ENT - Bound

[MerelyAFan]

https://sfdebris.com/videos/startrek/e193.php

Video is rejected at the moment, but hopefully should be up soon.

Bound always struck me was one of the rare misfires from latter era Enterprise. Revisiting the concept of the Orions is interesting, but feels like it has no real ideas beyond the "well its actually the slave girls who are the masters concept"

The Lolani episode from Star Trek Continues is hardly flawless, but if felt like a more engaging exploration of Orion characters than this one.

[clearspira]

Content rejected

In real life, if women could enslave men with pheromones, I honestly think that the first step for every newborn girl would be their parents cheerfully taking them to hospital to get their pheromone glands sliced out. I mean why not? Its not any less horrific than what some countries already do to a woman's bits when she comes of age.

And unless this episode gets retconned later on (a great possibility) it would seem that there are chemical suppressants for these pheromones as Star Trek 2009 has an Orion female as a crewmember. The Federation is guilty of some pretty barbaric things in the name of tolerance, but even they wouldn't let her run around the ship without being gelded in some way surely? Isn't that basically what they did to Ilea in ''The Slow Motion Picture'' with her vow of celibacy?

My point is... this episode is dumb. The idea that pheromones could enslave a whole race is stupid. And I feel as if 2005 was the last time such a plot would have been seriously considered for a mainstream sci-fi show.

[clearspira]

Oh, and additionally, let me be the first but certainly not the last to point out that pheromones are the most rapey concept in the history of science fiction. You can add that to the list of other love potions that always seem to be played for comedy and yet are brutally dark if you think about it for any length of time. Especially as ''love potion'' is often a flat out lie: they don't induce love, they are a shortcut to sex and sometimes full on mind rape regardless of the will of the victim.

I'm looking at you ''that episode of The Orville we all hope that Chuck is going to get to one day''.

[Mabus]

While the twist itself isn't bad, I get the feeling that the writers/producers sacrificed everything else just for the twist to happen, which explains why the whole episode feels like bottle episode filler. Whatever hints they placed just don't work out and feel forced, not to mention the moment Phlox discovered what happened, the entire ship should have been quarantined. Did they really not learn anything from the other countless episodes where they brought in diseases and had to find a cure for them? I seem to recall an episode from early season 3, where Archer and co get infected on a planet with a retrovirus that changed them into aliens, and again there T'Pol was immune, but then they immediately bring out the biohazard suits when they realize that the situation was serious.

[9ansean]

Oh, and additionally, let me be the first but certainly not the last to point out that pheromones are the most rapey concept in the history of science fiction. You can add that to the list of other love potions that always seem to be played for comedy and yet are brutally dark if you think about it for any length of time. Especially as ''love potion'' is often a flat out lie: they don't induce love, they are a shortcut to sex and sometimes full on mind rape regardless of the will of the victim.

I'm looking at you ''that episode of The Orville we all hope that Chuck is going to get to one day''.

OMG Thank You

Though I doubt you're even the second person to point this out, it definitely bears repeating.

This one of the things I admire so much about Jessica Jones. That it basically took this long tired science fiction/fantasy device of rape by other name, deconstructed it, dragged it in the alley, and shot it in the head! Now some might say "but wasn't it a little on the nose. Did they really have to be so unsubtle." To which I say one would think that this doesn't need spelling it, but given how many stories we've gotten in recent times like THIS ONE, which cling to and reinforce these same mythes (long after all the changes that have occurred seen since TOS) it would seems that a lot of people JUST DON'T GET THE HINT!

[turbo_sailor67]

As other smart people have pointed out already, doesn't this video seem like a re-tread of other Star Trek episode concepts? We've had the pheromones with TNG's Nakey time didn't we? Also didn't the animated series have an episode of a strong female character that's made out to be a slave or in a subordinate position but is actually the one in charge? That Orville episode was just uncomfortable watching with a parent.

Nothing specific comes to mind but I tend to forget those boring episodes of Star Trek unless they are hilariously bad, like 90% of Voyager! Enterprise was either boring or insulting or both. I left the series when I enlisted and didn't bother catching up with it until it just so happened to be playing on the channel my barracks mate in the TPU had on because it was pretty much the only thing when 90% of your stuff is in pack out.

[9ansean]

Also well Chuck has often better story ideas they what we got many times before and quite well, I especially loved it here. Since I never imagined an episode this stupid could offer the means of deconstructed the Orion slave women in a way that would indeed by daring, nuance, and unprecedented.

[FaxModem1]

Yeah, this plotline has been done to death. Sad thing is, this isn't the death knell of it either. Years later, Agents of SHIELD season 1 did it, beat for beat, with an Asgardian witch or something basically mindraping Grand Ward, and he was even blamed for it by the end of the episode by his girlfriend. Jessica Jones at least showed that it's not cute, it's not funny, and it's not a good time to be had. It's horrifying, and it would be a nightmare for anyone under such a thing. And like this episode, the Agents of SHIELD one is brushed off in later episodes.

You know what would have been interesting? Have one of the Orions be a guy, or have some of the women on-board be interested. Or, because of sexuality, some of the male Enterprise crew members get the same migraines. Do something interesting.

[Nightbeat74]

if i had been running the show (or atlest this ep) 1)i would have the crew fallow protocol for this kind of issue.which is i think: is get them quarantined and get them checked out for STD/STIs , better clothing, feed them some hot meals, female guards and have someone come talk with them, and telling your higher ups about it to see what they think and see if they can help cuz some of them might not want to work with slave traders or to start a war over 3 women you freed or to the orion "tradesman" you just gave away his "very pricey gift" or 2) have the sex worker rights storyline like chuck pointed out. and on a side note with the whole pheromones thing i might go into how it works like does it work on gays,asexuals,transwomen,transmen, folks with hormone disorders,the intersex? or is it just all the males? this i must know!

[Nightbeat74]

Also well Chuck has often better story ideas they what we got many times before and quite well, I especially loved it here. Since I never imagined an episode this stupid could offer the means of deconstructed the Orion slave women in a way that would indeed by daring, nuance, and unprecedented.

you are so right i think i said once that chuck should be the guy who reads he scripts and points out what parts are stupid why,(heck he might have made the new star wars films actully good!) we might not hear from him or lose his show though. but a lest we wont have as many bad scripts getting made it to shows or films cuz they have to go by special story consultant the blue sun guy 1st