I think the bridge crew plot did tie in with the Boimler plot, thematically. "I don't have a big enough helmet for that" and the revolutionary taking the helmet at the end and everyone bowing down was as much a statement on hierarchy through superficial aesthetics as the red shirts were. Just more of the contrasting example, highlighting the silliness of that world view.
This was a fun episode! Boimler showing the true depths of his character development and willingness to humiliate and even potentially injure himself to help Tendi was just *chef's kiss* And it was nice seeing more of Tendi's ongoing arc too, watching her fighting with her own anxieties and emotions and admitting she does things because she just really wants to spend time with her friends being happy and having fun where they can find it... She's so DEEPLY relatable.
It is so refreshing to watch a fan enthuse over a Star Trek Show. Far too often reviewers focus on the negative stuff. Good for you Jessie. It is also lovely to see you happy. I know things can get pretty dark on your Show, with pressing issues making life tough at times. I can see why Star Trek meant so much to you during your formative years. I thoroughly enjoyed this episode. Thank you so much. Keep Smiling.
YES! I think, to a certain extent, it's a pitfall of the review format. To and extent I can see how if a reviewer loves everything they review it makes their enjoyment of it less meaningful. That idea can then lead to reviewers feeling like they need to be more critical to be considered legitimate. Which in turn leads some reviewers to be so hypercritical I often wonder why they are still partaking in those things when it seems like they dislike them so much. I think in some cases, those people actually have gotten so caught up in the critique that they've lost their enjoyment. And I just don't like reviews that rip to shreds something I enjoy. Hearing alternative points of view is great, and I enjoy discussion, but not criticism for criticism's sake. TLDR; Geeking out = fun Balanced review = good Critiquing problematic points = useful Extreme negativity for the sake of being more legitimate/edgy/popular = stupid. I'm glad we lean much more towards the geeking out end of the spectrum here.
@@TheGFeather It’s been more than 15 years since the concept of Internet reviews has been popularized. You’d think some woulda gotten it by now that being the purely caustic negative Internet reviewer has become passe.
@@myriadmediamusings I suspect some of it comes from the way the algorithm interacts with engagement. The more radical/scathing a review is, the more people engage with it, either in support or opposition, the more it spreads.
How does Tendi still look super adorable even as a giant scorpion monster? Also, while I really liked the Freeman and Boimler plots for different reasons, the Anomaly plot really rang my “this sounds like a reference from a Trek show I haven’t seen” alarm, which is something that I’ve struggled with when watching this show. Still a good episode!
Boimler’ makeover had a REALLY deep cut - in the TNG era, the costume designers built muscles into the men’s uniforms to help them fill them out and oof their posture more. This was just Bradward getting that same treatment! I was laughing so much at that one.
One of the things that I enjoy about lower decks are the very small things. In this case when Tendi is turning into the monster Beckett calls her D'vana not Tendi. Them not throwing away things like relationships changing is great writing and it's fun to watch.
Do love what they did with Boimler, felt like the episode was reviewing his character growth from being there for us to "laugh at" in a lot of the first season to being competent and experience enough to handle the situation, with the nice punchline of him being laugh at in show. But yeah that ending gag, so PERFECT, honestly that may be one of the best jokes in the show.
A little late to the party, but I got to thank you Jess. As a old head Trekkie I was reluctant to to give DISCO a chance, but it was due to your "gentle push" that I decided to give it a chance. Which, I'm glad I did. Lower Decks was no different, I was apprehensive about a cartoon comedy, but once again you gave me that "gentle push" and I was just amazed at how brilliant the show is. I now realize that my Star Trek withdraw was my own doing and I thank you for that "gentle push...but put down that Klingon Painstik! Qapla!
I loved the "we are the crew" line because it's a perfect rejection of the standoffish nonsense that chasing the trappings of leadership tends to lead you into. Also, regarding poop jokes on Discovery... I can't help but remember a certain Admiral bluntly sharing where apples come from. He wasn't joking, but the reaction of his guest definitely made me laugh.
I thought it was kinda neat how they didn't have to come out and say that everyone on the Cerritos is "Lower Decks" just showed us that no matter what job they do, the whole ship is lower decks. So much to that point that the Redshirts have to buck convention and put on the "pretense" of leadership. Everyone is lower decks.
Rutherford getting huge reminded me a lot of Yaphet Kotto's character, Kananga, in the Bond film Live and Let Die. He gets shot with some compressed gas bullet and inflates to death. Loved the Kazinti too! He got some lines even.
The A plot doesn’t directly intersect the other plots, but it fits thematically. Showing that the bridge crews’ job is more like the lower decks than it is the red shirt’s idea of the bridge crew. More cleaning up shit, less giving speeches.
I honestly think this will be an episode I remember. Yeah, not as one of the best like episodes 9 or 10 last season. But like you said, like a comfort episode, but one that really sticks out. Like Little Green Men or Take Me Out to the Holosuite. I honestly thought this was the best episode of the season so far, loved the final joke, and I really liked the class commentary throughout.
It felt a little bit Rick and Mortyesque, but that’s ok. It won me over because it was more about loving your friends. The Red Shirts may advance their careers but it’s an empty advancement. The end prank call made me cry I laughed so hard.
What I really liked about everyone doing ACD is that they each found EXACTLY what they expected out of it. Mariner was expecting it to be awful, and that was her experience. Tendi thought it would be great, and for her it was... right up until she decided it wasn't fun, at which point everything went south for her. Tendi vs Mariner is all about the power of attitude on a situation. The best jibe for me in the episode was Boimler's muscle padding. Boimler is a skinny guy. We've seen he's definitely fit enough for the physicality of Starfleet, but he's slender. Just like Wesley and Bashir. I feel the muscle suit joke as a slam on the way Wil and Sid (and I'm sure some other actors I can't think of off the top of my head) were made to wear muscled undershirts because they weren't considered buff enough by the powers that be. In an animated show where characters can be absolutely any shape and size, and character designs that often embrace hyperbole, there is so much more room for playing with what constitutes the physical ideal. There is a lot made of the standards of feminine beauty, and rightly so, but there are also unfair masculine standards at play in popular media. I liked seeing that acknowledged in this ep. I agree that this isn't likely to be an episode that stands out, but it's solid, with lots of great satirical commentary.
Hello Jessie, I've only recently found your channel, and I love the content you create and your positivity. Tendi's story this episode really connected with me personally, I not only love Lower Decks, but also Discovery and Picard, so when the negative criticisms started to pour in I used to go on the forums of SFDebris and Star Trek Online, not only to share my own thoughts and feelings on these new series, but much like with Tendi it was also to spread a bit of positivity to what I felt was a very cynical environment and maybe get people to see that there were good things to talk about and have some fun and joy with the franchise we were fans of, this mentality even goes back further as I used to be in an old Star Trek Online Podcast called the Red Shirt Army that is no longer going since I left, and I joined that of the same reasons. However, it seemed that people really didn't want to see that and at best my comments were ignored, and at worst I was basically told I was an idiot for not hating something that I loved, and bullied into not having any enthusiasm and having to add statements like "It's not perfect" or "It's not as good" and always playing devils advocate with a glass half full mentality, or to keep quite about it to save being bombarded by these hate-filled comments, even watching content creators that I still respect and listen to like Linkara and SFDebris when it can to these new shows where always negative, I also found it ironic that the major criticisms about modern Star Trek is that its "not optimistic" or "to cynical" or "not Star Trek", when from my perspective these shows where just as hopeful, uplifting, and still kept to Star Treks philosophy of tying to be better and open-mindedness, and it was those people that made these criticisms that were in-fact not optimistic, cynical, and not living up to Star Treks ideals. And much like with Tendi in this episode, this negativity finally got to me, and after seeing some of Linkara's Tweets on his website about Season 3 of Discovery, I had to cut a lot of internet activity out of my life, not only have I stopped going to those forums, but I've no plans to watch any future SFDebris reviews of Discovery because I'm sure it will be more of the same negativity as his last seasons review, I've stopped watching all of Linkara's livestreams or PO Unboxing because he'd always have something nasty to say about modern Star Trek, and I dare not RUclips search and Star Trek videos as I'd be bombarded with usual cynical and hate-filled "news" and "review" videos as well as many other sides, and rarely comment online and keep my opinions to myself, which even when I have has been met with negativity (I was even hesitant to write all this), all because I realised that this was starting to affect my own mental heath and enjoyment of a franchise I've loved since I was little, and like what happened in this episode, I was worried that what happened to Tendi would happen to me (not the turning into a giant scorpion part though), that I'd start lashing out at others and start hating the franchise I genuinely love and mean it, the parts when Mariner told Tendi to stop trying to make the work fun and when Tendi was yelling at Mariner and Rutherford felt very real to me, and the moral at the end about how people should feed off of enthusiasm, not to tamp it down is something that I wish many people could learn. It's why I love your videos (as well as channels like Rowan J Coleman and Steve Shives), their is such a love and passion for Star Trek that is such a joy to watch, an in turn reinvigorated my own love of Star Trek, and I love Star Trek, from The Original Series all the way to Discovery, Picard and Lower Decks, and It's always great to see other people also love these shows and be so passionate and enthusiastic about it. So thank you Jessie for all you do, and like Tendi I'll be keeping my positivity and enthusiasm along with you and every one else that loves Star Trek.
This actually might've been one of my favorite episodes of the season so far, which is weird because I was closer to lukewarm on it until around the time Tendi turned into a giant rage scorpion. Boimler purposely humiliating himself to save the day and then sharing carefree laughter with Tendi? Excellent and winningly sweet. Ransom regretting aloud that he and Kayshon "underestimated" Rumdar just before Rumdar floats past the window? Nearly died laughing, only to laugh even harder a second later at T'ana's reaction to Rumdar waking up and the explanation for how he got outside the ship in the first place. The stealth revelation that Pakleds can survive in vacuum without a suit? Fascinating. This one really came together at the end for me, which is always a neat trick when a story's writer(s) can pull it off. Of course, all of this was BEFORE they prank called Armus, which was absolutely glorious, not only because it was funny but because it was weirdly cathartic. You mess with one Starfleet officer, you mess with EVERY Starfleet officer.
I love the Chekov's Gun they have in this episode, where in the very beginning Boimler spills food on himself and Tendi finds it really funny, then at the very end Boimler reverses Tendi's transformation by purposefully spilling food on himself to make her laugh.
This was fun! Loved that it kind of shows how much Boimler actually cares about his friends by literally hurting himself and setting himself on fire. It was sort of like a friend watching another friend having an anxiety attack and they quickly got them laughing to calm them down and help them. Also, "Tasha, watch out that garbage bags behind you".
I've mostly liked lower decks, but I've found the past couple episodes (The Spy Humongous and An Embarrassment of Dopplers) especially touching and fun. I really hope the show keeps this up because it seems like it's hitting its stride.
You really are leaning into being a hat person. It works, but I feel you need to get an Enterprise jumpsuit and an NX-01 cap. I don't like Enterprise but thought that was a pretty good look! I thought this week was a lot of fun, the Pakleds had me laughing constantly between the Janeway gag, the ever-larger hats, the rebels, Rumdar just floating past the window... The weird stuff Mariner, Tendi and Rutherford had to deal with was cool - and maybe it's just that I saw Akira last week, but I got a Tetsuo vibe from Rutherford getting big and it looked like Tendi was sketching A Ki Ra in Japanese with the red gunk on his face. I wasn't quite rolling on the floor at the closing moments, but I was in tears laughing at it. One of the best moments in Lower Decks so far.
I really really liked this one. I think it actually will stick out for me because of the Boimler plot. You're absolutely right, it was such a great twist on the trope, and so very Star Trek. I didn't mind the poop jokes this week. Shax tasting the Gumato dung was worse for me, but also still funny especially wrapped in all the Moogato mispronunciations. Also, love the hat!
I loved the character on display in this episode. I feel like we haven’t had a whole lot of time showing Boimler and Tendi bonding because of the tendency to pair the characters up, but you can really FEEL that they have in this one. Boimler knows in an instant how to make her start laughing and it’s just so sweet.
Love your Lower Decks reviews. Because I don't mind spoilers I actually watch your video the day before the episode is available in the UK. If anything your video helps me to enjoy the episodes more.
Just want to say I love the energy and enthusiasm you bring to these reviews my current Saturday morning ritual is watching the latest lower decks and chasing it with your review. It’s a great way to start the weekend.
Which is ironic since he has freely admitted to being turned off by Lower Decks and has zero intention of ever checking it out. But still he can do whatever he wants. Even this knee deep into the show, I think everyone can admit that Lower Decks is an acquired taste.
I was worried about Boimler not learning from the Titan incidents after the last week revelation. But where they ended it was PITCH PERFECT. It was great to see the rest of the group together. The thing I've loved most about Lower Decks is it's not afraid to show the monotony of Day To Day Starfleet operations. And the Redshirts(I was ROLLING at this joke) part of the episode packed a MASSIVE amount of character development for Boimler. And I'm here for it. The whole Pakled bit while kinda silly also served an ABSOLUTE purpose of not only showing us the Pakled homeworld.....but also showed how cunning both Ransom and Freeman are. How can McMahn and crew be this good? Like seriously
Something I loved about this episode (hey, just discovered your channel, going thru all your lower decks vids), was when Ramson complimented Boimler on how he handled the situation. I found that moment so soothing. Like, it feels so Star Trek that higher ranks are actively trying to push up those below. And it also endears me to Ransom's character. He had everything in it to be the typical jock. But this, him actively supporting Boimler truly pushed him up in my list of favorite characters (this and ofc his attitude towards Mariner in s4).
Great video! i love this show and look forward to your response every week. :) i think this episode will end up being a little more consequential in retrospect. i think there's more going on with the Pakleds than meets the eye. They made a reference earlier in the series, someone said "someone must be feeding them or directing them somehow". I think there will turn out to be a character we know from Trek lore secretly leading them (probably without them even realizing it) from behind the scenes. My dream would be that it's Lore -- like he did with the renegade Borg in Descent 1 & 2. Other candidates include Thomas RIker (although that seems too villainous for him, he's really more of a clever, self-righteous rebel than an evil mastermind type), or maybe even a one-off adversary like that "Ardra" con-artist lady who pretended to be the Devil -- she was into grifting entire planets to do her bidding. Or maybe even some renegade Founder, slumming it outside of the Gamma Quadrant.
I'm pretty sure the two humans in the Red Shirt Squad were the two we saw in season 1 representing Delta Shift, the rivals to Mariner and company. You know, when that friend of Boimler made a core evil and try to take over the ship.
this was probably my favorite episode of the series up to this point. it's not huge and action packed, but it gives me that nice warm feeling in my heart. I loved the twist with Boimler and the redshirts, like you said it's a trope we've seen hundreds of times. One character joins the new cool clique, starts to abandon their friends, becomes a jerk, realizes the new clique is bad and then goes back to their friends at the end because status quo is god. But like you said Boimler doesn't do that, he immediately stands up for his friends, yeah he keeps hanging with the redshirts, but it becomes pretty clear, it stops being hanging with the cool kids and becomes more doing this for his career. It's sweet because the trope always makes me roll my eyes because they act like jerks to their friends and are welcomed back despite how they acted. and I'm glad that Boimler stays true to his self and even if his friends aren't there to hear, he stands up for them and it pays off
Okay, I watched a Matrix AND a Star Trek video ads! That's TEN minutes of my life I won't get back! LOL! Love supporting you! I did get two sides of my quilt sewed!!!! 🧵🧵🧵
"You getting _Bizmanti before he pulled back the veil_ vibes from this guy?" "Oh yeah." I love how Ransom didn't miss a beat there. Anyway the best I can figure is that there weren't any command Lt. Positions free on the Cerritos when Boimler came back so it was either go back to ensign or get reassigned entirely and he preferred to be with his friends. Granted its a little headcannony but still.
I just came here to drop my like and support for more lower decks videos. But I can't watch the video now since I haven't watched the episode yet. Live long and prosper, Captain Gender! See you soon!
Kzinti actually aren't originally from Star Trek. They are creations of Larry Niven. He got permission to use them when he was invited to write an episode of the animated series (itself based on a short story of his the DC Fontana liked that already had the Kzinti in it).
Loved this episode, it actually helped me though my own existential terror at being "lower decks" and feeling like nothing in my life was gonna get better.
I didn’t like his demotion to ensign either, but I figured both a) if he showed up able to give the other 3 orders and having his own quarters he’d probably be obnoxious about it; and b) I think they want to give William Boimler one or two more promotions when they bring him back for the finale, so they want the biggest differential between Brad and Will’s ranks imo.
I must say, Boimler is growing on me! I loved Mariner (still do), but really, Boimler is getting more and more interesting. Tendi is adorable. Rutherford... Well, he's lagging behind. Maybe he will grow in next episodes. I found this episode really deep and meaningful. It was great!!!
As to what you're talking about with this episode.....it reminds me of Clues from TNG, The Magnificent Ferengi in DS9, Fair Haven in VOY, or 2 Days and 2 Nights in ENT. And you're correct these things seem to be missing in PIC and DSC(Nepenthe WAS probably the closest we got). Also yes....the subversion of expectations was PITCH PERFECT
When I think about it the Boimler stuff in this episode reminds me of the Lower Decks TNG episode, where there are people gunning for a special job and having to stand out to the command crew. Luckily nobody dies in this episode.
dunno if it was a joke but uh, i'm VERY concerned that "The Spy Humongus" is a subtle but already dated Among Us joke. Mariner even says "Who among us hasn't been..." she said it! She said the meme phrase!
i didn't notice that many poop jokes but i guess you really enjoyed them. my favorite part was probably cleaning up after all the strange things. probably a middle of the road episode of lower decks or the season isn't over with yet.
I had just finished getting caught up on the Ensigns' Log before watching this so my brain was thinking of something from that with the ending scene with Armos
The Armus joke might be my favourite thing they’ve done so far. Also, the Boimler captain speech felt like it was lifted verbatim from a TNG episode or movie but I’m not sure which one.
I was really worried Boimler was going to go back to old ways in this episode and I was so glad he didn't! I think this is my favorite moment in the show for him.
Dang this one was fantastic, could rival the Mariner/Tendi episode as my favorite of Season 2. Spy Humongous felt like a great combination of all the new developments of Season 2. Was also probably the first episode I laughed at all the jokes.
I think I know why the Pakled got lost trying to find the bathroom. How often do you see the bathroom in Star Trek? Are there any in the floor plans? Where does Kirk poop? No wonder he spaced himself...
I only recall one poop joke. I wonder if the Packled are the Borg of Lower Decks. I also was fully expecting Freeman to replicate a gigantic inflatable helmet for herself. Maybe that's season finale. :)
You know, there was a poop joke in the Star Trek Enterprise episode "Breaking the Ice". The crew is answering questions that Earth's children wrote for them. One of the questions was about "waste" disposal and Archer passes the question to Trip, who's horrified about being seen as a "sanitation engineer". Here's the exact scene. ruclips.net/video/vO3Z2yeElvk/видео.html
Now that you mention it, there was a lot of poop. I kinda wish the bridge crew had someone who was a nerd about diplomatic duties. If a Pakled showed up at my place and claimed ownership I would think they have a fascinating culture that I'd want to observe in great detail before making any decisions on what to do. One of the few things I liked about Neelix was how enthusiastic he was to be an ambassador, like when he had to talk to those sideways-talking aliens.
I feel like we must want different things out of this series, because the ones I tend to enjoy the most are often the ones you find the weakest. That's not a bad thing, just interesting. This one was really funny to me and the more they make me laugh the more I enjoy them. The stuff with the packleds being stupid was hilarious to me, I think maybe my humour tastes are quite basic, one of my favourite things is someone who seems too incompetent to possibly survive, people in positions of relative authority or power you have to wonder "how did they get there?" There's a comic strip over here called corporal clott and he's just insanely incompetent and clueless but somehow not only is he in the army but he's been promoted twice, and that it hillarious to me. I used to play a character like that who was meant to be a police detective but just had no clue how anything worked and that was very funny to me. The packleds have a whole structured society, they are able to go off into space, but they're just so stupid I find that very funny. So I think just packleds being incompetent was enough to keep me entertained. Don't get me wrong, though, the character stuff is great to have, without that the funny stuff wouldn't have as much purpose, but I think without the funny stuff I'd be less interested in investing in the serious things. The bit with Armus was a very funny bit to me too, so there is our main intersection of opinion for this episode.
I really do love Boimler’s story because I think it tells this really great and important lesson that leadership is through actual action and not trying to “appear” like a leader because it’s what you think people will want, because I think often times many of us can get bogged down by the pressures of being what other people try to tell us to be instead of just being who we are and doing the actual actions. All of these ensigns are capable of leadership like Boimler once they focus on the duty at hand and not how they appear to others. Living your life only for approval of others is always bound to hurt yourself more than anyone else. As for poop jokes, we must not forget the utter genius of Admiral Vance telling Osyraa about the apples made from shit 😛 Anyways #JusticeForTashaYar
The Rutherford blowing up thing kinda reminded me a little more of Weird Al's "Fat"... and the helmets a little bit like Spaceballs, which would, oddly be fitting for the Pakleds...
I think the episode's title refers to the video game Among Us. The Pakled spy even ends up floating in space, which is the fate of the spies-saboteurs in the game.
I enjoyed this week's episode but felt the ending with Freeman was a little odd. She went to Pakled Planet to negotiate the cease fire and just kind of left after she got some classified information? I get that the Pakleds had a coup within the episode, but that doesn't mean they'd suddenly stop ambushing Federation ships. It felt strange to me that Freeman would leave without even a discussion. Especially when she makes a point of how important this could be to her career. I really liked the Lower Decker plot lines and agree the bridge crew ones felt very disconnected. I think this was felt a lot more than usual, not just because the story wasn't interwoven with the other plot threads as tightly, but because they were dealing with the show's primary villains and that had no effect on the main cast. It was inconsequential to the Lower Deckers that the bridge crew were dealing with the established long running antagonists of the show. Some might say that's part of the point of Lower Decks, but I don't think it works in this instance because the show also wants us to invest in the Pakleds as the main villains. They mightn't be the main villains for much longer though because I'm pretty sure we're going to see the "puppeteers" as Captain Riker put it by the end of the season. Weaponising veruvian ore is above the Pakled's grade level afterall, and we got a mention of them using veruvian in their bomb this episode.
I mean, the Pakleds literally admitted to sending a spy onto the Cerritos, and that the ceasefire was a ruse. I don't think there's any need for negotiations after that.
@@CollinBuckman I actually just finished rewatching the episode and I agree, that first criticism of mine doesn't really hold up. I think a line or two went over my head during my first watch, because I thought the ceasefire was only a ruse for the previous Pakled government that was over thrown during the episode. Not just the Pakleds in general.
One thing that Made me laugh that Jessie didn't Mention: When Boymler Ditches his friends to Join the Red Shirts, Marnier IMMEDIATELY gets pissed.... Because she didn't think about doing that to get out of trash Duty First! It's the Little things that make this show Amazing!
![Seungmin "그렇게, 천천히, 우리(As we are)" | [Stray Kids : SKZ-PLAYER]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/kAzmhLHePqU/mqdefault.jpg)
Tiny moment of character development: Mariner reflexively calls Tendi by her first name, “D’Vana”.
Yup. Checking on her friend. Absolutely amazing
I didn't even notice that, but now it's pointed out, hell yeah.
and she didn't get mad that Boimler was hanging with the Red Shirts. She was jealous he managed to get out of cleanup duty and she didn't.
I think the bridge crew plot did tie in with the Boimler plot, thematically. "I don't have a big enough helmet for that" and the revolutionary taking the helmet at the end and everyone bowing down was as much a statement on hierarchy through superficial aesthetics as the red shirts were. Just more of the contrasting example, highlighting the silliness of that world view.
I love Jennifer the Andorian. I'm glad she and the Kzinti Redshirts are redeemable.
Also, female Pakled! A Star Trek first!
Wasn't that Katie Segal voicing her?
This was a fun episode! Boimler showing the true depths of his character development and willingness to humiliate and even potentially injure himself to help Tendi was just *chef's kiss* And it was nice seeing more of Tendi's ongoing arc too, watching her fighting with her own anxieties and emotions and admitting she does things because she just really wants to spend time with her friends being happy and having fun where they can find it... She's so DEEPLY relatable.
It is so refreshing to watch a fan enthuse over a Star Trek Show. Far too often reviewers focus on the negative stuff. Good for you Jessie. It is also lovely to see you happy. I know things can get pretty dark on your Show, with pressing issues making life tough at times. I can see why Star Trek meant so much to you during your formative years. I thoroughly enjoyed this episode. Thank you so much. Keep Smiling.
❤️🥰🥰❤️ *hugs*
Clearly, I only follow the good TrekTubers as they all have good things to say about all of it, even Picard and the Kevlinverse movies.
YES! I think, to a certain extent, it's a pitfall of the review format. To and extent I can see how if a reviewer loves everything they review it makes their enjoyment of it less meaningful. That idea can then lead to reviewers feeling like they need to be more critical to be considered legitimate. Which in turn leads some reviewers to be so hypercritical I often wonder why they are still partaking in those things when it seems like they dislike them so much. I think in some cases, those people actually have gotten so caught up in the critique that they've lost their enjoyment. And I just don't like reviews that rip to shreds something I enjoy. Hearing alternative points of view is great, and I enjoy discussion, but not criticism for criticism's sake.
TLDR;
Geeking out = fun
Balanced review = good
Critiquing problematic points = useful
Extreme negativity for the sake of being more legitimate/edgy/popular = stupid.
I'm glad we lean much more towards the geeking out end of the spectrum here.
@@TheGFeather It’s been more than 15 years since the concept of Internet reviews has been popularized. You’d think some woulda gotten it by now that being the purely caustic negative Internet reviewer has become passe.
@@myriadmediamusings I suspect some of it comes from the way the algorithm interacts with engagement. The more radical/scathing a review is, the more people engage with it, either in support or opposition, the more it spreads.
I mean the episode was great fun but
SPOILERS
when Tendi suggested "prank-calling Armus" and they actually CUT to Armus, I lost my shit.
How does Tendi still look super adorable even as a giant scorpion monster?
Also, while I really liked the Freeman and Boimler plots for different reasons, the Anomaly plot really rang my “this sounds like a reference from a Trek show I haven’t seen” alarm, which is something that I’ve struggled with when watching this show.
Still a good episode!
Boimler’ makeover had a REALLY deep cut - in the TNG era, the costume designers built muscles into the men’s uniforms to help them fill them out and oof their posture more. This was just Bradward getting that same treatment! I was laughing so much at that one.
One of the things that I enjoy about lower decks are the very small things. In this case when Tendi is turning into the monster Beckett calls her D'vana not Tendi. Them not throwing away things like relationships changing is great writing and it's fun to watch.
Do love what they did with Boimler, felt like the episode was reviewing his character growth from being there for us to "laugh at" in a lot of the first season to being competent and experience enough to handle the situation, with the nice punchline of him being laugh at in show.
But yeah that ending gag, so PERFECT, honestly that may be one of the best jokes in the show.
A little late to the party, but I got to thank you Jess. As a old head Trekkie I was reluctant to to give DISCO a chance, but it was due to your "gentle push" that I decided to give it a chance. Which, I'm glad I did. Lower Decks was no different, I was apprehensive about a cartoon comedy, but once again you gave me that "gentle push" and I was just amazed at how brilliant the show is. I now realize that my Star Trek withdraw was my own doing and I thank you for that "gentle push...but put down that Klingon Painstik! Qapla!
I loved the "we are the crew" line because it's a perfect rejection of the standoffish nonsense that chasing the trappings of leadership tends to lead you into.
Also, regarding poop jokes on Discovery... I can't help but remember a certain Admiral bluntly sharing where apples come from. He wasn't joking, but the reaction of his guest definitely made me laugh.
I thought it was kinda neat how they didn't have to come out and say that everyone on the Cerritos is "Lower Decks" just showed us that no matter what job they do, the whole ship is lower decks. So much to that point that the Redshirts have to buck convention and put on the "pretense" of leadership. Everyone is lower decks.
And note they all idolize Riker & seem to have no respect for Freeman.
Rutherford getting huge reminded me a lot of Yaphet Kotto's character, Kananga, in the Bond film Live and Let Die. He gets shot with some compressed gas bullet and inflates to death.
Loved the Kazinti too! He got some lines even.
Great review Jesse. Thank you. Yes the Armus gag was Great. Brent Spiner called Armus a pool of Metamucil.
The A plot doesn’t directly intersect the other plots, but it fits thematically. Showing that the bridge crews’ job is more like the lower decks than it is the red shirt’s idea of the bridge crew. More cleaning up shit, less giving speeches.
OMG the original Enterprise door sound effect with you sliding into frame! 🙌🙌🙌 Praise you, Queen! ✨👑
I honestly think this will be an episode I remember. Yeah, not as one of the best like episodes 9 or 10 last season. But like you said, like a comfort episode, but one that really sticks out. Like Little Green Men or Take Me Out to the Holosuite. I honestly thought this was the best episode of the season so far, loved the final joke, and I really liked the class commentary throughout.
It felt a little bit Rick and Mortyesque, but that’s ok. It won me over because it was more about loving your friends. The Red Shirts may advance their careers but it’s an empty advancement.
The end prank call made me cry I laughed so hard.
Everyone on this crew is extremely accident-prone, maybe the ship is cursed or something.
What I really liked about everyone doing ACD is that they each found EXACTLY what they expected out of it. Mariner was expecting it to be awful, and that was her experience. Tendi thought it would be great, and for her it was... right up until she decided it wasn't fun, at which point everything went south for her. Tendi vs Mariner is all about the power of attitude on a situation.
The best jibe for me in the episode was Boimler's muscle padding. Boimler is a skinny guy. We've seen he's definitely fit enough for the physicality of Starfleet, but he's slender. Just like Wesley and Bashir. I feel the muscle suit joke as a slam on the way Wil and Sid (and I'm sure some other actors I can't think of off the top of my head) were made to wear muscled undershirts because they weren't considered buff enough by the powers that be. In an animated show where characters can be absolutely any shape and size, and character designs that often embrace hyperbole, there is so much more room for playing with what constitutes the physical ideal. There is a lot made of the standards of feminine beauty, and rightly so, but there are also unfair masculine standards at play in popular media. I liked seeing that acknowledged in this ep.
I agree that this isn't likely to be an episode that stands out, but it's solid, with lots of great satirical commentary.
Hello Jessie, I've only recently found your channel, and I love the content you create and your positivity.
Tendi's story this episode really connected with me personally, I not only love Lower Decks, but also Discovery and Picard, so when the negative criticisms started to pour in I used to go on the forums of SFDebris and Star Trek Online, not only to share my own thoughts and feelings on these new series, but much like with Tendi it was also to spread a bit of positivity to what I felt was a very cynical environment and maybe get people to see that there were good things to talk about and have some fun and joy with the franchise we were fans of, this mentality even goes back further as I used to be in an old Star Trek Online Podcast called the Red Shirt Army that is no longer going since I left, and I joined that of the same reasons.
However, it seemed that people really didn't want to see that and at best my comments were ignored, and at worst I was basically told I was an idiot for not hating something that I loved, and bullied into not having any enthusiasm and having to add statements like "It's not perfect" or "It's not as good" and always playing devils advocate with a glass half full mentality, or to keep quite about it to save being bombarded by these hate-filled comments, even watching content creators that I still respect and listen to like Linkara and SFDebris when it can to these new shows where always negative, I also found it ironic that the major criticisms about modern Star Trek is that its "not optimistic" or "to cynical" or "not Star Trek", when from my perspective these shows where just as hopeful, uplifting, and still kept to Star Treks philosophy of tying to be better and open-mindedness, and it was those people that made these criticisms that were in-fact not optimistic, cynical, and not living up to Star Treks ideals.
And much like with Tendi in this episode, this negativity finally got to me, and after seeing some of Linkara's Tweets on his website about Season 3 of Discovery, I had to cut a lot of internet activity out of my life, not only have I stopped going to those forums, but I've no plans to watch any future SFDebris reviews of Discovery because I'm sure it will be more of the same negativity as his last seasons review, I've stopped watching all of Linkara's livestreams or PO Unboxing because he'd always have something nasty to say about modern Star Trek, and I dare not RUclips search and Star Trek videos as I'd be bombarded with usual cynical and hate-filled "news" and "review" videos as well as many other sides, and rarely comment online and keep my opinions to myself, which even when I have has been met with negativity (I was even hesitant to write all this), all because I realised that this was starting to affect my own mental heath and enjoyment of a franchise I've loved since I was little, and like what happened in this episode, I was worried that what happened to Tendi would happen to me (not the turning into a giant scorpion part though), that I'd start lashing out at others and start hating the franchise I genuinely love and mean it, the parts when Mariner told Tendi to stop trying to make the work fun and when Tendi was yelling at Mariner and Rutherford felt very real to me, and the moral at the end about how people should feed off of enthusiasm, not to tamp it down is something that I wish many people could learn.
It's why I love your videos (as well as channels like Rowan J Coleman and Steve Shives), their is such a love and passion for Star Trek that is such a joy to watch, an in turn reinvigorated my own love of Star Trek, and I love Star Trek, from The Original Series all the way to Discovery, Picard and Lower Decks, and It's always great to see other people also love these shows and be so passionate and enthusiastic about it.
So thank you Jessie for all you do, and like Tendi I'll be keeping my positivity and enthusiasm along with you and every one else that loves Star Trek.
This actually might've been one of my favorite episodes of the season so far, which is weird because I was closer to lukewarm on it until around the time Tendi turned into a giant rage scorpion. Boimler purposely humiliating himself to save the day and then sharing carefree laughter with Tendi? Excellent and winningly sweet. Ransom regretting aloud that he and Kayshon "underestimated" Rumdar just before Rumdar floats past the window? Nearly died laughing, only to laugh even harder a second later at T'ana's reaction to Rumdar waking up and the explanation for how he got outside the ship in the first place. The stealth revelation that Pakleds can survive in vacuum without a suit? Fascinating. This one really came together at the end for me, which is always a neat trick when a story's writer(s) can pull it off.
Of course, all of this was BEFORE they prank called Armus, which was absolutely glorious, not only because it was funny but because it was weirdly cathartic. You mess with one Starfleet officer, you mess with EVERY Starfleet officer.
I love the Chekov's Gun they have in this episode, where in the very beginning Boimler spills food on himself and Tendi finds it really funny, then at the very end Boimler reverses Tendi's transformation by purposefully spilling food on himself to make her laugh.
This was fun! Loved that it kind of shows how much Boimler actually cares about his friends by literally hurting himself and setting himself on fire. It was sort of like a friend watching another friend having an anxiety attack and they quickly got them laughing to calm them down and help them.
Also, "Tasha, watch out that garbage bags behind you".
I've mostly liked lower decks, but I've found the past couple episodes (The Spy Humongous and An Embarrassment of Dopplers) especially touching and fun. I really hope the show keeps this up because it seems like it's hitting its stride.
You really are leaning into being a hat person. It works, but I feel you need to get an Enterprise jumpsuit and an NX-01 cap. I don't like Enterprise but thought that was a pretty good look!
I thought this week was a lot of fun, the Pakleds had me laughing constantly between the Janeway gag, the ever-larger hats, the rebels, Rumdar just floating past the window... The weird stuff Mariner, Tendi and Rutherford had to deal with was cool - and maybe it's just that I saw Akira last week, but I got a Tetsuo vibe from Rutherford getting big and it looked like Tendi was sketching A Ki Ra in Japanese with the red gunk on his face.
I wasn't quite rolling on the floor at the closing moments, but I was in tears laughing at it. One of the best moments in Lower Decks so far.
I really really liked this one. I think it actually will stick out for me because of the Boimler plot. You're absolutely right, it was such a great twist on the trope, and so very Star Trek.
I didn't mind the poop jokes this week. Shax tasting the Gumato dung was worse for me, but also still funny especially wrapped in all the Moogato mispronunciations.
Also, love the hat!
I have no idea of what are you talking about, but i love the way you talk about it. So much passion and wisdom. 💓
I loved the character on display in this episode. I feel like we haven’t had a whole lot of time showing Boimler and Tendi bonding because of the tendency to pair the characters up, but you can really FEEL that they have in this one. Boimler knows in an instant how to make her start laughing and it’s just so sweet.
I'm not a Star Trek fan, but I'm a Jessie fan, and seeing you talk about something you enjoy and know a lot about is so nice.
Love your Lower Decks reviews. Because I don't mind spoilers I actually watch your video the day before the episode is available in the UK. If anything your video helps me to enjoy the episodes more.
Just want to say I love the energy and enthusiasm you bring to these reviews my current Saturday morning ritual is watching the latest lower decks and chasing it with your review. It’s a great way to start the weekend.
Hearing you talk about star trek reminds me of Lewis Lovehaug from Atop the Fourth Wall. Passionate, and peppy.
Which is ironic since he has freely admitted to being turned off by Lower Decks and has zero intention of ever checking it out.
But still he can do whatever he wants. Even this knee deep into the show, I think everyone can admit that Lower Decks is an acquired taste.
I was worried about Boimler not learning from the Titan incidents after the last week revelation. But where they ended it was PITCH PERFECT. It was great to see the rest of the group together. The thing I've loved most about Lower Decks is it's not afraid to show the monotony of Day To Day Starfleet operations. And the Redshirts(I was ROLLING at this joke) part of the episode packed a MASSIVE amount of character development for Boimler. And I'm here for it. The whole Pakled bit while kinda silly also served an ABSOLUTE purpose of not only showing us the Pakled homeworld.....but also showed how cunning both Ransom and Freeman are. How can McMahn and crew be this good? Like seriously
Oh no! It's one of those energy field books that brings stories to life!
An Andorian, named Jennifer. That just cracks me up.
Thank you Jessie for reducing the number of micro-zooms you had in previous reviews, it made it more accessible to me, much appreciated. LLAP.
Jessie I love ya.
I love lower decks to. Awsome video.
Good review. Thank you for introducing me to the show.👍😎🐈🖖🌮🍻
Something I loved about this episode (hey, just discovered your channel, going thru all your lower decks vids), was when Ramson complimented Boimler on how he handled the situation. I found that moment so soothing. Like, it feels so Star Trek that higher ranks are actively trying to push up those below. And it also endears me to Ransom's character. He had everything in it to be the typical jock. But this, him actively supporting Boimler truly pushed him up in my list of favorite characters (this and ofc his attitude towards Mariner in s4).
Love the acknowledgement of the true Picard Maneuver, and second the suggestion of the Enterprise era jumpsuit and NX-01 hat...
Also tiny detail I noticed: In the Boilmer captain speech, there are 5 lights!
Great video! i love this show and look forward to your response every week. :) i think this episode will end up being a little more consequential in retrospect. i think there's more going on with the Pakleds than meets the eye. They made a reference earlier in the series, someone said "someone must be feeding them or directing them somehow". I think there will turn out to be a character we know from Trek lore secretly leading them (probably without them even realizing it) from behind the scenes. My dream would be that it's Lore -- like he did with the renegade Borg in Descent 1 & 2. Other candidates include Thomas RIker (although that seems too villainous for him, he's really more of a clever, self-righteous rebel than an evil mastermind type), or maybe even a one-off adversary like that "Ardra" con-artist lady who pretended to be the Devil -- she was into grifting entire planets to do her bidding. Or maybe even some renegade Founder, slumming it outside of the Gamma Quadrant.
I'm pretty sure the two humans in the Red Shirt Squad were the two we saw in season 1 representing Delta Shift, the rivals to Mariner and company. You know, when that friend of Boimler made a core evil and try to take over the ship.
this was probably my favorite episode of the series up to this point. it's not huge and action packed, but it gives me that nice warm feeling in my heart. I loved the twist with Boimler and the redshirts, like you said it's a trope we've seen hundreds of times. One character joins the new cool clique, starts to abandon their friends, becomes a jerk, realizes the new clique is bad and then goes back to their friends at the end because status quo is god.
But like you said Boimler doesn't do that, he immediately stands up for his friends, yeah he keeps hanging with the redshirts, but it becomes pretty clear, it stops being hanging with the cool kids and becomes more doing this for his career. It's sweet because the trope always makes me roll my eyes because they act like jerks to their friends and are welcomed back despite how they acted. and I'm glad that Boimler stays true to his self and even if his friends aren't there to hear, he stands up for them and it pays off
Okay, I watched a Matrix AND a Star Trek video ads! That's TEN minutes of my life I won't get back! LOL! Love supporting you! I did get two sides of my quilt sewed!!!! 🧵🧵🧵
"You getting _Bizmanti before he pulled back the veil_ vibes from this guy?"
"Oh yeah."
I love how Ransom didn't miss a beat there.
Anyway the best I can figure is that there weren't any command Lt. Positions free on the Cerritos when Boimler came back so it was either go back to ensign or get reassigned entirely and he preferred to be with his friends. Granted its a little headcannony but still.
I just came here to drop my like and support for more lower decks videos. But I can't watch the video now since I haven't watched the episode yet.
Live long and prosper, Captain Gender! See you soon!
Kzinti actually aren't originally from Star Trek. They are creations of Larry Niven. He got permission to use them when he was invited to write an episode of the animated series (itself based on a short story of his the DC Fontana liked that already had the Kzinti in it).
There's a quick reference to TAS episode: "The Slaver Weapon" in this ep.
Loved this episode, it actually helped me though my own existential terror at being "lower decks" and feeling like nothing in my life was gonna get better.
Wasn't it there in Discovery? When the Dadmiral told Osyraa where their food came from?
"Number One, I order you to go take a Number Two" - Beavis and Butthead
I didn’t like his demotion to ensign either, but I figured both a) if he showed up able to give the other 3 orders and having his own quarters he’d probably be obnoxious about it; and b) I think they want to give William Boimler one or two more promotions when they bring him back for the finale, so they want the biggest differential between Brad and Will’s ranks imo.
I want nothing more in life than to see you on the floor dying with laughter over a Star Trek callback joke
I must say, Boimler is growing on me! I loved Mariner (still do), but really, Boimler is getting more and more interesting.
Tendi is adorable. Rutherford... Well, he's lagging behind. Maybe he will grow in next episodes.
I found this episode really deep and meaningful. It was great!!!
I agree.
Rutherford has been rather neglected this season.
Bring back Badgey!
“What have I done?”
What you had to do, Jessie. What you always do.
Turned poop into a fighting chance to giggle.
I am really enjoying the Pakleds as a villain. Great way to show the setting as a whole is developing and changing and isn't just a static thing.
As to what you're talking about with this episode.....it reminds me of Clues from TNG, The Magnificent Ferengi in DS9, Fair Haven in VOY, or 2 Days and 2 Nights in ENT. And you're correct these things seem to be missing in PIC and DSC(Nepenthe WAS probably the closest we got). Also yes....the subversion of expectations was PITCH PERFECT
I name all my Number Twos "Data". Do *NOT* ask about the ones I call "Lore".
Also I think the title is just referencing that the Pakled spy is really big, AKA humongous.
Also Rutherford got blow'd up!
Yeah but he wasn’t a spy
When I think about it the Boimler stuff in this episode reminds me of the Lower Decks TNG episode, where there are people gunning for a special job and having to stand out to the command crew. Luckily nobody dies in this episode.
Yep the last scene 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
dunno if it was a joke but uh, i'm VERY concerned that "The Spy Humongus" is a subtle but already dated Among Us joke. Mariner even says "Who among us hasn't been..." she said it! She said the meme phrase!
i didn't notice that many poop jokes but i guess you really enjoyed them. my favorite part was probably cleaning up after all the strange things. probably a middle of the road episode of lower decks or the season isn't over with yet.
That "I'm touching your stuff!" line to Armus killed me
I have no notes to add to this review. Well done.
A very fun episode! I'm okay with poopy jokes. LOL! The end of the episode had me cracking up!! :-D
I am down for the poop jokes but I loved that final joke!
Some other feel the red shirts are also connecting the red squadron from DS9 or the Nova Squadron of NG.
You do a good job of explaining why media is so enjoyable, which is otherwise difficult for me to understand.
I agree it was a good move on Tendi's part and she finds out that others don't have her personality.
I wouldn't find the bathroom on a federation ship either.
Where the restrooms are is a better kept secret than the warp core.
I had just finished getting caught up on the Ensigns' Log before watching this so my brain was thinking of something from that with the ending scene with Armos
The Armus joke might be my favourite thing they’ve done so far. Also, the Boimler captain speech felt like it was lifted verbatim from a TNG episode or movie but I’m not sure which one.
Nr. 2 🤣 I was waiting for you to say that😂
I was really worried Boimler was going to go back to old ways in this episode and I was so glad he didn't! I think this is my favorite moment in the show for him.
Dang this one was fantastic, could rival the Mariner/Tendi episode as my favorite of Season 2. Spy Humongous felt like a great combination of all the new developments of Season 2. Was also probably the first episode I laughed at all the jokes.
I think someone did a review of the TOS episodes and determined that gold-shirts were actually more likely to die.
yo mean EC Henry? ruclips.net/video/GIRRDO7_SZI/видео.html
I think I know why the Pakled got lost trying to find the bathroom. How often do you see the bathroom in Star Trek? Are there any in the floor plans? Where does Kirk poop? No wonder he spaced himself...
I hope they do something with with the concept art for the pakeleds liek maybe they're the smart pakleds or soemthing
Never thought I'd see Armus again. Maybe the Lower Decks crew along with Riker and Troi could get justice for the OG Tasha Yar.
I only recall one poop joke.
I wonder if the Packled are the Borg of Lower Decks.
I also was fully expecting Freeman to replicate a gigantic inflatable helmet for herself. Maybe that's season finale. :)
You know, there was a poop joke in the Star Trek Enterprise episode "Breaking the Ice". The crew is answering questions that Earth's children wrote for them. One of the questions was about "waste" disposal and Archer passes the question to Trip, who's horrified about being seen as a "sanitation engineer". Here's the exact scene.
ruclips.net/video/vO3Z2yeElvk/видео.html
Now that you mention it, there was a lot of poop.
I kinda wish the bridge crew had someone who was a nerd about diplomatic duties. If a Pakled showed up at my place and claimed ownership I would think they have a fascinating culture that I'd want to observe in great detail before making any decisions on what to do. One of the few things I liked about Neelix was how enthusiastic he was to be an ambassador, like when he had to talk to those sideways-talking aliens.
3:14 disagree;who would ever forget Tendi scorpion😅
Did anyone note the sight gag reference to "The Slaver Weapon"?
I feel like we must want different things out of this series, because the ones I tend to enjoy the most are often the ones you find the weakest. That's not a bad thing, just interesting. This one was really funny to me and the more they make me laugh the more I enjoy them. The stuff with the packleds being stupid was hilarious to me, I think maybe my humour tastes are quite basic, one of my favourite things is someone who seems too incompetent to possibly survive, people in positions of relative authority or power you have to wonder "how did they get there?" There's a comic strip over here called corporal clott and he's just insanely incompetent and clueless but somehow not only is he in the army but he's been promoted twice, and that it hillarious to me. I used to play a character like that who was meant to be a police detective but just had no clue how anything worked and that was very funny to me. The packleds have a whole structured society, they are able to go off into space, but they're just so stupid I find that very funny. So I think just packleds being incompetent was enough to keep me entertained.
Don't get me wrong, though, the character stuff is great to have, without that the funny stuff wouldn't have as much purpose, but I think without the funny stuff I'd be less interested in investing in the serious things.
The bit with Armus was a very funny bit to me too, so there is our main intersection of opinion for this episode.
I loved the stuff with the Pakleds it was great. It was fun to see they were smart enough to think of a spy but ofcourse he was bad at his job🤣
Tendi made a great scorpion monster.
I mean maybe the title is a reference to Packleds being on the heftier side?
Yeeees, I love this episode because we really get Boimler is NOT season 1 Boimler. So happy.
I really do love Boimler’s story because I think it tells this really great and important lesson that leadership is through actual action and not trying to “appear” like a leader because it’s what you think people will want, because I think often times many of us can get bogged down by the pressures of being what other people try to tell us to be instead of just being who we are and doing the actual actions. All of these ensigns are capable of leadership like Boimler once they focus on the duty at hand and not how they appear to others. Living your life only for approval of others is always bound to hurt yourself more than anyone else.
As for poop jokes, we must not forget the utter genius of Admiral Vance telling Osyraa about the apples made from shit 😛
Anyways #JusticeForTashaYar
The Rutherford blowing up thing kinda reminded me a little more of Weird Al's "Fat"... and the helmets a little bit like Spaceballs, which would, oddly be fitting for the Pakleds...
I guess I'm first. Love the hat.👍
The Armus scene was great fun, I gave this episode a 7/10 Pakleds ENTERPRISE is every ship and NOW they have CAPTAIN JANEWAY in their minds
I also liked the theme: PUNISH MARINER. But it never crossed the line into cruel.
I think the episode's title refers to the video game Among Us. The Pakled spy even ends up floating in space, which is the fate of the spies-saboteurs in the game.
Jessie wears a hat now, This is cannon.
I enjoyed this week's episode but felt the ending with Freeman was a little odd. She went to Pakled Planet to negotiate the cease fire and just kind of left after she got some classified information? I get that the Pakleds had a coup within the episode, but that doesn't mean they'd suddenly stop ambushing Federation ships. It felt strange to me that Freeman would leave without even a discussion. Especially when she makes a point of how important this could be to her career.
I really liked the Lower Decker plot lines and agree the bridge crew ones felt very disconnected. I think this was felt a lot more than usual, not just because the story wasn't interwoven with the other plot threads as tightly, but because they were dealing with the show's primary villains and that had no effect on the main cast. It was inconsequential to the Lower Deckers that the bridge crew were dealing with the established long running antagonists of the show. Some might say that's part of the point of Lower Decks, but I don't think it works in this instance because the show also wants us to invest in the Pakleds as the main villains.
They mightn't be the main villains for much longer though because I'm pretty sure we're going to see the "puppeteers" as Captain Riker put it by the end of the season. Weaponising veruvian ore is above the Pakled's grade level afterall, and we got a mention of them using veruvian in their bomb this episode.
I mean, the Pakleds literally admitted to sending a spy onto the Cerritos, and that the ceasefire was a ruse. I don't think there's any need for negotiations after that.
@@CollinBuckman I actually just finished rewatching the episode and I agree, that first criticism of mine doesn't really hold up. I think a line or two went over my head during my first watch, because I thought the ceasefire was only a ruse for the previous Pakled government that was over thrown during the episode. Not just the Pakleds in general.
YOUR HAT IS NOT LARGE ENOUGH TO INDICATE YOUR AUTHORITY
One thing that Made me laugh that Jessie didn't Mention:
When Boymler Ditches his friends to Join the Red Shirts, Marnier IMMEDIATELY gets pissed.... Because she didn't think about doing that to get out of trash Duty First! It's the Little things that make this show Amazing!