Chain of Command, Pt II is one of the best episodes of the series. We get payoff on our construction of Jellico and the Cardassians in that we see the almost self-destructive need for control that runs through both.
And I'm done with my defense of Jellico. Obviously, the narrative is against him, but I don't think that's reason enough to scuttle him. I'm a "death of the author" guy. A story can make a character that's a laudable person even while it's trying to undermine them morally. "Paradise Lost" is the example that's easiest to call up.
But Jellico brings nothing to the table. If you're a person who is pleased by the exercise of power on behalf of your ingroup, you might admire his hard line on the Cardassians, but Picard is just as capable of doing that and he didn't put all of his skill points into "raging as--jerkhole."
Am I too down on US culture here? Can I flog my own culture over Guantanamo Bay, then flog them slightly harder because they didn't listen to Star Trek? Except, instead of flogging, it's whipping the brickwork of the wall around their estate with a wet noodle.
More clearly: is Star Trek any good if it makes people excited over starship aesthetics, camp plots, and the finer points of the history of the Star Trek Universe instead of making them outraged over their country's immoral behavior?
The Beige and The Bold is hosted on Anchor and is available on most podcasting platforms. New episodes usually go live on Sunday nights at 10:00 PM CST.
source https://anchor.fm/tbntb/episodes/Chain-of-Command--Pt-II-egc0jf
