Since my wifi was out this weekend and I decided to watch the first episode of Strange New Worlds again, I had one question. Why is it that the only good Star Trek comes from bolder and newer ideas? We haven’t had a wholly original series since 2001’s Enterprise. Discovery cares too much about S’Chn T’Gai Spock and family, Lower Decks boldly tries to do comedy to some success and references older Trek more successfully, and Strange New Worlds boldly doesn’t prattle on about Kirk, Picard, Sisko, Janeway, or Archer. Plus Pike can ride a horse unlike the French one or the useless Iowain one.

Here we have the episode where the Cold Open is about TOS: Those Old Scientists and how poorly Star Fleet manages to keep people away from their dangerous past. Written by Mike McMahan, “No Small Parts” is exactly what I’ve waited to write about since “The Day of the Doctor” and “The Time of the Doctor.” I said it last week but it is easy to see why “No Small Parts” not only feels big but also feels like one of the best episodes of Star Trek as a whole. It is fast-paced, fills all 26-ish minutes with detail, develops characters further, and is just simply fun.

The cold open isn’t only to mention Landru but also gives the eventual reveal (to the whole crew) that Beckett is in fact captain and admiral Freeman’s daughter. This of course causes several issues, including what appears to be jealousy from Boimler when Mariner decides to go for the promotion to the Sacramento to get away from people like Steve. Listen up Steve, I’ve seen the Dominion War play out. It happened and so did the battle at Wolf 359 (and it wasn’t an inside job). I guess now is as good a time as any to make the obligatory comment that the references are aimed at weirdos like me.

As I said a moment ago, “No Small Parts” is a dense episode that doesn’t shy away from not only poking fun at the franchise but adding to it and further delving into the serious nature the franchise is known for. Similar to Seth MacFarlane’s The Orville, Lower Decks eases us into the larger drama with a hint of hit-and-miss comedy. Where The Orville allowed itself to drop the pretense and focus more on the drama with a smattering of comedy, Lower Decks arguably stays in the vein of comedy-focused drama.

This is none more apparent than when NCC-12101 is ripped in two as it tries to escape a Pakled ship, kicking off the Pakled arc. For the benefit of my editor more than anyone else, the Pakled are a race of primitive people with the intelligence of those who named the capital of Luxembourg and will try to salvage anything even if it isn’t scrap. They literally call the Solvang (NCC-12101) and the Cerritos, both California-Class ships, each an Enterprise which is a Galaxy-class ship. They also call the Luna-class Titan (NCC-80102, because I’m a creep) “another Enterprise.”

So while “captain mommy” has to deal with the crew finding out about her personal issue aboard the ship, the Cerritos is called into action to respond to a distress call from the Solvang. Not before Ransom shouts “I’m only hard on you when you make me hard” to Mariner in Captain Freeman’s office. Oddly enough that isn’t where the arc’s starting or continuing ends, as we finally get Peanutt Hamper, an Exocomp with an attitude that doesn’t gel well with Star Fleet’s ideals. In other words, the snooty little cow huffs at a kamikaze mission to install a virus on the Pakled ship bearing down on the Cerritos.

McMahan ties not only these threads we’ll see down the line or Mariner’s relationship between herself and her mother as that affects the ship’s crew, but also kills off everyone’s favorite Bajorian (besides Kira). McMahan also gets rid of Samanthan’s memories of the last several episodes. Going into season 2, we’ve got a whole character reset kicking off the origins of Rutherford’s implants and who did it or why they are there. This is what a lot of shows seem to forget or forgo to just get across the line, especially when it comes to American shows that are spread thin over 22, 24, or 26 episodes a season. 

I think I made a comment about it last time, but for a majority of Lower Decks, we’ve had character growth and general forward motion. However, there hasn’t necessarily been an obvious goal to see by the end of the season. Between “Crisis Point” and “No Small Parts” the drama of the series comes from these episodes. Other episodes had drama but they were propelled by comedy circumstances. Both of these episodes were propelled by characters instead. The change in tone from The Orville isn’t seen between seasons of Lower Decks, at least not to a dramatic degree, but while the comedy stays, we are able to explore characters more.

I did end up shouting at the screen when the Titan showed up, only to be parrotted seconds later by Boimler in the same excited tone. Maybe I need to go back and watch more TNG, but it felt like Riker and Deanna sounded off. Not all actors are great at voicing (just look at Peter Dinklage) but we know Marina Sirtis does well since she was in Mass Effect as Matriarch Benezia, as well as XCOM 2 and Elite: Dangerous. Meanwhile, Frakes has mostly only been in the same expansion for XCOM 2 and some animated shows, including Gargoyles.

“No Small Parts” is how a season finale should feel instead of the complete apathy obtained from either “The Power of the Doctor” or “The Battle of Ranskoor Av Kolos.” It was fast-paced, energetic, fun, full of forward motion to keep us excited for what is coming next, and most importantly, there was emotion to it. When Shaxs yells “Hang in there baby bear!” before pulling out Rutherford’s implant, saving our wholesome engineer and the ship while giving his life to hold off the Pakled attack, it is emotional because it calls back to the character moment in “Envoys.”

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Star Trek: Lower Decks "No Small Parts"

9.5

Score

9.5/10

Pros

• "I'm only hard on you when you make me hard."
• Tying so many threads together.
• Fast-paced, energetic, fun, and sometimes emotional.
• Setting up the next couple of seasons.

Cons

• Frakes and Sirtis' VO sounding off.