Star Trek: Lower Decks

[Dman]

Literally a walking Kirk vs Picard argument.

It's weird, even with the constant references to all of Star Trek, this series feels more like its own thing than Picard and Discovery ever did. It's a different way of leaning on the legacy of a long running franchise and for me it works better.

Here you have Spock mentioned 3 times every episode and I laugh, in Discovery I still roll my eyes about Michael being Spock's adopted sister.

[CharlesPhipps]

If I was writing the show, I'd have revealed that Michael Burnham was added to Spock's family retroactively by time agents.

[Dman]

Haha, Roga Danar is on the "Popular Pages" section on Memory Alpha. Guess he really was some dude nobody's heard of.

[CharlesPhipps]

Mind you, it may be because of this episode.

[Dman]

Mind you, it may be because of this episode.

That's what I found funny, no one remembered him so his page is popular because everyone is doing research on Bomiler's bad takes.

[slochmoeller]

I honestly don't know where the fandom has been at with lower decks. I have been enjoying it for the most part. I have had some minor quibbles, (Boimler is long overdue for an unambiguous win,) but it's been good.

I have especially liked the relationship between Beckett and Freeman, it has some interesting layers to it. I admit, Beckett has walked the line of being a Mary Sue, but in the modern Rick Sanchez sense, (where the character can be hyper competent and always right but get away with it because the series acknowledges they're an asshole. I hate how much Rick gets away with it.)

But the latest episode, episode nine, annoyed, because if felt like it went too Mary Sue with Becket. Specifically, Beckett feels better, acknowledges she does care for the ship, and just snaps out of her funk. She's even easily forgiven by Tandi. It felt really cheap and contrived for the dark places the episode took the character.

I would have been happy if this were a more overt two parter, and the one-two punch of encountering Boimler/the computer's simulations of herself and her mother actually left Beckett crushed and emotionally hollowed out. Especially seeing the version of herself that she should be, that maybe she still could be, but is actively choosing not to be. That and having truly hurt Tandi and strained their friendship would leave Beckett listless, ready to either resign from starfleet or straight up be washed out of it, not really caring which way it went down. That, coupled with Boimler discovering the true nature of Becket's relationship to the Captain, would have put some more tension into the show going into next week. Instead, it feels like the show has resolved her character issues in an overly tidy way.

[CharlesPhipps]

Lower Decks is base breaking with the hardcore fans as, hilariously, the guys who utterly hated Picard and DISCO are split pretty evenly with the people who love it vs. more hate.

And the folk who love DISCO and PICARD are pretty split with those who love Lower Decks or hate it.

[Rodan56]

I was honestly expecting more discussions about the Prime Directive Issue from the opening. Considering how much a lot of fans, especially here, have criticized it. Honestly, I'm confused by some arguments against what Mariner did. She started a second genocide? The lizard people don't even seem to know how to be mean, as they're a docile race that needs to be convinced basking in the sun is better than being eaten. I find it hard to believe they're going to suddenly start eating rat people... unless this world runs on Empyre logic where the oppressed species is evil all along. But I doubt it.

Honestly, it feels kinda like a shout out to Discovery, where they freed the race of livestock people despite it clearly violating various tenets of the prime directive. Maybe I'm biased about this, since I love reptiles and generally side with the reptilians if I can find a reason to (ie. Not being evil as hell), but I'm curious about other perspectives. Was Mariner right in starting a civil war to stop an obviously horrendous crime against... uh, Lizard-manity?

[Dman]

All the references this week were really fun. The lens flare, the overly long TMP shot of the ship, the music, the destruction of the ship, all good stuff. But qow. When I saw the teaser last week, I never imagined we would see Mariner go to such a dark place.

I loved she fought herself. The Mariner consumed by her repressed negative feelings vs the calm and collected Mariner, fighting to protect what she cares about.

“If you really were a badass you would do the hard thing and just be a good officer”
“I work with my best friends, the Captain is my mom, I would do anything for her… she’s watching out for me in the only way she knows how”

Vindicta throwing out the all the negative feelings, admitting to her toxic behavior and Mariner (pre mortem) focusing on the good things. She loves her mom, and it’s only thanks to her that she can do her careless maverick act and still have job in Starfleet.

Mariner understands herself a bit better now, though she and Freeman really need to talk. Family therapy or just being marooned together a couple of months and try to work out this as family, without the trappings of Starfleet.

I would have been happy if this were a more overt two parter, and the one-two punch of encountering Boimler/the computer's simulations of herself and her mother actually left Beckett crushed and emotionally hollowed out. Especially seeing the version of herself that she should be, that maybe she still could be, but is actively choosing not to be. That and having truly hurt Tandi and strained their friendship would leave Beckett listless, ready to either resign from starfleet or straight up be washed out of it, not really caring which way it went down. That, coupled with Boimler discovering the true nature of Becket's relationship to the Captain, would have put some more tension into the show going into next week. Instead, it feels like the show has resolved her character issues in an overly tidy way.

I honestly like how the Tendi bit worked out. A real honest apology from a friend and letting bygones be bygones. Discovery would have probably turned this into a season long conflict showing up in every episode until some big resolution.

I don’t like that Boimler can never get a win, hope he’s not too much of an asshole next episode now he knows the secret.

Sooo, Billups/Rutherford? Or just some big hero worship? Both? Felt sad for poor lonely Billups at the end.

[CharlesPhipps]

Boimler would get more wins if he stopped acting like Boimler.