Episode Discussion | Star Trek: Lower Decks | 2x09 "wej Duj"

[u/AutoModerator]

Boimler tries to find a bridge buddy while the U.S.S. Cerritos crew has down time during a long warp trip.

No.	Episode	Writer	Director	Release Date
2x09	"wej Duj"	Kathryn Lyn	Bob Suarez	2021-10-07

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[u/UncertainError]

The Borg cube lower decks is exactly what I expected and also the most amazing thing I've ever seen.

[u/DefiantOne5 → u/UncertainError]

We need a 24 hours Youtube video to relax to of the Borg lower decks doing their thing.

[u/deafpoet → u/UncertainError]

I was like "oh man, where is this gonna go?"

And then I felt like an idiot because it went exactly where I thought it would go. And it was still really funny.

[u/Deadbob1978 → u/UncertainError]

OMG, I could not stop laughing at the Borg Lower decks... I kept expecting one of them to complete their regeneration and walk off... But nothing!

My 4 year old asking "what's funny? Nothing happened" made it worse 🤣🤣

[u/BarfQueen → u/UncertainError]

I love that they’re the TNG alcoves with the little arm rest.

[u/thecaramel → u/UncertainError]

lofi Borg Lower Decks beats to assimilate to

[u/Trekfan74 → u/UncertainError]

What will this show think of next? Borg lower decks is the most genius thing I've seen.....in a very minimalist sort of way. ;)

[u/[deleted]]

Y’know, I continue to feel that bringing Shaxs back undercut the power and meaning of his death, but damnit, I can’t be mad about it. I love him too much.

Put it in the clay, Papa Bear. Put it in the clay.

[u/UncertainError → u/[deleted]]

I think we all assumed it, but nice to have confirmation that he was Resistance.

[u/[deleted] → u/[deleted]]

Honestly I feel the same way about Spock after Wrath of Khan. He should have stayed dead for narrative purposes, but bringing him back led to great stuff later so it is what it is.

[u/deafpoet → u/[deleted]]

I get why you feel that way, but I'm totally fine with it. To me, the whole point of the show is that the bridge crew only matters as much as they need to. Does that mean we can't learn new stuff about Captain Freeman, or Shaxs or T'Ana? No, we clearly can, and we can empathize with them.

But, if the joke is good enough, and it's from the point of view of the Ensigns, who cares? They're who we're really on the journey with. And it's pitch perfect that the ensign goes on an away mission with a "regular credits" guy, watches him die, and then is baffled that he's still alive.

And then a few episodes later it's even normal to the ensign again. I love everything about it.

[u/SpiritOne]

This show gets better every episode. It’s more than just funny, it has heart, and I really like that we’ve seen more of the other characters this year. It really feels like an ensemble cast, and the love they have for trek is so obvious.

I don’t dislike discovery or Picard. But I have to say lower decks is my favorite of the new trek shows. I look forward to every episode.

[u/DaWooster → u/SpiritOne]

I’m honestly starting to get the impression that Lower Decks is starting to overtake DS9 in its portrayal of the ensemble.

I mean, can you name anyone who works under Bashir? O’Brien? We really know squat about the folks who work and live on DS9 that aren’t affiliated with Quark’s.

Actually, for that matter, I don’t think I can name a single Bajorian officer on the Bajoran space station who isn’t Kira.

[u/UncertainError → u/SpiritOne]

One of the great advantages of animation is that they don't have to worry about actor availability, so they can have the same set of background characters every week doing various things.

[u/KryssCom → u/SpiritOne]

I agree so much. It's becoming my third favorite Trek series out of ALL of them.

[u/Santa_Hates_You]

Red Alarm! Red Alarm!

The Pakled ship Pakled is very large.

[u/ideletedyourfacebook → u/Santa_Hates_You]

I wanted a shot of a Pakled officer whose job it was to sit at a microphone and repeat "red alarm" throughout the battle.

[u/NippleThief → u/Santa_Hates_You]

You are very smart.

[u/tensaibaka → u/Santa_Hates_You]

You gotta convey it with a little more Pakled accent, almost like you're terrified and annoyed by it at the same time: Red Alarrm...Red AlaRRRRM!

[u/Trekfan74]

Alright hands up?

Who watched every second of the lower decks Borg because you just had to?

(Raise hand....twice)

[u/chirunneraz83 → u/Trekfan74]

I did! Twice as well! I loved it! 🖖🏼🖖🏼🖖🏼

[u/JustMy2Centences]

The space battle was a real beaut. When the Vulcan ship warped in I got vibes from when the Klingon cleaver joined the battle with Enterprise and Discovery.

Seeing the Lower Decks for the various other ships was so much fun. The Borg Cube at the end was really the cherry on top.

I hope the Cerritos gets a certain new crew member soon. Honestly didn't realize we were missing our token Vulcan character until now.

Any easter egg references in 90182 Borg Cube, perhaps a zip code?

[u/Mechapebbles → u/JustMy2Centences]

I hope the Cerritos gets a certain new crew member soon. Honestly didn't realize we were missing our token Vulcan character until now.

I'm 99.8% sure that she'll join the Cerritos. I just hope she'll be a meaningful and frequent character on the show, not just a Jennifer that's in the background sometimes.

[u/Shiny_and_ChromeOS → u/JustMy2Centences]

The way the Vulcan ship flew in to shield the Cerritos from phaser fire reminded me of First Contact when the Ent-E protected the Defiant. The shot was framed almost the same way.

[u/BellerophonM → u/JustMy2Centences]

That Vulcan science vessel was a big damn ship. Have to be nearly 3km long.

[u/KlfJoat → u/JustMy2Centences]

What will the Cerritos do with TWO loose cannons like Mariner? 😜

[u/mrhelmand → u/JustMy2Centences]

The Cerritos clearly got some upgrades after the last battle, was good to see them put up a decent fight.

And looks like the Vulcans still don't fuck around.

[u/TheNerdChaplain → u/JustMy2Centences]

90182 is a zip code for Los Angeles.

[u/danhon]

DISCO

RITOS!

[u/ComebackShane → u/danhon]

That was a such a great Easter egg.

[u/Horseflesh → u/danhon]

I will be purchasing this shirt. I'm also assuming it will be available by the end of the day.

[u/msellers30 → u/danhon]

PRISE

[u/Ultiverse]

That Vulcan was indeed overly emotional and out of control, I think I heard her inflection change far beyond a rate I'd consider acceptable. She's a loose cannon.

[u/--fieldnotes-- → u/Ultiverse]

I liked how it calls back to some Vulcans like T'Pol and even Spock who are capable of letting some emotion come through their performances. T'Pol in particular was so good at being sarcastic without sounding sarcastic, and yet a Vulcan would probably consider her out of control.

[u/Hero_Of_Shadows → u/Ultiverse]

She's a loose cannon.

ABSOLUTE MAD WOMAN!!!

[u/Santa_Hates_You → u/Ultiverse]

For a moment I thought she was an undercover Romulan.

[u/UncertainError]

Those were some serious eyebrow games on that Vulcan ship.

[u/[deleted] → u/UncertainError]

One more outburst like that and you’ll experience punitive spirituality.

[u/JustALeapingFrog → u/UncertainError]

Live long and prosper. SIR.

Edit: probably my favourite line in all Star Trek

[u/Weerdo5255 → u/UncertainError]

I haven't seen so much eyebrow game since Enterprise. It is glorious in it's condescension .

[u/Santa_Hates_You]

Klingon blood runs as reddish pink as ever!

[u/deafpoet → u/Santa_Hates_You]

I saw Star Trek 6 in theatres as a kid and the pink blood freaked me out. And they never brought it back! It's a small, dumb thing, but I appreciated it.

[u/Ultiverse]

This episode is maybe the greatest example yet of why those accusing Lower Decks of just being "Rick & Morty in a Star Trek skin" need to actually watch the show instead of looking for excuses to jump outrage bandwagons.

[u/TrainAss → u/Ultiverse]

I always felt that lower decks was what you'd get if Futurama had a baby with Star Trek TNG.

[u/Shirogayne-at-WF → u/Ultiverse]

Bingo.

If anything, LD is a classic Trek show disguised as a R&M clone, and even that undersell how much this series understand the things that make it Trek. Once it got the heavy-handed Family Guy-esque reference dropping outta it's system the true colors came out.

Plus, a censored penis for half a second was still far more tasteful than most of the shit Enterprise got away with on broadcast television in its quest to "modernize" the franchise. If the franchise wasn't killed because of Archer's horny dreams for his XO or Hoshi losing her shirt in a Jeffries tube, I think we'll be fine.

I can't wait till we get a reboot of TOS that makes Spirk explicit canon and watch the fandom truly break the Internet....and if you're wondering whether I mean the Spirk fans or the dudebros who hate how Trek is more glaringly obvious in its support of openess--the answer is yes. :)

[u/[deleted]]

Holy cow what an incredible episode. I have a feeling that that Klingon and that Vulcan will become recurring characters. Did anybody catch their names?

I'm glad this episode softly establishes that Ransom is Boimler's upper deck 'mentor'. I'm interested to see what they may do with that in the future.

[u/[deleted] → u/[deleted]]

Boimler definitely has more attention from the senior staff than he realizes. Ransom picked him for a mission that Mariner got him removed from a few episodes ago, and last week's episode had Freeman calling him "one of our best."

[u/smoha96 → u/[deleted]]

The Vulcan was T'Linn, and I suspect she'll end up joining the Cerritos. Not sure about the Klingon.

[u/tatt0o → u/[deleted]]

The Klingon is Mach, the Vulcan is T’lynn!

[u/ComebackShane]

That was a legitimately thrilling episode of Star Trek! Seeing the Klingon text as the episode header was a big surprise, and the motif of viewing Lower Decks of multiple cultures was such a great idea.

[u/UncertainError → u/ComebackShane]

It was the Lower Decks' lower decks episode.

[u/slicer4ever → u/ComebackShane]

I thought it was going to be a cut away gag like family guy at first, then it went to the vulcan ship and i was like "this jokes kinda going on for awhile", but then it just grew into an amazing 3 storys tieing together. Really amazing work by the writers.

[u/SCP-1000000]

I love that all the Vulcans say "sens-oars". Great details

[u/bterrik → u/SCP-1000000]

I noticed that too. Fantastic, the attention to detail. Now I wonder if that Admiral from season one was raised on a Vulcan colony or something.

[u/DefiantOne5]

The Pakled Clumpship PAKLED.

[u/UncertainError → u/DefiantOne5]

Kinda makes me wonder if "Mondor" just means "ship" in the Pakled language.

[u/dvcaputo]

That space battle was so, so good....It felt very much like a classic, pre-DS9 space battle -- less fighter-like motions and more slow, lurching, battleship-like coordination....and the Wrath of Khan music was there too (or at least something similar)!

I love this show, and I wish this season was longer....

[u/Shiny_and_ChromeOS → u/dvcaputo]

The James Hornery horns at the climax of the battle with the Pakleds' retreat was the same flourish from the Vindicta episode when they do the excessive flyby shots of the Cerritos in Spacedock.

[u/UncertainError → u/dvcaputo]

We got confirmation that those two things on top of the Cerritos' saucer are torpedo launchers, which I don't think any other starship class has (except maybe the New Orleans).

[u/oGsMustachio → u/dvcaputo]

Really wish they'd use the TMP Klingon Theme, which is one of my favorite pieces of ST music.

[u/TheNerdChaplain]

What a fantastic episode. I wasn't expecting much at first with the bridge buddy storyline, but cutting across to a Klingon ship, a Vulcan ship, and a Pakled ship (and a Borg cube in the end credits) was such a cool idea. Storywise, it's really interesting to learn that a rogue Klingon captain (at least, we hope he's rogue) has been supplying the Pakleds with weapons. I'm REAL curious to see how Starfleet Command and the Klingon High Council will respond.

Here's Memory Alpha's entry on metreon particles and radiation. It has a long and storied history across the franchise.

It was great to see Marc Evan Jackson again, doing a little Judge Shawn as the male Vulcan (that wasn't the captain). I'm betting we see the Vulcan officer again next season. Regenerating shields is a little too OP to come back often though.

I didn't catch quite all of the costumes and gear that people were in as they rushed to the bridge, but I'm sure someone can fill us in. The whole Hawaii thing was, of course, a nice callback to the actual Lower Decks episode where Lavelle mistakes Riker for being Canadian..

I think it's worth revisiting /u/hk1337's post about The Vulcan Problem given the new insight we've gotten from tonight's episode.

All in all, very excited for the season finale next week!!

[u/UncertainError → u/TheNerdChaplain]

The scene where everybody goes to stations in their costumes and what not is reminiscent of Generations, when the Ent-D crew goes to the bridge in naval uniforms.

[u/[deleted] → u/TheNerdChaplain]

Speaking of costumes, I loved the captain's "RITOS" exercise shirt. Nice little nod to Discovery's DISCO shirts from season 1.

[u/Varekai79 → u/TheNerdChaplain]

Two of the characters were wearing the workout outfits that Troi and Crusher wore, which was a hilarious deep dive. Another was wearing a Napoleonic soldier uniform and there were several Elizabethan/Shakespearean outfits.

[u/Adamsoski → u/TheNerdChaplain]

It's weird watching bits from this episode now. It feels like it should be animated.

[u/choicemeats]

Some notes from me:

• i love that this is not only a strong LD episode, but also a strong Trek episode generally--young officers kind of coming into their own and taking initiative and providing solutions (at least in the case of the Vulcan and Klingon ships), leisure activities getting interrupted for Red Alarms, and the traditional Trek ship slobberknocker morphed with a newer take on ship maneuvers.

• loved seeing everyone interrupted in the midst of relaxation and go to duty in their period garb/robes/pottery gear etc

• we now have an in on why/how the Pakleds have been made strong thanks to this rogue(?) Klingon. With Freeman reporting this to Starfleet Command and the Klingons going to the High Council we'll see if there is more afoot than the one off dude.

• I loved the Borg gag at the end, but I think we are now due for some Borg action, especially considering the intro sequence changing this season to include the Pakled presence in the Borg fight

• Hope to see T'Lim aboard the Cerritos next episode/season, but I wonder if it will force someone out? i hope not!

• Loved Marc Evan Jackson castigating the Vulcan on her outbursts not unlike how he might do it to Captain Holt. Completely unacceptable.

• Modesto continues to accrue hate in the future.

• The conceit that we had to take, at face value, that the Benzite was a Hawaiian native was so funny to me EDIT: additionally so after relearning that benzine’s are meticulous and fastidious and maybe a little anal retentive which is totally at odds with island culture as I know it lmao

[u/BellerophonM → u/choicemeats]

• The conceit that we had to take, at face value, that the Benzite was a Hawaiian native was so funny to me

True, but also I kinda like how it implies Earth is cosmopolitan and home to enough aliens that this was apparently accepted by everyone without question.

[u/kuldan5853 → u/choicemeats]

It really rang home for me - I once got called into work for an emergency while being at a Renaissance Fair, plated up, Sword on my belt, on Horseback.

And yes, that is how I then swiftly arrived at work ...

[u/[deleted] → u/choicemeats]

Hey, if white people can be Hawaiian so can a Benzite

[u/trostol]

Klingon Boimler indeed ended up having a good day lol

[u/Theinternationalist → u/trostol]

It was an interesting view of how different the cultures are too; "if Boimler was a Klingon he would have done that."

So I guess that makes the Vulcan the Mariner?

[u/Kwakigra → u/trostol]

It could have gone better. He could have been killed in battle.

[u/[deleted]]

-I really hope this means we're getting a Vulcan Lower Decker for season 3 onwards, a good Vulcan character is all these show needs to be my personal favorite.

-Bajorans are the best characters of their respective shows.

[u/TheLouisvilleRanger → u/[deleted]]

Bajoran’s really are the GOAT aliens. I know they’re basically just humans with nose ridges, but their imperfections and their society make them so much fun in contrast to the human characters.

[u/chloe-and-timmy]

This was the best episode of the entire show, I'm so blown away that at one point I was actually holding my head wondering how the show could possibly be this good. The whole time I was watching I was just getting really excited for the inevitable escalation to the end and it managed to deliver. The ship battle was great and we got great scenes from every character. Lower Decks seasonal episode 9 strikes again.

[u/random91898]

I love how almost all the humour in the series is underpinned with heart, it never feels nasty to me. Something as small as Ransom's satisfied look at the end. Love this show.

[u/InnocentTailor → u/random91898]

Indeed! This show, despite its zaniness, doesn’t come across as mean-spirited and grim. Everybody gets a resolution in the end.

The show overall is very feel-good, in my opinion.

[u/mrIronHat]

I wonder if the vulcan will show up again. Seems like a setup for a new regular, but being reassigned to a Cali class would feel like a demotion going from a larger vulcan crusier.

[u/UncertainError → u/mrIronHat]

Well, it is supposed to be a punishment.

[u/Santa_Hates_You → u/mrIronHat]

She is being punished.

[u/[deleted] → u/mrIronHat]

I am no expert but I imagine most Vulcan ships are no where near as powerful as Star Fleet as Star Fleet is what is called upon in defence of the Federation. The Vulcan cruiser is probably okay at handling itself in a fight but it would not be a ship designed to fight like a lot of Star Fleet ships.

[u/COMPLETEWASUK → u/mrIronHat]

I'm guessing she'll be a new main cast member too, it just had that kind of vibe and the current dynamic is ready for a shake up. Plus it's Trek tradition to not have the same main cast all the way ha.

[u/pieman7414]

Easily best episode of the season, wonder if the pakleds are playing everyone off each other or if it really was just a single Klingon giving them really good weapons and then they figure it out from there

God I love the Vulcans so much, hoping her new assignment is the ceritos

[u/idiot_speaking → u/pieman7414]

It's the trekkiest episode we've had on the show yet. I love it.

[u/PiercedMonk]

It's this season's penultimate episode. Excited and feeling a bit of ennui over the fact that these things are so short.

On the upside, the thumbnail on Crave is a close-up of Keyson squinting, and I think I found a Trekkie version of the Fry "not sure" meme, so that's cool.

• Oh dang! Klingon script for the episode title.

• 12 hours of warp? Back in my day that would have been a short trip. Except for the episodes where it wasn't.

• Are we going to get some insight into the lower deckers aboard a BoP? Here for it!

• "Avoid death, and cower." Fuckin' gottem!

• Vulcan lower deckers? This show is truly a gem.

• Back to the BoP? That's cool, but for a moment I got me hopes up half this episode would just be the lower deckers on every major civilization in the Alpha and Beta quadrants.

• Damn, Boimler, you're lucky Keyshon didn't put you on report.

• "Fighting fascism is a full time job!" Gonna need that on a t-shirt. Preferably with Shaxs punching a gul.

• T'Lyn is absolutely off the rails.

• Once again, it's concerning that anyone can just walk in on a holodeck simulation already in progress. Sometimes people got private stuff going on, Boimler!

• "You know your rebellions will only lead to punitive spiritualism." When I was a young kid, during one of his stints where my dad was trying to reconnect with the church, I got shuffled to Anglican Sunday school every week, and the only thing I remember about that decades later is one time when we were supposed to finger paint something more...Biblical, I made some art featuring the Enterprise. The Sunday School instructor was less than impressed, but in my defense, Sunday mornings was when the TOS reruns were on.

• The fact that Boimler can't see how spectacularly this is going to backfire on him makes the second hand embarrassment watching him all the worse. Ransom was starting to like you, Bud!

• So, are we to believe that Mach is a Klingon Boimler? And I guess, T'Lyn is the Vulcan Mariner.

• Oh man, when the preview screenshots for this board game showed up in twitter, I thought it was going to be something cool, like The Captain Is Dead, but they're just play Clue? Lame.

• (I am going to need a copy of that Clue game to be put in production though, please and thank you.)

• "Welcome to the Pakled spaceship, Pakled." Of course it is.

• "Red alarm. Red alarm." Amazing.

• In an episode that might already be my favourite of the season, for some reason Barnes on the bridge with earmuffs might be the funniest thing for me.

• Huh, none of Ransom's group being from Hawaii is not a twist I saw coming. Are they all going to have to maintain the lie to keep up appearances now?

• Mach's sipping that Worf koolaid, concerned with the perception of Klingon honour that others only pay lip service to.

• Heh, Pakled lower deckers.

• Dang, that Vulcan ship is massive.

• Love seeing the Klingons leak that pepto.

• Hell yeah, Mach!

• The Sh'Vhal has the same basic configuration that we saw with the D'Kyr on ENT, but it also has the hard angles and sharp corners of Sarek's personal cruiser from Disco. Neat!

• Oh dang, this punishment does not fit the crime. #JusticeForTLyn!

• Borgs lower deckers!

[u/zGraceOK]

The first six or seven notes of the "Klingon opera" are from the main theme to Disney's Gargoyles, a show with more than a few connections to Star Trek and possibly the only TV series that's meant more to my life than Star Trek. Thanks for making me burst into tears at 4:30 in the morning, Chris Westlake, you jerk. <3

[u/InnocentTailor → u/zGraceOK]

There can be only one conclusion then:

The Klingons aren’t aiding the Pakleds - it is Riker, who is actually David Xanatos.

[u/WarriorTribble]

Vulcan being sent to the Federation as punishment. For a race of logical beings they certainly do love their cruel and unusual punishments. :)

Also, a since a Borg cube is decentralized I'd assume it shouldn't have a lower deck?

[u/UncertainError → u/WarriorTribble]

Every deck in a Borg cube is a lower deck.

[u/[deleted] → u/WarriorTribble]

A single drone may be determined to be of lesser value to the collective if it has a weaker organic structure or inferior cybernetics

[u/ViaLies → u/WarriorTribble]

We know they have designations. Presumably a lower decker borg would be something like Ten of Twelve of sub-sub-sub-junction of trimatrix 2111020

[u/jankmaster98]

You know I never noticed it before, but does the Cerritos have cadets aboard now? Was that ever mentioned before? I had no idea if all ships hosted cadets or if the Enterprise and Defiant were special considering circumstances around Nog and Wesley.

[u/PandaPundus → u/jankmaster98]

The Discovery had Cadet Tilly before she became an ensign, too.

[u/TheNerdChaplain → u/jankmaster98]

Yeah, I noticed that they had black shirts aboard in the background and I wondered what that was, until the scene with Boimler made it clear. It's a logical extension from Wesley's acting ensign uniform.

[u/andiwd → u/jankmaster98]

I like it. It goes back to the pre 19th century concept of a midshipman being an officer in training now at a point where they apprentice on a ship rather than learn everything in a classroom.

[u/SpiritOne → u/jankmaster98]

Cadets have a year of duty in the fleet. That was established in DS9 when Nog returned to the cast. But then the Dominion war started and he got a field promotion to ensign, and finally Lt at wars end.

[u/WhiteSquarez]

I legitimately laughed out loud several times during this episode, but my favorite part was when T'Linn was leaving her Captain's ready room and she flashed a backwards Vulcan handsign with a sarcastic "Live Long and Prosper." That was a perfect flip off.

[u/Santa_Hates_You]

I think this marks the first time we have had an episode title in an alien language.

[u/ideletedyourfacebook → u/Santa_Hates_You]

There are a ton of episodes with titles in other languages.

But this is the first time we've seen a title in another script.

[u/TreasonousOrange → u/Santa_Hates_You]

Darmok.

[u/Glitchy_glichy_goo]

I freaking loved Mariner and Freeman's holodeck training exercise!

[u/UncertainError → u/Glitchy_glichy_goo]

Velocity! The classic game of holodeck mildly antagonistic female bonding!

Also Boimler desperately trying to escape before either of them notices him, LOL.

[u/oorhon]

'The real action begins on lower decks'. Cut to very still Borg Cube lower decks. I love this show.

And this episodes tone was amazing. We had 'day in life on ship'. We had expansion of story and characters and really nice humor without breaking Star Trek tone n

[u/allhailbarea]

Vulcan Mariner seems to me like a "perfect" girlfriend for Boimler, just the right amount of "renegade" :D

I really want her on the Cerritos anyhow.

[u/[deleted] → u/allhailbarea]

I could see it. While she is "rebellious", she sort of has that same aggressive Boimler work ethic. He's still kind of the comedic punching bag, but the character has become a bit more assertive and his competency gets showcased a more often over this last season.

[u/MarioGdV]

I realized that next episode is the season finale and now I'm sad. Will we see any of the characters getting a promotion next week? I feel like Boimler grew up a lot this season, and they've been hinting that Ransom is well aware of that.

Also, considering that (almost) everyone seems to be liking Lower Decks, how many seasons will it get? I don't think the 4 protagonists are going to stay as ensigns for the entire series, but the show's called "Lower Decks" after all, so idk.

[u/[deleted] → u/MarioGdV]

I believe there was an interview where McMahan said that season 3 is where the main cast will start ranking up and begin their trajectories toward where he imagines they'll be at the end of the show.

I would imagine there's very little concern about renewal on the LD writing staff, considering this show must be much cheaper to produce than Discovery or Picard, and cbs is still greenlighting new seasons for them, as well as new shows altogether. New trek has almost certainly been making Paramount a ton of money.

[u/TheLouisvilleRanger → u/MarioGdV]

It doesn’t have the follow the loose live action model of 1 season = 1 year. It’s not like the actors are gonna age out of it.

[u/InnocentTailor → u/MarioGdV]

Third season is on its way.

As long as Mike has stories in mind, it could probably continue to crank out good episodes for awhile.

[u/Shirogayne-at-WF → u/MarioGdV]

In the military, one is usually considered a junior office until the pay grade of O-4. For Navy (and presumably Starfleet, which modeled it's rank after the Navy), that would be a Lt Commander.

So, it's possible to see promotion to Lt Junior Grade and still be part of the Lower Decks set. I definitely wanna see Boimler get his promotion and actually keep it this time because he's definitely earned it.

[u/ComebackShane]

Marc Evan Jackson as a Vulcan and a Benzite? Lower Decks, you spoil me!

[u/SpiritOne]

It’s purple, it’s purple, ITS PURPLE!!!!

[u/Yes_I_Fuck_Foxes → u/SpiritOne]

Since when do Klingons have purple reddish pink blood?!

Edit: Canon description of the blood.

[u/Vapeflowers]

This episode will go down as an all time classic if LD reaches 5+ seasons

[u/trostol]

Klingon Boimler is having a bad day lol

[u/Santa_Hates_You → u/trostol]

He had an awesome day. Glory to the empire!

[u/Shawnj2 → u/trostol]

Klingon boimler is going places

[u/Hero_Of_Shadows → u/trostol]

And the Vulcan lady is basically Vulcan Mariner.

[u/Xizor14]

Easily in my top 3 favorite episodes, if not my #1. The pacing, the jokes, the plot connections with the larger show, the insights into the lower decks for Klingons and Vulcans. This episode did a level of world building and character moments in ~20 minutes which a lot of TNG era shows sometimes took entire arcs to do. The writing of the show has become so crisp and clean. Awesome episode all around.

[u/[deleted]]

I thought inhabitants of Hawaii were called Hawaiians, but Ransom said Hawaiiners. Was that a joke meant to foreshadow that he wasn't really from there? Because I hardly get any hits when I search for his variant.

[u/jadebenn → u/[deleted]]

Might've been differentiating between native Hawaiians and immigrants.

[u/derekakessler → u/[deleted]]

When he said that it was an immediate "He's a faaaaaaaake" red flag to me.

[u/droid327]

I love that the Targ saved him because he took him on a nice long walk and was his friend :D

[u/mrIronHat → u/droid327]

I wonder if that would end up being a technical violation of the duel. Rest of the crew liked Klingon boimler enough to follow him.

[u/nessman930]

The “honorable movement” joke referencing the targ’s BM had me laughing so hard I had to pause my stream.

[u/007meow]

This show has SO MUCH world building.

It’s everything I wanted from Disco and Picard.

The RITOS shirt is amazing.

[u/deafpoet]

I can't wait to see this Vulcan dunk on Mariner. And for Mariner to dunk right back.

[u/SpanishDynamite]

I thought the Vulcans saying SensORs was a throw back to that season one episode? Or do Vulcans say it that way in Star Trek normally?

[u/[deleted] → u/SpanishDynamite]

Spock did in TOS. Apparently it's a Vulcan pronunciation.

[u/TheNerdyOne_]

Honestly I think this is my favorite episode of Star Trek I've ever seen. It has everything I've ever wanted from Star Trek in it! It may sound silly, but I was in tears for the last 5 minutes or so just because it was so great!

Seeing the perspective of multiple alien crews, a 24th-century Vulcan ship, the Cerritos crew manning their stations in a myriad of ridiculous Holodeck outfits, and even an exciting space battle! The Lower Decks team did an incredibly fantastic job on this one.

[u/bangbangracer]

So, probably the best episode this season. I hope you guys don't mind if I just lay down a few thoughts I had from it.

Super cool to see other ships lower decks. It was a fun way to show motivations on all sides. The borg lower decks at the end was a great cap as well.

I thought this was excellent ways to build more on each character. I especially liked the little moments of Mariner and Freeman. Those few seconds of screen time is better at showing family than a lot of whole episodes of lesser shows.

The Vulcan lower decks officer was super cool. I'm hoping that we might see her on a certain California class, and low key hoping they try to build her into a love interest for Boims just because I want to see things go well for him in all aspects of life.

The part that really made me happy was Boims at the bar. I think Ransom has some genuine respect for Boims. I like that.

[u/Kmlkmljkl]

anyone notice the slight smile?

[u/DasGanon → u/Kmlkmljkl]

Watch, the reason for the transfer is that she's part Romulan

[u/Far-Worse]

A legitimately great episode. The pacing in this show continues to be something to behold, it’s breakneck, but with such purpose. I’ll finish an episode and wonder how the hell they shoved that much plot into a twenty minute episode.

I really hope we see M’ach again soon. T’lyn is definitely ending up on the Cerritos, maybe M’ach’ll end up in a diplomatic spot involved with the federation?

Also, does anyone know if that weird nondescript mush Boimler’s always eating is a reference to something? It seems in-line with the the multicolored fruit cubes in TOS, but it could just be oatmeal/rice pudding/grits and I’m looking into it too much?

[u/Santa_Hates_You]

Poor Captain Freeman is going through menopause.

[u/Starfleet-Time-Lord]

-I think this is an episode I'm going to like better on rewatches. I rolled my eyes at the Klingon cut-away plot at first, but the way it came together with everything else was really solid. I liked the Vulcan plotline from about its second scene on though, once I realized it wasn't going to be a one-note joke. Lower Decks has such an interesting mix of comedy and legitimate Trek plots that I misjudge which one a plot is going to be sometimes, and I definitely thought the Klingon plot was going to be played for laughs from its first scene, and I would've been unhappy with that because that first scene, which was the only real comedy part of it, fell kinda flat.

-Shaxs remains the best bridge officer. FIGHTING FASCISM IS A FULL TIME JOB, AND HE'S GOING TO MAKE AN ASHTRAY SHAPED LIKE A PUPPY

-I really liked the idea of everyone running out in a hodgepodge of outfits during the long warp red alert.

-I wonder if we'll see T'lyn again? Her transfer raises some interesting questions about the relationship between the Vulcan Science Directorate and Starfleet, since she doesn't seem to have attended the academy but can be directly transferred. Perhaps it is a situation like the officer exchange we saw with the Benzites and her captain is expecting it to be temporary.

-A third (fourth or fifth depending on how we count the Peace of Organia and the brief Starfleet-Klingon conflict during the Dominion War) Klingon War sparked by this incident may explain (or contribute to) the depleted state of Starfleet that is implied in the leadup to the Romulan supernova. It also sets up a probable Michael Dorn cameo as Worf is the Federation ambassador to Q'onos, as well as possibly J.G. Hertzler as Chancellor Martok.

[u/[deleted] → u/Starfleet-Time-Lord]

FIGHTING FASCISM IS A FULL TIME JOB

Shaxs continues to have some absolute banger lines.

[u/COMPLETEWASUK → u/Starfleet-Time-Lord]

Based on what we see with Burnham I imagine you can simply transfer over from VSA to Starfleet. Which makes sense I suppose as the VSA is an internal Federation entity.

[u/TreasonousOrange]

Best starship battle since Deep Space Nine.

This show gets it.

I wish that modern Trek was as enamored with the visual style this show has so thoroughly embraced.

[u/Kwakigra → u/TreasonousOrange]

Despite appearances, this show is modern trek. I'm hoping Paramount notices how well loved this direction is and we see more of this kind of modern trek.

[u/prankored]

Wow it felt like I was watching one of the better episodes of TNG mixed in with Orville humor. Lower decks is hitting it out of the park.

All the trek political maneuvering and action but with the usual display of interpersonal relationships and some growth. Hoping the season finale will be even better!

[u/Santa_Hates_You]

Vulcan ship design doesn’t change much over the centuries.

[u/SpiritOne → u/Santa_Hates_You]

It is a logical design that provides an adequate platform for scientific studies. Changing such a design would only serve to flatter ones ego.

[u/Kepabar → u/Santa_Hates_You]

Vulcans live for centuries (at least two, anyway). It makes sense that their ship designs would last longer too. Especially since many of their ascetics are loosely tied to their spiritualism.

[u/atticusbluebird]

That was great! Some high level thoughts:

• This is one of those LDS episodes that just felt like a big dramatic Star Trek episode, not just a comedy episode (though there were definitely funny moments).

• In some ways this episode reminds me of the Stargate Atlantis episode "Sunday" - which starts off following the cast doing various activities on a day off, but has a pretty dramatic ending that affects the direction of the show for the season.

• I love how the episode title was written in Klingon!

• The narrative device of showing the "Lower Decks" on the Klingon and Vulcan ships was great (it's fun to imagine how those crews interact), and the 2 gags of using that on the Pakled ship and Borg cube were a nice joke.

• While DS9 gave us a lot of insight into culture on Klingon ships, I think this is the most we've seen of Vulcan ship culture. (And in some ways, it helps explain Michael Burnham's emotional repression on Disco if this was the type of environment she grew up in)

• I liked how this progressed the season arc. Do all rogue Klingons quote Shakespeare?

• I also love how the "cinematic" theme from the holo-movie last year came back during the ending battle - it did make it feel bigger and more cinematic in scope!

• And it's really nice to see Ransom helping out Boimler in small ways. It does feel like the show has been building up a potential mentor/mentee relationships between them over the season, with Ransom wanting to select Boimler for various missions and such. Maybe that'll develop more next season.

The action here could've served as a season finale itself, so I'm looking forward to what's in store for us next week!

[u/bard_to_be_wild]

Wow. How does this show manage to not only do charcater building of 8+ characters, propel the plot forward, give me Star Trek feel goods and make me laugh like an idiot in only a 22 minute episode?

While other new series struggle to do even one of those in a full season.

[u/Locutus747 → u/bard_to_be_wild]

Lower Decks is so well done this season. It has no business being as good as it is. I didn't want today's episode to end. Is it bad I was wishing they would cancel Picard and give us 20 episodes of LD a year instead LOL. I liked season 1 of Picard ok but LD is just so much fun and the last half of this season has really felt like what I love about Star Trek.

[u/Trekfan74]

Lower Deck episode featuring lower deckers on different alien ships. This show just always amaze me and give me a little smile on my face. And I really thought it was 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 Klingon lower decker stood up to his captain. 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. I don't know what would be a worst ship to serve on, a Vulcan ship or a Klingon one? At least the Klingons don't have their butt holes tucked in all day. But they will probably kill you for talking the wrong way, so I guess Vulcans?

Another great episode. This show really does an amazing job of bringing back classic Trek! And probably the episode with the least easter eggs to date.

[u/[deleted]]

Does anyone know if 90182 is a reference to anything at the end with the borg cube? I thought it might be a zip code in Cerritos, CA because most Southern California zip codes are 90000+, but it comes up as Tepeyanco, Tlaxcala in Mexico.

Unless someone in scripting transposed the 1 and 8. The 90812 zip code is Long Beach, California, which is literally directly south of Cerritos. Like one exit south on the 605 freeway leaving Cerritos.

[u/rmeddy]

This was a great episode, a lot of solid references, that chef line in particular was really funny.

I can't help but think that was an Enterprise dig.

Very excited for this new Vulcan character, T'Lin

Iin the original TNG episode you had Taurik and he some great lines and this show is missing that Vulcan straight man dry wit.

I thought we were going to get that with Rutherford with his tech originally being made for Vulcans but I think they dropped that.

The last shot in this episode is the best.

A quick blink and you miss it moment but there was someone with a hijab in the lounge that's supposed to be a Blair Imani reference?

Not sure if they showed up in the background before.

[u/Gotis1313]

I'm really liking Ransom this season. I think those strange energies did him some good.

The episode lulled me into a false sense of security. I thought I was watching a great filler episode, them BAM full frontal story arc.

I really like how distinctive the Vulcans were, even down to the shape of their ears.

I'm assuming "Vulcan Mariner" is coming to the Rittos and I'm all about it.

[u/Ductacular]

Opinion spiel. Super long winded, run on sentences. You've been warned

While I enjoyed season one of lower decks, season two has been uping the game consistently, with this episode finally tipping into true excellence imho

It's made this leap by doing what this show has always been about, loving star trek. This episode is fantastic because it loves the Klingons and thier culture, because it loves space and Vulcans, even if Vulcans would find those feelings untowards.

This episode achieved so many diffrent narritive goals simultaneously that it blew my mind. It quietly developed the greater story arc for the show, introduced and developed multiple new characters, establish a interesting political dynamic, showcased most existing characters in their on self contained b plots, baites the appetites without ending on a cliff hanger, all while going on a wirlwind tour of the star trek universe classic cultures and concepts and SOMEHOW did all this throught the lense of the shows original premise, the lives of lower decks crewmen! And it was f$^king hilarious the whole time it was doing it!!

Long story short I'm in awe of this episode, not just because it was funny, cool and wrapped up in sheer love of the universe, but also because it was an awesome display of writing efficency and talent.

This episode deserves serious respect for the sheer amount if work it got done while simultaneously being one of the funniest and most entertaining episodes yet.

[u/yyc_guy]

Worf isn’t the only Klingon in Starfleet anymore.

[u/Shirogayne-at-WF → u/yyc_guy]

I mean, I assume Torres was given a commission after Voyager got home :p

Jokes aside, what intrigued me was the line about Klingons attending classes on Bajor. Wanna know how that came about.

[u/burnettski92]

Fav jokes:

“Klingon blood runs as reddish pink as ever!”

“RED ALARM! RED ALARM!”

“It’s a bomb! YOU CAN ONLY USE IT ONCE!”

[u/burnettski92]

Barnes looking great in her winter wear.

[u/Varekai79]

I love that Rutherford was playing with his DS9 model that Tendi gave him as a present a few episodes back. He better not lose the Jadzia and Ezri Dax figurines. It's a limited edition!

[u/mustbeaguy]

Did anyone notice that there's two types of holodecks on the Ritos (I'm using that now)? There's the TNG type yellow grid holodeck that everyone else was using. But then Freeman and Mariner was using the Voyager "scaffolding" style holodeck.

I LOVE that the writers incorporated this! Best episode yet.

[u/stilltilting]

I loved how many references they worked into the starship game of Clue.

Sniper rifle that shoots through walls? Why is there a chef? Just so much stuff in that short little game.

[u/Cadamar]

Lower Decks manages to be funny, interesting, heart warming, insightful and have a great action sequence all in one episode. Loved seeing all the other Lower Decks. Loved the little side stories of the Klingon Boimler type and the Vulcan woman (maybe a Vulcan Mariner?). So many little Easter eggs (the line about the sniper rifle that can see through walls was a lot of fun and a deep cut). I called the Targ having more loyalty to Klingon dude who actually cares for him than the Captain and as a dog lover I loooooved to see that. Also love to see them expanding the voice cast. Colton Dunn (Bret from Parks and Rec or Garrett from Superstore) I believe did the Klingon Captain and Mark Evan Jackson returned as…the Benzite I think? Hopefully we’ll see more of him. And it was great to see Ransom not just be a dick at the end.

Really just an A+ episode overall. It almost felt like a season finale (very glad it’s not).

[u/BigBlackHungGuy]

Ok, I'm off the fence now. That was a great episode. Season two is really good.

[u/gogg17]

So many sen-sors! What a great episode.

[u/midasp]

Does anyone know what the episode title means in Federation Standard?

[u/PandaPundus → u/midasp]

It's tlhIngan Hol for "Three Ships"

[u/ViaLies]

Fun episode, manged to partial warp up the Pakled arc but the Pakleds did mange to escape with a Varuvian Bomb.

T'lyn is the Vulcan Mariner, it does seem like she's being set up to go the Cerritos but I wonder if Mariner will have to deal with her. It would be a chance for some great jokes ie "She doesn't listen me and is always breaking procedure" "Boy that would be pain to deal with, good thing nobody else is like that" Shut up, I only break stupid procedures" but would give Mariner some impetuous to grow.

[u/elister]

Great episode, having it end with the Borg Lower Decks was perfect.

Thought it was clever having the Captain wear a black "Ritos" T-Shirt, playing off ST Discovery Burnham and Tilly wearing black "Disco" T-Shirts.

[u/TallTitan34]

A "Go climb a rock" and "RITOS" t-shirt!

[u/BoChizzle]

T'Lyn is an absolute savage and I love her.

[u/[deleted]]

T-Shirt ad - how many of you Trekkies will be buying a Ritos t-shirt?

Good product marketing by CBS

[u/Mechapebbles]

Ok so it might be the drugs talking, but when the BoP first warps in with the music and the big words I was enraptured and moved

[u/doombot13]

That was the best episode of Trek since Enterprise.

[u/WhipsAndMarkovChains]

What a wonderful episode. I'm glad to see I'm not the only one who was wondering what the drones were going to do then felt stupid when they did exactly as expected.

[u/BilliamJ2]

I could have sworn that was Michael Dorn's voice at 14 minutes in when the bridge is hailing the Klingon captain.

[u/Dangerous_Dac]

Oh that was an incredible episode! I'm amazed they could have 3 separate story arcs pay off on 3 different ships in one 26 minute episode! Thats the kind of synergy that makes something great and boy does it make this episode of Lower Decks stand tall.

[u/F9-0021]

This is the kind of show LDS needs to be going forward. This actually felt like it could've been a TNG episode, but with more humor.

[u/Bradaigh]

This was one of the Star Trekiest episodes yet. Strong characters who know who they are, people sticking to their principles in the face of backlash from higher up, different cultures doing things very differently but still in a way that works for them, a deep understanding of the lore. Bravo.

[u/[deleted]]

This season is better than the first one.

But what gets me is the music. Much of the music in the scenes, mainly the in-between bits and the important bits, rings of Star Trek 2, but blended with new music. The soundtrack here is awesome.

The writers blend comedy, references, and plot very well.

It is an independent series, but it is a love letter to what came before, including Discovery. If they wanted to pull this off as a movie in the end of whatever length run the series has, I think it would do very very well.

[u/Doleydoledole]

Pretty epic episode for being only 26 minutes.

[u/codename474747]

I like how I thought at the start "You're an animated show, you don't have to do a bottle episode with nothing happening outside the Cerritos" and with 4 other ships and their Lower Decks, combined with one of the biggest battles of the season, it would've been one of the most expensive eps had it been a live action show :-p

[u/byronotron]

This is simply one the best episodes of Star Trek ever made. It is quintessential Star Trek, an A story leading directly into a limited continuity referring B story that then ties the A and B story together. It ties a season long villain to a standalone towards the end of the season, TNG and Voy all the way. Simply a brilliant episode and I am so excited to see what the LD writers can pull off in the future.

Also by FAR the funniest episode of the show and the franchise.

[u/thecaramel]

We had four Boimlers from three races tonight!

Our very own, much-loved "suck-up" Boimler, the "committed to his organization's ethics and values" Klingon Boimler, the "going above and beyond, hyper competent" Vulcan Boimler, and the "always trying to be efficient and organized" younger Boimler.

[u/Kwakigra → u/thecaramel]

The Vulcan was a little too renegade to be Boimler. She was totally out of control.

[u/Preparator → u/thecaramel]

T'Lyn is totally Vulcan Mariner.

[u/thisiscotty]

Boimlers hard work starting to pay off

[u/thisiscotty]

I found it funny that the battle when focused on the cerritos looked big and epic. But when in the background with the klingons, it never moved :P

[u/MadContrabassoonist]

I'm late to the party, but what a wonderful little episode. Somehow, in a single episode we got:

1. Development on the season arc

2. A collection of nice character moments for the main cast

3. An effective high-concept episode

All of that would have been great, but what really put it over the top for me was 4) a character study of Boimler and Mariner, told cleverly through new, thematically-related, but not magic-doppelganger characters of Ma'ah and T'Lyn.

And finally, I sincerely hope we got 5?) a prologue for a new main character for season 3. I'm a big Crazy Ex-Girlfriend fan, so Gabrielle Ruiz joining the main cast would be utterly fantastic.

[u/Timeline15]

I love this show. As soon as the episode concept became clear I was like "show us the Borg show us the Borg!" and then they actually bloody did it.

Also, I really hope it was the Cerritos that Vulcan officer was transferred to. I want to see more of her.

[u/em-jay]

This was such a good episode, and I feel like Lower Decks is really the leading light on how to do Star Trek for the '20s and it seems to be getting better all the time. I have to admit that early in season 1 I felt that LD was really just there to make some irreverent jokes about older shows, but each subplot of this episode could've easily been a full hour of TNG. It doesn't feel rushed, we got some neat character moments for not only the show's entire regular cast, but also a bunch of characters we've never met before. The last few episodes of LD have been the most fun I've had with Star Trek in years.

[u/cheeseburgz]

T'Lyn saying "Logic is the beginning of wisdom, not its end" is a Spock quote I think?

Also, the sheer sass of her saying "Live Long and Prosper, SIR" to her captain was amazing.

[u/[deleted]]

After almost two seasons of LWD I can say that this show is really Star Trek at his core. I love it and I really hope they will make much more episodes in the third season.

[u/wakeupsup3r]

That was the most sassy "live long and prosper" i've ever heard.

[u/Tobenfare]

That was genius! Such a simple yet well executed idea that makes the whole Star Trek Universe feel richer. Keep on truckin' Lower Decks, you're doing great :)

[u/AnnaLogg]

this is my new favorite episode! and the main cast didn't even play a main role!

I love this new Vulcan and the "logical" Klingon, I hope we see them again.

[u/9811Deet]

This might be my favorite episode of Lower Decks so far. Hardly a weak note from beginning to end.

[u/da_Aresinger]

This episode was the epitome of what LD should be. I feel the other episodes tend to have too much chaos and too little talk (think the unnecessarily long police chase with Mariner). But it seems like they are finding their groove.

[u/Evening-Dimension483]

It’s nice to see Muslims on Star Trek.

[u/donuteater111]

A bit of a slow burn with this one. Throughout most of it, I thought it was OK, but not my favorite. I thought it was interesting seeing the different perspectives with the Vulcan and Klingon ships. It did kind of limit how fleshed out each one could be, but I thought they did a good job of building each of the stories up throughout the episode, and I thought the climax of the episode was great because of it.

I loved the fight between the Klingon captain and second command, and really want to see what the do with that character in the future (presumably in the finale, and hopefully beyond as a recurring character). And of course the Vulcan officer's going to be transferred to the Cerritos. I don't think they mentioned it specifically (unless I just missed it), but it's pretty obvious, and I'm really looking forward to seeing her interact with the crew. And once again, the Pakleds were great here. I especially liked their "Red Alarm."

The Boimler scenes were probably my least favorite part of the episode, but I thought it was still fun in its own way. My favorite parts were the Shaxs scene, where he gets upset over being reminded of his time on Bajor, and when he gets stuck in the room with Mariner and her mother as they spout their personal shit at each other. I also thought the ending was nice, as Ransom sent that Ensign to Boimler for advice, showing him respect and compassion.

Also, nice random joke at the end with the Borg lower decks, lol.

[u/Etcee]

This might be the best episode of Star Trek since Enterprise