Logline
Tendi is summoned back to Orion for a wedding.
Written by: Grace Parra Janney
Directed by: Bob Suarez
T’Lyn was such a wild woman this week. Admiring Nya’al’s appearance, telling Tendi that what matters is being a loyal friend, saying she was alarmed by D’Erika’s combat abilities and then tossing that report out of the ship with a flimsy justification. Even Mariner said so. OUT OF CONTROL I TELL YOU!
I liked the little look into the lower decks of the Orions, especially the plagiarism line; but the mysterious ship is getting less mysterious in the not-so-fun way.
Boimler and Rutherford are absolute dweebs. It was different having such a low stakes B-Plot. I feel like their story was missing a little something though. Still good fun.
Really enjoyed the A-Plot. Tendi does such a great job balancing being sunshine and rainbows and underworld assassin. I’m a little surprised her ride home wasn’t stolen/stripped for parts.
It was weird seeing T’Lyn, not just admit, but volunteer that she was friends with Mariner and Tendi. I don’t think we’ve ever seen a Vulcan do that. I mean, sure Spock and Tuvok have admitted they were friends with their respective captains, but only ever in some form of private non-sexual intimacy. But, as established, T’Lyn is a rebel, so it somehow fits her really well.
T'Lyn is fitting in perfectly. The way she deadpanned "losing" her notes and then immediately explained her choice as a straightforward matter of ethics was fantastic.
I’m a little surprised her ride home wasn’t stolen/stripped for parts.
Fifth most powerful family in the Orion crime syndicate. The people who are above Tendi in the social hierarchy don't need it, those below probably like living.
Loved this one, prob my favorite of the season so far. We've had Tendi's attitude towards her own Orion heritage hanging over her character this entire show (plus a touch of SNW), so it's fun to finally dive deeper. I like how T'lyn was used here-- basically as a manifestation of Tendi's friends prying into her personal life. I wasn't expecting Mariner's main role this episode to be running gag, but hey, it worked.
The plot resolution (at least on the character arc side) wasn't super surprising, but I think it works and goes beyond where we last left the thread of Tendi's pirate identity in season 3. On DS9 it felt like she just saw herself as a trained pirate trying to be a scientist, here we have the gang affirming that the scientist is Tendi's real self. For those of you reading queer allegories onto Tendi, this episode just makes them all the deeper.
The Brutherford B-plot was incredibly silly, even as LD plots go. It's not deep, but I think it was just audaciously funny enough to work. I was initially skeptical of how they just yadda-yadda'd past the guys' conflict resolution on the holodeck. I think it works because it heightens captain Freeman's (and the audience's) disbelief that they'd expect their petty Seinfeld shenanigans would translate to any useful diplomatic measures.
Other notes:
- The big guy from the B-plot friggin' threw Shaxs. might be the first time we've seen Shaxs succumb to the so-called Worf effect
- T'lyn seemed to accept a group hug at the end with nary a raised eyebrow. So un-Vulcan!
- Tendi's great-grandmother Astrea had the same title Mistress of the Winter Constellations, and if the bouncer's reaction is any indication it's related to D'vana being her family's prime--does that imply Astrea also had a similar path in life before ending up on the science ship D'Var?
Lower Decks continues to shine. I enjoy finally being shown aspects Orion culture, beyond being considered, " ... delinquents, pirates, slave traders." (DSC s1e15, although the same perception about Orions is held throughout Star Trek). The expansion of Tendi's background is great. I'm hoping for more on Orion in Star Trek's future. Poor Mariner, lol.
Getting to see Boimler and Rutherford settle in as roommates made for a nice B story. That got me wondering again about Mariner and Tendi's new quarters since their promotions. And, T'Lyn's.
The mysterious ship of destruction is getting old for me. When only ten, twenty-five minutes each, episodes are considered a season, there's little time to dilly-dally around with story telling. I'm just hoping this tease doesn't continue to be unexplained until another season.
To bad there wasn't time in "wej Duj" (LD s2e9) for an Orion Lower Decks segment. Now, I'm just waiting for an appropriate situation to say, " ... that makes you more of an Orion plagiarist."
" … delinquents, pirates, slave traders." (DSC s1e15, although the same perception about Orions is held throughout Star Trek).
It seems that Orion culture internally looks down on those who want to be in the sciences, but it's Tendi's grandmother that shows the galaxy that they are not all just pirates. Some several years after DSC S1, in SNW S2.
Annotations are up at: https://startrek.website/post/1908647
Thanks as always.
This episode will take a few watches to catch all the jam-packed Orion details.
Mariner really shouldn't be pulling out those knives, especially the ones with serrated hooks on the back. That just seems like a recipe for severe bleeding.
Tendi is a medical officer; she probably has it covered.
It was cool to see a Raven-class again!
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So... what's up with the big bad ship of destruction? Any thoughts?
