Given that this was essentially a sequel to probably the two worst episodes from season 3, its surprising how much I liked it. The comedy really worked for me, and the transition from it to more serious drama was well handled. It can be very effective when a story softens you up with comedy and then goes for the throat. The idea that there was emotional truth behind every contrived soap opera scenario threaded the needle as far as keeping the episode relevant while giving it enough space to be zany. Much better than the puppet “all a dream” ending, and does well to foreshadow Pike’s future with the Talosians.

It’s nice to see Pike’s arc continued, since they really haven’t touched on it since the start of the season. It’s a little awkward that the Hangover story occurred between these two episodes, since that somewhat detracts from the idea that Pike was been deliberately overworking himself all this time.