However as a result of the Tezaarans have extraordinarily superior scanning know-how, the Starfleet crew can’t simply disguise themselves as Vulcans. They should be Vulcans, which is the place Chapel’s newly modified model of the serum that saved the day again when Spock was turned human final season is available in. Pike, Uhura, La’an, Chapel, and Pelia all dose themselves with it, however the latter’s Lanthanite metabolism retains her from remodeling. (Which is truthfully a disgrace, as the thought of a Vulcan model of the loud, hedonistic Pelia is intriguing.)
Unusually, nevertheless, in spite of everything this build-up, we don’t truly see something of the rescue mission they’re ostensibly meant to be on, exterior of an admittedly badass slo-mo energy stroll down a ship’s hall. The specter of nuclear catastrophe is solved within the house of a few minutes, and the pace of its resolution is performed for laughs. The gang returns to the ship nearly instantly, the place (to the doubtless shock of nobody who’s ever seen this present earlier than) the antidote doesn’t work, they usually’re all caught as Vulcans for the foreseeable.
Initially, it feels as if “4-and-a-Half Vulcans” goes to be a Spock episode. There’s the title, for one factor, and the truth that the very first thing that the newly modified Enterprise crew members glom onto is how Spock is just half Vulcan. (The implication being, in fact, that he’s lesser than they’re due to it. They’re fairly impolite about it, truthfully.) However the difficulty doesn’t actually come up once more for no matter cause, and the majority of the hour focuses on the remainder of the gang attempting to navigate numerous points of their private lives from a extra logical, Vulcan perspective. That goes about in addition to anybody would possibly count on.
Pike’s hair has one way or the other grown a minimum of three sizes in the midst of his transformation, and, because of his newfound Vulcan obsessions with meals and tidiness, Anson Mount will get the uncommon likelihood to indicate off the truth that, beneath his normal golden retriever demeanor, he actually is a wonderful comedic actor. (Somebody forged this man in a rom-com, please!) It appears, nevertheless, that for the second (third?) week in a row, we simply gained’t be addressing the truth that his girlfriend appears to sometimes be partially possessed by a Gorn at any time when the storyline wants it. (She has….tremendous energy now? Perhaps? Typically?)
Batel’s not the one character whose trauma comes and goes when the story requires it. Ortegas, regardless of her early-season struggles with PTSD, now appears remarkably nice, although understandably upset when she realizes that Uhura’s basically used a Vulcan thoughts meld to brainwash Beto into being a extra palatable (and malleable) boyfriend. On condition that this episode leans into the concept that these persons are nonetheless people at their core regardless of being reworked into Vulcans, it says one thing….let’s simply name it uncomfortable that that is the very first thing Uhura decides to do along with her new, extra environment friendly consciousness. For her half, Chapel doubles down on turning into a workaholic, severing all the non-public relationships in her life, whereas La’an turns into more and more violent, obsessive about weapons and the prospect of warfare. Spock says this has one thing to do with the truth that she’s half human and half Increase, which is one other attention-grabbing concept that doesn’t get explored in any actual depth. (Right here’s hoping that bit the place Pike and La’an each seem to acknowledge they bear in mind their encounters with Romulans goes someplace earlier than the tip of the season.
The very best moments in “4-and-a-Half Vulcans” typically don’t have a lot to do with the entire Vulcan downside. Each time Pelia is onscreen is pleasant, and the seeds of what’s going to grow to be James Kirk and Montgomery Scott’s future friendship are planted throughout a facet quest wherein they’ve to stop La’an from beginning a warfare for enjoyable. It is likely to be higher if all of us simply neglect the terrible subplot that includes Patton Oswalt as Una’s ex ever existed. Really, we need to study extra about Quantity One’s life exterior of her position on the Enterprise, however this subplot about her being unable to recover from her intense sexual attraction to somebody as uninteresting as Doug feels nearly insulting, to not point out wildly out of character for the lady we’ve gotten to know up till this level. (Additionally, it’s simply awkward as hell. Regardless of how humorous Ethan Peck is whereas Spock’s pretending to be married to her.)
