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Yes, she is an enigma (which leaves an opening for these series of videos). :D ...The "Tendi's pheromones" question is less interesting to me: Every group (race, species) has outliers who are atypical. The entire Lower Decks series has shown that Tendi is way outside the norm in a number of respects. I take it for granted that she was born without the ability, although the creators could make the back-story on that more interesting, if they wanted to. One unanswered question that I didn't get to in these videos: One of the Lower Decks episodes left a dangling plot thread: Tendi stated that she never completed the 'spacewalk' class at Starfleet Academy, yet she inexplicably passed anyway. Why? (in two respects: First: Tendi 'blowing off' something important, because she had a higher-than-normal level of fear about it, seems... out of character for her. Second: Her receiving a passing grade at the Academy, was never explained. Did Starfleet Intelligence or Section 31 assess the situation, and determine that "We really need THIS ONE in Starfleet; Do what's necessary to have her pass the class and advance."? Did Tendi's Orion syndicate family bribe someone?) I think the 'Tendi's pheromones' question is partly answered by how far the show's creators wanted to go to get away from the 'Green Orion Slave Girl' stereotype with Tendi - to the point of radically de-emphasizing her sexuality and framing her as a character who is laser-focused on her platonic friendships, acquiring useful-in-Starfleet skills, and her career. If Tendi DID use her pheromones/sexuality as a tool or a weapon (even occasionally), that would immediately remind viewers of the Orion stereotype, and I suspect the creators were (are) anxious to not have that happen. I think the intention of the creators is to have Tendi be the most likable of all the characters; for that to happen, we have to feel we can trust her. I suspect the creators are walking a fine line: They want viewers intrigued about unanswered questions regarding Tendi, but they don't want viewers to suspect that she has a 'dark side' that comes out of nowhere, or that she's not the person we thought she was. •••• Late edit: re: "This seems unlikely in a 'prime.' " I suspect that, on Orion, 'Prime' is a very impressive-sounding word that is simply a synonym for "first-born child." (I can't immediately recall if dialogue indicates that 'prime' can be passed down from one sibling to another.) Did D'Erika inherit the ••leadership position•• (the 'crime throne') in the family? Or did she inherit 'Prime' status when D'Vana left - and is there a meaningful difference? ...I'm also willing to buy the idea that "Prime" combines the idea of 'first-born child' with 'senior status in the family after the parents die or cede authority to the next generation.' In other words, Orions are inclined to throw the word 'Prime' around partly as a persuasion tactic or intimidation technique - just as I think Tendi does on a personal level with the 'Mistress of the Winter Constellations' thing.

I'd wager the creators themselves have only a rough estimate of the answers,@@tranya327. (:: Raises a glass. :: ) It's often a good idea to let these things emerge organically in the writing process. But given the series appears to be being cut short, I'd be upset if we didn't get at least some of these answers.

@@tranya327I think the spacewalking class was from their original idea(s) for tendi which had her take someone identity in starfleet (see her not seeing dogs at all despite her years in the academy, or apparently leaving the campus at all), which got dropped. Theres other odd bits from changing what they want to do with characters scatttered in season 2, like how Rutherford got his implant shortly before series instead of years ago.

@@Rocky343 That's a pretty helpful bit of info! ...Did you learn this from info on one of the chat-boards, or a creator comment in reply to a fan question, perhaps? (It's a sincere question; I can certainly buy the creators 'evolving' in their intentions in what they wanted to do with the characters... )

@@tranya327 I dont have a source for this its just how im explaining away some of the contradictions the first season has. Though the fact that theres apparently directors commentary for lower decks on the dvds makes me wonder if the answer might be in them.

I appreciate your comment (You're the first!) ...It's slightly more nuanced than I've described in the video: YES, •part• of her fame is due to her status as Prime, from a prominent family. I think that Tendi has a situation similar to that of other super-famous people. What does the bouncer at the "Slit Throat" bar actually know? He knows that she's a Prime; He knows that she trained as an assassin, to groom her for that role in what was to be her adult life. He knows that she walked away from it to join Starfleet, which is something unheard-of in Orion society (which suggests Balls Of Steel over and above what a 'normal' Prime would have). He also knows that she LIVED after that decision, which also, I think, defies expectations. I think a 'normal' high-level crime Syndicate family on Orion would have had a rebellious Prime like Tendi killed (think 'honor-killings' in our own world.) I think that Tendi is alive, partly because her family has atypical Orion values: They valued Tendi herself, and her happiness, more than they valued societal roles. So that, when Tendi went AWOL, they went along with it. I don't think the bouncer knows that background. He knows only that she rebelled in the 'worst' way, and that she's alive, and Orion society suggests she shouldn't be after a move like that. That could add up in the bouncer's mind (and in others as well) to a yet-more lethal image: "OMG - she's SO badass that she took out all of the assassins that her family sent to kill her, as punishment for her 'defection' from Orion to Starfleet! She's impossible to kill! She's the most lethal creature that anyone's ever seen!!" The bouncer DOESN'T know that Tendi is sweet and considerate in real life (in contrast to the 'mask' she wears in public on Orion, as a pragmatic move to get things done). So, the pieces in his mind (not unreasonably) add up to this incredibly lethal creature who would cut you into little pieces at the drop of a hat, which is the opposite of the reality. I myself, would like to know more about the 'Mistress Of The Winter Constellations' thing. My best guess right now, is that it's a "Dread Pirate Roberts" thing, out of 'The Princess Bride' - it was assigned to her, or she chose it herself in her old life, and knew that "the NAME is the ingredient for inspiring the necessary fear." :)

That means a lot, coming from you! (Yes, that is meant sincerely.) I need to get to the others that go along with this one.

At the end of 'Revenge of the Sith,' Senator Organa instructs the ship captain "Have the protocol droid's mind wiped." So, it was C-3PO *only*, not R2, who had his memory erased. Unless I'm missing something else, the implication is that R2 remembers everything - •ALL• of the events (that he witnessed) of films I - III, and continues with an uninterrupted memory right thru to the end of VI. The incredible thing is: all someone had to do was ask R2 to describe what happened about a specific event, and R2 probably would have told them. He could have filled 3PO in on the entire first part of his (3PO's) life (memories that were erased at the end of Ep III). But, 3PO never thought to ask. It never occurred to most people to ask. (Obi-Wan could have asked R2, privately, any number of things, in the first part of Episode IV - but he didn't have any need to - and he wanted to maintain the pretense, for Luke, that Obi-Wan and R2 had never met before, so he just played it that way.) Go and search Episode III for any piece of dialogue that specifically refers to R2 getting his mind wiped / memory erased. There is no such dialogue there.

@@tranya327 Dam must have misheard the ending of episode 3 when I saw it

When I released the video, I tweeted Scott and Steve that the title was a persuasion trick: designed to get would-be viewers' attention. It ought to have the "you can't look away!" factor. :)