Synopsis: The crew of the Enterprise encounter pirates in non-Federation space.
This episode illustrates how some individuals feel they must mask their true selves in order to fit into society.
In “The Serene Squall” Captain Christopher Pike and the rest of the crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise are led to believe that they are aiding a humanitarian mission led by Dr. Aspen. Aspen works closely with Science Officer, Mr. Spock, to prepare for it. She offhandedly remarks about the Vulcan Kolinahr process, which surprises Spock. Later, Aspen also urges Spock to try to balance his human and Vulcan natures when Spock admits to her that he doesn’t like to go with his gut. She tells him that sometimes we react in a way that is expected but that is not who we really are. When Enterprise is caught in a trap by the pirate vessel, the Serene Squall, the crew learns that Aspen is actually Captain Angel of the Serene Squall, and she captured Enterprise because she wants to trade Spock for Xaverius, a Vulcan held at the rehabilitation center where T’Pring is working. Angel hails T’Pring and T’Pring does take a Vulcan ship to rendezvous with Enterprise, however Spock and Nurse Christine Chapel feign a romantic relationship, so that T’Pring will not go through with the prisoner exchange. Meanwhile, Pike has gained control of the Serene Squall, but when the pirate ship arrives at Enterprise’s location, Angel escapes aboard another small ship.
In this episode, Angel, pretending to be Aspen—which can be seen as masking her true identity, talks to Spock about how sometimes individuals react in a way that is expected of them instead of being their true selves, this is also a description of masking—what people do to try to fit into society. And while arguably we all do this to some degree, some individuals, such as those who identify as neurodivergent, do this to a heightened degree to try to fit into a neurotypical world. Although Angel is a pirate, and considered an outlaw in this episode, her telling Spock that it is a false choice to have to be Vulcan or human, he should just be himself, she is describing what we would all feel able to do in a fully inclusive neurodiverse world.
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