Despite visual continuity clearly indicating that "Upper Decks" is meant to have been released in this order, something tells me that this episode of Star Trek: Lower Decks Season 5 was initially intended as a Halloween episode. (A Lower Decks episode was released on Halloween this year, but it was "The Best Exotic Nanite Hotel.") Despite releasing in early December, this was a fun episode.
Episode summary
At the start of the episode, we find our Lower Deckers together, carving pumpkins into jack-o'-lanterns. There are a few fun jokes and references, like Rutherford carving a pumpkin to look like V'Ger, and Mariner comments that all of the excitement on the Cerritos happens when she and the other Lower Deckers are around, thinking this is counter to how it is on most ships.
After this scene, we transition to Captain Freeman and the bridge crew having a staff meeting. We then follow the various members of the bridge crew as they go throughout their day. Freeman herself mostly has to attend various social functions on the ship, Commander Ransom has to wrangle some officers to work together, Security Chief Shaxs faces his inner demons, etc.
Despite seeming routine at first, it is eventually revealed that the Cerritos has been infiltrated by Clickets—an insectoid species first introduced in Season 1's "Veritas." Captain Freeman and the Upper Deckers have to fend them off, which they do successfully. Then, Captain Freeman is able to have an anniversary date with her husband, Admiral Freeman, who has surprised her on the Cerritos.
At the end of the episode, the Lower Deckers have emerged from their pumpkin-carving party, barely aware of the excitement that has transpired aboard the ship. Mariner refuses to believe that anything exciting has occurred, since that would undermine her worldview.
A few references
As with most episodes of Star Trek: Lower Decks, this episode had a number of cute references to other incarnations of the franchise. While there are others, I had a few personal favorites:
- V'Ger jack-o'-lantern. Considering this episode was released shortly before the 45th anniversary of Star Trek: The Motion Picture, it was fun to see that movie get some love.
- Rocks on the bridge! There is a common joke among Star Trek fans about the fact rocks are often seen falling from ceilings and bulkheads when ships are damaged. Well, according to Chief Engineer Billups in this episode, those are Cordry rocks, and help with the main deflector.
Thoughts on the episode
As I said at the start, this episode really feels like it was meant to be a Halloween episode. There are a few moments with the kind of gross-out, body horror elements that Lower Decks has otherwise moved away from over the years. There is also the whole pumpkin carving plot. This leads one to wonder if the release of episodes was initially intended for this episode to release in October.
Horror aside, there are many slice-of-life aspects to the episode, akin to the Next Generation episode "Data's Day," but the more obvious comparison is that it's an inverse of the episode "Lower Decks," which had followed ensigns on the Enterprise-D and was the inspiration for the Lower Decks series. In this way, this episode works well, and is a clever way to honor where it came from.
Recognizing this also helps to alleviate some of the disappointment that we did not get very much of Mariner, Boimler, or the other Lower Deckers. Given the foreknowledge that this is the final season of Lower Decks, there is at least a part of me, personally, who wants every last moment of every episode to feel special, because there isn't much left.
Overall, however, this is a fun episode. It is also paced and resolved in such a way that the audience isn't left dangling after the final scene, wondering if there is some kind of follow-up scene to be had. While this is far from the best Lower Decks episode, it is a solid one that manages to play cleverly with the premise.