TREK REVIEW - Lower Decks 4-3 - 4-5

 4.3 - "The Cradle of Vexilon"

A fun episode that draws on classic sci-fi and Trek lore. We've never had a ringworld on Star Trek before, although we did find that Dyson sphere once. It's a fascinating setting that offers some real storytelling opportunities, and it's fair to say that a half hour funny episode isn't enough to give it the exploration it deserves. Full marks for really acknoledging the debt to Larry Niven by including the Kzinti crewman on the away team. The best joke is having Vexilon, the computer that runs the world, not be evil at all, but actually be rather lovely.

The entwined storylines of Boimler's desperate attempt to make his first mission in command go smoothly, and Captain Freeman's hopeless handling of fixing Vexilon, work pretty well, although the show does go down the route of killing off a major character and then reviving him for laughs, which is getting old already.

The B-plot of the other Lt. LGs' hazing isn't bad, but it devolves quickly into an excuse to pile references on top of references. The Betazoid gift box is a wonderfully weird thing to bring back (a pity it's not voiced by Armin Shimerman), and having Sam get trapped in the Chula game is great. Both together though, and then chucking in the Kataan probe for a quick gag, might be a bit much though.

4.4 - "Something Borrowed, Something Green"

It's amazing that, aside from a couple of very brief glimpses, we've never been to the Orion homeworld on screen before. Now that we finally get to visit the planet, we see that Orion culture is both exactly how we imagined it to be, and much deeper and more surprising.

Tendi's long been hiding a secret about her life on Orion, and while this didn't go down the route some of us where expecting, it was still a beautiful story about being yourself and learning to accept each other. Yes, I suspected that Tendi was trans, which might still be true, but isn't apparently the reason she doesn't have the Orion women's powerful pheromones that can bewitch men. It turns out that it really is just some Orions, even as Mariner makes fun of the whole concept (and the idea of basing an episode of Enterprise around it). On he other hand, after decades of objectifying Orion women, we see on their home planet it's the men who walk around in skimpy costumes. 

Tendi's coming to terms with both her violent, Orion past and her true path in Starfleet, and learning to reconcile both parts of her life, is very nicely done, and ties into the gradual rehabilitation of the Orions as a people in the franchise, while still leaving plenty of leeway for them to play the bad guys as well.

The side plot of Rutherford and Boimler fighting and making up via the Mark Twain holoprogram is both ridiculous and adorable, as well as being a charming call-back to "Time's Arrow," one of TNG's stranger stories. Another surprising callback is having the rival captain, who's violently set on scanning a nebula first, be a Chalnoth, a species seen only once before (in TNG "Allegiance"). If this had been the A-story, though, they could have called it "Never the Twain Shall Meet." What a missed opportunity! Nonetheless, the more important work of developing Tendi and fleshing out Orion culture takes precedence, making this a fine episode.

Fun bits:

• The Orions ride rhinos on their planet!
• The ship Tendi and the gang steal is the same class as Seven of Nine's parents' ship, the Raven.
• According to Memory Alpha's count (which includes Short Trek and Very Short Treks) this is the franchise's 900th episode.

4.5 - "Empathalogical Fallacies"

The latest episode is probably the slimmest of the season so far, in spite their being three plots going on. Boimler's subplot feels a bit tacked so that he has something to do, and it feels like a missed opportunity to not have him meet the randy Betazoids, as you know he'll be incredibly uncomfortable. Still, some lovely moments between him and Shaxs. 

As for the main plot with the three Betazoid ambassadors/spies, it's a fun idea to have the most open people in the galaxy keeping secrets like this, and using their OTT behaviour as the perfect cover. It looks like it's going to play out as Lower Decks' version of DS9's "Fascination," with everyone catching rampant emotionalism from the 'zoids, but it's actually a fun bit of misdirection, a great example of the series' writers using the fans knowledge and expectations to lead them down the garden path. For one thing, everyone expects middle-aged Betazoid women to act like Lwaxana Troi, so here three of them turn up acting like Lwaxana turned up to eleven, but even this is (mostly) a front. 

As an aside, I love that one of the Betazoids is seemingly called Dolores. I think my favourite is Cathiw, the uber-horny one.

Where the episode really works is in its development of T'Lyn, who gets to finally come to terms with her, for a Vulcan, impetuous behaviour, her old crew's poor treatment of her, and her place on the Cerritos. Gabrielle Ruiz is really stealing the series from the other regulars this year.

Finally, we get further hints at the strange ship attacking vessels throughout the quadrant, albeit just to note that no one recognises the design. Personally, I reckon it's going to be Peanut Hamper on a killing spree.

Fun bits: 

• The Betazoids are being ferried from Angel One - the planet where women run everything - to Risa - the planet where everyone goes to get laid. Seems in character.
• Apparently, Caitians used to hunt and eat Betazoids!