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The latest episode of Star Trek: Lower Decks is called ‘wej Duj’ which translates from the Klingon as ‘Three Ships’, which fits as we follow three particular ships in an adventure that brings all three together in elegant fashion. We start with our gang over at the Cerritos, right as the ship is on a long warp haul with nothing going on for a while, so the Captain has ordered some R&R for everyone on board.
Boimler wants to hang out, but each of the others is going to be hanging out with a commanding officer — leaving Boims, our ambitious status climber, out in the lurch. He mentions being jealous of such hierarchical places as Klingon ships, while Mariner teases him for the very idea that he would enjoy such an environment more.
And then we cut to, to my extreme enjoyment, Klingon Bird of Prey Che’Ta’ and visit their Lower Decks, or specifically, one very sort of Boimler reminiscent Klingon named Mach. Mach isn’t as big or as strong as his fellow crew but he’s got a lot of nerdy Klingon knowledge and a lust for honor. But legitimate honor. The next great twist in the episode is when Mach is derided for using the term logical as being like a Vulcan … so we cut to Vulcan cruiser Sh’Vhal.
There we similarly follow one in a few, the anomalous T’Lyn, a sort of Mariner parallel, in a manner of speaking, who has used her ‘feelings’ to identify a strange anomaly. Every single joke about T’Lyn being out of control emotionally works, and most are laugh out loud funny. But it’s all tied together, as we soon find out.
Boimler goes through an amusing series of misadventures, all of which have great, funny moments, although perhaps the best is Dr. T’Ana saying that ‘Sure’ maybe the holodeck safety controls were on. Eventually it gets to a point where Boims lies about being from Hawaii, but when the ship is at red alert, he admits the truth — and Ransom ultimately does respect it, as we find out later.
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Similarly heartwarming is the admission from both Mariner and Freeman that they mutually enjoyed their mother-daughter day together — it’s a great contrast to the other storylines. One of the great mysteries of the show is solved when the Klingon captain reveals that it is he (unbeknownst to the Klingon High Council) who has been arming the Pakleds to hurt the Federation.
Mach gets increasingly dismayed by this, but he eventually challenges the captain to the death over his dishonorable conduct — with the helpful assist from a loyal Targ he helped, Mach wins and becomes the new captain. At the same time the Vulcans, due to T’Lyn’s clever new scanning algorithm and shield regeneration technology, help save the day and set the Pakleds (and their own Lower Decks) running.
The ending of the Vulcan storyline is also great, as T’Lyn is punished for her ‘outbursts’ by being assigned to a Starfleet vessel. Hint, hint? Considering the time spent with both of them, we got a great insight into both of these characters and I’m already excited to see where they’re going next. It’s also a great resolution to part of the mystery of the Pakleds and the show elegantly combined each Lower Decks situation into an exciting and fun conclusion.
There are really no issues to speak of here, instead we get a great story about our three favorite ships in Star Trek with humor and heart, and an excellent inclusion of continuity. The last joke of the ‘Lower Decks’ of the Borg Cube is the chef’s kiss too. Other jokes of note: The accidental Tamarian insult, ‘punitive spiritualism’, the ‘greatest-greatest honor’, and the subtitle of Shaxs as ‘unintelligible war cry’. Who says the subtitles can’t be fun?
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