Yeah, that's understandable because I have to explain it every single time (already explained it to my mother about 4 times now). Whereas believing in aliens is actually quite reasonable (just not that they are here and spend their time making crop circles and probing trailer trash).

Yes, Rutherford's old implant that was scavenged at the end of the last season, which explains why Badgy is with them because he was in the implant. No Borg I'm afraid and I think they're meant to be keeping Borg to a minimum or specific circumstances as they're decimated and in hibernation between Endgame and Picard.

Assimilated Klingons? You mean the Drookmani where one of them has Rutherford's old salvaged implant (from the tease at the end of last season)? I'm assuming after finding and using the implant, Badgey convinces them to jailbreak other AI from daystrom.

I agree. They should have led with this. Or maybe only did this.

Though I do feel like this and last week's were missing a punchline at the end.

This one wasn't a dumpster fire like the last few, but I still feel it was a set up without a punchline. Something felt missing at the end for the payoff.

Not retconed per se, they just can't make their mind up on what the series is and keep radically changing direction and dumping prior development and characters. Changes are often for the better and don't directly contradict but there's certainly a lack of any common thought in the story they're trying to tell.

It very much feels like someone on the outside looking in and making jokes with their passing knowledge. In contrast to Lower Decks very much being injokes from people who love the series, it's philosophy and all its tiny details. They should have just given it to writers on Lower Decks. This makes me cringe so much.

Not sure I'd put Masks alongside Measure of Man or Duet. Or indeed have it as an argument for filler episodes.

Given TNG never had much character serialisation, I'd say filler is more like those DS9 and ENT episodes late on that never fit I to anybody's arc. Like the holosuite ones. Some amazing ones from DS9. Some less so from Enterprise.

But SNW has a good balance between episodic and serialisation. All this comes down to can they keep up the quality on greater volume. That needs more investment at a time when Paramount is cutting back...

Well at that point it's meant to be they can't be reasoned with, war / fight to the death inevitable. Then at the end it's revealed they were just defending their territory.

If we have a situation where understanding is reached, communication and mutual empathy then exactly what is Kirk fighting about and learning in Arena?

It already doesn't totally work now the Gorn and their space are personally known about by most of the crew present in Arena, by Starfleet etc. but I can wave that off as being worth it for the story. But this would mean that the message of Arena is also damaged, not just continuity. Not sure how I feel about that but I'll see how they handle it first.

I was concerned that any Trek-like resolution that the series's tone demands would utterly undermine Arena. But I think we're past that already so I'll just accept it out the window and enjoy the ride. But I do wish they'd done this as a new species instead.

From that still above I can only assume they're going in search of Ki-ti-ha.