This episode was so much fun!

I’ll admit, reading the premise ahead of time (by accident because Liftoff app doesn’t do spoiler tags yet oops) had me worried as I find a lot of attempts at “humour” in modern Trek tend to try way too hard and are just uncomfortable to sit through. But this was genuinely funny! Turns out Ethan Peck has great comedic timing, and Pike’s background antics and reactions were fabulous. The dynamic between T’Pring’s parents was a bit stereotypical but also extremely relatable.

Also really liked what they did with Nurse Chapel in this episode. Her pain and desperation helped balance the episode and make it something more than just funny hijinks. The feelings of regret and survivor’s guilt, the desperate need to fix something that wasn’t even your fault, grief over losing (at least partially, in this case) someone you love. So many complex emotions shown on screen at once, all by one character, and entirely believably, was not something I expected from a “haha funny Spock” episode.