Star Trek: Lower Decks Season 2 Episode 6 Review: The Spy Humongous
Diana Keng
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Into every great, yet humble, fellowship, a little temptation will fall and test the mettle of the team's spirit.
Of course, on Star Trek: Lower Decks Season 2 Episode 6, the weak link in the Delta Team chain is Boimler. His head is turned by the Red Shirts' big talk, but his heart stays the course when action is needed.
Meanwhile, in an echo of the Lower Decks' adventure, Freeman finds herself pivoting among Pakleds when her diplomatic peace mission inadvertently becomes an intel-gathering one.
It's a bit of a madcap script with Boimler's foray into the rank-up herd splitting off from the Anomaly Consolidation antics, creating, in essence, three separate plotlines.
Come to think of it, Rumbar's infiltration of the Cerritos is actually separate from (okay, okay adjacent to) Freeman's crisis on Pakled Planet, so... FOUR plotlines?
The Ransom and Kayshon bit really could've used some Benny Hill music scoring it to move along the action.
So what has you seeking asylum? Religious persecution? Leading a rebellion? Some sort of sex stuff?
Ransom
If I were to pick a preferred plotline, I'd have to go with Boimler's because it does a good job tapping into an element of corporate culture that would probably thrive in Starfleet as it does in most hierarchical structures.
The Red Shirts want the trappings of leadership but not the responsibility of it.
Logically, Casey and his crew must have some legit Starfleet know-how since they made it through the academy. It's not like they're the show crew of the Avenue 5. Or even the NSEA Protector.
However, they are focused on the prestige of the higher ranks, with blatant scorn for the actual work needed to keep a ship running.
In the end, it was heartening to see Jennifer and Castro recognize that Boimler did more for his friend and the ship than any rousing speech could've done.
Boimler: Are any of you actually going to do something?
Casey: We're doing it! We're inspiring the crew.
Boimler: We are the crew!
And as far as "mean girl" cliques go, they genuinely seemed committed to helping each other rank up.
I'd actually like to see Casey and Jet go head-to-head. That would be fun.
To be fair, there's a lot to the adage about dressing for the job you want, not the job you have.
Boimler, you'll remember, did rank up before being punted back down by his transporter twin.
However, he never really leveled up his look from Ensign, pips aside.
Boimler: I like my hair. I'm a cutie. This is good hair!
Case: But would you follow it into battle?
Casey, on the other hand, obviously has a vision board in his quarters, cluttered with the things that'll make him seem captain-ish.
Casey: Hey, Boimler, how often did Riker clean his trombone?
Boimler: Oh, constantly. It was actually kind of disruptive.
Caser: I need to learn to blow something brass.
What we learn from Boimler's time with the Red Shirts is that he is very observant and, if he were to ever develop the confidence to step up in a non-friend-in-danger situation, he probably has the tools to rank up already.
On the Anomaly Consolidation front, I'm 100% on board with getting more insight on Tendi.
Because the character presents as such a Pollyanna character, every bit of grit and grump gives much-needed texture.
From Mistress of the Winter Constellations to her scorpion freak-out, I'm betting Tendi's got a dark side that'll be as fascinating as it is frightening when we get her whole backstory fleshed out.
You just experienced full molecular engorgement in a matter of seconds. Did it feel amazing?
Tendi
I'm a little confused how a mood distorter cube turned her into a scorpion.
Boimler: What happened? Did she touch a mysterious orb?
Mariner: What? No. It was a cube.
One would assume the cube just distorts your mood, not your entire DNA structure.
Also, considering all the stuff they come across in their "consolidation," I don't understand how there isn't a specialized team equipped to deal with it all.
They weren't even issued PPE.
Tendi: What's anomaly consolidation?
Boimler: You get to go around the ship and collect the bridge crew's research materials from their missions!
Mariner: It's trash day.
From the montage, it's not surprising that Mariner and Rutherford get jaded pretty quick. However, there's also an adage about getting what you expect.
Until she personally experiences the entirety of an alien bug's digestive system first-hand, Tendi expects ACD to be a fun, team-building activity with her besties.
Hang tight, Tendi! Don't get digested!
Mariner
Realizing you're poop has a way of changing a person.
Now, I know that cool kids are super keen on this long-arc about the Pakleds, but I'm just not entertained by it.
On the one hand, there's a very un-woke vibe about making a species characterized by what the DSM-V would diagnose as an intellectual disability the villains of the piece.
On the other hand, the combination of genetic ignorance and impulsivity with brute strength and devastating weapons tech is terrifying in its potential.
Boimler: You call yourselves 'Red Shirts'?
Castro: Cool name, right? Makes us sound invincible.
Riker hinted on Star Trek: Lower Decks Season 2 Episode 2 that he suspected the Pakleds were being puppeted by some yet-unknown adversary.
I feel like that'll be revealed as Starfleet moves to block further Pakled attacks.
We get away a bit here from the canon dumps of the preceding offerings but what they do deliver is a gem of a cameo by Armus, the Skin of Evil that infamously killed Tasha Yar on Star Trek: The Next Generation Season 1 Episode 23.
Briefly (for those not in the know), to continue the theme of unwanted things, Armus is an entity born of all the negative and destructive inner elements rejected by an alien race that was seeking to better itself through evolution.
Armus's only objective to its existence is to inflict suffering on living entities.
Armus: When I find you, I'm going to kill you with a flake of my power. I am a skin of evil.
Mariner: More like a puddle of s**t.
So, yeah, prank-calling Armus is pretty much the most perfect recreational activity ever.
As the season starts its back-half build to its finale, how do you see the conflict shaping up?
Will the Cerritos take on the Pakleds again? Will the Titan need to ride in to the rescue again?
Does Tendi's history come under scrutiny? How will Rutherford's new implant help or hinder them?
I wonder if Mariner will need to acknowledge that Boimler's come into some leadership chutzpah and that she might learn something from him?
Log your comments down below and, when it comes to crazy theories, please go where no one has gone before!
Diana Keng was a staff writer for TV Fanatic. She is a lifelong fan of smart sci-fi and fantasy media, an upstanding citizen of the United Federation of Planets, and a supporter of AFC Richmond 'til she dies. Her guilty pleasures include female-led procedurals, old-school sitcoms, and Bluey. She teaches, knits, and dreams big. Follow her on X.
