Spoilers Star Trek: Lower Decks 4x10 - "Old Friends, New Planets"

[Tosk]

Very glad to see they got Shannon Fill back. And I love that they gave Joshua Albert his father's chin!
I guess they couldn't be bothered drawing Jean Hajar for some reason. I guess she was in the toilet or something.

I probably could have done with fewer blatant TWOK-isms, but overall a good ep.

I guess the Ferengi got that proto-matter problem licked for the Genesis Device.

Maybe. Let's wait and see if Locarno is stable.

Walker Brandt is still around to my knowledge.

Not just around, but a voice artist no less.

 

[NCC-73515]

The yacht has changed btw...

 

[Tosk]

The yacht has changed btw...

Yeah for some reason it turned into the style you get on a Sovereign class ship.

 

[Verteron]

The yacht has changed btw...

Given it's kept in a bay on the Cerritos rather than integrated into the hull like on the explorer/cruiser style ships, I suppose it's pretty easy to change it out. In fact, I bet the California class ships might get the cast-offs from the more important ships when they get upgrades!

 

[thribs]

Robert Duncan McNeil did an amazing job here. He should do more voice over roles. Maybe if this directing gig doesn’t take off

 

[Markonian]

This episode is amazing!

 

[NCC-73515]

Yeah for some reason it turned into the style you get on a Sovereign class ship.

Just with the nacelles folded in a bit

 

[Ar-Pharazon]

"They put a paywall on a bomb?"

There has to be a Rule Of Acquisition covering that.

I guess the Ferengi got that proto-matter problem licked for the Genesis Device.

Those really are terrible last words. But I'd probably be thinking the same thing!

This does open up a huge can of gagh. Habitable worlds are just one detonation away. For a price. How much for just the planet?

Why do I feel like he wasn't the first person whose last words were "stupid Ferengi"? Keevan used "I hate Ferengi", so pretty close.

 

[Deks]

Yeah for some reason it turned into the style you get on a Sovereign class ship.

Remember at the end of season 1 when the Cerritos was wrecked by the Pakleds and the repair person in the Starbase suggested some changes to the ship, to which Freeman said something along the lines: 'No!. I hate it when they upgrade/repair a ship and it comes out looking all Sovereign class'?

Well, That IS what happened to the Obena class it seems (which in my mind is just an upgraded/refitted Excelsior for the late 24th century - SF just took existing Excelsiors and turned them into Obena - and then at the start of the 25th century, to Excelsior II), and now likely the Captains Yacht.

Also this:
"They have like the same face, they're identical"
"No I just don't see it".

haha... second time in a row, Nick is doing his bit and Rutherford is literally repeating what we've all been saying trying to convince a clueless Boims who 'just doesn't see it'.

I guess they aren't related though (in-universe wise), but its possible Tom Paris himself (or someone from his family) will appear in the next season and say Locarno WAS in fact a relative - although, he could just be a simple lookalike.

Also, did something change with Robert Duncan's McNeil's voice?
When he first voiced Tom Paris on LD I couldn't recognize him at all from his live action VOY days... and the same thing is happening here (I had to do a double take in checking the credits in both episodes to make sure it was indeed him).
He sounds almost like a completely different person (despite it being the same person).

 

[Deks]

Holy crap, the Trynar

Spoiler: Trynar Shields that cover a ENTIRE Friggin Star System!!!

That is literally game changing tech, the fact that the Binars have that level of Shield technology is crazy, imagine the power requirements needed to cover the surface area of a Star System's outter borders with Shields.

#_#

Also, throwing massive objects at shields seems to really work, laws of physics & Kinetic Energy and all that.

Throwing a freaking BattleShip at a Trynar Star-System wide Shield that normal StarShips can't punch through
=D

This too.
I suspect the Binars might be using a Dyson Swarm (or something like it) to power it.

Also that shield is the same one Q used in TNG pilot, is it not?

Plus, is it possible this type of shield can only be used on a Solar system scale (at least for now)?

And it may be impenetrable, but even if you throw a battleship at it, it causes a tiny hole which closes fairly quickly.

 

[Ar-Pharazon]

"Did you just throw a asteroid battleship?"

"Goddamn right I did"

 

[Turtletrekker]

It was really her!

I honestly wasn't sure about either of them. Wesley didn't sound quite right to me and getting Shannon Fill is particularly cool because she had a very brief acting career. All of her other credits are between 1992 and 1995.

 

[eschaton]

I'm going to probably buck the emerging consensus and say that although I liked the season finale - liked it a great deal - I didn't think it hit as hard as the first three season finales. Essentially, Lower Decks always closes strong, and I probably went into this episode with unreasonably high hopes.

It was a satisfying payoff to the season as a whole, which experimented even further with serialization. The ship disappearances, Mariner's malaise, Tendi's drama with her sister - even Rutherford's stupid engineering rivalry and the Mark Twain holodeck program - were paid off here. Nicholas Locarno was the perfect villain for the show, and I enjoyed the TWOK sendup. I also like that the show recognizes they're not kids...erm...ensigns...any more.

That said, I have some minor quibbles here which stops it from being a perfect episode. That the Lower Deckers (minus Mariner) just get from Ma'ah's ship to the Cerritos off camera felt wrong. I recognize that there's limited time in these bite-sized episodes, but still. Boimler having command of the Cerritos also made no logical sense. Why wouldn't Ransom be left in command? Why did all the senior officers join Freeman on the yacht? It seemed like a decision that was made solely to try and tug on our heartstrings.

Which leads me to my real issue with this episode. The feels just weren't there as much as I expected. The scene in the first act where the entire Cerritos crew decides they're going to ignore orders and rescue Mariner - that was great. I wanted more of that - more of the magic of friendship, which is the core of the show, emotionally speaking. But the remainder of the episode was given over to plot machinations and high-octane action, meaning until we got the final scene post climax. Which was...touching...but nothing we hadn't seen before. I wanted to see us go further with the characters. Mariner's arc was strangely flat here as well, since she did the right thing from the first point she had agency. I would have liked to see her vacillate just a tiny bit, to give her some internal conflict to mesh with the external conflict.

Again though, these are all minor concerns. Ultimately this was a well-crafted and entertaining season finale. It's just that it was ultimately plot-based storytelling, and I like Lower Decks much more when it's more character-based than this.

 

[Deks]

I honestly wasn't sure about either of them. Wesley didn't sound quite right to me and getting Shannon Fill is particularly cool because she had a very brief acting career. All of her other credits are between 1992 and 1995.

Wesley sounded just right to me... more like a young version of himself - which would be consistent with TNG.
It was Rober Duncan McNeil who didn't sound like himself to me at all... he sounds almost completely different to me from his VOY days.

 

[Seven of Five]

That was awesome!

I loved the homage to The First Duty, with Nova Squad reunited.

I also loved the musical and visual nods to TWOK when Mariner went up against Locarno. The episode should have been called The Wrath of Locarno.

Lots of great fistbump moments throughout with the crew all turning up to rescue Mariner.

An easy 10.

 

[tomalak301]

"They put a paywall on a bomb?"

My favorite part of the entire episode.

This episode and this season was awesome. I was almost right regarding Tendi. She's not dead, but she isn't on the Cerritos anymore. I'm glad they left that plotline open and we really do get a good Orion storyline with her next season.

 

[Bad Thoughts]

9

Mostly an 8 episode, but the opening was beautiful. And the shutoff with a paywall has had me laughing all day. Bringing back Sito, along with Wesley, in the context of a flashback, improved the flavor of the original episode without ruining either First Duty or Lower Decks. And it felt young: despite the fact that many of the actors sounded mature, it still felt like they were all young people. The rest of the episode was a lot of plot. We could have had more carryover of Mariner getting over Sito's death.

 

[Starkers]

I'm with @eschaton I really enjoyed it, but it didn't hit as hard as previous finales, in particular season 3, I swear when all the Callie class ships turned up I had a tear in my eye and this one didn't quite resonate as much as the other finales. Captain Boimler was cool but yeah, why take all your senior staff with you?

There was lots to enjoy though. Homages to TWOK, the paywall on a bomb, Freeman's "To hell with our orders" moment, T'Lyn's Cerritos Strong moment and choosing to stay on the ship, the recurring Mark Twain gag (which really shouldn't be funny yet is, Freeman's "How does this even work?" makes it) and of course Boimler and Rutherford's "He looks like Tom Paris." "I don't see it." moment.

Plus Robert Duncan McNeill Will Wheaton and they got Shannon Fill back! I agree that Robert Duncan McNeill doesn't quite sound like he did (hey, people's voices change as they age) though oddly I found him more recognisable when I closed my eyes.

Anyway, on to season 5 and let's go get Tendi back!!

 

[DarKush]

This episode didn't knock it out the park for me. They did an amazing job of packing it with a lot of things, without slowing down the pace. And there were some nice callbacks from across the season. There were also some great cameos. And I liked how Captain Freeman and crew did the Trek thing and defied orders. The Wrath of Khan homage was also well rendered. It ultimately didn't work for me because I felt they needed to build up Locarno and his plan more. How did he build that ship, how did he get his hands on a Ferengi Genesis Device (and why don't more people have them?) and how could he, a disgraced Starfleet cadet, convince Klingons, Romulans, Cardassians, etc. to join him? If Locarno was working for someone else, I think it would've made more sense. I also feel that someone like Tom Riker or Sela would've worked better as the mastermind here, instead of Locarno.

And though it might have tipped their hand, I would've liked to have seen more allusions or hints to Mariner at the Academy, perhaps use Hajar or another character earlier in the season to establish more of her Academy relationships.

Of the finales so far, I'm torn between this one and the second season, over which I found the most lackluster.

 

[El Maestro]

I don't know how long this show will last but I find it scratching the itch for me regarding post-Berman Trek stories. It takes place firmly in that universe in the late 24th century (I think?). There are callbacks, but also evolution and expansion. The storytelling is good and very efficient with the shorter episode lengths. It's a very tough needle to thread, but they seem to have made a Trek show that is undeniably Trek but with silly elements that can laugh at itself, the franchise, and the fans without being cheap or mean spirited. Such an improbable show!

This probably wasn't the biggest or most flashy season finale but it was good. It tied a lot of things up and provided growth and development for a lot of characters. The Twain gag is so dumb but I laugh every time, and when Freeman said, "why does this work?!?" I laughed pretty hard.

I've appreciated how actors who've played one-off but memorable characters have been willing to lend their voices for reappearances, and Wheaton is always most welcome.

This is a fun little show, one that is better than it has any right to be!