Stardate: 1875.4
Original Air Date: July 27, 2023
Writer: Davy Perez
Director: Jeff W. Byrd
“War doesn’t leave you… it can bury itself, but it’s always there.”
The Enterprise has arrived at the Prospero System for a rendezvous with the Kelcie Mae in order to pick up a “special visitor.” The Prospero System has been under Starfleet jurisdiction since the end of the Klingon War, and after years of infighting, all three planets in the system have finally reached a ceasefire agreement negotiated by a “unique” Federation ambassador –a Klingon general who has defected to the Federation, Ambassador Dak’Rah or just simply “Rah” (Robert Wisdom).
Most of the Enterprise did not fight in the Klingon War, but some did (especially Ortegas, Dr. M’Benga, and Nurse Chapel). Thus, the presence of Rah may be controversial aboard the Enterprise. Is he a friend or foe? Rah claims that the Klingons are a “warmongering race limited by ideology” –but do we trust him? Upon arrival, he curiously requests a tour of the ship. Along the way, Ortegas makes unflattering remarks and Spock attempts to make a Klingon beverage known as “raktajino” but it is not fully finished and it burns Rah’s hand which sends him to sickbay. However, Dr. M’Benga, a veteran of the Klingon War, has trouble stomaching the presence of Rah (we are treated to flashbacks of Dr. M’Benga and Nurse Chapel during the Klingon War when they were stationed on J’Gal, where Rah earned his notorious reputation as the “Butcher of J’Gal” for his own men).
“We have to fight so the people we love can have a chance to live in peace…
That’s Starfleet.”
Pike hosts a dinner for Ambassador Rah (a meal of jambalaya with Deltan parsley) which grows tense as memories of J’Gal are unearthed –Ortegas, Nurse Chapel, and Dr. M’Benga all leave the dinner early. Pike asks: how can we claim to be a Federation of peace if we cannot allow some people to let go of their past? Regardless the crew’s morale remains low so Una suggests taking a shortcut through the Chantico Nebula to arrive at Starbase 12 sooner.
Meanwhile, Rah confronts Dr. M’Benga who surprisingly reveals a dark truth. In truth, Rah was a coward on J’Gal. He fled the battle while ordering his soldiers to murder everyone who was not a Klingon warrior –men, women, and children. But as Rah fled, the real “Butcher of J’Gal” was none other than Dr. M’Benga. It was he who slayed the remaining Klingon soldiers –“there are some things that don’t deserve forgiveness.” Ever since, Rah has been trading on his false reputation to garner praise as a peacemaker. A somewhat ambiguous conflict ensues, and M’Benga stabs Rah in the heart, killing him.
“All of us have to remember what we love most about back home. We fight hoping it doesn’t change us, hoping we don’t come home different. But if we don’t fight, we don’t win, the disease takes over and none of us have a home to go back to.”
My Thoughts on “Under the Cloak of War”
A dark grim episode if there ever was one, “Under the Cloak of War” shows us the lasting horrors and trauma from the Klingon War. PTSD is featured prominently in this episode as characters like Dr. M’Benga experience sudden flashbacks and panic attacks. Ortegas, M’Benga, and Chapel are all war veterans and they simply cannot accept Rah as a Klingon peacemaker, he will always remain a vicious coward in their eyes. Can the Federation possibly forgive former mass murderers like Rah? According to M’Benga the answer is definitively no –some things are simply unforgivable.
While the tonal shift from the previous episode is as stark as it gets, the ambiguous, morally grey nature of “Under the Cloak of War” grants the opportunity for Star Trek to explore an immensely complex, difficult bit of subject matter.
Admittedly, the twist-ending in this episode was a shock to me. I kept wondering if somehow M’Benga might have saved Rah’s pattern inside the transporter buffer, per already established lore in SNW, but M’Benga later makes a good point to Pike, that he (M’Benga) does not have the privilege of assuming the best in people. Pike, being the “boy scout” of the show, represents the highest aspirations of the Federation, but sometimes those ideals come into conflict with the harsh realities of life. For all his successes as a leader, Pike remains somewhat oblivious to Rah’s low effect on crew morale –I’m not crazy about this passive portrayal of Pike in Season 2 (he seems to be mostly focused on cooking and hosting fancy dinners instead of other important things). At any rate, thankfully Una makes Pike aware of the unfolding situation with Rah. Amazingly, by the end of the episode it seems as if M’Benga will avoid any punitive measures from Starfleet.
Star Trek Trivia:
- The Prospero System is a reference to Shakespeare’s The Tempest.
- The boatswain’s whistle is acknowledged in this episode! It is referred to as “an old earth custom” dating back to the days of seafaring.
- Rah’s accomplishments include the summit of Scorpi X, the Klingon Free-Trade Agreement, the Perez Accords. However, Ortegas also notes some of his other less reputable affiliations: the slaughter at Lembatta V, the Siege at Starbase Zetta, the massacre at Colony Athos –and that he killed his own men to cover his retreat on J’Gal, and that other Klingons call him the “Butcher of J’Gal.”
- Spock has been attempting to produce a popular caffeinated beverage from Kronos. On a recent mission, Spock was able to parley with a Klingon captain and procure a recipe for “raktajino” –a nod to DS9.
- Clint Howard appears again in this episode. He previously played Balok as a child in the TOS episode “The Corbomite Maneuver” and later appeared in DS9, Enterprise, and Discovery episodes.
- Dr. M’Benga is fixing a biobed (#2) which has been faulty ever since the Gorn attack at Finnibus III (from the Season 1 episode “Memento Mori“).
- Capt. Pike borrows “Deltan Parsely” from Dr. M’Benga’s apothecary. It is deadly in excessive amounts, but delicious in small amounts.
- Bloodwine appears in this episode.
- Rah says convincing Prospero Alpha to peace was like getting a “Tellarite to give a compliment.”
- Spock compares Sun Tzu’s The Art of War to the Klingon masterpiece “mL’parmaq Qoj,” a text which all Klingon children learn practically from birth.
- “We are Klingon, we remain Klingon” was the Klingon battle-cry during the Klingon War.
- Rah’s perspective is compared to Aenar existentialism.
- Full impact Mok’bara or “Klingon Judo” appears in this episode as M’Benga and Rah face-off.
- The “Chantico Nebula” is mentioned in this episode.
- Pain and energy enhancement drugs are mentioned during the flashbacks in this episode.
- There is a unique scene of a sonic shower in this episode.
Good one! 🙂
Every now and then it takes a Star Trek episode like this to make us realize that even in a future as optimistic as Roddenberry’s vision, some harsh lessons can often need to be learned and especially about ourselves. Just as well that this episode came out long after the appeals of Worf and Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country, to help us remember that the Klingons will become our friends even if the road will be rocky. Thank you your review and trivia.