Review: Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, "Lift Us Where Suffering Cannot Reach" | Season 1, Episode 6
Captain Pike encounters an old friend, with mixed results
I’m curious: how soon did you figure out the twist? And what gave it away? For me, it was when Kamal, biological father to the First Servant, used the word “sacrifice.” It’s a tell, that word. Somebody says “sacrifice,” especially if they say it in an otherwise innocuous situation? Well, bad shit is coming. I wasn’t positive about what would happen next, but I was mighty suspicious, and my suspicions turned out to be entirely correct. So, again, I’m curious: when did you start to guess? No shame if you never did; everyone has their own particular narrative blindspots. But I’d be willing to bet that more people figured out what was coming ahead of time than didn’t, which puts “Lift Us Where Suffering Cannot Reach” in a difficult spot, story-wise.
“Suffering” is, in essence, a riff on “The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas.” If you haven’t read “Omelas,” a piece by Ursula K. Le Guin, I highly recommend it, just as I highly recommend all of Le Guin’s work—you can find it at …