The stardate is 3165.2. Batel was given the post of JAG director by ADM Pasalk in SNW: “Four-and-a-Half Vulcans”.
Uhura pulls the same prank on Scotty as Ortegas did to her at her first Captain’s Table in SNW: “Children of the Comet”, telling him to dress formally. Scotty’s outfit is based on the one in TOS: “The Savage Curtain” as worn by James Doohan, and the tartan is indeed one of the ancient patterns representing the clan Scott.
Pelia says “time-tra…” and then corrects herself to “doctor”. Considering the appearance of the TARDIS in SNW: “The Sehlat Who Ate Its Tail”, it’s not a leap to consider this a reference to the time-travelling Doctor of Doctor Who.
This is the first mention of the Ba-Dates system and the planet Skygowan. The Vezda-possessed Gamble said “Cali-katchna! Mika-tah, vezda-pah,” to Batel, who was seemingly driven by Gorn instinct to attack Gamble (SNW: “Through the Lens of Time”).
Korby continues his obsession about species with immortality, which will lead him to his final fate in TOS: “What Are Little Girls Made Of?”
The Vezda in its containment orb was dematerialised and kept in the transporter buffer at the end of “Through the Lens of Time”, where it was seen to take over the sickbay computer.
The data screen for Skygowan reveals it is an M-class planet, with a rotational period of 25.1 hours, a year of 355 days, a mean surface temperature of 14.1° C and an atmosphere close to Earth-normal.
Skygowan is not warp-capable but is aware of interstellar life (as they do trade with the Orions), like the inhabitants of Capella V in TOS: “Friday’s Child” or the Organians in TOS: “Errand of Mercy”. Tyree of Neural (TOS: “A Private Little War”) was aware that Kirk was not native to the planet, but it did not seem this knowledge was imparted to his people as a whole. A data screen on Cali-katchna indicates they have access to Orion warp technology.
Vadia IX is the ancient homeworld of the Q (SNW: “Wedding Bell Blues”) and was where the Vezda possessed Gamble in “Through the Lens of Time”.
M’Benga references a previous adventure on Rigel. However, Rigel is not a planet but a star system, and considering that in Star Trek about 12 planets belonging to the system are mentioned, it’s not clear which one he’s talking about.
La’An demonstrates the Vulcan neck or nerve pinch. Non-Vulcans who have been able to perform it include Data (TNG: “Unification II”), Jean-Luc Picard (TNG: “Starship Mine”), Michael Burnham (DIS: “The Vulcan Hello”), Jonathan Archer (ENT: “Kir’Shara”), Odo (DS9: “Babel”) and Seven of Nine (VOY: “The Raven”).
Pelia calls Spock “Spock-O”. Years later, Kirk would also use the nickname when speaking in the gangster patois of Sigma Iotia in TOS: “A Piece of the Action”.
Ley lines are alleged lines of energy running through the Earth, with people claiming that sacred sites are built along them or in places where they intersect and attributing all kinds of paranormal phenomena to them, including postulating it as some kind of fast-travel network. This is the first time they’ve been mentioned in Star Trek and the first time it’s been suggested they exist in space. Using it to apply to space seems odd, since the word “ley” is derived from “lea”, as in a grassy area, and there’s no grass in space.
That being said, the existence of inter-dimensional express routes provides an explanation as to why travel times in Star Trek don’t usually match up with warp speeds given the immense distances traversed. Fans have long speculated about tachyon eddies (DS9: “Explorers”) and other quick routes through subspace for that purpose.
The star chart displayed is based, as always, on Geoffrey Mandel’s Star Trek: Star Charts and shows Enterprise in the vicinity of a wormhole (perhaps the base graphic was made for SNW: “Terrarium”?). It shows the locations of the Talarian Republic (TNG: “Suddenly Human”) and the Tholian Assembly (TOS: “The Tholian Web”). Also of note is the presence of Cardassian space just “north” of Talar, and oddly, the presence of a “demilitarized zone”.
The DMZ we best know between Cardassian and Federation space was established in 2370 by treaty (DS9: “Whispers”), although it was indicated on maps in *Section 31*, which is supposed to take place around 2324. This shows the presence of a DMZ 63 years before that, even, which is either that its presence in this map is in error, or conflicts between Cardassia and Federation have been going on for well over a century relative to DS9’s time.
Eyelessness seems to be a thing for Vezda, as we see several aliens sporting the same look as Gamble. Gamble chants, “demittis tenebris”, which means “bring down the darkness,” in Latin. He adds, “interitus vide clara,” meaning “see the destruction clearly.” Why the Vezda is using Latin, a distinctly Earth language, is not explained.
Enteprise saved Farragut and her Vulcan captain V’Rell, in “The Sehlat Who Ate Its Own Tail”.
Batel’s patient records detail her treatment for the Gorn infection, and concludes with her having a unique hybrid of Gorn, Illyrian and Human DNA. But her going on to say that she contains every race that has ever faced evil seems to be a bit of an exaggeration.
Pike paraphrase Clarke’s Third Law: “Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.”
This is the first time Spock has called Kirk “Jim.” I feel a disturbance in the Force, as if millions of Trekkies suddenly squeed. Even Ortegas is thinking, “Get a room.”
“Let’s light this candle,” was said twice by Ortegas in SNW: “Terrarium”, and as noted there was first said by astronaut Alan Shepard in 1961. And yes, chill, Pelia, you’re laying on the analogy of Kirk and Spock moving in synchronicity a bit thick.
The initial vision takes place on what appears to be Pike and Batel’s second wedding anniversary (cotton), in Pike’s cabin in Bear Creek, Montana, which we first saw in SNW: “Strange New Worlds”. This would then be around 2263.
The second part of the vision sees Pike in a Fleet Captain’s uniform and black FCPT backing on his delta (first seen in SNW: “Lost in Translation”). His mood is because he realises he’s about to meet his fate (as seen in TOS: “The Menagerie”), being exposed to delta rays due to ruptured baffle plates while saving cadets on a J-class training vessel (first named here as Lucas). This would be around 2266, five years in the future. Pike and Batel’s daughter is named in closed captioning as Juliet, although she seems older than 3 years old.
Pike is rightfully concerned about the consequences of avoiding the accident because of what he learned in SNW: “A Quality of Mercy”, namely that his survival will doom Spock, who is needed for his actions in the future.
In the third part of the vision, Elijah April is wearing a cadet’s badge with four lines indicating he’s in his senior year (making him at the minimum 20-21 years old). Juliet called Spock, “Uncle Sock”, so it appears in this vision Spock has avoided being doomed. Batel is now an admiral. This would place this segment around 2283, but Elijah’s uniform doesn’t match what we would expect from cadet uniforms of this era as seen in ST II which takes place in 2385.
The repeated knocking on the door in the segments is reminiscent of a motif used during the Tenth Doctor era of Doctor Who. There, a series of four knocks is connected to the Master, as well as a prophecy that the same ominous sound heralds the end of the Tenth Doctor’s life.
The trope of having an entire simulated life lived in a matter of moments is an old one, most obviously in TNG: “The Inner Light”. Other examples in film where the protagonist dreams a life before dying include An Occurance at Owl Creek Bridge and Jacob’s Ladder. In Neil Gaiman’s short story set in the Matrix universe, “Goliath”, a man is given skills in the Matrix by the Machines so he can pilot a ship to destroy aliens attacking the Earth in the real world. Once he has accomplished his mission, he is told there is no return, but the Machines reconnect him to the Matrix so that, in the hour before dying, he can live out 15 years of a happy life.
The song played over the montage is M83’s “Wait”, which has the lyrics, “Send your dreams where nobody hides / Give your tears to the tide / No time / There’s no end / There is no goodbye”, reinforcing Pike’s monologue.
La’An needn’t be too worried about Kirk’s insight into Spock’s mind. Despite the meld (the apparent contradiction with TOS: “Dagger of the Mind” where Spock claims he’s never probed a human before notwithstanding), Kirk evidently doesn’t pick up anything intimate like pon farr, Spock’s parentage or siblings since he remains ignorant of them in TOS: “Amok Time”, TOS: “Journey to Babel” and ST V.
