Qapla'! "A Farewell to Farms" is an honorable Klingon adventure; Star Trek: Lower Decks S5E4

Klingons are arguably one of the richly painted alien cultures in Star Trek lore. While much of this has been developed for serious drama throughout various Trek series, Lower Decks has been offering a more humorous look at Klingons for a while. In "A Farewell to Farms," we get to visit Qo'noS and see a comedic take at Klingon rituals that manages to remain faithful and genuine to the Klingon heart.

Episode summary (spoilers)

This week's episode has a clear A and B plot. The A plot features Mariner and Boimler trying to help Ma'ah (who viewers may remember from earlier episodes, "wej Duj" and "The Inner Fight") regain his captaincy. Meanwhile, the B plot shows Rutherford, Tendi, and Captain Freeman helping Cerritos counselor, Dr. Migleemo, deal with judgmental food critics from his homeworld of Klowahka.

The episode starts on Qo'noS, the Klingon homeworld, where Ma'ah is working on his family farm with his brother, Malor. We learn that Ma'ah has lost the captaincy that he achieved at the end of Season 2's "wej Duj" due to the mutiny aboard his ship, instigated by Nick Locarno in Season 4. Ma'ah is clearly frustrated, and it only gets worse when Beckett Mariner arrives, along with Brad Boimler.

When Mariner and Boimler learn of the problem, they agree to help Ma'ah regain his captaincy, despite resistance by Bargh, leader of the Klingon Oversight Council and brother of the captain Ma'ah had killed to gain his command. However, thanks to Boimler's knowledge of obscure Klingon traditions—and creative teamwork—Ma'ah is able to become a captain again and kill Bargh.

Meanwhile, the Cerritos is playing host to a pair of Klowahkan dignitaries (i.e., food critics), Sir Legnog and Madame Gonald. The pair cause enormous stress for the ship's Klowahkan counselor, Dr. Migleemo, who desperately wants to serve Legnog and Gonald an excellent meal.

After multiple failed meals, Legnog and Gonald arrest Dr. Migleemo for what they claim is his horribly bland food. When they return to Klowahka, though, it's revealed that the critics have lost their sense of taste due to excessive stress, which Dr. Migleemo diagnoses as conversion disorder. Thus, the critics repent and see Migleemo's value as a psychologist—or a "chef of the mind," as he puts it.

At the end of the episode, Ma'ah helps Mariner and Boimler study another dimensional hole, like the ones we've seen in previous episodes this season. From this evidence, they are able to determine that the holes are actually being artificially constructed, sowing more seeds for the season (and series) finale.

Klingon translations

This episode has dialogue peppered with various Klingon words. While some (like petaQ) don't have official translations, I've pulled out my copy of The Klingon Dictionary by Marc Okrand and found translations for some of them:

• cha'DIch = second
• bIj = punish (v.), punishment (n.)
• quv beq = (roughly) honor crew
• lujwI'pu' = failures
• qoH = fool
• HIq'aD = (literally) "blood vein", probably the Klingon version of "drunkard"
• chatIh = nonsense
• toDuj = courage, bravery

Thoughts on the episode

I frequently enjoy Klingon-centric episodes, so it was definitely a treat to see more of them. Also, as Rachel Carrington noted, this episode is yet another welcome return to form for the Klingon species, after the jarring turn taken in the first two seasons of Star Trek: Discovery.

Something I particularly enjoy about this episode is its balance. It is light and humorous—so tonally consistent with Lower Decks—but still manages to tell a nuanced story that feels true to how Klingon culture has been depicted before. Plus, it adds a uniquely Lower Decks spin to it.

Rather than being about valorous generals or the Klingon High Council, we're dealing with a single farmer-turned-captain-turned-farmer dealing with a petty, vindictive bureaucrat. This takes us back to the roots of Lower Decks as being about the "little guys." The stakes aren't dire on a galactic scale, but they're vital on the individual scale of Ma'ah, Mariner, and the rest.

Overall, this was a very fun episode, and the B plot about Dr. Migleemo and company was a fun way to bring that character back after being absent for some time.