“wej Duj”
Star Trek: Lower Decks Season 2, Episode 9 – Debuted Thursday, October 7, 2021
Written by Kathryn Lyn
Directed by Bob Suarez
SPOILER-FREE REVIEW
In the penultimate episode of season two, Lower Decks has a lot of fun shaking things up with an ambitious episode that pays off with great character moments and season plot developments.
Tawny Newsome as Ensign Beckett Mariner, Noel Wells as Ensign Tendi, Eugene Cordero as Ensign Rutherford, and Jack Quaid as Ensign Brad Boimler
WARNING: Spoilers below!
RECAP
Island boy
With the Cerritos taking an extended warp, the crew has time for some much-needed R&R and the show relaxed its format a bit before the big season finale. Once again, Boimler finds himself the odd ensign out, with each of his pals already set up with a “bridge buddy.” Mariner can’t get out of her mom bonding time, Tendi is roped into some Star Trek V rock climbing with T’Ana, and Rutherford is set for therapeutic pottery with Shaxs. After a disastrous attempt with Kayshon, his waistline challenged, Brad tours the other ensigns’ bonding sessions, coming up empty on each in a series of fun fails.
Fresh out of any butts to kiss, Brad stumbles upon an informal group of Hawaiian officers centered around Commander Ransom. Given a choice between staying honest and true or lying to get in on the luau, he went full-on “Aloha!”—because of course he did. The need to suck up is strong with this one. Poor Brad wishes he were in some other fleet with a “rigid social structure,” sparking the clever spin for this episode as we learn how some alien lower deckers have it.
Shaxs has a strict policy of not allowing reenactments of that scene from Ghost in pottery club
Honorable decks
Cut to the Klingon Bird of Prey Che’Ta as we meet four new lower deckers, who of course also sleep in a hallway. In between the headbutts and talk of gagh we can see that much is familiar with this likable group, especially M’ach. Obsessed with advancement and steeped in empire lore and honor, this Klingon Boimler sees opportunity in siding with the captain in a deadly conflict with the first officer. Eventually, M’ach is rewarded with the post after showing unwavering loyalty, along with a willingness to do even the dirtiest jobs, like picking up after the captain’s targ.
However, our new Klingon character starts to pick up on the warning signs from the now former first officer when the Pakleds show up and all sorts of dots start to connect. It turns out Captain Dorg is the puppet master behind the Pakled attacks on the Federation in hopes to destabilize the region, allowing him to lead the empire in taking over… a plan only a Romulan could love. Unfortunately for this low-rent General Chang, his dimwitted Pakled allies “tested” the planet-busting bomb intended for Earth, which surely someone will notice…
Seriously? They told people we shaved our heads for war?
Lower logic
We also meet a third group of four lower deckers aboard the Vulcan Cruiser Sh’Vhal, in a serene contrast to the Che’Ta and Cerritos. Again, one stands out as T’Lyn reveals herself to be the Mariner of this crew with her “outrageous” outbursts of subtle individuality and intuition. Bucking the system pits T’Lyn against her own compatriots with some next-level passive-aggressive jousting. “I merely wish for you to join me in broadening your definition on how to synthesize data.” Burn!
This immediately likable character eventually gets the notice of the captain, played with the deadpan directness Marc Evan Jackson is known for in roles on Brooklyn Nine-Nine and The Good Place. While agreeing to divert course to investigate the anomaly T’Lyn detected without authorization, he is quite displeased with the effect this dry destabilizer is having on his ship.
On Vulcan ships, it’s all about the eyebrows.
Cry havoc
Our three lower deck stories bubble up to the top as the Cerritos arrives at the rendezvous with Che’Ta and the Pakled ship (named “Pakled,” because of course it is). Much to the surprise of Captain Freeman, both ships start firing, resulting in much chaos and spilled mai tais. It’s come-as-you-are to battle stations time and with things looking grim, Boimler comes clean to the Hawaiians. Turns out all of them were faux islanders; even Ransom admitted his whole Hawaiian deal started when he was an ensign doing his own bit of sucking up. It’s a nice moment, except it looks like they are all going to end up dying wearing brightly colored tropical shirts.
But before you can say Deus Ex Logica, Sh’Vhal shows up in dramatic Enterprise-E in Star Trek First Contact-style. Then thanks to an untested shield modulation from that rebel T’Lyn, the Vulcan Cruiser turns the tide in an exciting battle sequence. Over on the Bird of Prey, M’ach digs deep and sees there is no honor in the captain’s scheme to destroy peace. Initially no match for the larger, stronger, and better-armed captain, M’ach is able to win the day thanks to the loyalty of that gassy targ.
Accepted by the Klingons as Captain M’ach, he orders the ship out of the fight and back to the homeworld, with the now outnumbered Pakleds soon chased away. T’Lyn’s actions may have saved the day, but her calm “unstable” antics get her booted from the Vulcan fleet, reassigned to Starfleet where her whole thing may fit in better. As for Boimler, his pals promise to stick together for their next extra warp time. And in the end he still gets what he needs, with Ransom sending a cadet (or maybe acting ensign) his way to mentor.
Lt. Jones just realized it’s Casual Friday.
ANALYSIS
Lower Decks goes “Lower Decks”
Lower Decks decided to shake things up a bit as it heads to the season two finale. From start to finish, “wej Duj” is the kind of daring thing showrunner Mike McMahan and his team now have the confidence to do, knowing the audience will come along. While the look at the character’s off-duty lives is reminiscent of episodes like TNG’s “Data’s Day” or Voyager’s “Alter Ego,” this episode feels like the “Lower Decks” of Lower Decks. That TNG episode focusing on newly introduced junior officers was an inspiration to McMahan, and Ransom’s Hawaiian storyline is a nice nod to how one of the characters in TNG’s “Lower Decks” thought the Alaskan Riker was Canadian. Boimler’s ending line about how “the real action begins on the lower decks” was a bit on the nose, but still perfect.
Moving away from some of the broad laughs that have exemplified a lot of season two, this episode’s humor was far more subtle. While still funny, it relied on character and situations, like the subtle tension between the Vulcans who saw the slightest deviation in T’Lyn as being “out of control.” Even with the change of structure and introduction of entirely new characters, director Bob Suarez kept the pacing just right, seamlessly transitioning from ship to ship. These jumps even provided some clever moments like the Vulcan captain telling the relatively calm T’Lyn she was acting like a child and smashing to Boimler squeeing through the air on rocket boots in a Star Trek V gag that stood out in an episode which mostly avoided relying on those kinds of lore nods. This all led up to an action-packed battle sequence just as exciting as some of the best of Trek, including the films (helped along with some movie music).
While we were introduced to new characters and whole other ships, the episode still found the time to give all of our Cerritos gang (lower deckers and bridge crew) moments to shine. There was genuine character growth on display from Mariner and mom bonding to Rutherford helping Shax with his post-war issues: “Take your never-ending bonfire of rage and bury it in the clay.” Brilliant. And Boimler was eventually true to himself and got that respect he deserves, although at this point it’s getting hard to justify why he is still an ensign.
Mariner resists the urge to show her mom just how good of a shot she can be.
Three ships
Although this episode had a lot of character stuff going on, including the introduction of new characters, it actually moved the season’s plot arc forward in a big way. Since the season one finale, there has been a mystery as to why the previously assumed harmless Pakleds have suddenly become a big threat, and we now know who was pulling the strings, and even provided the Varuvian Bomb we learned about earlier this season. While Dorg is dead, the Pakleds did get another bomb, so there will likely be more to resolve in the season finale next week. Having a rogue Klingon captain be the mysterious puppet master feels like a missed opportunity to do something more fun, like the transformation of the obscure Pakleds themselves from dimwits to the big bad villains of Lower Decks.
Hopefully, the introduction of the Klingon and Vulcan ships and crews won’t just be a one-off. While brief, the time on both ships felt genuine, helped build the world of Lower Decks, and also blended well with the bigger galaxy that is Star Trek. M’ach and T’Lyn are great additions to Lower Decks and we hope to see them again. It would not be surprising to see T’Lyn end up on the Cerritos, and you can just imagine her nerd bonding with Boimler and driving Mariner crazy with their clashing styles of rebellion.
The Cerritos briefly experiences ship envy.
Final thoughts
Lower Decks continues to build upon strength as it sets up its final chapter of season two. Instead of just repeating what works, the show is willing to take risks and change up the format while still remaining true to its themes, and never forgetting to be funny along the way.
And ending the episode with lower deckers of Borg Cube 90182 for the credit sequence was simply genius.
Life in the collective actually seems kind of tranquil.
MORE BITS
Random stuff
- First Star Trek episode with title in Klingon (written in Klingon), which translates as “Three ships.”
- Speaking of Klingon, this episode credits the creator of the Klingon language Marc Okrand as dialect coach and translator.
- Boimler took Tamarian at the Academy.
- Boimler grew up on a vineyard in Modesto, California.
- Ransom is from Tycho City, on Earth’s moon.
- Benzar’s third moon is named B-9-3, and Ransom’s cousin lives there.
- Shaxs was part of the Bajoran Resistance during the Cardassian occupation of Bajor.
- Captain Freeman is experiencing hot flashes.
- Rutherford played with the DS9 model Tendi gave him in “An Embarrassment of Dooplers.”
- The ship class for the new Pakled ships is “Clumpship,” and they are all possibly named “Pakled.”
- Pakled term for red alert is “red alarm” and they call bombs “boomers.”
- There is a 24th-century version of the classic board game Clue set on a Starfleet ship.
- Captain Freeman wore a “RITOS” shirt in the same style as the “DISCO” shirts seen worn on the USS Discovery.
- The 24th century Vulcan Cruiser showed a consistent design philosophy with those as far back as the 22nd century.
- While Borg Cube 90182 appears like it could reference a California Zip Code, it isn’t a used code.
Laugh lines
- Let us eat before the squirmiest Gach is devoured.
- Logical? Are you a Vulcan now? Maybe you should trim your bangs and join a science vessel.
- Save me a seat at lunch, unless I die an honorable death, then somebody else can have it.
- Klingon blood runs as reddish/pink as ever.
- Fighting fascism is a full-time job!
- He could demote me to work at a penal colony where I have to mate with the enemy to form a new civilization.
- Captain, the leg has been passed, it was an honorable movement.
- I’m going to make a cute little ashtray for my incense. It’s going to look like a puppy.
- We have replicators, why is there a chef, that’s just shady.
- Let’s give the Pakleds a taste of their own mushfroot.
- They’re all from moons. They’re probably talking about tides and werewolves.
Your ship is named Pakled, mine too!
More to come
Every Friday, the TrekMovie.com All Access Star Trek Podcast covers the latest news in the Star Trek Universe. The podcast is available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Pocket Casts, Stitcher and is part of the TrekMovie Podcast Network. On Saturday, we’ll post our weekly analysis of Easter eggs and references for this episode.
New episodes of Star Trek: Lower Decks premiere on Thursdays on Paramount+ in the U.S. and on CTV Sci-Fi Channel in Canada, where it’s also available to stream on Crave. It is available on Amazon Prime Video internationally on Fridays. It will debut in Latin America on Paramount+ in September.
Keep up with all the news and reviews from the new Star Trek Universe on TV at TrekMovie.com.
Yet another great episode that I laughed heartily throughout. Love Lower Decks!
This is now my favorite episode.
It was great to see Klingons returned to form after the Discovery debacle of redesigning them as sewer rat-orc-whatever they were. The Klingon captain was a genuine threat, even in the goofy context of using the Pakleds as his minions.
This may be the most fun that Trek has ever had with Vulcans, and yet they were still completely in character, which was actually where most of the fun came from.
T’Lyn might be a really interesting potential love interest for Boimler if she ends up on the Cerritos as was kind of foreshadowed.
…or for Mariner, for that matter. We know (from McMahon, as well as a few hints in dialogue) that she swings both ways.
True!
To assume that all Vulcans are exclusively heterosexual in orientation would be illogical.
Waaaaait… Vulcans are sexual?
Every seven years.
Only the fun ones. ;)
In all seriousness, don’t most have to get married? Spock managed to dodge that bullet but both Tuvok and T’Pol (briefly) were.
Marriage and sexuality aren’t causally linked, though, or they? Sexuality doesn’t require marriage just as marriage doesn’t require sexuality.
Yeah…but it helps. ;)
Actually it would be illogical to think Vulcans would be exclusively hetero. The reason for mating is procreation, not enjoyment. If it were two males their pon-far would have to line up. Further, there would be no offspring. Not sure how females would deal with that but it just doesn’t make logical sense any Vulcan would “swing both ways” unless they were like Sybok and were rejecting their culture.
Yeah thank Kahless we finally got back to the traditional Klingons again and manage to wipe away the weird looking Orc ones on Discovery. I assumed once the Picard show arrived they would go back to those again just for Worf alone when he shows up. ;) I was hoping to see at least a few Klingons in the first season. But luckily Lower Decks made the classic Klingons canon again. It just feels right IMO. Don’t fix what isn’t broken. That seems to be Lower Decks motto!
But I am curious how SNW and Discovery will show them when they eventually pop up on those shows? Will they double down with the Klingons we saw in season 2 of Discovery (which felt like a big improvement at least) or will they just go back to the classic Klingons look entirely like LDS did? I know there were fans of the new Klingon look but I think its safe to say the fanbase as a whole seem much more happier with the traditional Klingons. That’s how we known them since the The Search for Spock and continued that way for decades.
I hope you are right Tiger. I could see SNW fixing the Klingon appearance since it’s its own show and not necessarily tethered to the design choices of Discovery. They might even lean into the canon of that era and show some Klingons without ridges! But I bet if they show up in Discovery season 4 they will maintain continuity with how they looked when we last saw them in season 2… I would be the first to be happy if I’m wrong! Of all the bad visual decisions made for Discovery the Klingon change was the worst. In my opinion ;-)
I am VERY curious how Klingons will look on Discovery the most next time we see them. You’re right, they could stick to the second season version of them, which as said I thought was mostly fine.
BUT if they are going to create a different continuity away from LDS and PIC, it may feel a bit jarring. It’s easier to change things when its shows years or decades apart but when its all playing at the same time, that may feel different. I still don’t know why Discovery just didn’t go the route Klingons look different according to biology and that would’ve solved all their problems. That was really the smart thing they did on Picard with the Romulans and finally just said both smooth and bumpy head Romulans existed together. In one swoop it rectified a long conflicting issue for decades. But oh well.
Maybe Lower Decks will do it for them. ;)
Star Trek has a long history of making adjustments as needed and kind of not thinking too much about it.
Exactly! Anytime they know they are going the wrong way on something, they always try and make adjustments. They been doing that literally since the TOS films started and why the franchise stays viable with fans.
Changing the Klingons back was a no-brainer.
LDS is a cartoon.
Good catch on it being a cartoon. A34 is really smart and strong.
They still look like the updated Discovery Klingons.
Nah. They look and act like the classic Klingons.
To speak of the “Discovery” and events of the first two seasons is treason, at least in universe. But we’re not in universe so here goes.
Klingons in Ent lost their ridges and didn’t get them back until the movie era of TOS. Klingons with ridges in the Disco era is anachronistic, and SNW better give us smooth Klingons or Lucy has some ‘splainin to do. As for what they might look like in the far future where Disco is now, I try not to be too critical when a series has the luxury of writing its own path, which Disco can do now that it’s not wedged between Ent and TOS. So long as I don’t have to read subtitles or learn a new language to keep up with Klingon scenes, I’m good.
Regarding this episode specifically, it’s not the first time we’ve seen rogue Klingons artificially advancing another race. TOS A Private Little War.
I’m looking forward to T’Lyn as a prominent character on LD, regardless of whether she hits left, right, or switch. She’s obviously feels restricted by Vulcan traditions, so if she does show up as a prominent character on the Cerritos, I expect to see her do the pendulum swing from Boimler saying loosen up to Mariner saying tighten up, then finding her balance of Vulcan logic and human passion (which rather mirrors my own experience having been raised in a strict religious environment and leaving that to forge my own path).
As for potential love interests, I think polyamory has only been hinted at, on Ent, and not really explored. I’d like to see a true triad as part of a sub-arc. If T’Lyn does join the Cerritos crew though, that sub-arc may have to wait. 10-13 episodes per season seems to be the new normal, and it’s hard to fit much into that short format. Lament for the days of 26-episode seasons.
Actually, SNW is in a position to do both ridged and smooth head Klingons. However, I sorta think they ought to just stick with the ridges and be done with it. IMHO it was a mistake for Enterprise to even address the issue.
Well, yeah I guess, since a refresher read of the ENT Divergence epi explains only a segment of the population was affected. I suppose if Klingons on other worlds were aware of the virus they would quarantine. So I guess DISCO didn’t leave cannon after all and SNW can show us both. Hmm. That’ll be interesting. Healthy Klingon says wear a mask. Viral Klingon says MAKE ME as he draws a Dak’Tang. Healthy levels a disruptor. And of course it won’t be a surgical mask. It will be some helmet sort of respirator with a malfunctioning intercom (audio department will use a ring modulator in post), and the viral will complain, “I can’t breathe in this thing.” Now that I wrote it, I WANNA SEE THAT! lol.
The “taste of their own mushfruit” line was great.
I loved it. I was howling throughout the entire Borg sequence.
I liked how the DS9 model was missing an arm. Because Rutherford and Tendi can never finish a model.
I was waiting for them to reference the Klingon blood problem as soon as I saw the color, and they did not disappoint.
The sniper rifle was probably a reference to that DS9 episode; I wonder if the chef was a reference to ENT.
The subtitles said “mushfroot.” I wonder if “clumpship” is a reference to all the parts stuck on. I saw a bird of prey wing…
Was the penal colony thing a reference to an episode?
I was waiting for the joke in the Borg sequence. It never came.
Definite world building going on. We’ll hopefully see M’ach and T’Lyn again and I wouldn’t be surprised if that other Boimler on the Titan comes back.
Loved this episode. Really wish the creative team behind “Lower Decks” would be given a live action show to produce.
Was that James Horner’s music from Star Trek II/III used during the battle with the Pakleds?
It really sounded like it. I immediately thought it was from TWOK
It was the “TWOK”ified LD theme introduced in Crisis Point, where they parodied/payed hommage to the starship gazing.
Alright hands up?
Who watched every second of the lower decks Borg because you just had to?
(Raise hand….twice)
As for this episode, the light arrives at the fourth moon!
I know, a little bit hyperbolic but it was THAT good! ;)
Just based on the previews I really thought it was just going to be a fun one off episode, but I loved they continued with the Plakled story line. And the fact Klingons are behind it is one of those small amazing twists you used to get on DS9. I loved that the M’ach stood up to his captain and his Federation allies. That was a great moment and really showed Klingon honor in the best way. And man poor T’Lyn (the use of the word ‘poor’ would probably get me a severe but quite mellow talking to on that ship), the girl was only trying to do her job and kept getting slapped down for it. And it didn’t hit me until now T’Lyn was the ‘Mariner’ of her ship until I read this review lol. That is so funny but yet so true. I bet T’Lyn, like Tendi, is a total badass too deep inside. I hope she ends up working on the Cerritos or even the Titan (any excuse to get the Rikers on again). But we need more T’Lyn in our lives!!!
As for Mariner, this is probably the most mellow she’s been on the entire show. She didn’t get into any fights with anybody, did what she was told and got along with her mother. This was a nice side to she her in…relax mode. The twist that no one was actually from Hawaii in Ransom’s group, but all from a moon, was so damn funny. Again, the stuff these guys think of!
The parallels between the Vulcans/Starfleet/Klingons lower decks were so clever and right on the money. But the end scene with the lower decks Borg is just one of those iconic moments fans just gravitate to. This show is just incredible. It really lets out the super geeky fanboy in me. The only downside for me is the episodes are waaaaay too short.
I did watch the whole thing, and I got annoyed that it automatically turned into a thumbnail a few seconds in!
This was probably the best episode yet. It’s so gratifying to see these artists stretching their wings and getting more ambitious, but still pulling off a show that manages to thrill and make us laugh. The moment with Boimler at the end is yet another well-pitched heartfelt scene. Still can’t quite believe this ended up being the best new Trek show.
This show is just very creative and shows how you can make small slice of life stories out of lower ranked Starfleet officers to be engaging, funny and layered all at the same time. And I also love how much heart it has, which is what so much of classic Star Trek does so well. I recently finished a grand rewatch of the entire franchise and that’s one of the things I really felt in practically all the old shows. Even if they still had problem areas, there is just a nice feeling about them by the time you got to the end of an episode. LDS is the same way. You just end up caring for the characters and their plight. You root for them and want to see them succeed.
But this episode also prove they can tell very innovative stories, even with just a half an hour of content. I was also reading a very old thread a day ago before we started getting any post-Nemesis shows again and reading narrow minded posts from people suggesting there is nothing else you can do or tell in the 24th century anymore. It’s all been done according to some of them. Uh huh! LDS proves nothing is EVER ‘done’ when you have strong and passionate writers with a deep love of the material and setting. The show takes what so many of us know and love about this era and turns it on its ear. I love the Easter eggs and references you get with it, but that’s not what keeps me interested. It’s the actual story telling that does.
It is almost surreal how this little comedy show has become the best Trek show for so many fans out of all the new shows. All the hype Discovery and Picard got, but it’s this show that really has fans excited about Star Trek again because it’s both very fun and really honors the universe.
Honestly, so far I find it disingenuous to all Secret Hideout shows to call any of them “best” because that implies a show is good. It’s a misdirect. A batter with a .180 batting average may be the best of .150, .140 & .090. But it’s still a TERRIBLE batting average.
of course i watched every second of it. hilarious!
I didn’t watch it because I had to. I watched it because I was expecting a joke that never came.
I’m not a fan of the Pakled storyline. It felt tired in episode 10 and now it’s even more tired. The real problem, as I said before, is the Pakleds were already a joke. They made fun of themselves in their TNG episode. This is just beating a dead horse. It’s not working.
I thought it was pretty damn obvious who Vulcan Mariner and Klingon Boimler were. Although I did think we would get more signs of their equivalents for all 4 of them. Which they really should have done.
The parallels was indeed a good idea. It just wasn’t done well at all. There was a lot of room for humor and they just didn’t go there. Again, too much respect for the source material. Poking fun at Trek tropes WORKS! Doing so is not sacrilegious.
This was the first complete episode I have watched since the finale of S1 and I have to admit, it was very good. IMHO, this episode, in many ways, reminded me of the TNG episode Lower Decks with Boimler doing whatever he could to impress the first officer. (Aren’t you Canadian sir?)
The thing I may have liked the most was the controlled delivery of the dialogue for probably 80-90 percent of the episode, which seemed more like what you would see in a live action show – not “over the top” like an animated show. Haha, of course with Vulcans, controlled dialogue is a must.
Finally, for me I thought the humour was also spot on with both the lower deck Klingons and Vulcans (and the Borg). For those Trek fans who are not that enamoured with LDs (like myself) and who do not normally watch the show – I would strongly recommend this episode. In many ways, it felt like I was watching a 30 minute live action show from the TNG era. Overall 4 out of 5 stars. Easily the best episode I have seen.
Glad you liked it DeanH!
I know you been more mixed on this show overall but I think this episode did surprise even people who aren’t big fans of the show. And I think that even if you hate stuff like the raunchy comedy and overly playful characters at its very core its very much a Star Trek show like all the others.
Hopefully you will enjoy it more as it continues!
Thanks Tiger2 for keeping up with your positive reviews of LDs. Although I may not regularly watch, because of the upbeat reviews including yours, I knew the show had not only potential to appeal to skeptics like myself, but it also already had Trek fans like yourself hooked by the overall core themes of the show.
Like the last two episodes of S1, this one seems to have been made to appeal to a broader audience of Trek fans including myself. Looking forward to next week’s finale.
Btw, I truly hope they stick with the formula that has worked over the two seasons. I do like they have reached out to fans like myself, but I hope they don’t give up on the things that made the show appeal to its core fans like yourself.
I hope they stick with the formula that worked for episode 208. It’s the only one that has worked so far.
The only good episode of LDX was last weeks. I, Erectus. But honestly it would be cruel to tell someone who doesn’t want to watch LDX to start with that one. No other episode would even be close. That person might think the show is pretty good based on that one episode and then would come crashing down. No, even with that one bright spot overall the show is still terrible. Time will tell if it will improve. There is only one episode left and even if it is good it’s not enough to salvage the season or the show. Remember, Star Trek Discovery had a good season 1 episode, too. How’d that work out for them?
Wouldn’t it be great if P+ didn’t try to murder the Borg gag by automatically minimizing it to the quarter of the screen, where I had to restore it?
That was annoying. Didn’t ruin the joke or anything, but still. I wish these streaming services would just let the damn credits play; I’m perfectly capable of deciding on my own whether I want to see them.
BTW… I haven’t had any glitch issues with P+ yet. But they do put an promo up front. Which is disgusting. I paid for no ads and they do this? A pox on P+!!!
This one was a complete delight.
If the plan was to make us want more of the Klingon, Vulcan and BORG lower decks, it more than worked.
But at this rate of competence, not just Boimler, but Captain Freeman and her crew are looking to deserve some show of respect from Starfleet.
That said, the reward for a job well done is usually another, harder job.
TG,
I know it’s not in contention but this episode is evidence for why I said the other day or the other week that I think the Lower Decks writers would be knocking it out of park if they could write episodes for DISCO or PICARD. Let them write a live action Star Trek film as well!
Yep, I now believe the best NU-Trek writers are below decks. Starting today, I am a Lower Decks fan.
Very, very well done!
For season 3 I’d love to see some of the lower decks crew on a Romulan ship. You’d imagine plenty of metaphorical and sometimes literal backstabbing. Everyone assuming that their fellow officers were really undercover Tal Shiar.
Yes, absolutely!
How about a “Face of the Enemy” lower decks style?
Best single episode in the modern era of Trek! This is not a diss on Disco or Picard. This episode was just that damn great!
!!
that Borg Cube didn’t look like Beverly Hills…
Well that number wasn’t 90210 exactly…
Now, that was funny and entertaining and trekkin’ again! Bring it on and make full length episodes of 45 minutes next season!
An idea for next season: they get into an anomaly and everything will be turned into live action!
Wouldn’t that be The Orville?
First, English is not my main language. This is now my favorite episode, it brought me feelings that had been dormant for years. I really thought that because I was getting old I couldn’t have fun with Star Trek anymore, I thought that the problem was me and that I had to resign myself to Discovery and Picard, which to me are terrible. In the beginning I was a bit wary of watching a cartoon “never going to be like a live action”, but it’s really no problem at all. This proves that it’s possible to do a show that’s like the ones I watched when I was a kid, that it’s not something that’s gone and will never come back. Of course, I understand that maybe I’m no longer the target audience for a live action Star Trek show, but I’m more than happy to relive those feelings via a cartoon show. I confess that I even cried a little with happiness. At the climax of the episode, when the Vulcan cruiser arrives at the battle, it was great!
Your English is excellent, no need to apologise for anything!
That was an outstanding Episode :)
Absolutely superb episode … fun, emotional and what a lovely ending and looking forward to more, this has been one amazing season !
I really loved the incredible detail of the ships in that battle. And the musical quoting of the Vulcan themes in the soundtrack was icing on the cake.
I also had to run it back and listen to what Freeman and Mariner were shouting about while fighting. No wonder poor Boimler wanted to bail so fast. I’m pretty sure this is the first time that cramps and hot-flashes were discussed in a Star Trek episode. Like everyone else, I am hoping we’ll see more of T’Lyn. Starfleet as punishment? Snotty Vulcans.
I want a recording of that Borg Cube background sound.
Star Trek IV features an awesome use of cramps. I don’t know if that qualifies as an episode though.
I usually pick up those things. But I didn’t hear it in this one. Perhaps I was just too bored with what was going on to notice…
This was the BEST Episode yet. Not the funniest, but the best in terms of being an actual Star Trek story. It made sense through and through, was astonishingly well told for a comedy series and a whole lot of better than last season’s semi-idiotic penultimate episode.
They really made it! An actual episode that did not serve as a vehice for dropping in-jokes and easter eggs… First I thought they’d screw up the Klingon and Vulcan subplots by turning these into visions or holodeck twists… But no, they really told a classic Trek story this week and everything made absolute sense…
S2 had plenty of pretty good eps that tried to find a middle ground between comedy and Trek. But this one was the first ep that fully succeeded and felt like a full episode. The show got a lot better after that abysmal season opener. Me thinketh I may be fully onboard the RITOS now :-)
You know Garth, I really think that people are overreacting to this show because the other Treks have been SOOO bad. It’s an old Eddie Murphy joke but if you are starving to death, and someone gives you a plain old cracker, that cracker is the greatest cracker EVER! It’s only when your hunger is satisfied that you realize that cracker was just a plain boring cracker and nothing special. If better Trek comes along just watch how bad LDX will suddenly look by comparison.
Already in my top 3 episodes for LD. It’s hard to beat the final two episodes of Season 1, but they somehow managed to equal them in this delightful and clever story. The attention to detail is just astounding. It’s just amazing to me that an animated comedy somehow captures the magic of TNG so perfectly. I can’t be more thankful for the people behind it. More like this please!
Here’s a question I have about the Vulcans still operating starships….
If the Vulcans are still fielding starships of that size and complexity in the 24th century to pursue their own goals, does that imply that United Earth still has their own starships and separate force beyond the Federation Starfleet?
I was wondering the same! Before the federation there existed earth, vulcan, andorian, tellarite starships. Shouldn’t federation starships incorporate elements from all designs, instead of being based on an earth starship? Of course Archer’s Enterprise was designed that way as a “downgraded Enterprise” to look like a prequel. But this suggests earth starships = federation sharships. Somehow the producers didn’t plan it thoroughly.
Honestly I don’t think too much thought should be put into that. It was just another easter egg for fans. Nothing more.
Worst episode ever. No controversial elements, no full frontal nudity, no swearing. Terrible. This is NOT Star Trek.
I am, of course, joking. I enjoyed this one – especially the Borg sequence (I couldn’t breathe I was laughing that hard!)
I think this one found the right balance of story and humour. I’ve enjoyed all of LDS so far, but I think this one got everything mostly right.
“No controversial elements”
Well, the close up on the purple Klingon blood..:-) Just kidding… .
That’s a good point 😂 I actually said “hey the blood’s purple!” aloud when I saw it 😂 maybe it’s something something different races of Klingons from different parts of Qo’Nos, or some kind of morphogenic virus that makes some Klingons have purple blood and other have red blood like what Martok had (or was that the Martok changeling?)
Ok maybe this ep did have a controversial element 😂 I hope LDS never changes 😂
Well, 30 years ago the colour of the klingon blood would have been a controversial element. ;-)
And yet when I saw STVI in the cinema I didn’t really notice the colour – I was more impressed with the CGI globules 😂
Well… The best think I can say here is that this is evidence humor is subjective. VERY subjective.
Brilliant episode and what a great season this has turned out to be. Expanding the show to include lower decker’s from other federation vessels was a master stroke and hopefully we’ll get to see more of them in future episodes.
Hands down my favorite episode of the season.
When Boimler made a reference to Enemy Mine I almost lost my poop. That is one of the earliest sci-fi movies I remember as a child, so to have them give that line to the son of the star made me lol mega hard.
Overall this episode is a pretty good idea. Showing the equivalent of our Lower Deckers on other ships. The problem is, and this seems to be repeating theme with Secret Hideout, it just wasn’t executed well at all. It was still better than most episodes as it did contain a laugh or two. But looking at the bigger picture it just wasn’t good enough.
I guess McMahon thinks the Pakleds are funny but the problem there was they already pretty much made fun of themselves in their one episode. It feels like beating a dead horse here. I guess I should be happy in that we had the best episode made followed by the 2nd best episode made. Sadly the gap between the two is still pretty wide.
One of the funnier aspects of these reviews is the author still brings up “character moments” on this show. There really isn’t. Not significantly anyway. What character they have is superficial, shallow and kids show level simplicity. Of course if the show was funnier I really wouldn’t care about such things… But I digress.
Why is Vulcan Mariner “immediately likeable”? She’s more interesting than human Mariner, that’s for sure. But likable is a tremendous stretch. She’s just… There.
I know it was just an Enterprise easter egg but does it make sense the Vulcans would be using the same ship design for 200 years? I guess there is a certain logic in going with a tried and true design but 200 years?
I kina do hope the trope of Lower Deckers on other vessels is a one off. It was a good idea that was not executed well. I don’t like the idea of risking failure again. And yes, the obvious first thought was that Vulcan Mariner would get placed on the Ceritos. That would be a terrible idea. So they just might do it.
The author of the review speaks about “instead of repeating what works” is a joke in and of itself. Very little is working. So little is working that is very much looks like they should do more of that one thing that does. The jokes from the previous episode. They absolutely should do more like that. And for (generously) 16 of 18 episodes, the show has absolutely forgotten that they are supposed to be funny first.
And no, the final Borg bit wasn’t genius. It had potential to be but as usual, failed in execution. It was reminiscent of that final bit at the end of Avengers with the group just sitting there eating shawarma. THAT was funny. But here… bleh. Maybe my expectations were raised after the last episode. Perhaps I should do what our current administration is asking us all to do… Lower our expectations.
PS: “Boomer” was used by the Jar-Jar people in Phantom Menace.