It can be said that whenever Star Trek has it's 'dark episodes' such as Yesterdays Enterprise, Best of Both Worlds or Balance of Terror, it brings out the best in Trek.
Under The Cloak of War explores M'benga's history with the Klingons and it proves to be a complicated one.
This episode goes heavy on the horrors of war and the PTSD effects that it has one those who suffer through it. It's a solid episode with some good writing and it can leave you conflicted.
We see a Klingon Ambassador arrive on Enterprise who speaks highly of the Federation and seeks to redeem himself from his reputation known as the 'Butcher' from a brutal colony conflict that M'benga and Nurse Chapel participated in.
Throughout the episode, it's easy to doubt the sincerity of the Klingon considering the crimes and butchery he's responsible for. This is compounded by M'benga's flashbacks to the conflict and the emergence of his PTSD, his struggles in dealing with the presence of the Klingon.
There's a message here, but it's a muddy one; the ending of the episode complicates things greatly. We see M'benga essentially murder the Klingon, albeit, after warning him to leave and wanting to be left alone. It's a tragic turn of events made even more complex by the fact that his crime is covered up with Nurse Chapel and M'benga stating that the Klingon started the fight, grabbing the knife.
This is a very bold ending because it puts these two characters in a very dark light and makes one an accomplice to murder and the other a murderer, both of whom are covering each other's tracks.
What's interesting is that we don't actually see how this fight plays out, which may suggest that more remains to be seen.
I do hope there will be consequences for M'benga and Nurse Chapel, because if not; then not only is this the wrong message to send out to trek fans, it's not very Trekky.
Under The Cloak of War explores M'benga's history with the Klingons and it proves to be a complicated one.
This episode goes heavy on the horrors of war and the PTSD effects that it has one those who suffer through it. It's a solid episode with some good writing and it can leave you conflicted.
We see a Klingon Ambassador arrive on Enterprise who speaks highly of the Federation and seeks to redeem himself from his reputation known as the 'Butcher' from a brutal colony conflict that M'benga and Nurse Chapel participated in.
Throughout the episode, it's easy to doubt the sincerity of the Klingon considering the crimes and butchery he's responsible for. This is compounded by M'benga's flashbacks to the conflict and the emergence of his PTSD, his struggles in dealing with the presence of the Klingon.
There's a message here, but it's a muddy one; the ending of the episode complicates things greatly. We see M'benga essentially murder the Klingon, albeit, after warning him to leave and wanting to be left alone. It's a tragic turn of events made even more complex by the fact that his crime is covered up with Nurse Chapel and M'benga stating that the Klingon started the fight, grabbing the knife.
This is a very bold ending because it puts these two characters in a very dark light and makes one an accomplice to murder and the other a murderer, both of whom are covering each other's tracks.
What's interesting is that we don't actually see how this fight plays out, which may suggest that more remains to be seen.
I do hope there will be consequences for M'benga and Nurse Chapel, because if not; then not only is this the wrong message to send out to trek fans, it's not very Trekky.