So this season has definitely had its downs and weird choices, but this was an excellent episode. I want to especially call out the music - it was stirring in a way that very little of other TV Trek’s ‘musical wallpaper’ is.

My only hiccup was a weird undercurrent I picked up on in the trial that is admittedly my own projection. With everything going on in the world I totally get Nus Braka’s anger and desire to just burn it all down, which probably says more about me than I’d care to admit lol. What I really don’t like is the ‘haves’ (the Federation; the billionaires; the wealthy countries) essentially lecturing the ‘have nots’ (the worlds failed by the Federation; us normal people; the struggling countries that have been abused by the wealthy countries) that they can’t be angry at them and the situation; they just don’t understand the burden they carry. Even with Nahle’s reframing of Braka’s situation, we know there are worlds that the Federation has failed badly, and they need to understand that for every Braka, there will be more angry people with legitimate grievances and you can’t just tell to ‘calm down’. I’m not talking about what Nahle said to Alisha, more about her lecture toward Braka at the end.

I know that wasn’t their intention but I can’t get it out of my head and it leaves a sour taste in my mouth.

Oh those end credits were awesome though!