From Par’Mach To Painstiks, The ‘Star Trek: Lower Decks’ Klingon Easter Eggs In “A Farewell To Farms”

We have already recapped and reviewed  Star Trek: Lower Decks season 5, episode 4, “A Farewell to Farms,” and discussed it on All Access Star Trek podcast. Today we are looking at the canon connections, Easter eggs, and nods. And because there was so much, this analysis will focus just on all the bits of Klingon lore. Here’s what jumped out to us, which include SPOILERS.

Back on the farm

Right from the start as we visit the Klingon home world the connections begin, with an establishing shot of Qo’noS almost a mirror image of one from Star Trek: Discovery’s “Will You Take My Hand?” minus the moon Praxis, which exploded some 80 years earlier.

The episode title may be a play on “A Farewell to Arms” by Ernest Hemingway (who Mariner name-checked in “Hear All, Trust Nothing), but they were just going for a “farm” gag. We begin at Ma’ah’s family “vineyard” (actually a farm for raising gagh worms to make Klingon Bloodwine) and as he is sort of the Klingon Boimler, it makes sense as Boimler’s family owns a raisin vineyard (visited in “Grounded“). Visually the opening scene takes a cue from Chateau Picard vineyard, as seen in TNG’s “All Good Things,” with Ma’ah’s sunhat and braces combo resembling Picard’s.

par’Mach is in the air

Onto the “Warrior Pit” bar where Ma’ah and Malor make their bloodwine delivery. Good thing too, as the bartender mentions that he’d had nothing to serve but Bahgol, a Klingon tea which Jadxia Dax served Kor, Koloth and Kang when they visited Deep Space 9 in “Blood Oath.” We’re introduced to K’Elarra, played by Mary Chieffo (Discovery’s Chancellor L’Rell). Ma’ah wonders if she’s in par’Mach (“love, but with more aggressive overtones” according to Dax) with the thrash lute player, but she only has eyes for Ma’ah, including engaging in some classic Klingon flirting reminiscent of K’Ehleyr and Worf from TNG’s “The Emissary.”

Unfortunately, the flirting is interrupted by the arrival of Boimler and Mariner, who calls Ma’ah “my old cha’DIch.” In “Sins of the Father,” first Kurn, then Picard acted as Worf’s cha’DIch when he was trying to clear his family name. After K’Elarra disapproves of Ma’ah hanging around with Federation types, Mariner quips back “Ooh, what crawled up her boob window and died?” – a nod to her outfit styled like those of the Duras sisters (Lursa and B’Etor), introduced in The Next Generation.

That’s (Klingon) entertainment

Boimler, naturally, is delighted to be in a famous Klingon bar, even if he does confuse it with one in the Ketha Lowlands, the childhood home of Chancellor Martok (the Lowlands, not the bar, although Martok did kill 12 ‘urwl’pu’ there). He was fascinated with the wide assortment of Klingon blades, which were thrown at targets shaped like Andorians. He was particularly excited over seeing a d’k tahg, first introduced in Star Trek III: The Search for Spock (although not given a name until TNG).

And there was a nod back to the show’s canon, with the bar’s band playing Klingon Acid Punk, Tendi’s favorite.

Know your rites

It wouldn’t be a Klingon episode if there weren’t rituals. They even hung a lantern on that when Boimler noted, “You guys have a lot of rituals.” And as a lover of “Klingon bureaucratic minutiae” Brad was the one to suggest Ma’ah can get through the Oversight Council roadblock to get his command back from the by invoking the “Ritual of J’ethurgh.” This first stage of this was “The Rite of Unending Pain,” symbolizing when the founder of Klingon civilization Kahless went through a field of thorns, tearing one from his leg to kill the mythical Fek’lhr. Of course this rite involved Painstiks (and yes, that is how it is spelled), the cattle-prod like devices first seen in the TNG episode “The Icarus Factor” when Worf went through his second Rite of Ascension.

On Ma’ah’s family farm there were several Targs, Klingon boar-like creatures that have appeared throughout the franchise as pets, domesticated animals as well as hunted for sport. The first appearance of a targ was in the TNG episode when Worf’s childhood pet appeared on the bridge in “Where No One Has Gone Before.” The second stage of Ma’ah’s trial was a “test of strength” when the team was tasked with wrestling down a giant targ, which turned out to just be the pet of council leader Bargh. BTW, in Star Trek III: The Search for Spock, Commander Kruge had a pet creature that is sometimes thought of as the first targ, but it had a different look and was described as a “monster dog.”

Deep Kling

But the callbacks got much deeper this episode. On the way to the Oversight Council chambers, the establishing shot had two speeder bike riders (ok, we borrowed a name from Star Wars) shout “Experience bij!” at each other following a near-collision. This harks back to the 1993 VHS game “A Klingon Challenge” starring Robert O’Reilly. His character, Kavok was fond of saying the phrase (rough translation “Experience punishment” whenever a player failed a task. You can find a compilation of it here.

Finally, early on Ma’ah receives a call from Mariner on a sort of Klingon version of a TOS-style flip communicator. This is the first time we’ve seen a Klingon variant of these, and also (possibly) the first time we’ve seen one in the 24th Century. Are they making a comeback, or are these Klingons just a little behind the times? We did see a 23rd century Klingon communicator in TOS, but it was a different design.

What did you see?

Spot any new Trek references we missed on Lower Decks? Have a favorite? Sound off in the comments below.

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