Star Trek: Lower Decks review—Episode 7, “Much Ado About Boimler”

The newest episode of Star Trek: Lower Decks shows what happens to the many victims of freaky space disasters the franchise has had over the years.

Star Trek: Lower Decks has done a stellar job all season when it comes to taking some of the classic franchise tropes and turning them into punchlines, and the latest episodes keeps that trend going. Fans who have watched Star Trek shows for a long time have are used to episodes that end with individuals left in really odd situations, like being turned into space lizards or slugs. What happens next?

“Much Ado About Boimler” reveals where Starfleet keeps all its freaks: it’s a very dark place until it isn’t.

The episode begins with the captain of the Cerritos and other members of the bridge leaving for a special mission. Protocol demands a babysitter captain take over, and it turns out to be Mariner’s old Academy friend Amina, who makes the rebellious Ensign her number one.

Boimler, being the captain-pleaser he is, is anxious to impress the new crew of leaders, so he assists Rutherford in testing out a faster teleporter. Unfortunately, he hasn’t worked out all of the kinks and ends up looking like a blue hologram that constantly emits an incredibly annoying noise.

Boimler tries to sneak onto the bridge unnoticed but is quickly sent to the medical bay. Rutherford figures out how to stop the noise, but Boimler is still transparent and blue. He is sent to Division 14, aka the Farm, which handles space mishaps. The Dog, a genetically engineered canine created by Tendi in her spare time, comes with him.

While Boimler and Tendi make their way to the Federation freak show, Mariner isn’t entirely acting like herself around Amina. She makes many mistakes, and Amina’s crew isn’t impressed with their captain’s choice for first officer.

Pictured Toks Olagundoye as Capt. Amina Ramsey and Tawny Newsome as Ensign Beckett Mariner of the CBS All Access series STAR TREK: LOWER DECKS. Photo Cr: Best Possible Screen Grab CBS 2020 CBS Interactive, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Things get worse when they go to save the USS Rubidoux, which is just drifting in space with no power. When they reboot the system, they realize that some giant space beast is slowly taking over the vessel.

That’s also when Mariner reveals she’s been messing up purpose this whole time to keep Amina from offering her a spot on her crew. The two decide to put their issues aside and save the day in Starfleet fashion, with gravity boots and phasers, but they end up getting trapped on the Rubidoux, and only Rutherford’s flawed teleporter can save them. It works and the ship is destroyed, the downside being that they’re now all hologram people like Boimler.

Meanwhile, Tendi, the Dog, and Boimler encounter some supremely odd victims of science fiction tragedy on their way to the Farm. There’s a giant head, two people fused together, and a person who’s aging on half his body while the other half regresses towards youth. Then they find out the Farm isn’t even real, and the ship is just floating through space to keep the mistakes a secret from the rest of Starfleet.

Before the freaks can revolt, Boimler dimes them out, and the oddballs throw him out the airlock only to find out they have landed at the Farm, and it is a paradise. But Boimler is forced to leave because his phasing situation has worn off. Tendi goes with him after parting ways with the Dog, who can talk and fly.

Pictured Jennifer Hale as The Dog and Noël Wells as Ensign Tendi of the CBS All Access series STAR TREK: LOWER DECKS. Photo Cr: Best Possible Screen Grab CBS 2020 CBS Interactive, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

It’s the little things about Lower Decks that make it a pleasure to watch. Pretty much everything the Dog did was hilarious, and the line-up of sci-fi freaks seemed pulled straight out of Rick and Morty. The series is also great at sneaking in some more traditional messages between the laughs, like Mariner and Amina realizing that there is no right way to be a member of Starfleet.

Star Trek may seem like a freak show to people who don’t get it, but for those willing to boldly go where no one has gone before and dive headfirst into the unknown, there are plenty of rewards, and rarely a dull moment.

Episode Grade: B

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