one.

• This goes in the same category of episode as Voyagers Captain Proton episode, DS9’s one where Sisko is a sci-fi writer, and probably TNG’s Casino Royale, Orient Express episodes.

CastorTroy

Another fun episode this week. Mount seems to be having fun with Pike.

Really enjoyed it.

They're lucky no one was beheaded.

The leader of the Queen's guard isn't a regular, is she?

Spear

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119242381#Comment_119242381

Two members of the Crimson Guard took arrows, but it's not clear of they're dead or even injured in reality.

The leader of the guard was Mitchell, the conn officer, she's a regular, but this episode is about 90% of her total lines so far.

CastorTroy

I didn't go back and check but maybe the ones in sickbay at the end were the ones who were shot with the arrows.

Spear

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119242489#Comment_119242489

I checked, and the guy getting treated wasn't one of the guard.

~Rebel~

Wasn't terribly gone on this one... it was fine, but the ending in particular quite threw me off. It would've made more sense if things had seemed far more hopeless for her throughout the season - but literally two episodes ago, a scientist gave Mbenga the roadmap to his daughters cure, so it seems very weird for him to just give up all possibility of a cure so soon after. (it also doesn't help that we kept just hearing she's sick, while constantly being shown this super happy bubbly healthy kid).

And the thing of 'go create your own stories now Dad', feels a bit backwards... as a father, she WAS the story he created, and without her he'll obviously be damaged forever. He can maybe reconcile that this was her best hope (which again would've been easier without the hope offered 2 weeks ago), but that finale and his kinda back-to-normal behaviour afterwards felt a bit empty given the depth of his loss.

corkie

https://www.slashfilm.com/905507/star-trek-strange-new-worlds-features-one-heck-of-a-deep-space-nine-easter-egg/

The book from which these characters were extrapolated is called "The Kingdom of Elysian," written by Benny Russell, a name that may be familiar to fans of "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine." Russell was previously featured in "Far Beyond the Stars," a kind-of "what if?" episode wherein the cast of DS9 were sci-fi authors in the 1950s.

So using an in show fictional author for the book.

PhiloCypher

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119243093#Comment_119243093

Like you I'm kinda torn on this one. While they gave me just enough of Mbenga and his Daughter for the ending to be emotionally engaging. I can't help but feel it would have been more effective if they had let it play out into the second season with maybe a few more hopes raised then dashed. That being said one of my main issues with Discovery was how it would needlessly draw out storylines like explaining why Adira was seeing Gray and giving Gray a new body, that went on for a season and a half robbing screen time from other underdeveloped characters. So it's a real balancing act .

As for the rest of the ep, the cast looked like they were having a blast , I loved it.

~Rebel~

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119244253#Comment_119244253

Yeah for sure - if it had just stayed as a bit of a fun comedy episode it'd have been totally grand - it's the weight at the end of it and how quickly they just sort of 'wrapped things up', around the biggest moment in Mbenga's life that really threw me off. It felt like that moment and decision should've had more build over the season so we felt more of the tension of her illness... maybe if we'd seen more visual progression of it over the season or something, and if they'd removed that bit of hope they provided from the 'Omelas' doctor, it could've worked.

I also just entirely expected her to say she wanted to stay with her Dad, and she believed in him - adding more pressure for him going forward as he looked for a cure, knowing a compromise had been turned down. But instead she was just done. It actually kinda felt like a sudden course correction, where the writers decided they just didn't want to follow this story at all, and just nixed it asap.

Johnny Storm

My least favorite ep so far.

breezy1985

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119247427#Comment_119247427

Same. I hate when Trek let's actors play different parts due to Holo/mirror/ space magic nonsense.

Glad we got done with the girl in the transporter bubble story too although surprised it got wrapped up so quickly.

breezy1985

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119243506#Comment_119243506

I know it could be a different Benny or maybe Benny did exist in some way but not the way Ben Sisco saw or it could be "the" Benny Russell and the prophets fked him up by showing him DS9 and that's how he wrote about it.

ItHurtsWhenIP

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119240236#Comment_119240236

Yeah, M'Benga allowing Rukiya to go with "Debra" seemed a bit rushed ... and then Rukiya returning moments later as an adult felt really rushed ... seemed to be going for closure far too quickly. Unless Rukiya and Debra come back at a later stage to have a significant impact, this was the first poorly handled sub-plot of this otherwise excellent show.

It was a very fun episode otherwise.

DoctorEdgeWild

Not really an episode for me, but I know there is a lot of love out there for mirror universe/holodeck/alien dream thingy episodes so fair enough. It was always going to happen and at least it wasn't Dr. Crusher making love to a ghost candle level of bad.

Surprised they ended the Rukiya storyline like that. I actually thought it was going a different way once the Doc missed out on his duties in favour of searching for the cure. Was hoping it would be a Babylon 5 Garibaldi/Alcoholism story arc where the doctor became more and more obsessed with the cure as time was running out and the moral dilemma that would have posed when the crew's safety came second. There is a lot there a writer could work with to make some hard hitting episodes.

No doubt the cast enjoyed themselves though, so at least there's that!

AMKC

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119255527#Comment_119255527

Was hoping it would be a Babylon 5 Garibaldi/Alcoholism story arc where the doctor became more and more obsessed with the cure as time was running out and the moral dilemma that would have posed when the crew's safety came second. There is a lot there a writer could work with to make some hard hitting episodes.

You mean more like Babylon DR. Stephen Franklin story arc where he became obsessed with finding a cure that had never been found or even like Doctor Bashir trying to find a cure for the plague the Dominion had caused on a planet that disobeyed them or other ones where he could not find a cure.

DoctorEdgeWild

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119261174#Comment_119261174

Yes, all similar examples, the moral dilemma being putting his daughter's well-being ahead of his duty to the crew. The same way Garibaldi's problem with drinking put his own wants ahead of his crew. That's how I hoped the story was going when but instead they wrapped it up quickly.

TheIrishGrover

Holy cr*p. Yet ANOTHER fantastic episode. Each series has one of these mad God/mad world/Mas situation episode but they all seem to be very poor. (Usually they are very cheap "Bottle" episodes where they just re-dress the existing set). This was hilarious.

Especially Hemmer "Behold the power of me powerful magic's.... uh.... power!!!!" The enthusiasm of the cast in the episode.

The dialogue between Pike and Ortegas.

Pike/Mount in general (I hope nobody takes it as an old-fashioned gay portrayal. He was just a comedy coward).

Ortegas and Number One (Actually, Ortegas in general).

Noonian Singh and her song.

I liked how immediately M'Benga assumed he was hallucinating "Compared to Crusher's episode (If there is nothing wrong with me, then there must be something wrong with the universe"... Uh. OK).

True, the ending was a bit rushed. We should have seen more of the daughter before now to add a bit more weight to the scenes. But the girl was sweet and portrayed well.

As for the crew members being injured, well if "Deborah" can can warm reality that easily and cure the daughter while in the warped reality then I assume they could just say "What happens in this reality STAYS in this reality"

Just another stellar (No pun intended) episode of a stellar series. A hard two thumbs WAY up for me

CastorTroy

So with 2 episodes to go, will it be a 2 parter?

breezy1985

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119264055#Comment_119264055

They don't have an I & II name anyway but that's all I know.

corkie

Different directors and writers for last two episodes.

Last two parter ending would be discovery season 2 (but not an episodic show).

Prodigy had a 2 parter for it's mid season ending.

pixelburp

Oh my god that episode was so silly, so stupid - I loved it. And just when I thought it was totally frivolous, the story pulled the heartstrings and gave a pretty bittersweet finale. Bravo. Surprised the Docs daughter was wrapped up so soon as a plot, but then fair play; it can't be accused of being drawn out either. Just the right amount.

Thought Spock Amok would be the main comedy episode but this was a deeply humourous dip into that staple of Trek, The One Where We Raid the Costume Department. You could tell the cast were having a blast with their various roles and switch-ups too - Anson Mount in particular looked positively giddy playing the snivelling Chamberlain.

Could you imagine Discovery doing an episode like this? Haha, god it doesn't bare thinking of.