6 Ups And 3 Downs From Star Trek: Strange New Worlds 3.6 — The Sehlat Who Ate Its Tail

10. UP — Kirk Is A Jerk

Many a true word is spoken in jest, as the proverb goes. Practical joke of the affected Enterprise computer of The Practical Joker, is there some semblance of sincerity in "KIRK IS A JERK"? The answer is never so simple as something you can also now slap on the back of a shirt. At the start of The Sehlat Who Ate Its Tail, Kirk certainly acts, or rather talks, like a jerk. That doesn't make him one in perpetuity.

The episode presents Kirk in all his brazenness, in all his hubris, only to have him learn a valuable lesson in humility (and humanity). If this is a backdoor pilot, it is also good character development. We can excuse Kirk a little posturing boredom and poor decision making, safe in the knowledge of what's to come.

There is equally something so shamelessly accurate in "I just think the book would be more interesting if I got to write it". The Sehlat Who Ate Its Tail almost wants us to shout at the television what we know to be true — that, yes, it would be, or rather, it will be. And that is exactly the right amount of jerk.