Star Trek: Lower Decks review, Episode 404: Let’s waste some time on Orion

The latest episode of Star Trek: Lower Decks, “Something Borrowed, Something Green,” focuses on Tendi. A shame it doesn’t do much with her.

We got a glimpse at Tendi’s linear during the Pike incident (I promise, I’ll stop bringing it up when it stops being relevant), but beyond that brief mention, and her unusual entry into Starfleet, we didn’t know much. Even Mariner points out that “this is more backstory than we’ve ever been able to get out of you!”

So now we have an away mission / shore leave / girls’ trip for Tendi, T’Lin, and Marnier on Orion. First Billips, now Tendi… what are the odds that so many Starfleet officers would come from royalty / important houses? The important thing is that all Orions are clearly pirates, and Tendi’s family are among the fifth richest family of pirates in the Syndicate.

As tradition dictates, Tendi’s sister D’Eryka has been kidnapped before her wedding. It’s up to the three Starfleet officers to conduct a rescue! The majority of the rescue is a walk through Orion culture: questionable go-go clubs, pheromone hump dungeons, murder-bug drinking games, and more pirates than you can shake an Errol Flynn at.

Meanwhile, Brotherford (Boimler / Rutherford. awww! a port-nacelle-manteau!) are living it up as  new roomies. Even the closest of roommates can fight over trivial things like who gets to feed the bonsai, but some conflicts can only be solved by the old “twin Twain” maneuver.  However, the charming riverboat scene doesn’t have the same effect on the Chalnoth captain with whom the Cerritos crew are fighting over some barely mentioned survey data.

Verdict

The episode is very much filler, but the focus on Orion helps to flesh out a race that’s usually only been hinted at. The “fight” between Boimler and Rutherford appears out of nowhere and is immediately taken as a life or death matter, then disappears just as quickly. It’s a bit of a shame that Tendi’s first chance to be in the spotlight just has her acting as a punchline and a tour guide, but at least she gets to let out her trained Orion assassin side in a safe space.

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