• The episode title, “Lost in Translation” is a reference to the end of the episode when Kirk whispers something in Uhura’s ear before leaving the USS Enterprise and we, the audience, aren’t privy to what he says.
• We start with Uhura’s communications officer’s log, in which we learn it is stardate 2394.8.
| Episode | Stardate |
|---|---|
| “The Broken Circle” | 2369.2 |
| “Ad Astra per Aspera” | 2393.8 |
| ”Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow” | 1581.2 |
| ”Among the Lotus Eaters” | 1630.1 |
| ”Among the Lotus Eaters” | 1630.3 |
| ”Among the Lotus Eaters” | 1632.2 |
| ”Charades | 1789.3 |
• Bannon’s nebula is named for Brian Bannon, Melissa Navia’s partner who passed away in 2021 a few days after being diagnosed with leukaemia.
• We’ve previously seen stellar nurseries in “Fight or Flight”, “Cold Front”, and “The Good Shepherd”.
• Pike’s wearing a new fleet captain’s badge, which is based on the flag officer’s badge of this era that we’ve previously seen in this show and DIS.
• Pike’s badge has only has one gold laurel on each side beneath the delta. We’ve previously seen admirals with four, five, and the full six laurels on each side.
• Spock sounds surprised to learn that Pike has been given the rank of fleet captain, despite the fact that he was wearing the badge on the bridge.
• ”Have chief Kyle stand by to initiate transport.” André Dae Kim has confirmed on social media that he will not be appearing in the role of chief Kyle in season two as he was filming “Vampire Academy” at the time of shooting, and was not available.
• In addition to the Enterprise, Pike has been given command of the USS Farragut, which was first mentioned in “Obsession”.
• To aid in her performing a diagnostic on the communications equipment, Uhura watches a video she made with deceased chief engineer Hemmer [Bruce Horak]. Hemmer choose to die rather than allow the parasitic Gorn infants gestating inside him loose to threaten his crewmates in “All Those Who Wander”.
• In “Who Mourns for Adonis” Spock praised Uhura, saying, “I can think of no one better equipped to handle it,” regarding repairs of the communications station, despite her claim that she hadn’t done anything like that in years.
• We learn that Hemmer studied under Pelia at Starfleet Academy, and was merely a ”just okay” student.
• Throughout the episode Uhura is plagued by horrific visions, which we will eventually learn are the result of alien beings living in the nebula attempting to communicate with her.
• In “Night Terrors”, telepathic communication from an alien species caused the crew of the USS Enterprise D to be unable to access REM sleep, resulting in their having waking hallucinations.
• In “The Fight”, beings that live in chaotic space are able to communicate with Chakotay by altering his senses, causing him to hallucinate.
• Uhura’s visions are:
• Hemmer as a zombie.
• Smoke rising above a treeline.
• A number of dead Enterprise crew people, and her doppelganger attacking her.
• Characters have had to fight their doppelgangers in: Kirk in “The Enemy Within”; Kirk in “What Are Little Girls Made Of?”; Kirk in “Whom Gods Destroy”; Kirk in “Star Trek: The Undiscovered Country”
• An enemy attack that triggers the bridge evacuation hatch, spilling the crew out into space.
• A corridor closing in on her.
• The same smoke as previous, but this time we see it is emanating from the shuttle crash that killed Uhura’s family.
• Hemmer, whole and healthy.
• Uhura has her own room. When she was a cadet, we saw that she bunked with at least two other crew people in “Ghosts of Illyria”.
• The Scotch Whisky label on the bottle is very similar, if not identical, to the one Scotty used to get an eldritch horror from another galaxy plastered in “By Any Other Name”.
• We learn that Jim Kirk is set to become the youngest first officer in Starfleet history in a few months. He should be 26 at this time. In the alternate reality of the Kelvin universe, Kirk becomes first officer of the Kelvinverse USS Enterprise at 25, and then captain a few days later.
• Apparently George Kirk Sr. held the record before Kirk.
• George Kirk Sr. is still alive. In 2009’s “Star Trek” he was killed by Nero and the Narada the day Jim Kirk was born.
• Three-dimensional chess was introduced in “Where No Man Has Gone Before” but would have been seen first in “Charlie X” which aired the week before despite the order in which the episodes were produced.
• The specific set that Spock and Chapel are playing appears to use the pieces and boards produced by The Noble Collection in 2021, but with a custom stand.
• Saurian brandy goes back to the very first aired episode of TOS, “The Man Trap”, and originated in the fourth episode produced, “The Enemy Within”.
• According to “Star Trek Beyond”, Saurian brandy is outlawed in the Federation of the Kelvin timeline.
• Just as in 2009’s “Star Trek” prime universe Uhura and Jim Kirk first meet in a bar.
• Just as in 2009’s “Star Trek”, shortly after their first meeting, prime universe Jim Kirk ends up with a broken nose.
• Jim Kirk and Pike meet for the first time. It was established in “The Menagerie, Part I” that Pike and Kirk met, ”When he was promoted to fleet captain.”
• Pike’s rank in “The Menagerie, Part I” is established as still being fleet captain, but in this episode we’re told it’s only a temporary promotion.
• La’an and Jim Kirk met briefly in “Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow” when she called him under false pretenses because she missed the alternate version of him that was killed by a Romulan agent in the early 21st century.
• ”You’re like…a space hippie.” Number One is being a Herbert.
• You’ve been in Starfleet since before I was born, but I outrank you.” Number One is a lieutenant commander, and Pelia has only ever been referred to as a commander. It is common for lieutenant commanders in Starfleet to have their rank shortened to just commander, but that would still put both officers at the same rank, though as first officer, Number One would still obviously be first in the chain of command.
• We learned that Uhura’s family died in a shuttle crash in “Children of the Comet”.
• ”There are similarities in the ways different species process thoughts, ideas. That’s how the universal translator works: by recognizing those similarities.” In “Metamorphosis” Kirk explained to Zefram Cochrane that ”There are certain universal ideas and concepts common to all intelligent life. This device instantaneously compares the frequency of brainwave patterns, selects those ideas and concepts it recognises, and then provides the necessary grammar.”
• Uhura and the Kirks reason out that the deuterium in the nebula is part of extra-dimensional beings who’ve integrated themselves into the atomic structure of the gases. I would list all the times a nebula turned out to be alive, but the Lemmy posts do have a character limit.
• During the evacuation procedure, we see there are number of ships with saucer sections and underslung nacelles docked at or orbiting the deuterium refinery station. It is difficult to be certain of their relative size, but the may be small tugs, and if so this might be the Ptolemy-class shown on bridge displays in “Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan” and “Star Trek: The Search for Spock”.
• There are also a number of shuttles with vertical wings which we have not seen before.
• We learn that Number One was also a student of Pelia’s at the Academy, and that she only rated a C in starship maintenance.
• I was informed by the admin that I need to include the fact that the cymbals the drummer is playing are ”translucent space cymbals” like the ones in *Star Trek Nemesis” at the Riker-Troi wedding. Of course, those ones were green and transparent, where as these are perforated, but I’ll allow it.
• Spock cleans up Sam Kirk’s discarded glass, just as we saw him picking up after Sam in the previous episode, “Charades”.
• It is the first meeting between Jim Kirk and Spock. Personally I was not expecting them to immediately start making out, but I suppose Spock is exploring his more emotional side. Just surprised the show runners actually went there, but good for them.
• For more sexual tension between Kirk and Spock, see all of TOS.
