One of the wonderful moments in “Calypso” – the second episode of Short Treks – was the dance sequence between Craft and the visual representation of “Zora,” the Ship’s A.I. What’s so fantastic about it is how much it encapsulates the relationship that this man has developed with this advanced artificial intelligence. The dance is really a gift Craft makes to Zora in return for the care and kindness “she” has shown him. It is a very human – and humane – act that has Craft finally realizing he is developing feelings he doesn’t have the freedom to have. Craft is falling in love with an inanimate artificial intelligence.
Finally aware that he is despondent over his inability to leave, Zora helps Craft return to his family by creating a space suit to protect him as he takes the final shuttlecraft aboard the ship, one that has never been flown in almost a thousand years. His destination: Alcor IV where his son and lover last lived.
Their parting is bittersweet. Although they saying goodbye forever Zora and Craft acknowledge they will remember the other. The dance they shared does provide Zora with another gift: a holographic simulation of Craft to dance with throughout eternity.
Here’s a clip from the 1957 Paramount Pictures musical that is the inspiration for the sequence. Enjoy.
I really enjoyed this atypical episode. It was lovely and poignant and that Aldis Hodge is mighty fine helped.
You’re like my wife. Aldis Hodge shirtless was the biggest reason she gave for wanting to see him return. But I loved the episode. Michael Chabon wrote my favorite of the four Short Treks.
If this episode is any indicator of how Michael Chabon will write for the Picard series, I’m all in!
I agree. By the way, Calypso is an example of how he writes. Chabon is a phenomenal novelist. His third one, The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay, is a great book looking at the lives of two young cousins named Joe Kavalier and Sammy Clay who develop a fascist-fighting superhero named The Escapist during the Golden Age of comic books. I looked at your blog. You might enjoy the book.