"A Quality of Mercy"

Running Time: 57 minutes 29 seconds
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Getting a visit from your future self is rarely a good thing, but if your future self is supposed to be dead, well, you might have hopes for positive news. That’s what Captain Pike thought when a silver fox in Monster Maroons strolled into his quarters. But soon he finds himself at the wedding of … well, he's not sure who they are … in an alternate timeline in which a famous confrontation with Romulans plays out differently, and very much the same.

In this episode of Saddle Up! hosts C Bryan Jones and Matthew Rushing discuss “A Quality of Mercy,” the final episode of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds’ inaugural season. We explore the retelling of the classic episode “Balance of Terror,” how this new story reinforces the importance of The Original Series as the foundation of Star Trek as we know it, and how it highlights the pivotal roles which Kirk, Spock, and Pike play in history. We also debate whether the series is leading us to a soft reboot of TOS. Oh, and don't miss our Monster Maroons sidebar.

Chapters

Intro (00:00:00)
Existential Bookends (00:04:38)
Retelling a Classic (00:07:39)
The Portrayal of Kirk (00:20:42)
The Title and Fate (00:28:56)
Homages to the Original (00:37:18)
Setting Up Season 2 (00:42:57)
Final Thoughts and Ratings (00:49:29)
Closing (00:52:51)