WHY WE LIKE IT: Peter David was right!
WHY WE DON'T: Wham! (I thought it was fun, but I know it's a sticking point for some fans.)
REVIEW: Let this be the last word on the Emotional Spock/Chapel relationship. He needs to start distancing himself from her and become the colder Spock of The Original Series soon. I was ready to move on last episode, frankly, but the show is kind of obsessed with this. At least it seems like the Spock at the end of this episode has undergone some kind of cathartic realization that it's just not meant to be, and though given the opportunity to turn the relationship around, it would be wrong to do so. Metaphorically, he's seeing his ex with another man, and he's having "what if" fantasies. But it's Star Trek so a god-like alien makes them come true. In other words, a typical Friday*.
So yes, the big thing about this episode is that Trelane shows up prior to his first appearance (see Secondary Watching for why this is fine). Rhys Darby is a great choice to play an impish godkind, and he steps into the William Campbell's ornate coat - the best clue we have that the "Wedding Planner" is indeed Trelane (give or take the ending copied from The Squire of Gothos). Not that anyone sees the coat, as he's always taking on other appearances, which are revealed to the audience Quantum Leap-style, through reflective surfaces. Thrown into the mix is Roger Korby (I do see physical similarities between Cillian O'Sullivan and Michael Strong), the man Christine now loves, and who Trelane must stymie with his tricks. It's an efficient way to learn about a relationship that grew off-screen (we are three months from the last episode), and they make an acceptable couple (more acceptable than on TOS, android shenanigans or not). Nice frocks, a bit of dancing, it's a wedding even if it isn't. The fun surprise is that, at the end, John de Lancie voices Trelane's parent, confirming the fan theory (given voice in Peter David's novel Q-Squared and referenced by Mariner in Those Old Scientists) that Trelane IS a Q. Takes the edge off the déjà vu.
But to me, this whole A-plot is a little tiresome, a distracting continuity plug-in on first watch, with silly comedy music and people acting out of character, far less interesting than the various subplots laid in to carry the season forward. It's an ending; I'm more interested in the beginnings. Ortegas being edgy after her near-death experience, in a way trading places with La'an, who has managed to exorcise her demons (the Gorn) and feels much more relaxed (having her dancing brings her closer and closer to Christina Chong). The introduction of Ortegas' brother Beto gives Uhura her first romance, especially if he's going to become a semi-regular, making a documentary about Starfleet. Looks fun. Chris Myers joins the cast as Nurse Gamble (why do they keep calling him Ensign, though? they don't do that with Chapel), an affable sort who stood in for Christine during her sabbatical and who scored a posting on the ship as a result. A bit weird, given that Chapel is back already, so I expect him to be central to an episode down the line where he's killed, transformed or revealed as something else entirely. Batel is on the mend (though perhaps not as much as we think) and the show is pushing the relationship towards a Big Decision. Just what, I don't know. It's also notable that the episode provides the second reference in a row to Pike having been raised Catholic, despite Trek Earth being largely secular. Will this pay off? Scotty's now a full cast member, and saying he doesn't normally touch alcohol - they're having fun with it. Oh, and our first live action Edosian is roped into becoming the Enterprise's resident three-armed bartender! Will she be a sight gag, or will Kelzing somehow prefigure Guinan, Quark and Neelix? (There's also a R'ongovian delegate (see Spock Amok) introduce himself to M'Benga at the party, and I don't know why they would pay someone to say a line here. Might be another story seed, or just to show how the Federation is growing even now).
SECONDARY WATCHING: The Roger Kirby stuff is fine, except that I don't know why you would cast the character as having a completely different accent as the one previously met in "What Are Little Girls Made Of?". As for the Trelane element, Spock didn't meet him in that episode, and regardless, Trelane always appears as other people (except to the television audience) anyway. If Trelane is more powerful here than he was in Squire (can create tastes in food, doesn't need a machine to bolster his creations), we have to remember that the Q aren't limited by linear time. This is clearly Trelane after the events of Squire, and might be why he's specifically targeting the Enterprise, even if he was hounding Korby at first. His father's voice even implies that he's misbehaved before, and since it's Q's voice, these events have to take place after Voyager's Q2 (whether he's the same Q Junior seen there, or a second Q child), so it's all timey-wimey anyway.
LESSON: Be careful what you wish for. This has been your second warning.
REWATCHABILITY - Medium(ish): I'm here for the character development, but the throwbacks to TOS and the arrested development in this Chapel-Spock relationship feel like the show is already running out of ideas. Fan service will be the death of us all.
*They've never actually given the date of Federation Day, so I'm going by October 11th, which was on a newspaper prop in Generations that just never made it on screen. Would have fallen on a Friday in 2261.
Comments
Spock: "I am Spock."
Trelane: "Oh surely not an officer. Not quite human, is he?"
Spock: "My father is from the planet Vulcan."
Trelane: "Are its natives predatory?"
Spock: "Not generally, but there have been exceptions."
Then Trelane transports all the bridge officers to Gothos, leaving the ship in the hands of the "little people," proof that even this far back starships do not need officers. This includes Spock, who is in Trelane's presence for the next 10 minutes of the episode.