Sybok is in the building!
Laurence Luckinbill first brought Sybok, Spock’s half-brother who became known as the “passionate Vulcan”, to life in the much-maligned Star Trek V: The Final Frontier, a movie and a character that many Star Trek fans have tried very hard to forget.
In an interesting episode that works hard to balance comedy (almost absurdity) with intense action, episode 7 of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds (SNW), “The Serene Squall”, gives fans a further exploration of Spock, his struggles to find his identity and his relationships with T’Pring, Chapel and, eventually, his half-brother.
I give credit to writers Beau DeMayo and Sarah Tarkoff as well as to director Sydney Freeland for achieving– at least for the most part – that difficult balance of comedy and tension throughout this action-packed episode. Star Trek is known for its witty one-liners, even in the most dramatic of episodes, but the parallel plot of Pike and crew sparking a mutiny onboard the pirate ship, the Serene Squall, borders on ludicrous. DeMayo, Tarkoff and Freeland seem to understand that because, except for showing us the beginning and the end of that story-line, they focus mostly on the intense plot taking place aboard Enterprise. The comedy and character development of the mutiny plot are important to the series overall but, if we got too much of it, the entire episode would have lost all effectiveness.
Instead, DeMayo, Tarkoff and Freeland focus on the intense Spock, Chapel, Angel and eventually T’Pring plot that is as effective as any story-line SNW has introduced to date.
Jesse James Keitel is a revelation as the nefarious Angel. First introduced as Dr. Aspen, space social worker, she later reveals her true colours as the leader of the legendary pirate ship, the Serene Squall. The role provides Keitel plenty of opportunity to show their range – from sweet, caring do-gooder to evil space queen and just about every stage in between – and Keitel proves themself up to the challenge. What impressed me most was how Keitel managed to capture that same balance I spoke of earlier – between farcical comedy and dramatic intensity – in their portrayal of Aspen/Angel. One moment, they are a soft, calming presence on screen, the next they are an evil, scenery-chewing force on par with our beloved Khan (as portrayed by Ricardo Montalban).
At the centre of the story, though, is the developing romantic triangle involving Spock, Chapel and T’Pring. Ethan Peck (Spock) shows good range as the half-Vulcan who is struggling to understand who he is. Jess Bush (Chapel) does a wonderful job of portraying a woman who is clearly (to everyone but a Vulcan) falling passionately in love, knows that there is no hope for that love, and is still willing to suffer the experience of it for the good of her ship and of the man with whom she is falling in love. Meanwhile, T’Pring (Gia Sandhu) continues to grow as an interesting equal in her relationship with Spock, proving willing to let Spock experience what he needs to experience to begin to know himself and to be able to love her truly.
And, of course, even as this “love triangle” grows in its complexity, we meet Stonn. For a brief moment. Knowing that, eventually, T’Pring will choose Stonn over Spock when their marriage ceremony takes place years in the future.
“The Serene Squall” had me worried early on when moments of comedy, bordering on absurdity, crept into a truly tense dramatic plot. Would it topple into farce? With excellent performances, a well-structured script and skillful direction and editing, it managed to avoid that trap and turned into an extremely effective episode.And, of course, brings Sybok back from obscurity. Who knows what part he will play in Spock's life on the Pike-led Enterprise?
