Logline
Top Secret, again.
Edit: well, this was certainly worth waiting for:
Mariner faces her past in the season four finale.
Written by: Top Secret (May Darmon)
Directed by: Top Secret (Bob Suarez)
If Locarno had kidnapped like Harry Kim or Geordi or some shit and put them on that viewscreen like he did Mariner, we would have had a full episode’s worth of them interminably trying to find a way to play along and send a secret message out and agonizing over the situation, when just yelling “this guy’s an idiot and his plan is stupid” is genuinely a vastly better plan.
I liked the "He looks like Tom Paris" back and forth, I'm glad they didn't do something hokey like he's Tom Paris' cousin or something. I liked the flashback showing Mariner as the tag along first year, worked better than just telling us in the previous episode, that flashback probably should have been attached to episode 9.
I kept expecting William Boimler to show up before the end of the season, guess they're holding onto that thread for next year
I kept expecting William Boimler to show up before the end of the season, guess they’re holding onto that thread for next year
I think it would be pretty funny if they just never picked up that thread again. William Boimler, already presumed dead, joins S31, does ???? because ?????, is never heard from again.
Then again, this show could do a great job riffing off of how counterproductive and ultimately stupid S31 is, in addition to their absurdly twisted and seemingly inconsistent history. So I'd be perfectly happy to see that too.
Alternatively, do what they did with Bashir and suddenly reveal that he replaced Bradward at some indeterminate point during season 4.
This was an excellent finale (as all four of them have been, not at all a given with modern Trek or frankly modern television in general), and fully justifies the somewhat weaker setup episode before it.
"A paywall on a bomb?" might be the best joke this show has delivered in it's whole run. I don't often crack up while watching these episodes, but this one really got me. At the very least it's up there with "It's a bomb! You can only use it once!" from Wej Duj. I'm sensing a pattern.
In more typical lower key Lower Decks humor, Boimler and Rutherford arguing about if Locarno looks like Tom Paris was excellent.
I do wonder what the plan is with Tendi. We've seen supposed major shakeups like this dropped into previous finales, of course, with Boimler leaving the Cerritos for the Titan at the end of season one and Freeman getting arrested at the end of Season 2, which were quickly reverted in the first few episodes of the subsequent season. Odds are that's the play here. I hope so, because losing Tendi would suck. She's a delight.
Why was Boimler the acting captain when the command staff took off on the captain's yacht? There was a full Lieutenant right behind him on the bridge, and surely tens of others on the ship who are more senior and more qualified. A little bit of a main character boost there.
I asked the same question out loud to myself when I saw Boims in the captain seat. Best guess: since the plan was just to tow the destroyer and throw it, they knew he wouldn't have to do much, and it'd give him a shot. Plus they might have taken his relationship with Mariner (and his rapport with the rest of the Lower Decks gang) into account. Lastly, it might have been a tactic for if the admiralty went through with court-martials. Whomever answered that hail in the captain's seat would be in more hot water than the rest of the crew.
Star Trek does this thing where formal rank isn't actually as important as being in the captain's in-group. Can you name anything important that provisional Lt. JG Ayala did on the USS Voyager? I sure as hell can't, but it was less important than Harry "eternal ensign" Kim.
As much as the Lower Decks gang would like to think of themselves as unimportant, they're very much confidants of the Cerritos' senior staff so it's illogical, but consistent for Boimler to be at the top of the list for acting captain when stuff's going down.
Out of universe it's obviously a narrative/screen time thing, I'd say you've just got to accept it and move on.
I'm pretty sure he was also the only command division officer on the bridge after they gave him command. At least in theory, due to differences in training, a lieutenant jg from the command track may be better suited for acting captaincy than a full lieutenant from science, especially with a decidedly non-sciency mission like flinging a warship at a wall. You need that dash of crazy that Starfleet's command officers tend to have.
Yeah, in-universe, Starfleet seems to have a real nepotism problem.
It tickles me that brining Shannon Fill out of retirement for a handful of lines gave her her first screen credit since 1995.
Yooo it went from T'Lyn being like, "I am staying to focus on being your Bestie," to Tendi saying, "ight, outie!" In like 30 seconds. ,💀💀💀
The Ice Debris field have me Titan AE vibes, especially with making a new planet at the end.
Thaaaat's what it is from. I knew I knew it from somewhere, but was thinking it was maybe Andromeda or even another BSG reference.
Overall, I really liked the overarching plot, but I think they needed to extend out the conclusion over more episodes with this episode and the previous feeling a little rushed.
That being said, still a very enjoyable episode and
spoiler
yay captain Boimler!
Feels like a lot of character development this series.
I enjoyed the TWoK references though!
Interesting coincidence that Tom Paris and Not Tom Paris both have a penchant for designing ships
I found the ending somewhat anticlimactic, after having built it up for a few seasons it just ended with a deluded Locarno vs Mariner. Anybody else feel the same way?
You know, I was starting to think they were milking the resolution for Tendi's arc. Like, we found out 4 episodes ago, then they brought it up last episode, now it's a plot point again; you can't stretch out the climax that long.
But it turns out we're still in the rising action, this was just a stepping stone. I love this show.
