It’s a triple-threat girl’s trip to freaking Orion in Star Trek: Lower Decks season 4 episode 4! “Something Borrowed, Something Green” was written by Grace Parra Janey and directed by Bob Suarez.
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On an Orion vessel, a trio of lower deckers sort through plunder. One of them says he’ll earn a chain tattoo by taking over a ship. The others laugh at him and say they work on a ship that brings supplies to other ships. “We’re like pirate-adjacent,” says one. They continue talking for a few moments but are interrupted by a red alert.

On the bridge of the ship, the source of the alert is revealed to be the enigmatic ship from “Twovix” and “I Have No Bones Yet I Must Flee.” The same pattern of system lockout followed by a blinding light is repeated.
“Something Borrowed, Something Green”
On the USS Cerritos, Lt. J-Gs D’Vana Tendi (Noël Wells), Beckett Mariner (Tawny Newsome), and Provisional Lt. J-G T’Lyn (Gabrielle Ruiz) are working in Repair Bay Five. Tendi finishes her catalog of tasks. Mariner says one of the best parts of being a Lt. J-G was occasionally finishing one’s work. T’Lyn says celebrating a lack of purpose is illogical.
Captain Carol Freeman (Dawnn Lewis) arrives and says she has exciting news for Tendi. She’s been granted leave to visit her family on Orion, effective immediately. Freeman says Tendi’s sister is getting married. But Tendi says she doesn’t need to go. Freeman says Starfleet is eager to demonstrate goodwill after the recent disappearance of an Orion ship. Tendi says if it’s to help Starfleet, she guesses she could go.
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Tendi sighs heavily after Freeman leaves. Mariner asks if she’s okay. Tendi says it’s just that she hasn’t been home in so long. Plus, they expect her to be heavily involved in the wedding (including belly dancers’ outfits). T’Lyn notes it is rare to observe Orion rituals. She asks to accompany Tendi so as to file an “enlightening” report with Vulcan High Command.
Mariner says T’Lyn is right. She notes nobody knows anything about her culture. Mariner says she wants to learn about the real Tendi. While Tendi says it will just involve boring traditions, Mariner says that’s awesome. Plus, she says she needs distance from Lt. J-Gs Bradward Boimler (Jack Quaid) and Samanthan Rutherford (Eugene Cordero). Post-move-in, they’ve been acting strange. “Their emotional closeness is unpleasant,” agrees T’Lyn. Tendi agrees but still looks concerned.
Triple-Threat Girls Trip
In their shared quarters, Boimler and Rutherford bond over Boimler’s new Andorian linen sheets. They continue to demonstrate their closeness. At least until they come into conflict over the watering schedule for their bonsai.

Elsewhere, the shuttlecraft “Yosemite II” arrives on Orion. It lands on a large estate and Tendi, Mariner and T’Lyn disembark. They’re greeted by a cadre of Orion pirates, who ask to take their bags. Then they lift the trio of Starfleet officers on a sedan and begin to carry them towards their destination. Mariner asks if Tendi is rich. Tendi says they’re barely the fifth-largest family in the Syndicate. T’Lyn observes that Orions downplay their wealth while simultaneously making a spectacle of it. Tendi says she doesn’t have to put that in her report.
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The sedan reaches another sedan carrying Tendi’s parents. They are welcomed by her mother, the Warrior Queen Shonda, and her father B’urt. B’urt reveals D’Erica has been kidnapped. Her mother says as Prime daughter it is Tendi’s responsibility to rescue D’Erica. Tendi accuses them of only inviting her to save D’Erica. B’urt says of course they’re happy to see her, and also there’s a box of stuff they’d like her to get out of the garage.
Shonda says she has to save her sister. Tendi asks if it’s because they love D’Erica or because they want to merge their wealth with another family’s. B’urt says obviously both. Tendi says she’ll rescue her sister.
Bonsai Conflict

On the Cerritos, Boimler and Rutherford continue to argue over watering the bonsai. Boimler says they have the holodeck reserved and suggests they have some fun. He says maybe they’ll get along better afterward. In the holodeck, a riverboat drifts down the river. Rutherford enters, dressed as Twain, and finds Boimler already dressed as Twain inside. They attempt to out-Twain one another.
Meanwhile on Orion, Tendi, Mariner, and T’Lyn arrive at the club “Slit Throat.” Per the dress code, they’re wearing Orion-style attire. Tendi walks up to the bouncer and demands entrance. Mariner shames Tendi for not bringing her to the club beforehand. T’Lyn observes that Tendi “does command an unexpected gravitas for someone so excitable.” Tendi dodges a dagger, but it hits Mariner in the shoulder. Mariner says it’s part of the gravitas. She drops it in a jar filled with bloody daggers.
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Lady G approaches Tendi and asks if she’s there for payback. Tendi says she’s just there for her sister. She needs information. Lady G says she’s heard some whispers, but Tendi will have to earn them. She snaps her fingers and a table and shot glasses are brought out. Tendi and Lady G place their hands on the board. Next, a large, vicious insect is brought out. It crosses the table and threatens to bite Lady G’s hand. But taking a shot creates a protective force field.
The crowd watches as the game continues. Lady G says D’Erica’s ex never got over her. Lady G chokes on the next shot. Tendi uses a glass to stop the bug from biting Lady G’s hand. Then she says D’Erica could be in trouble and tells T’Lyn and Mariner to get moving.
Hump Dungeon
On the holographic steamboat, both Boimler and Rutherford continue acting like Twain. This technique has allowed them to come to a compromise about watering the bonsai. Then they leave the holodeck after being called to the bridge by Jack Ransom (Jerry O’Connell).
On Orion, Tendi apologizes about the events that transpired at the club. She says high school relationships always age weird. T’Lyn says the fact that Orions attend secondary education is interesting. Tendi says she wasn’t getting into Starfleet Academy based on how many knots she could tie. T’Lyn asks Tendi how many knots she can tie and Tendi gets awkward.
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Mariner declares the next location to be a “hump dungeon,” and says there’s one of those in New Seattle. T’Lyn says the males appear to be under chemical manipulation, perhaps pheromone-related. Mariner says Tendi has made it clear Starfleet made the pheromones up. But a nearby Orion male begs to be blasted with more ‘mones. Tendi clarifies that she said not all Orions control men with pheromones, but some do.
Tendi spots Niall and chases him down. He begs her to let him go. He says he knows nothing and he’s just a ‘mone head who spends all day and night “hopped up on the stink.” Tendi threatens him and then explains to Mariner and T’Lyn that she heard the threat in a movie. That’s when the hump dungeon’s leader, Engrita, arrives.
Engrita’s Stink
Engrita tells Tendi to relax. But Tendi says she’s just here for D’Erica. Engrita says the Tendi she knew would never turn down a “cage shower.” She continues that it didn’t matter that she lacked the pheromones, men would fall at her feet anyway, stricken. Mariner eagerly asks, “You stricked people?” T’Lyn asks if all Pheromonal Orion are so manipulative. Engrita asks how dare T’Lyn judge her and throws a dagger. T’Lyn dodges it and it gets Mariner in the same shoulder-spot.
Mariner tells Tendi to look out for the attacking hunks. Tendi uses a compound she mixed up to counteract the effects of the pheromone to stymie the attack. She threatens to release it in the dungeon at large if Engrita doesn’t comply.
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Engrita demands Niall answer their questions. He says he got a message that D’Erica was engaged. However, his reaction was only to give himself over to the ‘mones. Tendi tells him he should go home, and he agrees. But after the trio has left, Engrita tells Niall to lick her foot. He promptly complies.
Twain and Simple Diplomacy
Boimler and Rutherford arrive at the Cerritos bridge. Rutherford reminds Boimler to take off his Twain mustache. An unfamiliar alien, Coqqor the Chalnoth, is screaming at Freeman over the viewscreen. Freeman tells Coqqor that a nebula is theirs to scan. Coqqor continues to be obstinate. Freeman says if they don’t scan the nebula, it will phase out of the dimension and no one will be able to scan it. After the communication with Coqqor is terminated, Freeman says there must be something they can do to find common ground without resentment. Boimler and Rutherford say there is one thing.
Soon Freeman and Coqqor are both dressed like Twain on the holodeck. Boimler and Rutherford encourage Freeman to talk to Coqqor like Twain. She makes an attempt, but Coqqor has no shared point of cultural reference. He rips off his wig and begins trashing the holodeck. Freeman asks Boimler and Rutherford why they thought this would work. They explain the situation with the bonsai. Coqqor stops stomping and asks about bonsai.
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On Orion, Tendi leads T’Lyn and Mariner through a starship junkyard familiar to her. She shows them a frequent childhood favorite, as evidenced by drawings of Tendi joining a Starfleet officer. Tendi admits she wasn’t a regular Orion teenager. She was trained to be an assassin. Mariner and T’Lyn both already know. Tendi says she hates for them to see “the real her.” Mariner says the real her is the one who geeks out about science on the Cerritos. T’Lyn says she is who she chooses to be: “a Starfleet Lieutenant and a loyal friend.”
“Don’t worry,” says Mariner. “We know you’re a big nerd and not some hot assassin.”
The Prime
Tendi says it’s weird to be there, as it’s where she told her sister she was joining Starfleet. That’s when her sister arrives. She accuses Tendi of abandoning her family. Mariner says they solved the case. D’Erica leaps into action, armed with a sword and dagger. Mariner and T’Lyn step aside. T’Lyn observes that Orions use violence to solve disputes and Tendi denies it. D’Erica throws a dagger and it bounces off the wall to hit the concealed Mariner in that same spot yet again. Tendi tells D’Erica not to stab her friends. D’Erica asks what Tendi’s going to do about it. Tendi grabs a piece of rusted metal and says, “Teach you how to respect your Prime!”
In Brotherfords’ Quarters, Coqqor says the bonsai is beautiful. They say it is like a son to them. Coqqor eats the bonsai and drinks the contents of the misting bottle. Coqqor says he is sated and grants Freeman permission to scan the nebula.
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On the derelict vessel, D’Erica and Tendi sword fight. D’Erica asks why Tendi hasn’t been home. Tendi says she’s been busy. D’Erica asks, “With what, scanning? Why is Starfleet so obsessed with scanning?” Tendi says to learn stuff. D’Erica accuses Tendi of abandoning her for science. While it seems like D’Erica has the upper hand, Mariner stops T’Lyn from intervening.
D’Erica further states that Tendi was trained from birth to be “the tip of the moonlit blade, the greatest duty of the Mistress of the Winter Constellations.” Tendi says she didn’t ask for it. D’Erica says she didn’t either. Tendi leaving for Starfleet meant D’Erica had to drop her whole life to become the new Prime.
Mistress of the Winter Constellations
Tendi says D’Erica is right and apologizes. D’Erica says she wanted to take her place as Prime, but she’s no D’Vana. Tendi says D’Erica just kicked her butt and is an amazing Prime. While Tendi always loved science, she tells D’Erica this is her path. T’Lyn and Mariner both offer encouragement as well. Tendi tells D’Erica she belongs on the crime throne.
When D’Erica realizes what time it is, she says they won’t make it in time for the wedding. Tendi says while she may not be a pirate, she’s rerouted her fair share of EPS conduits. They hotwire the ship (which is an older Starfleet science vessel, like the Raven) and take off. As they fly, Tendi asks T’Lyn to leave off some of the stabbings in her report. T’Lyn tosses the PADD out of the ship. She says it would be unethical to file a report without the consent of the subject.
RELATED: Read our Star Trek: Lower Decks recaps here!
The ship’s plasma manifold ruptures. It begins to lose altitude. The crash is seen from the perspective of the waiting wedding party. However, the quartette arrives at the wedding in time. Afterward, the trio share their memories with Rutherford and Boimler in Repair Bay Five on the Cerritos. Brotherford have been banned from the Twain hologram thing. Tendi suggests they try honestly discussing their feelings.

Instead, they both dress up and act like Mozart.
New episodes of Star Trek: Lower Decks are available for streaming on Paramount+ on Thursdays.
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