‘Star Trek: Lower Decks’ Recap – ‘Much Ado About Boimler’

Written by John Edward Betancourt

Caution: This article contains spoilers for Episode 107 of ‘Star Trek: Lower Decks’.

If there is one key lesson to take away from the inaugural season of Star Trek: Lower Decks, it would have to be that there are a great many missteps that can occur aboard a Starfleet vessel. Because this series has done a phenomenal job of exploring some of the goofs that we’ve seen happen on the various shows and movies that this illustrious franchise has provided us with throughout the years. But while it has been fun to revisit some of Trek’s quirkiest and silliest moments, this week’s episode of the series decided to explore something that the franchise has yet to dive into when it comes to the missteps that can happen aboard a Starfleet ship. Specifically, what happens to the poor souls that suffer through a technical mishap when they don’t work aboard the U.S.S. Enterprise, or another mainstream vessel?

Because folks that serve under those captains always find their bodies restored or the glitch repaired. But thanks to a fascinating transporter malfunction in ‘Much Ado About Boimler’, we finally got to see how that other half lives. For shortly after Brad found himself phased but conscious and alert from said malfunction, a segment of Starfleet that none of us knew about; Section 14, was called into action to deal with his accident. Because it was their job was to take possession of the poor souls that were involved in technological mishaps throughout the fleet and transport them to a safe haven known as 'The Farm' for healing and treatment and well, the suspicious nature that accompanies that concept and that location was fully reinforced when they arrived to pick up Brad and Tendi (who was coming along for creating a new type of dog that was uh… terrifying). 

For the vessel in question was dark and dingy and ominous and its commander seemed equally as troublesome with his proclivity to lose his temper and laugh maniacally. To the point where the other injured officers on this ship pondered upon mutiny to ensure their safety. That is… until Boimler felt the need to tell the commander about such an act, which led to a scary moment for Brad, one that brought about quite the surprise. Because it turns out that The Farm was a beautiful place after all, one where those impacted by an accident were given only the finest of care and freedom to heal properly, except for Boimler of course. For eventually his transporter phasing ended and he was able to head home safely. But what matters the most about this hilarious and awkward sequence of events, is that now we know that those who become a Warp 10 Salamander or end up fused with a buddy in a transporter accident, or even a unique interpretation of a dog, get to enjoy a little slice of paradise and that’s quite lovely to know.

Yet while it was quite delightful to explore an unknown corner of the Star Trek Universe, what would an episode of this series be without some serious Mariner shenanigans? And thankfully, while Brad and Tendi were figuring out the nuances of The Farm, the arrival of a substitute captain aboard the Cerritos allowed for the shenanigans in question to take place. Because this captain, named Amnia Ramsey, was Mariner’s best friend at the Academy and she wanted nothing more than to see Mariner finally reach her potential in Starfleet. Which of course, Mariner wanted no part of, and she purposefully screwed up as often as possible in order to make that clear in the quirkiest ways imaginable, before once again stepping up to the plate. But what is more important in regard to this plot thread, is that we finally have a solid understanding as to why Mariner is a career underachiever, and it relates to the fact that the Starfleet lifestyle and being a badass both come naturally to her and neither element offers her a thrill or a challenge. And in this moment, she’s trying to figure out if a life and career without challenge is something she wants, or if she needs to be elsewhere in order to find fulfillment.

Which is a wonderful and honest examination of her character and hopefully Mariner figures out what will make her happy in life, and it will be interesting to see if she reaches her solution by the end of this season or if a little more time aboard the Cerritos is needed before she finally knows her way. But in the here and the now, this really was quite the wonderful episode. Because not only was this one filled to the brim with delightful Easter Eggs that paid homage to some big time and quirky moments from just about every show in the franchise, it was also just downright hilarious. After all, Tendi’s dog brought about some serious laughs by way of its strange genetic freak out moments, and just about everything that happened aboard the Farm’s transit vessel brought about some serious laughs as well. Which means that once again, Lower Decks delivered in every way imaginable, all while setting the stage for some resolution in regard to Ensign Mariner’s journey and well, that compels us to continue along with this crew. In order to see what other quality storytelling awaits us down the line. Until next time.

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