A Tale of Two Topas

The acting talent of Ms Palicki was never more apparent. Her face is beautiful and virtually every muscle of her body, not to mention her voice, is used to express her emotion. As always, I enjoyed her, Ms. Jerald and Mr. Jackson. The Isaac character will eventually win over even Ensign Burke. As with his protection of Dr. Finn's sons before, his protection of Topa was inspirational to watch. His honesty is funny and instructional at the same time. In a way, the episode was, I thought, a push back against current trends. Perhaps Bill Maher and Seth MacFarlane are both old school liberals.

Wrapping up, an added delight was the archeological story and adding an extra dimension to Ensign Burke. Since the civilization and the people are gone, I don't think it was colonial tomb raiding. The planet looked uninhabited. I hope that story line is picked up again.

Wow, what an emotional rollercoaster of a story! I love how the writers were able to put a smile on a face and a tear in my eye. We get to follow a young child seeking answers, parents and a culture that may not agree with the child, and a topic that can be divisive yet told in a way that never felt on the nose and which matches with the sci-fi universe perfectly. It really got me thinking... and feeling. Anyways, great episode, probably the best of the season so far.

Social commentary these days often executed as propaganda and extremely cringe with minimal thoughts and effort that goes into actually telling a good story. Worst is the lack of empathy for the other side.

This episode is the opposite of that. It was a well thought out story, directed impeccably with above average performance by most of the actors. This is the star trek we need. Social commentary that's not cringe like in the actual star trek series they're making now.

Credit to where credit's due. I was never "pro" in the matter and don't think I will ever be because of how obnoxious the activists are in reality (yes, I'm against just because of the activism even though I have nothing against the actual thing). But I'm not so blind to not recognize art when I see it. In the end, it doesn't really matter if you're "for" or "against", this is a damn good episode.

It's a very emotional episode, It's very difficult to describe but one must watch it on their own to make judgment!

It's that Star Trek situation 'the needs of one out weigh the needs of many!'

...of one aspect of, my body my choice, was extremely well depicted in this episode. The fight for the right to self determination, and the crews' support & willingness to sacrifice for someone struggling, was incredibly moving.

If somebody had told me that a Sci-Fi action comedy TV show would produce one of the most moving TV episodes I've Ever seen, I would not have believed them.

------ You don't need religion to have morals. If you can't determine right from wrong then you lack empathy, not religion.