‘Star Trek: Lower Decks’ Season 2, Episode 8 Review: ‘I, Excretus’

In Space Alone

When you’re a member of the Lower Deck, you realize that as Ensigns, you will be expected to do some of the more menial tasks. It goes with the job. But it doesn’t mean that your work will be forgotten. You would hope that it also would mean that YOU won’t be forgotten. Which is what happened to our strident heroes Mariner, Boimler, Tendi and Rutherford. They were completing repairs on the exterior of a Space Station when the Cerritos received a distress call from a vessel caught in a time loop. Time was of the essence so Captain Freeman ordered the ship to Warp, leaving the Lower Deckers on the Station. For 6 hours. Needless to say the usually mild mannered Mariner was pissed. What a surprise! She didn’t appreciate that she and her fellow Lower Deck members were Macaulay Culkined on the Space Station.

The Bridge Officers assured her that she and her fellow crew members were all treated as equals to the Bridge Crew. But that didn’t stop Captain Freeman from reminding Mariner that she has no idea of what she and the Bridge Crew dealt with every day. Besides, there was going to be a Starfleet Drill instructor coming to test the crew later. She didn’t want Mariner to sabotage their score because she was upset about being left behind.

Star Fleet Drills

Later, the Cerritos crew gathered to meet Shary Yem-Yem Starfleet Drill Instructor. She started out letting the crew know that she had started out just like them, at the bottom. But through hard work, and plenty of drills, she was now at the top. During these upcoming drills, each crew member will be given tests based on actual events that Starfleet Crews had encountered. However, there would be a flipping of Ranks. All senior officers would assume the roles of Ensign while the Lower Deck personnel would handle Senior Staff roles. This was met with enthusiasm by Mariner, Boimler, Rutherford and Tendi but not so much by Captain Freeman, Commander Ransom, Dr. T’Ana and Lt. Shax. Now they both would see how the other half lived.

Mariner: Mirror Universe Encounter

Mariner’s first Drill has her revisiting the Mirror Universe styled after the Original Series Classic Mirror, Mirror. It is Captain Mariner’s task to infiltrate the Terran Empire and find a way back to her own Dimension. Mariner attempts to fit in, extolling her love of the Empire as she see’s familiar faces amongst the Mirror crew. This includes Rutherford and Billups discussing how much Torture turns them on. Listening to this, Mariner decides to pass on finding an ally and will try to take over the ship.

This action deducts points from her score for not following the scenario. Oops!  As she reconsiders, she accidentally bumps into Shax who demands to know who would dare bump into him. Mariner confesses that she dared to and hit him in the chest. Shax was satisfied with that answer and carried on. Next, Mariner runs into the Mirror Boimler who recognizes Mariner as an imposter due to the way she saluted him. He has members of the crew restrain her as he uses his Agonizer on her. Mission Failed!

Tendi: Medical Ethics

Next, it is Tendi’s turn. As Chief Medical Officer she is faced with dealing with a paralyzed Klingon who demands she honors the Klingon tradition of Hegh’bat by helping him to kill himself. Only that way can he honorably travel to Sto-vo-kor. At first, she doesn’t understand what he is asking. As a Doctor, her job is to heal, not kill. But once she realizes what he requests, her first impulse is to just poison him. But he demands she use his Klingon Ceremonial Blade to end his life. The more she hesitates, the lower her score goes. Finally, the Klingon grows frustrated and in his attempt to reach for the knife, falls out of bed. The Medical team rushes to his aid, but it is too late. He is still alive. They have to call it. Time of LIFE, 0900. Mission Failed!

Mariner: Old West Planet

For her second attempt, Captain Mariner must survive in Earth’s Old West in the 1800’s. In doing so, she should be aware that she is a wanted man. Spectre of the Gun anyone?  Mariner decides her first order of business is to find the saloon. However, a force field redirects her. She is supposed to mount a horse for this task. No problem, she thinks. Horses love her. She IS a Maverick after all. But not his particular horse. Not only does he buck her off, but he stomps on her repeatedly with his front hooves. Like he’s hitting the heavy bag. Mission Failed!

Rutherford: The Good of the Many

Rutherford’s turn. Revisiting Wrath of Khan, Chief Engineer Rutherford must enter the Warp Core Chamber to fix the Warp Core and save the ship. Even though it would mean sacrificing himself in the process. Chief Engineer Rutherford is up to the task. Except for one thing. The intense radiation has heated the chamber’s handle so he cannot grasp it without burning himself. The countdown continues as he repeatedly attempts to open the door. Finally, he decides to use his boots to try to open the door, but is too late as the ship explodes. Mission Failed!

Boimler: Borg Encounter

For his drill, Captain Boimler must face off with the Borg collective. His primary mission is to escape the Borg ship without being assimilated. Boimler is excited for the prospect. He has studied every Borg encounter, including the iconic Locustis of Borg. All he needs to do is to avoid that particular outcome. But, unlike anyone else, he marvels at the drill’s details. Even waiting for the Borg to complete their ship Motto of how he will be assimilated. He’s got this. And surprisingly enough, he does. He modulates his phaser output, taking out as many Borg as he can before finding a ventilation shaft. Below that opening, he had found some Borg Babies in a drawer. Unfortunately, he didn’t have time to do anything about it. The shaft lead to escape spheres. He used one to escape the Borg Cube. Mission success but at only 79%. Unacceptable. He could do better. Re-rack the simulation. He was going to do it again.

So once again, Captain Boimler took on the Collective. This time, he took the time to gather the Borg babies and escape through the same shaft. Mission Complete: 83%. Pretty good. But not good enough. He once again asked that the simulation be re-ran. There was room for improvement and perfection was Captain Boimler’s goal. Another run through the Cube, this time not only rescuing the babies but taking a Borg hostage as well. Surely he would score well on this run. Mission Success but only at 84%. One lousy percentage point? CMON! With his right eye twitching, he tells the drill to Hit ME! He will NOT be denied.

Mariner: Naked Time

For her next drill, Captain Mariner is faced with the task of saving her crew members who have been infected and have lost all their inhibitions. Basically, the USS Sodom and Gamora. Everywhere Mariner looks are naked crewman including a particularly hard to forget image of Boimler with his naked legs apart. Thank God for little black censor boxes. When she saw Lt. Shax and Dr. T’Ana hanging on each other with Shax declaring it was “Naked Time,” Mariner had had enough. She demanded that the simulation fail her, opening the dock door into space and sucking them all outside. Mission Failed!

Mission Drill Rehash

Later, Mariner, Rutherford and Tendi gathered at dinner to discuss their failings. Tendi lamented that she had failed every drill. Rutherford consoled her with the thought that at least she hadn’t blew up an entire ship. But Tendi had to admit, that with all the life and death decisions that Dr. T’Ana faces everyday, she doesn’t see how she manages it. As they talked, they were enjoying the food that the Senior staff apparently had access to, like Pesto. Mariner asked Rutherford where Boimler was. He would usually NEVER miss an opportunity at a spread of food like this. Rutherford told her that Boimler was still in the pod taking his Drill. Mariner surmised that Boimler probably failed just like they had and he was too embarrassed to admit it.

Boimler: Borg Encounter, Chapter 4

Not true at all. Boimler was deep into Borg country, determined to get a perfect score. This time, he rescued the babies, took a hostage, found a way to beam back aboard a Federation Shuttle and also set up a remote explosive to destroy the Borg Cube. Mission Success, 94%. Grrrr…AGAIN! The simulation tried to tell him that his drill score was in the top percentile for the ship. But Boimler was having none of it. Is 94% perfect? He didn’t think so. AGAIN!!!

Admission

Back at Dinner, Mariner reluctantly agreed that perhaps the Bridge Crew jobs were harder than she had given them credit for. She made this admission without any satisfaction. Tendi had to agree, but she was sure that the Bridge Crew was finding out that the Lower Deck’s responsibilities were just as hard. And she was right. Shax particularly was working so hard snoring on the bunk. While Freeman and Dr. T’Ana reported that their duties centered around just waiting for something to happen. Ransom pondered why they had worked so hard to Rank Up? Lower Decks was a snap. Freeman agreed. So what if their showers were cramped or that their replicators would only produce one slice of pizza at a time. Small price to pay for no worries or better yet, no responsibilities. Life was easy. At least until the ship’s Klaxon’s went off. It was their turn at the Drills.

Bridge Crew: Klingon Encounter

In this scenario, the Lower Deck was to support their commanders during a Klingon incursion. Translation, the former Bridge Crew would stack octagonal shaped crates while all heck was breaking loose on the ship. But when asking about what was going on, they were left in the dark. Besides, it wasn’t important for them to know. They had crates to stack. Stupidly difficult crates to stack. Next time the door opened, they were asked if “Q” had been by. Freeman asked once again what was going on and once again, she was rebuffed. Crates! Stack! Now!! But every time they came close to stacking some of them, an explosion would rock the ship and knock them over. Mission Failed!

Cerritos Crew: Escape from Spacedock

After the crew finished failing miserably independently, (all but Boimler… but we’ll get back to him), they are assigned a joint exercise. Their mission is to steal the Cerritos from Space Dock and to take it to the Genesis Planet to rescue Spock. Seems simple enough. They go to the bridge of the Cerritos and Freeman attempts to take her place in the Captain’s chair. Not so fast. She is still an acting Ensign in this scenario. So she takes the helm while Mariner assumes Command. They are approaching the Space Dock Doors when Shax starts stretching, suffering from the cramp bunks on the Lower Decks. As he does, Mariner remembers Shax doing his “Naked Time” pose. She asks him to stop. Freeman asks her what is wrong and she admits she was having a flashback from a former drill. Ensign Freeman asks if it had anything to do with Mariner’s failure with the horse. Aggravated that this was common knowledge, and that Ensign Freeman brought it up, Mariner tells her she is going to the Brigg for insubordination. While they were squabbling, the Cerritos hits the Dock Door. Mission Failure!

The Purpose of the Drills

Later on the ship’s lounge, Mariner and Freeman lament their failure. They did so poorly they didn’t even receive a score. It was incomplete. But they both admitted that they had a new respect for each others duties. As they contemplated this, they realized that perhaps that was the point of the drills in the first place. Team building. By allowing each crew member to appreciate what the others had to deal with. They went to the drill instructor to congratulate her for teaching that lesson to them. But that was not the point. Shary Yem-Yem didn’t care about “team building.” She was on the vestige of losing her job because so many ships were passing her drills. So she decided to choose a ship that wouldn’t succeed. Perhaps one that had left a group of Ensigns on a Space Station. It also didn’t hurt that she fixed the tests to make them harder. Once she made her report, Starfleet Command would no doubt reassign the crew and her tests would be proven worthy.

Boimler: Borg Encounter, Stall for Time

There was one hope left, the Drill Instructor couldn’t report her final scores until all drills were complete. Boimler was still in the simulator, looking for his perfect score. Captain Freeman contacted Boimler and ORDERED him not to complete his drill. As long as he was still there, the Cerritos had a chance. Much to the chagrin of Boimler, he had to stay in the simulator and purposely drag it out. That meant dealing with the Borg Queen and possibly, being assimilated. All that work and his chance for perfection was at risk.

Drills vs. Real Life

Meanwhile, Freeman and Mariner were rushing to the Cerritos bridge. The Drill Instructor thought she knew all about working on a Starship. From what she had read. But she had no practical experience. They would give her some. Freeman had Tendi look for any hazardous anomalies she could find. They located a number of crystalline entities from which to choose from. The Cerritos ran straight toward the structure, being buffeted about as it did. The Drill Instructor talked a brave game as they approached. The Crystalline Entity was covered in one of her drills.

But as they moved closer, she was finding that this was more intimidating than she imagined. She started to panic as they went from hazard to hazard. Finding out that life on a Starship was different in practice than it was in a drill. After leaving the Crystalline Entity, Freeman continued to look for more dangerous situations to put the crew through. A Black Hole perhaps? Just so happens one was nearby. So, off they went.

Black Hole

As the ship started being bounced around by the Black Hole, the Instructor couldn’t believe that Freeman was  putting her crew in such danger. She replied that her crew was used to these situations. They handle things like this every day. Now, was she going to change their score or would they continue to educate her on life aboard a REAL starship. She agreed, changing the score to 100%. Captain Freeman ordered Mr. Rutherford to stop the ship’s spin. The Cerritos leveled out like nothing had happened. Black Hole’s were just another day’s work on the Cerritos. Captain Freeman told her she would have known that, if she hadn’t been a huge fraud. Which is something that would be put on HER report. With that under control, Mariner contacted Boimler, telling him it was OK for him to end the drill. However, Boimler was otherwise engaged

Boimler: Borg Encounter, The Borg Queen

With his orders to not finish his drill, Boimler was running out of ways to avoid the Borg drones. Eventually running into the Borg Queen (Alice Krige). One of his earlier successes in previous runs was teaching the Borg Queen empathy. He could only hope it stuck on this go round as he was captured by the Borg. As Boimler laid on a laboratory bed, the Borg Queen leaned over and blew on Boimler’s face. Apparently believing he was an android like Data. When he informed her he was human, she recoiled a bit. Also recommending he drink more liquids. His skin was a mess. Regardless, she would add his add his biological distinctiveness to their own, as the drones began their work.

By the time that Mariner and crew went to release Boimler, he had been assimilated. He was now, Excretus of Borg. They opened the door as Boimler fell out of the Pod, slightly disoriented and still reliving the assimilation. Mariner caught him and told him he would be ok. He had saved the ship. As they exited, he asked if he had gotten his 100% score. Tendi looked at the scoreboard that read 8%. Yep, you did it. 100%.

To the Lower Decks goes the Pesto

Afterwards, the Lower Decks were once again in the mess hall. Captain Freeman approached and reported that Shary Yem-Yem was no longer working for Starfleet. Apparently she had resigned due to stress. In addition, the Bridge Crew presented the Lower Decks with a new food replicator. As long as they were all part of the same crew, they should share the same menu as the Bridge Crew. Pesto included.

Thoughts

This episode was one of my favorites, as are all that call back to so many Star Trek Classic moments. This one was full of them. Starting with the re-introduction of the alien from the episode Bem in Star Trek the Animated Series.  From there, we got references from the Original Series, Mirror, Mirror, Spectre of the Gun, and The Naked Time to the TNG: The Best of Both Worlds and Ethics, which introduces the Hegh’bat, the ritual Klingon suicide. As well as Star Trek: First Contact, where we met the Borg Queen. Also we get a taste of Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan with Rutherford replacing Spock to repair the warp core and The Search for Spock…at least in theory. Too bad the ship never made it out of Space Dock.

As usual with Lower Decks, they added a great deal of humor into these scenarios. Our Klingon patient hurting his back picking up a peanut. The Starfleet Medics calling “Time of Life” when Tendi failed to kill the poor man. Mariner standing up to Shax in the Mirror Universe. Not to mention Boimler’s entire Borg encounters. The name of Excretus alone scores big points. Great stuff all around. Also nice to see Alice Krige reprise her role as the voice of the Borg Queen.

I easily give “I, Excretus” a 5 out of 5. Star Trek: Lower Decks is streaming now on Paramount+ with new episodes every Thursday.

Martin

Senior Writer at GeekVibesNation – I am a 60 something child of the 70’s who admits to being a Star Trek/Star Wars/Comic Book junkie who once dove headfirst 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 21-year-old young man with autism. My wife and son are my real heroes.