WHY WE LIKE IT: Fun riffs on god plots.
WHY WE DON'T: Tendi's psychotic at this point.
REVIEW: The episode starts with a fake-out with Mariner escaping a Cardassian prison with her personal Miranda-class ship, an exciting action sequence that plays into the previous season's use of the holodeck as a place to work out one's psychological issues. Though it's all break-neck action (and meant to be a physical work-out), it also includes Mariner hating the fact that she's working well with her mother and addressing Boimler's "betrayal" by accepting a transfer to the Titan. Well, I WAS wondering if the Cardassians had reverted to their old ways after DS9 or what. We'll have to wait on that one. But Lower Decks does have to address its two big changes from last season's finale, and in the case of Mariner being on the ins instead of on the outs with her mom, it will be reversed by the end of the episode. It doesn't feel cheap because both women accept that for the good of the ship and to deflect any accusations of nepotism, especially with Captain Freeman getting opportunities for advancement if she keeps her nose clean (will she leave the show to change up the dynamic, or would it be funnier to see her frustrated in her ambitions?). As for Boimler, he's still on the Titan, but that means the show can give Tandi and Rutherford more to do.
If there's a theme, it's jealousy. In the holographic sequence, Mariner is still stinging at Boimler's success/abandonment. The A-plot is fueled by Ransom's resentment at Freeman's preference for the insubordinate Mariner. And Tendi decides Rutherford's implant is malfunctioning because he's enjoying dates with the "hot" Ensign Barnes (I get it, she says "symbiont" wrong). Though they're just friends, they've been 'shipped since the beginning. The two of them are so naive though, I don't think it IS a love-jealousy, but friends who fear losing sight of someone because they're spending more and more time with someone else is a thing. Besides, if Tendi really wanted to hook up with Rutherford, couldn't she use her Orion pheromones on him? What are the laws governing this? It's time we had an Orion-centric story! But generally, this is a very slapsticky, screwball kind of plot and not my favorite of the episode. Tendi's unreasonably psychotic. Love the medical rifle though.
Meanwhile, down on a planet where second contact is in progress (the leader there not being able to choose a subspace com number is an amusing notion), Mariner tries to instill a little cleanliness in the population by removing the soot off their buildings, revealing a sci-fi version of Paramount lot mural and a thingy that turns Ransom into a god. It's a classic Trek plot with Gary Mitchell being expressly referenced. The sycophantic Stevens worshiping at his altar reminds me that they haven't exactly replaced Shaxs with another regular... Will it be Stevens? In fact, if Freeman leaves and Ransom becomes captain with Stevens as XO, that could be an amusing dynamic all around. The god-plot ends with a lot of kicks to the crotch and the necessary boulder (Where No Man Has Gone Before). Makes sense. For this show, I mean.
LESSON: Don't solve non-problems.
REWATCHABILITY - Medium: No big laughs, but it's thematically consistent and the references to older Trek are on point.
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