The latest episode of Star Trek: Khan has continued to progress the story of Khan’s exile on Ceti Alpha V. It’s also remained true to the exploration of core themes, something Star Trek is well known for.
A lot happens in this thirty-minute episode. So, let’s explore the highlights of Episode 6 ‘The Good of All‘.
WARNING – Spoilers ahead for Star Trek: Khan Episode 6, ‘The Good of All’.
Two Timelines, One Question
So far, this series has been told from two perspectives, and ‘The Good of All’ continues this trend. We have Doctor Lear (Sonya Cassidy) aboard the USS Excelsior (Captain Sulu (George Takei) commanding) orbiting Ceti Alpha V. She’s studying logs left by Marla McGivers (Wrenn Schmidt), Khan (Naveen Andrews), and his people before they escaped the planet. Lear has one goal: to discover what really happened on Ceti Alpha V.
Then we have the perspective of Khan and his people during their time on the planet. This is a story of trust, loyalty, and survival, the latter becoming increasingly difficult as time progresses.
But across both points in time, a single question resonates. Who was Khan Noonien Singh? Was he the ruthless dictator history remembers, or a misunderstood leader and visionary as these logs sometimes suggest? In this episode, we start to see Khan’s own people (and maybe even himself) question his leadership…
A Traditional Trek Cave Episode
Star Trek loves to set episodes in caves. An entire episode of Star Trek: Lower Decks is dedicated to highlighting this in its usual “laughing at ourselves” way. That said, I was a smidge surprised to find most of ‘The Good of All’ was set in a series of caverns.
Through the episode, we see some of Khan’s followers settling into their new home. Chief amongst them is Ursula (Mercy Malick), trying to work out how best to fit her sickbay in the new location. We also see Khan and McGivers exploring, finding a hot spring before disaster strikes. Whilst excavating to expand the sickbay space, there is a cave-in. Madot is rescued, but her unborn child is lost.
Outside the caves, Ivan (Maury Sterling), scouting the Elborean’s activities, encounters a lone Elborean and murders them in cold blood. He’s subsequently captured, leading to a confrontation between Elborean leader Delmonda (Olli Haaskivi) and Khan. With neither backing down, it looks like their tentative alliance is over. But not before Delmonda reveals a truth. The Elboreans are salvaging their wreckage to build a spacecraft for Khan and his people to escape Ceti Alpha V!
Pride and Prejudice (and Elboreans)
Pride undoubtedly contributes to the tense confrontation at the end of ‘The Good of All’. Khan is an incredibly proud leader, bursting with self-confidence. We’ve seen this through his interactions and decisions in previous episodes.
But the aftermath of the battle between the augments and Elboreans in Episode 5 has revealed Khan is not infallible. And this leads to some of his followers losing trust in him for the first time, including Joachim, who quietly questions his own self-worth. Then there’s Ursula, who challenges Khan’s sanity directly when he suggests she tries for another pregnancy. And she’s not wrong – who would want to bring a child into a world that’s literally dying all around them?
Then there’s Ivan, whose xenophobic nature is taken out on a lone Elborean during one of his scouting missions. He kills Sakanda in cold blood before being captured and taken to Delmonda. Had he not acted on his prejudice, Khan would not have been in a position to hold to his pride when confronting Delmonda. Their alliance would not be on the cusp of falling apart, and the security of both species on the planet would be more secure. Between Khan’s pride and Ivan’s prejudice, they successfully sabotage themselves – and their salvation!
The Good of Whom?
Episode 6’s title is a clever choice, summarising the different approaches Khan and Delmonda take for their societies. Khan has been very vocal about keeping his people united and working together, as one. But has clearly shown his uncertainty and lack of trust when considering working with the Elboreans. So, one could argue that Khan is not working for ‘The Good of All’. On the flip side, Delmonda demonstrates his people’s strength when unified and working together while openly seeking a way to support Khan. He’s even using the wreckage of their vessel to create a smaller spacecraft for Khan and his followers to escape the planet.
Is either leader working for the good of all, or are both focusing on benefiting only themselves? And what of Doctor Lear’s motivations? She claims to be seeking the truth for all, which in itself announces her belief that Starfleet’s version of events is false. This puts her in the firing line of Sulu. But we learn in an interesting twist at the end of this episode that Tuvok believes his captain’s opinions are biased. And due to this bias, Tuvok wants Lear to conclude her research and uncover the truth once and for all.
Time will tell, as the series continues every Monday, available on YouTube and wherever you get your podcasts. With just three episodes of the series left, we won’t have long to find out!
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