In musical terms, a rhapsody is a single movement musical piece, characterized by a free-flowing structure where moods and tones can vary considerably, flowing in and out of each one. It is derived from the Greek rhapsÅidia, in turn derived from rhaptein (to stitch) and ÅidÄ (song/ode): literally, a stitched together song - with ode also meaning a poem/song of praise. A rhapsody can also mean an ecstatic, enthusiastic expression of emotion. The songs in this episode were written by Kay Hanley and Tom Polce of Letters to Cleo.
The Stardate is 2398.3. This is the first time a āsubspace foldā has been mentioned on screen, but it is a shipās ability in Star Trek Online which allows a starship to be propelled 6.66 ly forward. In essence, rather like a geodesic fold (VOY: āInside Manā), itās a shortcut through space - or in this case, subspace.
Usually routine shipās comms are handled by the computer, so as all resources are being devoted to Spockās theory, Uhura has to route them manually like an old-timey phone operator.
As previously established, Jim Kirk is serving on the USS Farragut (TOS: āObsessionā), where he has just become XO. Chapelās message is from her future fiancĆ© Dr. Roger Korby (TOS: āWhat Are Little Girls Made Of?ā), regarding her fellowship in archeological medicine at the Vulcan Science Academy.
Crivo is a Portuguese word meaning āsieveā, for what itās worth. Batel mentions the Crivian Planetary Museum, Glass Islands and Smoke Lakes.
Una notices LaāAnās anxiousness at Jimās arrival. LaāAn had a brief encounter with the Kirk of an alternate timeline in SNW: āTomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrowā, something which the Prime Kirk is unaware of.
MāBenga calls Korby the Louis Pasteur of Archeological Medicine, a term Spock repeats in āWhat Are Little Girls Made Of?ā.
It was noted in SNW: āLift Us Where Suffering Cannot Reachā that the speed of subspace radio is 52,000c, and requires relays as subspace radio signals degrade over distance. According to the TNG Tech Manual, in the 24th Century subspace radio has a speed of Warp 9.9997, or approximately 79,000c, but still has an upper range of 22.65 ly, necessitating relays at 20 ly intervals (or a sectorās length, given the size expressed in Geoffery Mandelās Star Charts).
Uhura first selects Cole Porterās 1934 song āAnything Goesā, which geeks will probably best know as the opening number to Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (albeit in very badly pronounced Mandarin). The version she plays sounds to me like Eileen Rogersā from the 1962 Anything Goes cast album.
LT Jenna Mitchell is at the Ops/Navigation position on the bridge. The bosunās whistle signals Pikeās arrival on the bridge. Mitchell reports no other ships in the sector despite a ship apparently having just dropped off Jim.
The effect is not just limited to singing, but is making the crew do choreography as well. Having an outside force forcing characters to perform musical theatre is of course best known from Buffy the Vampire Slayer: āOnce More With Feelingā, but that was from a supernatural cause.
The theme song from the titles is rearranged as a choral piece, like the title sequence was animated for the LD crossover, āThose Old Scientistsā.
The bunny conversation is too specific not to be a reference to the song āIāve Got a Theoryā from āOnce More With Feelingā , where a whole verse is devoted to how the explanation for the phenomenon could be bunnies. Or maybe midgets. Uhura even says later, āI have a theory.ā
The idea that a subspace fissure can lead to different quantum realities was first presented in TNG: āParallelsā, where Worf passed through one that kept shifting him into different parallels. None of them were musical, sadly.
The Heisenberg compensator is a technobabble component invented for TNG by Michael Okuda and Rick Sternbach, in order to explain how the transporter would work with Heisenbergās Uncertainty Principle, since that states that it is impossible know the momentum and position of a given particle simultaneously, which would severely hamper the transporterās functions. How the compensator works is purposely left vague, and the usual jokey answer is, ā[It works] very well, thank you.ā
Una says sheās aware of her reputation, but trying a new approach. In SNW: āSpock Amokā she learned that she and LaāAn were known as āWhere Fun Goes to Dieā, but in that episode both learned to cut loose a bit by playing āEnterprise Bingoā. We found out in ST: āQ & Aā that Una had a secret passion for the works of Gilbert and Sullivan. This became a matter of public record when Spock revealed it to the Court in SNW: āAd Astra Per Asperaā.
Christina Chong has just released her first EP, āTwin Flamesā. While weāre at it, Celia Rose Gooding became famous making her Broadway debut in Jagged Little Pill, Rebecca Romijn has covered āDarling Nikkiā for a Prince tribute album and Carole Kane has played Madame Morrible in Wicked.
LaāAnās fear of losing control is tied to her fear about her Augmented heritage and that she could be a potential Khan. The watch she holds is from the past, which she and alt-Kirk used to track down a cold fusion reactor in 21st Century Toronto. She flashes back to the night she and alt-Kirk spent in a hotel, imagining if it turned out differently (āTomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrowā).
I think this is the first time that weāve heard Batelās first name, which is Marie. The map showing the subspace network shows the fissure in proximity to Cajitar (SNW: āThe Broken Circleā) which is appropriately marked with both Federation and Klingon colors. We also see listed the USS Lexington (NCC-1709), Kongo (NCC-1710), Republic (NCC-1371) and Farragut (NCC-1647). The first two are Constitution-class ships - the Lexington was first listed on a chart in TOS: āCourt Martialā. The USS Republic was one of Jim Kirkās first ship assignments (also mentioned in āCourt Martialā) as an Ensign.
The Kongo, named after the Imperial Japanese Navy battleship KongÅ, originates from a behind the scenes list of Constitution-class (then named āStarshipā-class) ships in TOS but first listed in Franz Josephās Starfleet Technical Manual before finally making its way on-screen in ST VI. Spock also wore a Kongo pin in SNW: āMemento Moriā for Starfleet Remembrance Day, indicating he once served on her.
Also on the map: the Persephone system (āChildren of the Cometā), Eminiar (in FGC-321) (TOS: āA Taste of Armageddonā), Marjalis (SNW: āLift Us Where Suffering Cannot Reachā), Beta Tauri (TOS: āThe Galileo Sevenā, not named in the episode but identified in Star Charts), Gamma Tauri and Delphi Ardu (TNG: āThe Last Outpostā), Harlak (DIS: āThe Wolf Insideā) and Forcas (TNG: āParallelsā).
Later we see on a wider-view chart, on the Federation side, Janus (TOS: āThe Devil in the Darkā), Wurna Minor (DIS: āDespite Yourselfā), Davlos (DS9: āVisionaryā), Oryb-J and the JāGal Moon (SNW: āUnder the Cloak of Warā), Hetemit (SNW: āGhosts of Illyriaā), Cygnet (TOS: āTomorrow is Yesterdayā), Cait (home of the Caitians from TAS). On the Klingon side, Boreth (TNG: āBirthrightā), Tribble Prime (DIS: āAn Obol for Charonā), and a few others I canāt make out.
When Una sings āthe secrets you keep safe inside / might keep you awake and cut like a knifeā, the camera focuses on MāBenga, recalling the events of āUnder the Cloak of Warā. Her ability to keep secrets is from years of concealing her Illyrian heritage.
Una disengages the artificial gravity in the ready room. Weāve seen in ENT: āIn a Mirror, Darklyā that gravity can be varied in selected parts of the ship, as well as on Deep Space Nine in DS9: āMeloraā. Shuttlebays in particular were variable gravity areas (signage in TNG).
LaāAn calls the Klingon ship a Kātāinga-class. This is a slight anachronism, as the Kātāinga-class, first seen in TMP and named in Roddenberryās novelization, is supposed to be a distinct and more advanced version of the D7-class battlecruiser commonly seen in TOS. We could handwave it away as Temporal War shenanigans or being one of the first advanced models introduced or both. LaāAn is correct that the Kātāinga has an aft torpedo launcher (as opposed to the D7ās forward-only launcher).
Jim says heās in the on-phase of an on-again off-again relationship and he names Carol, i.e. Carol Marcus (ST II), the mother of his son David. He says Carol is based on Starbase One and pregnant. This sort of tracks with a comic story by Howard Weinstein (āStar-Crossedā, Star Trek Vol 2, #73-#75, DC Comics), where David is conceived in 2260 when Carol and Kirk are serving together on the USS Eagle. That being said, thereās another relationship we know Jim was having around this time, with Janet Wallace (TOS: āThe Deadly Yearsā), which would end in 2261, so maybe sheās the rebound after Carol.
The one-eyed Klingon General Garkog is played by Bruce Horak (a.k.a. the late Chief Engineer Hemmer).
Immediately after the grand finale we hear the traditional Alexander Courage arrangement of the Star Trek TOS theme. Batel says sheās being put on a priority one mission, which will probably tie into the season finale.
Spock engages in Klingon diplomacy over bloodwine, as he did in āThe Broken Circleā (hopefully his hangover isnāt as bad this time). The USS Nimerfro is likely named after Scott Nimerfro, who co-wrote VOY: āJetrelā and also was an associate producer on X-Men with Rebecca Romijn. Nimerfro passed away from cancer in 2016.
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