Synopsis: The U.S.S. Enterprise is tasked with providing transportation for a controversial Klingon ambassador to a Starbase.
In this episode there is an illustration of masking, which in the neurodiverse community refers to the need of hiding one’s true identity from society.
In “Under the Cloak of War” the crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise is to transport Klingon Ambassador, Dak’Rah to Starbase 12, where he will speak on behalf of the Federation. In the Klingon war, the ambassador was General Dak’Rah, and also referred to as the Butcher of J’Gal. Doctor Joseph M’Benga and Nurse Christine Chapel were stationed in J’Gal at the time when Dak’Rah earned his nom de guerre by being portrayed as killing his own men for the atrocities they committed. Captain Christopher Pike throws a dinner party to honor Dak’Rah and asks M’Benga and Chapel to attend, although he is aware that they have strong negative feelings toward Dak’Rah. M’Benga and Chapel put on their “Starfleet faces” and attend (Perez & Byrd, 2023). After the party, Dak’Rah approaches M’Benga to partner with him at a peace conference, to further Klingon-Federation relations. However, M’Benga cannot. He remembers his past, and that before he was a doctor, he was a killer, with a nom de guerre of his own, “The Ghost” (Perez & Byrd, 2023). Dak’Rah comes to sick bay to once more seek out M’Benga’s assistance. M’Benga again refuses and asks him why he can’t just leave him alone. M’Benga tells Dak’Rah that he turned him into a monster and that while Dak’Rah took credit for killing the Klingons that were responsible for war atrocities, it was really M’Benga who did the killing and was the true Butcher of J’Gal. M’Benga shows Dak’Rah the blade that he use and they struggle. Chaple walks in and sees this and Dak-Rah falling to the floor dead. Chapel goes to Pike and tells him that Dak’Rah attacked M’Benga. As it turns out the blade had the blood of Klingon soldiers, as well as the fingerprints of both Dak’Rah and M’Benga, so either truth is possible. When confronted, M’Benga tells Pike that Dak’Rah also committed atrocities along with the other Klingons and that he is not sorry that he is dead.
In this episode, when M’Benga and Chapel remark that they will put on their “Starfleet faces” (Perez & Byrd, 2023), to hide what they truly feel and who they truly are, this can be compared to when a neurodiverse individual puts on a mask to fit into a neurotypical world that perceives them as other. M’Benga and Chapel’s true feelings are not in line with Starfleet standards, and they feel that they cannot share them. In M’Benga’s case, suppressing his feelings leads to him lashing out when he just cannot pretend any longer. In a neurotypical society neurodivergent individuals often feel that they must hide who their true identities and this is exhausting and can be just as dangerous to their health as M’Benga’s blade was to Klingons.
Reference:
Perez, D. (Writer) & Byrd, J. W. (Director). (2023, July 27). Under the cloak of war (Season 2, Episode 8) [TV series episode]. In A. Baiers, A. Goldsman, H. Kadin, A. Kurtzman, J. Lumet, H. A. Meyers, E. Roddenberry, T. Roth, F. Siracusa, & J. Weber (Executive Producers), Star trek: Strange New Worlds. CBS Television Studios, Roddenberry Entertainment, Secret Hideout.
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