Cloak of war

Just watched ‘Under the cloak of war’, and holy crap that was a dark episode! It felt like the siege of ar-558 from DS9. You get the feeling that the feds are on the verge of losing the planet against the advancing Klingons.


After seeing M’Benga go after the Klingons and kill several of them hand to hand, i was reminded of what Quark said to his nephew, about how humans were nice and friendly. But when push came to shove, they’d fight tooth and nail just like the Klingons.


And when M’Benga was talking to Pike at the end about their different perspectives, i was reminded of Sisko telling Kira that earth was the problem. How it’s easy to be a saint in paradise, but out on the frontiers of federation space, it’s quite a different story.


And another similarity came to mind, the TNG episode ‘the wounded’. When O’brien is also confronted with his wartime trauma via visiting with a Cardassian on the Enterprise, he tells the Cardassian that he hates what he’s become because of the Cardassian war.


Like O’brien, M’Benga also regrets being changed from the war, and tells the Klingon the war turned him into a monster. This show really fleshed out M’Benga, and shows a different side to him that he wants to forget.


Great episode all around. And that it reminded me of these other episodes speaks volume of its production value.


And this one episode is what Discovery season 1 should have been. How is it that this single episode did a better job of showing the brutality and trauma of the Klingon war, then Discovery couldn’t do in a whole season?


And one final thing. M’Benga is now the John Wick of star trek. I have a personal headcanon that after the war, he secretly stashed a whole bunch of weapons in the walls and floors of sickbay just in case the ship’s boarded.