::: spoiler Logline Commander Una Chin-Riley faces court-martial along with possible imprisonment and dishonorable dismissal from Starfleet, and her defense is in the hands of a lawyer who’s also a childhood friend with whom she had a terrible falling out. ::: --- Written by Dana Horgan Directed by Valerie Weiss

 In the scene between Q and Jean-Luc Picard, Q delivers an amazingly stirring monologue about the importance of one person, saying "Must it always have galactic import? Universal stakes? Celestial upheaval? Isn't one life enough?" This line is an impressive reminder that sometimes, saving a single individual can be just as important as saving a galaxy. In this moment, we see a different side of Q - one that is vulnerable and sincere. Or was that his true side all along? The scene impresses the deep friendship between Q and Jean-Luc, as Q reveals his true motivation - to heal Jean-Luc's heart. Overall, this scene is such a beautiful and touching moment that adds even more depth to these two already well-developed characters. It reminds me of the power of friendship and the importance of valuing individual lives. "Humans. Your griefs, your pains, fix you to moments in the past long gone. You’re like butterflies with your wings pinned”. There is so much food for thought in this piece of wisdom alone. Every sentence in this scene has its place, has meaning beyond the words expressing it. Note also the stunning, subtle yet powerful soundtrack. This scene and the one to follow is so well paced and delivered by John de Lancie and Patrick Stewart, it will stick with me for many years to come. I have rewatched it over and over. It alone makes the entire 3rd season worthwhile. May we all remember to say this to someome from our heart. Almost nothing means more than that: "You matter to me."

As a noob this is likely me, but I tried to start a community on another server and I can't see the post (my other account used to make said community) made and set as english. Unless it's just me being a noob, that can't be good. A cursory look seems to confirm that I can't see anything aside from "Undetermined".

Spoilers for both episodes: In the alternate future depicted in "A Quality of Mercy", Una has been in prison for the past seven years. In the main timeline, we now know that Una wins her trial and doesn't serve any prison time. How do we account for the fact that the same events led to two different outcomes? This bugged me for hours yesterday. But after some thought and time, I think a solution exists! We know, in the Prime timeline, that Pike literally risked his life to visit Neera (the Illyrian attorney). Her skills, and devotion to Illyrian rights, ultimately win the case. Therefore, in the alternate future, we must conclude that *Pike did not take this same action*. The only difference between the two version of Pike, with regard to Una's trial anyway, is that the prime Pike had already seen the alternate future. He *knew* that if something drastic didn't happen, Una would lose and be imprisoned. This is why he sought an outspoken attorney from outside Starfleet. It's interesting, then, to consider the fact that Una's victory was indirectly caused by Pike seeing the future - which was in turn caused by his first glimpse of the canon future back in Discovery. And if Una was fated to lose the trial without the interference of future knowledge, will this change have ramifications too? Is SNW now branched off of the original canon into its own timeline? (Personally, I hope so! My wish is that SNW diverges from the Prime timeline, and finds a way for Pike to escape his fate without causing disaster. And that Spock & Chapel end up together.)

So that is a vague title, but this is obviously spoiler related but it also felt fitting with what this post is about. I am going to be a corny emotional potato right now and I really needed this off my chest. Also before you go reading my post and complain that is now what you want, it is mainly a self reflection post relating to being trans, transphobia, modern society etc. So if its not your cup o tea, gotcha but yeah. Also unsurprisingly in relation to that, yes I am trans. And I guess I should warn this post will deal with some societal issues, self loathing, emotions yada yada. So even last season I felt that I could relate to Una's story, having to hide her identity as Illyrian because society deemed it illegal. We saw the anger and fear from La'an when she felt deceived alongside her own identity issues with being related to Noonien Singh. Now of course augments aren't a direct 1 - 1 the same as trans people and I am not trying to make that claim either. But I did read parts of it as allegorical for trans experiences, and I think its also partially intentional. I remember being a bit teary seeing La'an and Una's fight and everything else. Then we got this absolutely amazing episode dealing with the aftermath. Of course we knew she would be safe but the journey there was what is interesting and this episode blew it out of it all. Already seeing the way her identity was used and presented as some form of deception, as if she had lied to others and that it was harmful rings a very clear bell with both past histories of laws with lgbtq people but still do today. While I do not live in the US, seeing the laws presented these days, the moral panic and continuous attack made on trans people I see a clear connection. And even if I am not suffering under them, I still fear both for friends who do and the worry that those same laws might come to my country. We can't choose to be born like this, we never had that choice and yet it's argued that it should be used to exclude trans people. It leads to a lot of pain. Knowing how laws where discussed, might even have passed of trans children being taken from their parents if doctors reported them under arguments of child abuse if they went in to health care providers made me think of the way Una could not get health care for the fear of being arrested with her family. This is of course most likely relatable aswell to a lot of other minorities. The whole passing argument how people where divided in two cities, and those that passed could live in society as everyone else, if they kept their identity hidden and if you didn't passed you would face persecution, hatred etc. Not to mention when they mentioned all the slurs used, I found so many points where I could change the word augment for trans related things and it painfully made sense. There was so much here but in the end that is not why I made this post, what actually made me just break down crying and hit so hard in feeling that I was told my own life was okay was this discussion between Neera and La'an. >Counselor: There is nothing wrong with you Lieutenant, no hidden monster inside. But I do know how they make us feel. They look down at us for so long that we begin to look down at ourselves. Genetics is not our destiny despite what you may have been taught. The fear of yourself it’s not your own. It was drilled into you. You’re not born a monster. You were just born with a capacity for actions, good or ill. Just like the rest of us… While we talk about augments here again, there is a clear correlation with the notion of that self loathing that comes with being part of something you have no control over. That fear of being discriminated against but also the way people talk about you.. I have felt like a monster before for being trans. Same with freak, and a lot of other words. Both being told by strangers but also familiar people's reactions. Feeling like I was damaging their lives, feeling like I robbed my parents of the child they thought I had. The deceiver, liar. I still feel like that a lot of the time. And then just hearing those words, despite the varying context it helped. I felt a bit more at peace, or relieved to see that sort of affirmation on screen. I don't know how many times I have feared my own existence, or worried what others will think or react. To feel lesser, faker but also potentially dangerous. I don't even know how to explain what it made me feel but I felt seen. I felt seen for the first time in forever on screen and it makes me feel less wrong. Despite everything bad in the world there still exists some good, some people that still see how wrong things can be, and I am happy Star Trek remains there, always optimistic about it despite the hardships. This turned into a weird rambling post, I am not sure it made a lot of sense but I needed to share/vent somewhere. ::: spoiler spoiler ___ :::

That article speculates that elements of Paramount (including CBS Studios, which produces Trek these days) could be sold off to other companies, perhaps even Netflix. This, however, doesn't get into the hairy discussion surrounding rights to the franchise.

From Wikipedia, "A practical effect is a special effect produced physically, without computer-generated imagery or other post-production techniques." Some of my favorite practical effect species are from TOS. There's the Horta from TOS "The Devil in the Dark" s1e25. I was about 9 years old when I first saw the Horta episode. Old enough to know it wasn't real, but young enough to be utterly fascinated by something that looked like an angry chunk of hot lava making its way around on the ground. TOS's the Salt Vampire's look scared little kid me. Truth be told, the way it looks still gives me the creeps. The Gorn (TOS "Arena" s1e18) didn't scare me, but I thought it was intimidating. Sure, it looks like somebody in a lizard man suit. But, that Gorn had a knife! And, was trying to kill Kirk! Bonus points for the Gorn's sparkly, stylish armor. I think tribbles are just adorable.

*Reposting this from the SNW S2E2 thread as it was removed by a mod for being “off topic”.* ::: spoiler SNW S2E2 spoilers and a Discovery critical perspective So I’m not the biggest fan of Discovery. I would say I’ve found it a disappointment and I’m sure I’m not alone in this. I don’t want to convince anyone here of this or even get into the arguments, in part because there’s still a lot I’ve liked about the show and what they tried and the fact that it ushered in more trek! What I did want to talk about, just in case anyone finds it interesting or agrees … is that this last episode of SNW (S2 ep 2, *ad astra per aspera*) feels like a perfect demonstration of what Discovery was missing. Sure, using a court trial as a vehicle is a bit tropy, but for a reason, it works. The story and premise of the trial, while not particularly deep or even well rooted in character, worked. It made sense, had human and political plot elements to it and was delivered well most importantly … all of which is what, IMO, Discovery often lacked and instead would often just cross the line into being on the nose. I don’t want to be negative against Discovery here. It is what it is and has its fans. I just want to express as someone who didn’t vibe with Discovery that this is what was missing for me, and I’m very pleased to have SNW! *Added to original post after removed* Watching the episode it felt like writers etc had reflected on Discovery and wanted to do the progressive, ethical stuff differently, and maybe they were trying to do it better too. IMO, what the writers managed to pull off was successfully weaving personal stories and inter personal dynamics with the ethical issue, which, in combination with the court room drama structure, allowed the issue to be explored and unravelled organically. From what I’ve gathered from my own reflections and speaking to others about Discovery, part of the difficulties some of us have had with it is its tendency to resort to speeches/monologues to digest dilemmas. For someone like me, it was tonally off putting, because it took away my ability to feel like I was exploring the issue myself either sympathetically with individual characters or logically/philosophically. With this episode, part of the reason it works, IMO is that Una’s trial takes us through the issue, not any one perspective, character or speech, demonstrating each character’s personal connections and biases while also allowing the issues to stay in focus. Plus, it was cool to see Neera being a badass lawyer! Maybe I just like legal dramas too much!! Thoughts? Am I being too harsh on Discovery? :::

I've been watching through ds9 for the first time and the show has always been good, even the first season I thought started fairly strong. And season 6 (as I've said in another post) has started really strong, with an actual deviation from the show's status quo that lasts longer than one episode. But holy shit, this might be one of my favorite episodes. Not just of ds9, or star trek in general, but maybe of any show I've seen. And as far as I'm aware people barely talk about it. The whole episode is essentially Dukat's facade of composure slowly breaking down. He's always been an interesting villain, and at times his insistence that he's doing his best can almost convince you that he might not entirely be the bad guy; that maybe he is, in some way, trying to do good. And a lesser show might try to redeem him. But not ds9. Millions died under his command, people were sent to the deaths, and as long as he tries defend his actions in any way there's no room for redemption. This episode finally breaks down all of his fake pretenses of helping Bajor, or trying his best to "rule with a softer hand." Finally his deception is broken down and reveals what he has always been. And it's done in the best way possible. The scene where he finally breaks down is fantastic. No music, just Marc Alaimo acting his ass off. The panning back and forth between him talking to sisko and talking to the various voices in his head... "And that is why you're not an evil man?"

Punch it!

Spoiler Warning (of course)

Narrated by the plain and simple tailor himself.

Just in case you didn't know ... she's on mastodon, has probably been here longer than you, and is active (she once actually replied to me!!!!!). https://mastodon.world/@JeriLRyan

For those not already familiar, Simon & Schuster offers a monthly ebook promotion with an array of Treklit across shows and eras. It’s a great way to dip your toe into the Litverse at modest cost. Recommended price is $ 0.99 in the USA through the major ebook sellers, with similar pricing offers in Canada and some other countries. This month’s selection includes the Destiny trilogy from the Relaunch novelverse. It’s David Mack’s excellent alpha to omega story of The Borg, featuring the Enterprise under Picard, the Titan under Riker, and the Aventine under newly promoted Captain Ezri Dax, with a Voyager cameo as well. There’s also the Worlds of DS9 series, some favourites from the TOS and TNG eras from Greg Cox, Christopher L Bennett and Michael Jan Friedman as well as tie-in books to the new series. This month’s offer is available until July 3rd

I'm making my way through DS9 for the first time (almost finished with season two). For reference, I've seen TOG, TNG, all the new movies, Discovery, Lower Decks, and SNW. DS9 season one was a little slow to pick up, but my husband and I are loving season two. As always, Star Trek addresses a lot of hard hitting issues in very nuanced ways. It's also great continuously seeing fantastic representation in even older episodes (mainly women and people of colour in prominent and varied positions). But when we get to more women specific issues, things are seriously lacking. Basically, almost any scene with the Ferengis interacting with women are problematic. I understand that they are a highly misogynistic race, but my discomfort and annoyance is with how others react to them. The Grand Nagus sexually assaulting women, especially Kira, is never actually fully addressed. It's just seen as an annoyance to be put up with. Quark is often seen as aggressively pursuing women, often with unwanted touches and other advances. Even if it's at first the women in question is disinterested, they relent in some way, either completely or they tell him something flattering/of chances in the future. Thankfully, so far, none of the main women characters have given into his advances, but it's common for one off and guest characters to somehow be "charmed" by him, even those from more egalitarian civilizations (eg: Vulcan). I know DS9 was made prior to #MeToo, but it's still worth pointing out where Star Trek can and have improved (thankfully newer Trek has less of these issues), and when some of the portrayals in the past are rather inconsistent with the philosophies of the Federation. Of course, the Federation operates with a level of cultural relativism, but it still doesn't make sense to me how the Grand Nagus (and Ferengis in general) were allowed to assault and harass those outside of their culture/species on an interstellar, multi-cutural, Federation run space station. Star Trek in the 90s was trying to a lot of good, but watching it now, there's definitely quite a few aspects that are unsatisfying.

Is the new episode of [@startrek](https://startrek.website/c/startrek) [#StrangeNewWorlds](https://mastodon.cloud/tags/StrangeNewWorlds) already streaming in México? Or should I go to the 🏴‍☠️🌊🏖️???

So, lemmy seems to be flooded with spam bot accounts at the moment. Look through the table of servers on fedidb (https://fedidb.org/software/lemmy) and notice how there are these huge instances without any active users (MAU). Also notice how `startrek.website` has 9000 users for 276 active users this month. From memory, when I signed up, there was no email requirement or captcha or anything. Admins ... maybe you want to tighten things up?

**SPOILER WARNING.** Unless I missed some details from the episode 1 of SNW season 2, Kane reveals some details of her character that are not in episode 1 yet. You have been warned. Edit: missed a word

What's the opinion on his character these days? I know he has a reputation of being very disliked.

I know it's been done to death all over the internet but not here yet! If you could choose any actor or actress to be in Star Trek who would you choose? I recently saw that Nic Cage said he was a Trekkie and I'd absolutely love it if he played an insane alien villain of some sort for an episode or two. Get him in star trek legacy as a crazy ferenghi or something.

We are aware images aren’t loading and new images can't be uploaded. It appears to be a bug with the latest Lemmy update as we’re not the only instance with this problem. We have filed a bug report and are looking into possible solutions and hopefully it will get fixed soon. We are also looking into better ways to communicate server issues like this. Thank you for your understanding! We are learning this alongside all of you. EDIT: If anyone out there has an idea to the cause please feel free to shoot me a DM! EDIT 2: We're back in action folks! Thanks for your patience, you may feel free to set avatars now.