Paclid Planet
The Paclid’s have continued with their unprovoked attacks on Federation trade routes. To try to remedy this situation, the Cerritos has been given the assignment of attempting to negotiate a cease fire with the Paclids. In order to facilitate this agreement, Captain Freeman and Lt. Shax beam down to the Paclid home world, Paclid Planet. If successful, it will be a another notch in the Cerritos and Freeman’s belt. Provided they can get the Paclids to understand enough to agree. From past experience with their race, they are not the most informed of aliens. This is immediately proven as their Ambassador believes Freeman is Captain Janeway from the Voyager. Easy mistake…Captain’s Freeman and Janeway could be twins.
The Bigger the Helmet, The Bigger the Paclid
However, the other issue is that the Ambassador doesn’t have the authority to make decisions like cease fires. Only a Paclid with a bigger helmet can make such calls. Apparently, the bigger the helmet, the more important the Paclid. But when Captain Janeway… I mean Freeman asked to speak to someone higher up, a messenger came running up with a report. A Paclid prisoner named Rumdar had escaped from Paclid Planet and was now on the Cerritos.
The Ambassador wanted to know why Janeway had stolen Rumdar from them. Captain Freeman assured them that the Cerritos had done no such thing. She quickly contacted Commander Ransom to ask if by chance a Paclid was on the ship. He confirmed, saying that he believed that the Paclid in question was asking for asylum. This was unacceptable to the Paclids. In fact, until Rumdar was returned to them, they would hold Janeway/Freeman and Shax hostage. Just another day on the Cerritos.
Anomaly Consolidation Duty
Meanwhile, our Lower Decks team is having a leisurely breakfast when their next duty assignment hits their tablets. It is Anomaly Consolidation Time! This is where some lucky Starfleet scrubs get to go around the ship, collecting the Bridge Crews research materials from their past missions. Basically, it is like Clean Sweep. Time to pick up the trash. Mariner and Rutherford see this as a low menial job. Boimler, of course is excited to see what the Bridge Crew had been working on. Tendi, who is unfamiliar with the task, still looks at the job in her usual upbeat attitude despite Mariner assuring her it is one of the worst assignments you can get. As Boimler stands up to dispose of his food, he slips and spills it over his head. Tendi can’t help but laugh as much as she tried not to.
The Red Shirts
Boimler takes it in stride as he comes across Ensign Casey and his club of self-proclaimed “Red Shirts.” They are a group of Ensigns who have aspirations of ranking up and becoming Captains. They had heard of Boimler’s brief stint with Captain Riker and the Titan. That kind of practical experience is the kind of thing their group needs. Casey also informs Boimler that an acting Captain position is becoming available on the Cerritos. Only he and his Red Shirts know about it. If he tells them “Riker Stuff” today, he will make sure Boimler is in line for the “Big Chair.” However, to do so would mean he would be leaving the ACD to Mariner, Rutherford and Tendi. After thinking about it, he reluctantly follows Casey and takes his place as a Red Shirt. Much to the chagrin of his friends. Although, Mariner had to give him his props for finding a way out of Garbage detail.
A-Spylum
Elsewhere on the ship, the asylum seeking Rumdar was asking Commander Ransom and Security Chief Kayshon all about the ship. Wanting to know all about the shields and their weapons systems. He was being “very smooth” as he took pictures as he went, of his own foot, and even blinding himself when he took a picture of a window that reflected back at him. It didn’t take Sherlock Holmes to realize their Paclid Asylum seeker was a spy. A really bad one. They contacted Captain Freeman and informed her of their suspicions. Since he didn’t seem to be too big of a threat security wise, Freeman told Ransom and Kayshon to keep him talking. Perhaps HE might accidentally spill something.
With that in mind, Ransom and Kayshon continue to lead Rumdar on a fool’s errand, showing him important parts of the ship like the Gift Shop and the Secret Juice Bar. Despite his wish to see the warp core. As they turn their backs to snicker about how they think they can get him to tell THEM Paclid secrets, they turn to find their erstwhile Spy has vanished. They eventually find out that he accidentally had jettisoned himself out of an airlock, thinking it was a bathroom. However, as stupid as the Paclid Spy appears to be, he is also is pretty damn strong. If you don’t believe it, just ask him. He survives his journey into space and Ransom decides that enough was enough and tells Kayshon to send him back to the planet.
A “Swell” Start to Trash Detail
Back on Trash detail, the first cabin Mariner, Rutherford and Tendi check out was Commander Ransom’s. He had a number of alien crystals in his quarters. Rutherford complained that such items SHOULD be in a lab. Tendi next picked up what appeared to be a large frog’s skull. However, Rutherford accidentally dropped the glass canister holding it and the resulting gas made him swell up…huge. He looked like Harry Potter’s Aunt Marge in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. Fortunately, Mariner knew what to do and told Tendi to find a red vial and to spread its contents under Rutherford’s nose. Upon doing this, he immediately shrunk back down to normal. Leave it to Tendi to be excited about his Full Molecular Engorgement. Rutherford could have done without it.
Mariner on the Receiving End
As Tendi, Mariner and Rutherford continue to collect the bridge crews items, surprisingly enough, it is Mariner who keeps seeming to be on the receiving end of whatever goes wrong. A face full of thorns, a gelatinous dousing that stuck her on the ceiling, and a electrocution. Usually she is the one to AVOID these types of mishaps. I bet Boimler wishes he had been there to see that. However, perhaps they should be a bit more careful with the things they are collecting…and perhaps not complain so much.
Boimler’s MakeOver
Back with the Red Shirts, Boimler is being grilled by his fellow would be Captains about all the important Titan details. Like how often Riker polished his Trombone. Ensign Casey lamented that he TOO should blow some brass (take THAT however you want to). Speaking of being a Captain, the Red shirts can’t help but notice that Boimler doesn’t really carry himself like a Captain. They can help him with that. In fact, he’s in need of a Captain’s Makeover. So he is given a new hair style and some padded muscles that Zachary Levy would be proud of. Add that to standing up straight and you now have, A CAPTAIN! Now all he has to learn is how to give inspiring speeches to motivate the crew.
Scorpion Tendi
Poor Tendi has been trying so hard to make the Anomaly Consolidation duty fun. But Mariner and Rutherford just don’t feel it. In fact, Mariner tells Tendi that she should realize by now that ACD is not fun! It sucks! Finally, Tendi too has had enough. In a staggering display of reverse psychology, it is Mariner and Rutherford telling Tendi that ACD wasn’t that bad. But Tendi has been convinced. She picks up this glowing green cube and declares that not only does she hate ACD, but she also thinks the whole ship sucks. The more she rages, the brighter the cube gets. Until finally she transforms into a giant green Scorpion creature who is mad at everything and everybody.
Be Your Own Captain
Boimler comes across the mayhem and realizes what has happened. He needs to make Tendi laugh to reverse the cubes effects. Much to the disapproval of Ensign Casey and his Red Shirts, Boimler orders different foods and “accidentally” spills them on himself. All in the quest to make Tendi laugh. Eventually she finally does and goes back to being herself. However, Ensign Casey tells Boimler that his actions were embarrassing and that he would never be a good captain. Boimler was not phased. He did it to help his friend. Besides, he tells them, the “Red Shirts” are wasting their time, trying to imitate OTHER Captains. Be your OWN Captain. While Ensign Casey doesn’t agree, the rest of his crew decide to take a break from the “Red Shirts” and just concentrate on their duties. In fact, one of the group asks Boimler if he wants to catch a show with her sometime.
Rumdar: Master Spy
While this is going on, Captain Freeman is still trying to find a member of the Paclids to negotiate a cease fire. The problem is, each time she thinks she has found the Paclid with the biggest helmet, another one shows up with a BIGGER Helmet. And then, matters are complicated when a group of rebel Paclids attack and kill the Emperor and their leader dons the helmet and assumes command. This is when their “Super Spy” Rumdar shows up. The new Paclid leader explains to Janeway that they had tricked her and that Rumdar was a spy. Wow! Who knew? So what did Rumdar learn? Really important things. Like the Enterprise has the biggest bathrooms EVER! That Janeway is actually Captain Freeman. (If only someone had tried to tell them that.) Rumdar is such a good spy, that he didn’t even give up any information about the Paclids. Like for instance that the Paclids were planning to smuggle a bomb onto Earth. But you didn’t hear it from Rumdar! After NOT hearing that, Freeman and Shax beamed back to the ship, leaving the Paclid’s celebrating their victory over Captain Janeway!
Wrapping up Loose Ends and Skins of Evil
In the end, Starfleet is pleased how Captain Freeman and the Cerritos handled the Paclid situation. Ensign Casey got the Acting Captain gig and got to enjoy it for about two seconds before Shax came on to relieve him. He was then sent to clean airlock-17 that Rumdar mistook for a bathroom. Congrats on that. As for Ensign Boimler, he was praised for his leadership by Commander Ransom for his handling of the Scorpion Tendi incident. Later on, Mariner, Rutherford, Tendi and Boimler gathered to discuss what all went on during their ACD.
After discussing Rutherford’s brief blow-up, Mariner produced an artifact she had kept for herself from Shax’s stuff. A sub-manifold casting stone. With that, they could basically prank call anyone in the galaxy. In this case, they choose Armus. So who is Armus? For fan’s of Star Trek TNG, it is the alien “Skin of Evil” that killed Lt. Tasha Yar. So, what’s better than messing with a black tar alien with a superiority complex? Not much.
Thoughts
This was a humor filled episode with emphasis on our friends the Paclids. It is a valuable lesson that a lack of intelligence obviously doesn’t equate to threat level. Because the Paclids have been a pain in the Federation’s butt’s all season long. And along with fewer brain cells, they apparently also have short term memory issues. No sooner had Rumdar revealed that Freeman wasn’t Janeway, they went right back to calling her Captain Janeway. Better for the Federation, I guess.
The Anomaly Consolidation storyline was also a comedic romp, with the added bonus of getting another glimpse of Tendi’s effervescent personality being brought to the forefront. It was almost refreshing to see Mariner take the brunt of the mishaps however. Served to humanize the character a bit.
As a whole, this was a fun episode with a break from any real drama, other than the Paclids holding Freeman and Shax. Even then, it seemed like they were in control. I originally gave this episode a 3.5 out of 5, until the closing Armus segment. THAT was funny and another great nod to the past. I loved how they told him they were messing with his stuff and he got so incensed, without thinking he HAD no stuff. Great closing scene that bumped it up to a 4 out of 5.
Star Trek: Lower Decks can be watched on Paramount+ with new episodes premiered on Thursdays.
Senior Writer at GeekVibesNation – I am a 50 something child of the 70’s who admits to being a Star Trek/Star Wars/Comic Book junkie who once dove head first over a cliff (Ok, it was a small hill) to try to rescue his Fantastic Four comic from a watery grave. I am married to a lovely woman who is as crazy as I am and the proud parent of a 18 year old boy with autism. My wife and son are my real heroes.
