WHY WE LIKE IT: The holistic view.
WHY WE DON'T: Sexual harassment isn't any better when a woman does it. That bit where Ransom gets molested and seems to like it doesn't play well AT ALL.
REVIEW: Lower Decks' take on both DS9's "Fascination" and TNG's "Sarek", Empathological Fallacies also acts as a reminder of the season's subplots rather than advances them. After all, while the mystery ship will now be on Freeman's radar, we learn nothing new about it. And as for T'Lyn, she doesn't send her request to go back to the Vulcan fleet, so the current status quo is retained.
Three extreme Lwaxana Trois are being ferried from Angel One to Risa, a diplomatic mission that looks like a continuous party disguising an intelligence mission (related to the mystery ship) when everyone's emotions are dialed up to eleven. As you might guess, this reveals something of the emotional state of everyone affected. Ransom is cripplingly insecure. Migleemo harbors a lot of pent up rage. T'Ana is ravenous (leading to the very strange reveal that Caitians used to hunt and eat Betazoids centuries ago... uhm, what?!). Freeman is embarrassed by her crew and paranoid about her guests. Mariner curses way too much. Tendi's friendship crush on T'Lyn is unbearable (but amusingly, she's the same once the effect has worn off). Everyone else is more or less in some kind of party mode (energetic, amorous, combative, etc.). The Betazoids are of course blamed, but they're affected too, leading them to reveal their secret mission, take over the bridge (they're great at fighting and emotional manipulation), and recklessly fly it towards the Neutral Zone. Freeman has a good moment where she uses their telepathy against them, but free of Zanthi Fever.
So what's really going on? How about temporary Bendii Syndrome? T'Lyn is in crisis. Not that we can tell. A small clue is that she does that thing we all do where we might push a button over and over because it didn't work at first. She shows cool frustration, but it's frustration nonetheless. When she realizes she's showing signs of what I'll call a psychological Bendii episode, she breaks down (again, very coolly) and tells Mariner she was sent away because she was considered unhinged. One pep talk later, she's resolved her inner conflict and brought the situation to a close. Well, I for one am glad she's sticking around, and hope it'll become permanent. Like I've been saying all along, she's a great contrast to every other main character.
Meanwhile, Boimler has been stressing about the added responsibilities of her new rank and Rutherford gets him admitted into "The Program". Shaxs invites him to spend the day with the security team, and this is interesting because aside from Rutherford being briefly transferred one time, no Lower Decks character is in Security. Sure, we might be as frustrated as Boimler that all they seem to get up to is slam poetry and charades (a little of that joke goes a long way), but when a red alert is called, they show just how good they are, with the slam poet having such a relaxed mind, she can't be read telepathically. As Shaxs tells it, being in Security isn't all martial arts and phasers. It's also taking care of the crew's mental well-being (and so, "The Program"), which is a pretty great idea. Heck, that's how I designed my security officer in the last Star Trek RPG I played. He was also a self-proclaimed morale officer. And the subplot also has a lot of fun Easter Eggs, including a Malcolm Reed puzzle and a tarot deck that looks to be based on Deep Space Nine, with Orbs, the Emissary and the Wormhole - I'm aware of TOS and TNG tarot cards, but DS9 is a much more relevant theme, with its mysticism and prophecies. Why doesn't this exist as an official product?!
LESSON: Not all telepaths.
REWATCHABILITY - Medium: The needle doesn't really move, but it's a fun episode that quickly develops characters and delves deeper in a neglected department.
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