Star Trek: Lower Decks wins me over in “Room for Growth”

Overworked and incredibly stressed from the demands of Starfleet business, the engineering team on the USS Cerritos is offered a relaxing day at The Dove, a premiere intergalactic spa that can claims it can destress anyone. Ever the hard workers, the engineering crew aims to test that claim. Meanwhile, back on the starship, the Lower Deck crew take a tour through the Cerritos’ inner workings with the goal of scoring their own private rooms. It’s a tranquil day of near-death experiences in this episode of Star Trek: Lower Decks, ” Room for Growth.”

This was a fun adventure of an episode, particularly as regards the Beta Shift’s journey through Cerritos’s interior. This includes locations that are staples on any Starfleet vessel, such as the holodeck. As you would expect, each new location offers its own unique pleasures and perils, and it’s just flat out fun to watch the LD crew make their way through them. Additionally, it has my favorite type of resolution in comedy shows, with the main characters’ achieving their goal but seeing the reward still slip through their fingers.

Workaholic engineers vs slothful lowers decks workers

The B story, which is positioned as the main story but was the more forgettable, is still pretty good, mostly thanks to the jokes and concepts. The main character the engineering crew meets on The Dove is this polymelous alien. I dig her design, with the third arm coming out of her chest. It allows for interesting movements, particularly when one of the arms is occupied with something like, say, a vape pen. That was pretty funny. Perhaps because I empathize.

That said, this part is kind of predictable. I just feel like I’ve seen this type of setup before: the stressed out/hard-working characters are sent to a spa or resort, and of course they continue working during their stay, but it turns out working is what helps them unstress. (I mean, “Captain’s Holiday” anyone?) Not to say it’s a bad trope that’s never to be used, but Lower Decks doesn’t do much to shake it up. This storyline feels less interesting compared to what is going on in the Cerritos, where I could never tell what room the LD crew would enter next.

All that said, this episode is definitely strong for me. Great humor, solid storylines, and I appreciate every TNG reference they got through. Onwards and upwards, Cerritos.

Grade: B

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