1x10 Firestorm

[7.8/10] I love the emotional throughline for Kitan on this one. I love the premise of facing an unknown source of seemingly unstoppable fears as a barrage against the crew. And I hate the reveal and explanation for why it’s happening, which makes this a tough one to grade.

But I’m inclined to look on it favorably nonetheless. There’s a strong emotional challenge for Kitan here that I appreciate. Her guilt over having the physical strength to save someone, but potentially losing them because a blast of fire deterred her for a moment, out of fear, and caused her to show up a few seconds too late, is a sympathetic motivation. We both understand the fact that Kitan is beating herself up unnecessarily, but also why she’s doing show and feels like she should be better.

That self-doubt and concern works as a driving force here. It sets up nicely the events that ensue, when she has to face a variety of traditional fears, some rooted in psychology and others rooted in more basic fear response, that prompt her to have to respond quickly in a crisis. The detail that she has a deep-seated phobia from when she was an infant adds an interesting wrinkle to the whole thing.

But most of all, Kitan is at her most relatable here, blaming herself for having a very human (if you’ll pardon the expression) reaction to something and considering herself unfit for duty because of such an understandable lapse. It’s a great performance from Halston Sage, who sells Kitan’s remorse and self-doubt like gangbusters.

That said, even apart from the emotional contingent, “Firestorm” works well as a pure horrorshow. While some of the effects are spotty, the carousel of fears, from clowns to spiders to chasms to isolation makes for some cool and frightening setpieces. My favorites are the unnecessary surgery, which conveys such a sense of claustrophobic helplessness, bolstered by Dr. Finn making a skin-crawling turn as a BOB-type antagonist. I also really liked the crew of the ship disappearing, which not only pays tribute to an episode of The Next Generation that operated on similar terms, but which allows the show to convey terror through the creepy emptiness of a normally well-populated ship.

The scarisness is amplified by the fact that the audience has no idea what’s going on or what could cause all these fears. My theory was some sort of radiation or alien presence from the storm that opens the episode, but really, it’s the not knowing that makes this one extra scary.

Until we do know. Look, I can see the intuitive appeal of Kitan wanting to put herself through some kind of simulation to check and see whether she has any other latent fears besides fire that she doesn’t know about. But the way this goes down just strains credulity. It requires too much explanation and mental gymnastics for why this sort of thing would ever be allowed, including invoking some weird directive, lying to Dr. Finn, and a series of other contrivances that don’t pass the smell test.

It just don’t make sense, and the show has to spend a good chunk of the last act trying to account for why, if you squint and don’t think about it too hard, it might.

Still, if you can mentally separate that out, this is still a great episode. The scare scenes are very well done, the mystery is compelling up until the point when the answer is revealed, and Kitan’s psychological journey is well done. As janky as the final twist is, the moment when she sleeps soundly, secure in the knowledge that she can overcome and face anything, is earned. This one is worth watching, even if the ending is a lot to be desired.

(As an aside, in the “ship whose passengers don’t know they’re on a ship” episode, Kitan speculated that it’d be a toss-up if she ever had to go against Isaac. It’s cool that we get to see the showdown happen and see that she’s right, at least in simulation form. I also like the worldbuilding detail that Salayans think military service is beneath them, to where Kitan’s parents are basically still nudging her to go to grad school rather than expressing pride in her. It’s a nice connection to Kitan’s species as a Vulcan analogue.)