1x02 Command Performance

[7.3/10] Definitely an improvement on the first episode, if only because it relegates Mercer and his relationship drama with Grayson to the B-story and puts Kitan and the rest of the crew into the spotlight. That works, especially when Kitan’s story is more of a meat and potatoes Star Trek-esque tale than the high concept romantic comedy vibe that pervades Mercer’s part of the show.

I like Kitan’s journey here. She is young and inexperienced, reluctant to take command, and yet finds herself confronted with a crisis where the way forward isn’t clear, and she’s the one calling the shots. The show holds the audience’s hand through it a little too much for my tastes, but I like the idea that she has to balance competing interests: how much to project leadership and command to gain respect and how much to trust her team’s advice, plus how much to obey Union orders and how much to do what she feels is right. That’s classic Star Trek-stuff, and there’s a good progression in how Kitan faces those challenges.

This is also a classic Trek-style problem, with the captain and first officer mysteriously disappearing, leaving the rest of the crew to track them down. The show does a good job of dramatizing how overwhelmed Kitan feels with the impact of her decisions, and draws a nice bond between her and Dr. Finn with the more seasoned officer advising the acting captain on how to navigate the situation, without just giving her answers.

They also do a good job at showing how the crew resents Kitan for this even though she’s making what she thinks is the choice she has to, even though she doesn’t actually want to do it. Again, the episode signposts it a little too hard, but it’s a strong internal conflict with external consequences. I also like that in the end, Kitan goes with her gut and comes up with an outside-the-box solution to the problem to save the day and earn the respect of her crew. That’s pure Trek.

At the same time though, the actual business with Mercer and Grayson in the alien zoo is pure hackwork. I know we’re only two episodes in, but I’m just not invested in their relationship drama and the performers don’t have the chemistry together to make it compelling. The “alien zoo” concept is one that Star Trek’s done plenty, and this doesn't really add a new spin on it. Plus the, “You drink too early!” “You make too much noise while eating cereal” nonsense is “Take my wife, please!” style broad and trope-y shtick. It’s the biggest weak point in the episode.

Still, I like Kitan’s solution of using Isaac as her beard, since the zookeepers think humans are an inferior species. The other side of the coin is that using 21st century reality television as the punchline, with “Real Housewives of Whatever” as the truest “human zoo” is a really corny and again, hack-y way to end the episode.

Overall, if this was just the Lt. Kitan Adventures, this would be a good episode, but the business with Mercer and Grayson continues to hinder the show.