Star Trek: Lower Decks

[Fuzzy Necromancer]

Huh. Apparently the Pakleds were an allegory for the rise of neo-fascism.

Oh, aren't these guys a joke? Well, they're not a joke anymore.

[J!!]

WAIT A SEC NOW
In Love's Errant Arrow, if the parasite makes Boimler irresistible, why doesn't it affect Mariner like that?

well, 'irresistible' is a bit of an overstatement. it's not like women were throwing themselves at him all over the place, and he was still able to piss his girlfriend off enough to break up with him.

also, remember when Mariner popped a lady-boner over Ransom, because he stabbed her in the foot.

[Thebestoftherest]

WAIT A SEC NOW
In Love's Errant Arrow, if the parasite makes Boimler irresistible, why doesn't it affect Mariner like that?

The parasite was inconsequential compare to star trek character sheilds.

[Hero_Of_Shadows]

I just assumed it WAS affecting Mariner, at a conscious level she was motivating her constant intrusion into Boimler's love life by that incident with the shapeshifter but subconsciously she was jealous.

Comparing it with Ransom, yeah she admitted she found him hot but she did it to herself only and apparently she never made a move to date him or etc.

So I think Mariner just prefers to show her attraction in a low key manner or through "play fighting" (arguments, etc).

Actually I'm pretty convinced she's been warming up to Brad the entire season, first episode he was just the guy she worked with, then they had that falling out when he admitted to spying on her, after he refused to rat her out she was in his personal space non-stop with the last scenes of the season being her in full on "angry ex" mode.

[Fuzzy Necromancer]

You know, that sounds pretty plausible. o.o

[Dman]

I just assumed from the dialogue that the parasite made him irresistible to the first potential mate he met.

[Hero_Of_Shadows]

Thinking back on it, Mariner and Barb's thought patterns are really paralleled:

From Mariner's perspective she's not attracted to Brad so her feelings are not jealousy she just wants to protect her friend from this woman that is obviously too perfect to be in a relationship with him without an ulterior motive, Barbara must be a holodeck character, reptoid or parasite.

From Barbara's perspective she's not afraid of loosing Brad so her feelings are not jealousy she just wants to protect her boyfriend from this woman who is obviously too badass to hangout with him without an ulterior motive, Mariner must be a holodeck character, Breen infiltrator or parasite.

It's a classic "I don't have feelings for my male friend"/"I'm not scared of my boyfriend's female friends" scenario but with sci-fi twist in the parasite.