Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 2 Episode 4 Is About ... Sorry, What Was I Talking About?
Meticulous Trekkies interested in the taxonomy of "Star Trek" — and that's most of us — will likely have a list of the eight to ten types of "Star Trek" episodes.
To run down a few, episode types may include "character episodes," wherein a specific member of the crew will have a personal crisis or a love affair. There are "ethical dilemma" episodes, wherein a starship captain has to undo a moral snarl they've found themselves in. There are "bad guy" episodes, wherein Starfleet has to reluctantly rely on combat and tactics to escape a desperate scenario instigated by an attacker or antagonist species. There are "conspiracy" episodes, which usually involve a corrupt Starfleet admiral and their efforts to undermine the Federation.
And, as with "Among the Lotus Eaters," the latest episode of "Star Trek: Strange New Worlds," there are "shipwide crisis" or "disaster" episodes, wherein every crew member is afflicted by a widespread disease or ailment that they just barely escape. The crisis in question this time is a mysterious radiation that affects short-term memory, leading the Enterprise crew to forget their identities. It's only thanks to resourceful note-taking and the crew's deeply-embedded, virtuosic skills that they are able to escape. Most notably, the Enterprise's pilot, Lieutenant Ortegas (Melissa Navia) is given an opportunity to ply her starship-flying skills, even without the benefit of memory. Sometimes, your skills are just as important as who you are.
The memory loss is especially trying for Captain Pike (Anson Mount) who finds himself losing his memory while in the clutches of a bitter ex-crewmate he assumed was dead on a planet and had abandoned long ago. The theme here is, naturally, the act of being forgotten.
Sci-fi crisis, underpinned by a thematic parallel? That's classic Trek writing, baby.
Conundrum
Trekkies will also be able to tell you that "Among the Lotus Eaters" is not the first time "Star Trek" has done a "forgotten identity" episode. The "Star Trek: The Next Generation" episode "Conundrum" (February 10, 1992) featured a mysterious energy weapon penetrating the Enterprise-D's shields and wiping out the crew's memory. In that episode, the memory-less crew found they were on a mission of war to wipe out a space station full of thousands of victims. Thanks to the crew's deeply-seated sense of morality, the mission felt fishy.
"Lotus Eaters," named for a chapter in Homer's "The Odyssey," follows a lot of the same beats as "Conundrum." Crew members cannot remember their identities and are left adrift on the ship. As time passes, more and more of their memories are erased, and soon, everyone is terrified to be lost on a ship they no longer recognize among people they no longer know. When the ship is in danger, lost in an asteroid belt, Ortegas is the one with the wherewithal to ask the computer what she does. She's the pilot. She remembers that much. Her skills are honed to the point of perfect sense memory.
The memory loss story is more harrowing on a nearby planet, however. Pike revisits Rigel VII, the planet last seen in "The Cage," the original "Star Trek" pilot episode. In "The Cage," three Enterprise crewmates died. It seems also that the pre-warp Rigellians had adopted Starfleet indicia since Pike's departure. The Enterprise has to go back and undo the accidental violation of the Prime Directive. On Rigel VII, however, Pike finds that one of his old presumed-dead crewmates had survived ... and is quite miffed.
What we left behind
The crewmate, Zack (David Huynh), has appointed himself as a Lord of Rigel VII and is now motivated entirely by resentment. Zack has the perfect punishment for Pike, and the rest of the landing party [consisting of La'an (Christina Chong), and Dr. M'Benga (Babs Olusanmokun)]: force them to work in the local quarry and allow the memory-erasing radiation of the planet do its work. Pike and co. are assisted by a gentle older man named Luq (Reed Birney) who explains that they will retain their skills and language, but lose their sense of self. Luq advises that they resign themselves to a Camus/Sisyphus-like existence, living to work and not worrying about why they are there or who they are.
Pike, like Ortegas above, retains his sense of duty and his skills as a problem-solver to force himself — even while forgetting his motivations — to get to the bottom of things. An important facet of Pike's mind, we also find, is guilt. Pike recently tried to break up with Captain Batel (Melanie Scrofano) because their job didn't allow them to secure too much alone time. She was hurt by this, and Pike regretted his decision immediately. That regret turns out to be a driving force for Pike's actions. Even without our identities, we remember being in love, and we remember disappointing others.
The message, of course, is to remember the painful past and try to grow from it. Like in "Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan," if a forgotten crewmate appears from your past seeking revenge, fess up and make amends post haste. Try not to forget next time. "Lotus Eaters" cannily blends a clever plot and a fantastical sci-fi conceit with gentle themes related to the characters' personal lives. Everything interlocks.
Pike's romance
One might complain that "Lotus Eaters" is not entirely original, and one would be within their rights to do so. As mentioned above, "Star Trek" seems to operate from a template of limited story types, and after 57 years of TV and movies, the franchise is bound to repeat itself a few times. But, like slasher movies or superhero flicks, after a while, the predictability and banality might be considered a large part of their charm. "Lotus Eaters" might repeat a few Trek tropes, but handles them well enough, and makes them unique enough to the "Strange New Worlds" characters that it stands apart from something like "Conundrum." It's interesting to Trekkies to see how Pike and Ortegas escape from a memory loss scenario when compared to Captain Picard and company.
Notably, Pike's relationship was a unique factor. On the previous "Star Trek" shows, the captains often tended to eschew romance. Kirk (William Shatner) has romances, but they were fleeting. Picard (Patrick Stewart) had a long-term never-quite-a-romance with Dr. Crusher (Gates McFadden). Captain Janeway (Kate Mulgrew) almost had romances with Chakotay (Robert Beltran) and a holographic Irish dude. It was only Sisko (Avery Brooks) that developed a long-term relationship. Seeing Pike prepare a meal for Captain Batel and hearing them mutually complain about their lack of free time and overwhelming jobs is new for "Star Trek." What would it look like if two captains fell in love? It seems that it would be hard.
By the end of "Lotus Eaters," however, once the crisis has been averted and the status quo is restored, Pike and Batel try to give it another shot. Their relationship is shored up, Ortegas is edified by her overwhelmingly impressive starship piloting abilities, and the mission continues.