WHY WE LIKE IT: That Jim Henson magic.
WHY WE DON'T: The necessary cop-out.
REVIEW: It will be my contention for the length of this review that, isolated from the rest of the season, this episode of Strange New Worlds is a winner, in the same way Subspace Rhapsody was. If it had been the only gonzo comedy episode of the season, it wouldn't face the backlash it is getting (and indeed, pre-got, because it was advertised more than a year before it aired). Because like Rhapsody, it goes for broke with its silly idea that shouldn't work - and in this case, for all its weird technobabble explanations, none of it needs to make sense because "it was all a dream" (put a pin in that for now) - AND uses the funky concept to help a character resolve personal conflict (although, again, this works better if The Griffin Incident hadn't ALSO done this only a few episodes ago). Spock needs to address his PTSD, which is likely overwhelming at Vulcan-strength levels. At least the end of his relationship with La'an is finally upon us and no cause for angst.
The idea (as it turns out) is that during Scotty's test of his long-rang transporter theories (shades of Kelvin timeline Scotty's experiments, neatly connected to a rivalry that leads Scotty to prank his Academy "chum" by beaming a terrifying muppet from his childhood into his quarters to beat his transport distance record), Spock is knocked out and has a vivid dream that combines everything in his life into an insane reality that cements his wish to get back to logic already. The ghastly puppet, obviously, but also Orion pirates, T'Pring being onboard, Pike's new touch-sensitive chair, and Scotty's feeling of inadequacy. So if there's anything you don't like about the episode after the accident, it didn't happen. Of course, it also means any character arcs other than Spock's don't count, and that's a shame. See, Spock is dreaming of other people because he's not in every scene, so Pelia riding Scotty hard, but eventually telling him his rival wasn't such hot stuff, would be valuable to his growth, but it never happened. It's silly for La'an to want to remain a puppet (it's a bit like Ro wanting to stay a child in Rascals), but it means she can't hurt anyone, which is germane to her arc right now. Except it didn't happen either. T'Pring once again is a strong partner for Spock, but most of their conversations are fictional, which takes away from the tragedy of where the relationship ends up. Pike giving Spock a speech about the needs of the many might have been where he got it in Star Trek II, but that's not really Pike. You see the problem. And yet, had this all really happened, the naysayers' outrage would be more valid than it ultimately is.
While we think it IS happening, there's certainly an overuse of the word "puppet" (the drinking game would kill you) and Puppet Pike's speeches about harnessing the powers of the puppet are very silly. At first, however, there is an attempt at verisimilitude. Having been turned into plush puppets - thanks to the Jim Henson Workshop (and doesn't the one flesh and blood person in a cast of puppets remind you of The Muppet Show?) - the cast can't really be killed, but also lose access to all biometric panels. I was wondering if this would lead to the big clicky buttons of the TOS era, a design that would fix this problem were it to occur again (Starfleet crews are always getting their DNA scrambled, even if not as puppets), but unless Spock brought this to Starfleet's attention... There's some exploration of this state of being, possibly as a way to talk about disabilities, and of course, it's not very useful in fighting Orions (their empathetic second-in-command is a hoot - hey, that's Boyle from Brooklyn 99!). By the end, puppet hijinks have been unlocked and the characters are also partly cartoons. Their punches and kicks suddenly have an impact and they can speak and hear each other in the vacuum of space. Puppet Pelia even acknowledges it doesn't make sense, but we're very close to the final reveal by then.
And again, had this been the only gonzo episode of the last two seasons, I think we could have enjoyed it more. We might even have condemned its Silver Age ending more strongly, instead of seeing it as a relief. After all, is it any sillier than Picard being turned into a kid, or indeed, Kayshon being turned into a hand puppet? (I suppose part of the problem IS that SNW writers really want to be writing Lower Decks.) But at this point, SNW is doing so many episodes like this (though none that go as far) that viewers are begging for a normal Star Trek episode, and Level-Five Transporter Accident is more likely to elicit sighs than smiles.
LESSON: Sometimes, you have to embrace the chaos.
REWATCHABILITY - Medium: In another universe, it might even be a Medium-High. In this one, I still think it's a fun, goofy episode.
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