‘Star Trek: Lower Decks’ Recap: ‘Veritas’

Written by John Edward Betancourt

Caution: This article contains spoilers for Episode 108 of ‘Star Trek: Lower Decks’.
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When a franchise is able to thrive for fifty-plus years, some interesting things begin to occur. Such as the fact that fans everywhere start to have specific expectations of the characters that populate this rich and magnificent world, to the point where said fans are taken off guard if said characters don’t match the model in their minds to a tee. Which is not an insult to the fans by any means. If anything, it speaks more to the franchise in question doing a phenomenal job of setting a standard while at the same time, forgetting to reset expectations from time to time and this is something that in a way, has happened with the Star Trek Universe. Simply because, this franchise has done a phenomenal job of establishing and reinforcing the infallibility and high moral standing of Starfleet and its officers.

For Starfleet’s finest, tend to represent the best parts of humanity, and in turn the Federation, which is what allows for us to view them in a positive and heroic light at all times. But the fact of the matter is, a great deal of these intrepid heroes are as human as they come, and they make mistakes and do things the wrong way often and for proof… then look no further than Star Trek: Picard or how Benjamin Sisko handled certain aspects of The Dominion War in Deep Space Nine. Or for that matter, this week’s episode of Star Trek: Lower Decks. Since ‘Veritas’ is a tale that put this particular matter on full display shortly after Ensign Boimler and his cohorts were put on trial to help an imposing alien, named Clar, to understand the details of a specific mission that no one knew a thing about. 

Which confused Clar to no end. For he truly believed that everyone in Starfleet was in on the action and in on the plans. But his interrogation of the Lower Decks team revealed that such a reality just doesn’t exist. Because these guys and gals are ensigns, and are expected to follow orders and do as their commanding officers ask and not worry about the details and that led to the lesson in question. Because as our fearsome foursome explained their confused and incomplete roles in the rescue of some kind of important object from Romulan space, the vulnerability of Starfleet officers quickly came to the forefront of this tale. And it wasn’t long before our alien friend came to learn that mistakes are often made by everyone in the fleet, and that sometimes there is a grand lack of information aboard a starship. But these officers press ahead regardless of their missteps. Not because they are mindless machines, but because they trust one another to do the right thing and that unity, is what really makes Starfleet seem so flawless and invincible.

But while it was nice to see this episode reset expectations for the characters of this rich universe and offer another examination of what makes Starfleet so great and so essential, what would an episode of this series be, without a little satire in regard to the franchise? And is just so happens that some of the moments the crew expressed to their captor, did a fine job of reminding us of how sometimes… we are treated to some strange episodes in the STU. The kind that find our favorite crews doing something off the wall and silly, or in the midst of a weird situation, as evidenced by Rutherford’s unexpected arrival at a beautiful Gorn wedding. Or how Q tends to plop people in some strange scenarios to satiate his curiosity about mankind and these are the moments that brought about the laughs because they were just outright wild and random, and they did a wonderful job of paying tribute to Trek’s rich history, in multiple ways.

For this particular tale featured two big cameos from the STU since Kurtwood Smith, who played the President of the United Federation of Planets in Star Trek VI and Thrax in Deep Space Nine and Annorax in Voyager was the voice behind Clar. Plus, John de Lancie reprised his role as the iconic Q and these cameos were just a true delight. Because Kurtwood Smith offered up an incredible and dynamic and fun performance, and having Q back on the bridge of a Starfleet starship, stirring up his special brand of trouble just puts a smile on your face, and all of these elements make this, one magnificent tale when all is said and done. Because it balanced homage and satire and comedy in a perfect manner and really, this series just keeps getting better as the season rolls along. Which is a wonderful thing. For we are nearing the end of year one and likely means that the best this inaugural season has to offer is about to arrive on our screens and that is going to make the wait for next week’s tale, a difficult one for certain. Until next time. 

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