Hello all, Ric here with a quick video covering some interesting lore bits from Strange New
Worlds, season two, episode one, The Broken Circle.
This is a thing I thought I’d try, effectively talking relevant lore from the episode and
giving my thoughts, a different take on a review I guess.
The first lore thing to analyze is the creation of this new species , the Lanthanite.
Aside from sharing a name with a real life mineral, this species is a new one to the
Trek universe.
They seem to have been present on Earth for centuries, hiding among the populus until
they revealed themselves in the 22nd century, which I’m guessing took place after the
formation of Starfleet and First Contact with the Vulcans.
Earth had received extra terrestrial visits before in its history, mostly from the Vulcans
who abided by their own prime directive orders to avoid meeting humans.
However they still studied and observed Earth, with even away teams at times.
So to discover a species living among humans, making use of humanoid physiology to blend
in?
It’s not unbelievable, with even members of the El Aurien race such as Guinan doing
the same when she ran away from home.
The real mystery is why?
They may have been hiding out amid a species that could mask them, or perhaps it was their
own sense of adventure that drew them to explore other cultures.
The Lanthanites might even be related to the El Auriens with their exceptionally long lifespans.
This is one mystery that I think the show might answer, but considering the Vulcan’s
own habit of stowing away on pre-warp civilizations to observe, a trait inherited by the Federation
Starfleet, I can see why Spock might be fascinated by their ability to flawlessly observe for
generations.
The second thing I want to take a look it is basically the hodge podge vessel that the
Broken Circle was building under the mines of Cajitar 4.
The Crossfield class was created in 2255 and altered to include the “Displacement Activated
Spore Hub” drive experiments.
The vessel featured distinctive geometry and a design that was altered to house all the
necessary parts for that drive, from the internals to the spinning generator in the saucer section.
From what we know in canon, there were only two ships, the USS Glenn NCC-1030 and USS
Discovery 1031, possibly a USS Crossfield given the name of the class.
So when the cobbled-together vessel is identified as a Crossfield class, I was puzzled.
The saucer section looks like it was indeed from a crossfield class, or something similar,
however the rest of the configuration reminded me far more of the Original Series concept
for the Miranda class, from its shape to composition.
So my thinking is either one of two things.
One is that the ship we saw was misidentified because of the saucer section and the fact
that there were only ever two such ships in operation.
She could have seen the profile, not been able to place it and picked the first thing
she could actually identify, in this case the distinguishable saucer section.
The second option to my mind is that this is basically what a Crossfield class was supposed
to look like before the vessel was overhauled into a Spore Drive testbed.
The Crossfield might have undergone extensive retrofits and what we see here is the version
without any spore tech inside it.
Either created before the Discovery and Glenn or after, when Starfleet scrapped the project.
This is less likely in my opinion but still a tantalizing possibility.
In all likelihood however, it simply is a combined Crossfield and Miranda class bodged
together to make a Starfleet looking silhouette that the Klingons might easily mistake for
a UFP vessel.
It was also rather easily destroyed, which would only play to the strengths of the ploy
as they would have not wanted any prisoners to ruing the Broken Circle’s scheme.
The Klingon commander fortunately proved amiable to reason which brings me on to my third lore
bit.
At this time, tensions with the Klingon Empire remain high and will not really ease until
the Treaty of Organia in 2267.
Seven years from now.
Even this was a forced peace from a higher intervening power, the Organians.
The Klingon war was of course covered in Discovery, although they missed most of it, but it left
off in an effective cold war state.
At this time however, Chancellor L’Rell of the Empire has overseen the first unification
of the houses by taking their individual military fleets and combining them into a single unified
force, the Klingon Defense Force.
However she did this by leveraging their homeworld as hostage, but it worked.
Each house now works inside the KDF and this would create great change for the Klingons.
On one hand, they were less prone to individual raids, but on the other hand, if the Klingon
forces ever did go to war again, it would be with a more unified and dangerous navy.
The Klingon D7 was introduced to be the symbol of this united Klingon force, the first battleship
commissioned by the Empire and awarded to every house as part of the KDF.
In many ways, the D7 was a far more advanced and powerful vessel than anything the Federation
had, especially during the war and even the Constitution class would require a retrofit
to keep up to par with the battleship over Cajitar 4.
Speaking of that planet, this is the first time we see Spock effectively hijack the Enterprise
for what is technically a personal mission.
Although it does prove to be for the benefit of the Federation, thus the unexpected mission
is effectively forgiven by Admiral April.
However he does warn that if it happens again, not that it is likely, it will cost him his
commission.
Unbeknownst to April however, it will indeed happen again in 2267 when Sopck diverts the
Enterprise to Talos 4 in order to return Pike to the Talosians to repay the friendship and
debt he owes to his old commander.
That does not cost Spock his commission however, but it nearly does.
He is accused of mutiny which would indeed have him kicked from Starfleet and imprisoned
even.
Fortunately in this case, the charges are technically never really brought to bear because
half of it was all a fiction.
However it would be the second time Spock takes the Enterprise to a locale despite Starfleet
orders and without the captain’s authorization.
Later on in 2285, the Enterprise is taken to Earth Space Dock for repairs after the
incident with Khan in the second film.
Although Kirk requests a chance to travel to the Genesis planet to, well…
“Search for Spock” he is denied and resorts to stealing the Enterprise from ESD, while
Scotty Sabotages the Transwarp drive of the USS Excelsior.
So once more we have an incident of the Enterprise being stolen for a technically “personal”
reason although it later proves to be of importance to Starfleet overall.
Still, it's a funny parallel with events that will later come to pass, and all three “thefts”
involved Spock in some fashion.
So there we have it, four lore drops from Strange New Worlds.
I look forward to the next part and the episode was a strong start, with an interesting choice
to sideline Captain Pike for the opener.
Still it worked, thanks for watching and I’ll see you next week!
Goodbye!