Believe it or not, I'm going to defend this clip, because some of the criticism I've seen is unwarranted. Don't get me wrong, I'm still not a huge fan of what I'm seeing here, but that's based on larger concerns about the series in general, and not just a few nitpicks about this particular clip. It's also very important to keep in mind that this is four minutes of cherry-picked footage that is probably lacking a lot of context and is definitely lacking any content that they want to keep secret until the actual release of the series. Let's take a look at the clip that was released December 6, 2025.

Unwarranted Nitpick #1: Captain Ake (Holly Hunter) wears glasses.
Some folks are going all the way back to 1982's Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan for this one, citing a very brief exchange between Kirk and McCoy. McCoy gifts a pair of reading glasses to Kirk for his 52nd birthday, saying that he'd usually just administer “Retinax 5”. Since Kirk is allergic to Retinax, he'll have to settle for the glasses. Well, that seems like a perfectly valid explanation here, too. Perhaps Captain Ake is also allergic, but even if she's not, there are a thousand different possible explanations for her glasses that just didn't make it into this preview, including the possibility that maybe she just likes the way they look and she enjoys flouting 32nd-century norms.

Unwarranted Nitpick #2: The Doctor doesn't understand the definition of “casualty”.
There's also a number of people giving the Doctor a hard time for saying that there aren't any “casualties”, claiming that he doesn't know that the definition of “casualties” also includes wounded, of which there appear to be many. Pedants will say that he should have said “fatalities”, but even a cursory internet search or AI query will show you that the military usage of the word “casualty” includes anyone who is “lost to the organization” as in, they are unable to fight or perform their duties in the immediate battle or campaign. This includes death, disability, capture, desertion, and missing persons. It does not include injuries where someone can return to duty after first aid or short-term medical intervention. So, perhaps those who are quick to question the Doctor's wisdom should consider his hundreds of years of experience before speaking up!

If you want something to nitpick, how about Captain Ake checking in with the Doctor to see how things are going while another officer on the bridge is literally counting down single-digit numbers to shield failure? Seems like checking in with the Doc could have waited, right? ◼