117. Sex and the Starship (SNW 1.04 and 1.05)

Anika and Liz have put on our memorial pins and fishing hats (and briefly considered, then rejected, a body swap) to discuss Star Trek: Strange New Worlds episodes Memento Mori and Spock Amok... Everyone says SNW is a good show and we're starting to feel a bit gaslit… "Memento Mori" and SNW's whole depiction of the Gorn becomes uncomfortable when you look at "Arena" and realise they were conceived as an allegory for Native Americans Liz cites Finding Eliza by Larissa Behrendt as, among other things, an examination of the European preoccupation with cannibalism It's weird how Worf, Michael and La'an all have exactly the same backstory Anika is explicitly opposed to eating children We were promised that SNW would have serialised emotional arcs, so … why is La'an fine now? Ortegas will be getting a second dimension to her character any day, right…?  It's troubling how sidelined MBenga has been through this season, especially when you consider the racial dynamics and how Uhura gets one whole line in "Spock Amok" Clearly Spock/T'Pring is doomed BUT CONSIDER: movie-era Spock/T'Pring! Picard attended the wedding of Sarek's son in the early 2300s! THINK ABOUT IT!