So what exactly happened to Captain Carrol? Directed by Brandon Williams, this is his penultimate episode before we cover “Fissure Quest” towards the end of Lower Decks. I’ve previously covered what Williams has done in his other episode of the season, “The Best Exotic Nanite Hotel.” This episode was written by “Dos Cerritos” and “I Have No Bones Yet I Must Flee” writer Aaron Burdette. Once again, Burdette is best known for writing Close Enough, Man Seeking Woman (Tinder bio!), and Inside Job (Grindr bio!). If only there was something more interesting about the production this time out, but there isn’t.

Much like Roddy Piper’s “Let That Be Your Last Battlefield” cosplay, we have obscenely offensive representations of race fighting over something, and the crew of the USS Cerritos must play diplomatic envoy. Honestly, we would allow those blue cube people to come around here, floating about and bumping into the orange orb people? Next, they’ll say the gays can get married in space or something. I am heavy-handedly joking, of course, pointing out that there is an easy comparison to the Cherons and their civil war over racism.

If that wasn’t enough TOS for you (the sight of Shatner is more than enough), we have Ensign Olly from the Reseda, a ship run by reformed Maquis. “But the Maquis were in DS9, not TOS?” you’re right, but Olly is from Pollux IV, and her great-uncle was the title star of the 2020 game, Hades. Her granddad is Zeus. Seeing Ransom being frustrated by the young Greek demigod, Beckett jumps at the chance to play mentor to the troublemaker on her last chance who does things her way instead of listening to Ransom or any command. Sound like anyone we know?

I’ll get to “Of Gods and Angels” here in a second, but at the end of “Starbase 80?!” we saw Carrol run off into a dark corridor with a monster that is seen as dangerous. That and the whole thing for Beckett was the alt-reality Carrol having her life cut off at Starbase 80. So we end on that as a sort of soft cliffhanger and we start the episode with Ransom’s (her number 1) voice describing what’s going on. Have I missed a webcomic strip or something? To paraphrase Monty Python, “[she]’s buggered off. [She]’s scarpered.”

Either we do the whole she’s in danger and her daughter berates her for going off and doing something so stupid, or we don’t do something like that, surely? Anyway, she’s back, nothing comes of it, I’m sure we’ll never hear of it again, nothing has any consequences or really matters even in the final season of the show. Now could I be wrong in saying that Boimler’s reference to Ronald B. Moore is to the VFX guy, or is me playing on the name of the Battlestar Galactica and Outlander (one of those is good) showrunner? I couldn’t quite work that one out.

Again I’m left somewhat enjoying “Of Gods and Angels,” similarly to how I enjoyed “Starbase 80?!”. Mostly in that the stories being told are similar but a twist on the formula we’ve come to know over the last 45 episodes, changing up Beckett’s role as Starfleet’s star screw-up to being the one to help reform the screw-ups. It goes into what Kassia was saying about Starbase 80, it is about giving second chances when no one else will.

The trouble is, beyond Boimler’s attempts to get Doctor T’ana to call him something other than “F**k face,” the story is fairly similar and doesn’t seem to be setting up for the grand finale. A lot of my criticisms here of Lower Decks’ final season is that, again, it doesn’t feel it. Chances are we’re going to end on a cliffhanger, have a good portion of that resolved in other media, and nothing will feel satisfying. Very little of the season thus far has felt satisfying, aside from “A Farewell to Farms,” which capped off a non-central cast member’s story.

“Of Gods and Angels” puts Beckett and Olly on the hunt for a teenager of one of the diplomats from the Cube people, as the little sod has gone missing. A typical story for a pair of screw-ups to try and redeem themselves. Meanwhile, as Boimler still plays with the pad from the alternate timeline, the one with the wider bevel, he’s convinced Tendi and Rutherford into getting Doctor T to maybe befriend “F**k face,” maybe even do as alt-Boimler did and join her book club. I still hate his face fluff, though, that should be burnt off.

Both stories work well as the A and B plots, but never really stand out as one of the great stories of Lower Decks. As I keep saying throughout this season, they feel like stories that are just happening for the sake of it rather than building to too much. We do have Olly, as she has tried to hide that her powers are that of her people, almost. While Rip Torn could cast lightning and James Woods almost stole the show (lesbians awakened at Megara), Ensign Olly might need a blue pill to keep her lightning bolts… stiff.

It is a story of confidence and understanding, putting Boimler once again in the role of a bumbling idiot while Beckett tries to rein in and guide Olly into knowing she’s a fine Ensign. The ending isn’t anything special, I’ve practically spoiled it by saying the set-up – Lower Decks isn’t going to kill a kid, though it might be funnier than his royal highness Lt. Commander Billups being pimped out by his mother. It is played up as this big, grand thing, but sort of deflates rather quickly given the short runtime of Lower Decks overall.

Ultimately, “Of Gods and Angels” is a fine episode that does enough to say it is worth that first watch, but when it comes to actually enjoying it? I think I am left wanting more character progression, something with a little more meaning, especially in the final season of a show that has thus far been a delight. Depending on how the rest of the season shapes out with Ensign Olly (if at all), “Of Gods and Angels” is fine as a filler episode but the season itself hasn’t had many non-fillers.

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Lower Decks “Of Gods and Angels”

7

Score

7.0/10

Pros

• Mariner the reformer.
• Always love a bit of Greek mythology.
• I prefer this Boimler's nickname.

Cons

• I'd rip those hairs out one by one if I could.