1x10 No Small Parts

[8.3/10] I think my favorite thing about Lower Decks is that it knows how to be both revert and irreverent. Even for this series, “No Small Parts” is chock full of references, from Exocomps to Pakleds, to a return visit to Beta III. If, like yours truly, you’ve watched years and years of Star Trek, there’s a sheer fun to be had in the ways that this show integrates the franchise’s history into the proceedings, in ways big and small.

But it also knows how to point out some flaws in the whole “Starfleet” thing, ironically a proud Star Trek tradition by 2020. This is an episode that suggests some major changes (and pulls a few of them off), but zigs when you expect it to zag. When Boimler inadvertently spills the beans that Mariner is Captain Freeman’s daughter, it seems like potential cause for Mariner to leave the Cerritos, given the differences in how people treat her once the news is out and how her protocol-flouting style continually leads her to clashes with her mom.

Instead, Captain Freeman ends up affirming her daughter. The show uses those references to point out how Mariner’s approach helps patch up some holes in the Starfleet method. Captain Freeman looks at the way the Federation just let Beta III sit unchecked until they revert to worshipping Landru again, or how they overlook the Pakled as jokes until they come back and destroy some of the fleet’s finest ships and crewmen. Mariner coloring outside the lines helps to anticipate and fix those things, in a way that Captain Freeman can’t sanction officially, but views as sorely needed. I like that sort of thing, because it takes things to another level beyond reference humor, taking advantage of the franchise lore to make a point about what our protagonist brings to the table.

That said, the references are all kinds of fun! I know we just did this on another show, but it’s still fun to Riker and Troi back in action on a Starfleet vessel, saving the day and blasting away the bad guys. Their interaction with the Cerritos crew are a lot of fun, and I died laughing at Riker not only watching the Archer era Enterprise crew on the holodeck, but lyric-dropping the theme song. (Honestly, we’ve probably had more Enterprise references than Voyager or even DS9 references this season, which is surprising!) Plus little details like Boimler’s combage having a photo of Kirk and Spock from The Animated Series is a nice tribute to Lower Decks’s animated forbear.

It’s also nice that we get some legitimate high stakes action here. I don’t necessarily want the show to go this big every episode, but it’s cool to see a genuine red alert, “We’re overmatched and out of options” desperation situation played semi-seriously rather than just for laughs. Security Chief Shax’s overly-belligerent sacrifice is the right balance between funny and a touch poignant. The animation team does a nice job blending the cel-shaded CGI and the more traditional 2D animation to add some visual thrills. And there’s some real tension here, making you wonder who will survive and how they’ll get out of this scrape.

Plus there’s plenty for the rest of the characters to do. I like Boimler proving himself a valuable officer and finally getting his much-ballyhooed promotion (even if it’s destined to be reverted if we’re lucky enough to get a second season). He honestly doesn’t get to do that much, but his rivalry with a suddenly straightened-up and flying-right Mariner for the Sacramento promotion is funny. Likewise, I appreciate his admission that he didn’t want Mariner to leave because she’s his best friend and mentor. The sweetness of that is cut by him bailing for the Titan and seemingly ignoring him, but hopefully we’ll deal with that reversal/hypocrisy next season.

Tendi probably gets the least to do of anyone, but I enjoy the sense of coming full circle for her here. She started out as the newbie on the Cerritos, and now she’s the guide for the new excomp, dubbed “Peanut Hamper”, who’s joining the crew. The gag about Peanut Hamper being uniquely suited to stop the Packled, only to nope her way out of it is a good gag. Likewise, I appreciate Tendi’s continued enthusiasm here, both cheering on Peanut Hamper despite it arguably surpassing her and her just taking Rutheford’s memory loss as a chance for them to be best friends again. Her cheeriness is infectious.

Speaking of Rutheford, I like his story here too. The running gag about his attachment shuffling him through different personalities was a lot of fun. The return of Badgey to help him craft a virus to stop the Packled was also a blast, particularly with the explosive twist to the whole thing. And his bravery, near sacrifice, and daring escape thanks to Shax had some real oomph to it.

The climax of the whole episode had oomph. Mariner sitting in the command chair and bailing out her injured mom was a triumphant moment for our favorite rule-breaking ensign. The Titan saving the day while the TNG theme music played was a major, Data-style fist-pump. ANd the whole team sharing in the success and camaraderie in the end closes out the season on a heartwarming note.

Taken as a whole, this may very well be the best first season that any Star Trek show’s ever had. There were so many highs here, so many great homages and big laughs, so many nicely-forged character moments, and so many bits that felt both like they were poking fun at Trek but also that the writers understand Trek. This show is, frankly, a brilliant streak of brightness amid some dark times for the world, and I can only hope that the various admirals and commodores of CBS decide to renew it for a five (or seven) year mission. Mariner, Boimler, Rutherford, Tendi, and their upper deck crewmates have more than earned it.