What do Captain Carol Freeman (Dawnn Lewis) and her command crew get up to while the Lower Deckers are lower decking? Star Trek: Lower Decks’ antepenultimate episode, “Upper Decks,” was written by Cullen Crawford and directed by Bob Suarez.
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The U.S.S. Cerritos is in the rings of Bhungar V, the feeding grounds of the Buhgoon. T’Lyn (Gabrielle Ruiz) asks for an explanation for the fact that the Lower Deckers are “mutilating gourds.” D’Vana Tendi (Noël Wells) explains that it’s an ancient Earth Halloween tradition. Samanthan Rutherford (Eugene Cordero) and Bradward Boimler (Jack Quaid) wonder if it’s sad that Tendi knows more of their history than they do.
Beckett Mariner (Tawny Newsome) enters and joins the party. She tells them that she’s covered in paint because she was trapped in a painting during her recent away mission. Boimler says she didn’t miss anything on the Cerritos while she was gone. Mariner muses that on other ships, it’s the command crew that have adventures, not “random Lower Deckers.”
Tendi says she likes the Cerritos command crew. Mariner agrees, but says “They’re no Janeway, Kirk or Sisko.” Mariner asks Boimler to join her in replicating more snacks (while avoiding assignment from the command crew). In the Cerritos hallway, Mariner and Boimler dodge out of the way as Freeman and Steve Stevens (Ben Rodgers) pass by, the latter reading to Freeman from a PADD. Freeman reminds Stevens she needs a few hours to herself that night. As they enter the ready room where her team awaits her, she observes that nothing would happen on the Cerritos without her bridge crew.
Star Trek: Lower Decks recap, Upper Decks
Jack Ransom (Jerry O’Connell) gives a debriefing on a Zerta Pathogen infection. He reports that Ensign Barnes (Jessica McKenna) has nearly returned to normal. The virus caused her to both evolve and devolve, gaining telepathic abilities but also making her a cave person afraid of fire. Doctor T’Ana (Gillian Vigman) stopped her by thinking about a candle. Freeman tells T’Ana they’ve had complaints about T’Ana’s failure to use anesthetics.
Turning to security, Kayshon (Carl Tart) reports that everything is going smoothly. However, Shax (Fred Tatasciore) says Starfleet Command has warned of increased activity from the Clickets. However, he doesn’t believe this will affect the Cerritos. Doctor Migleemo (Paul F. Tompkins) reminds Freeman that the Clickets don’t like being complimented. Shax becomes distracted by a vision of himself, covered in blood and with a snake emerging from his mouth. Shax requests the day off and Freeman grants it. He flees from the room.
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Ransom reports that they can’t determine why the Buhgoons are agitated. However, he’s hopeful the Starfleet ecologist can resolve the issue. Freeman says to ensure he gets whatever he needs. Andy Billups (Paul Scheer) gives his report for engineering.
The meeting completed, the command crew comes together for a conclusive motivational chant. In the hallway, Stevens tells Freeman they’re scheduled to attend Barnes’ sousaphone recital. Meanwhile, Ransom greets the ecologist. It’s the first time he’ll be able to study a Buhgoon up close. In the Cerritos docking bay, they find a team of ensigns fighting with a Buhgoon, which doesn’t want to enter the bay. Ransom observes that it’s often getting the Lower Deckers to work together that is the real challenge.
Shax’s Eye
Ensign Karavitus (Artemis Pebdoni) accuses Ensign Castro (Ruiz) of being nice. Meanwhile, Ensign Moxy (Mary Holland) uses a tractor beam to pull an asteroid inside. The Buhgoon follows. Ensign Federov says Moxy almost killed him. The Buhgoon activates its cloak and begins rolling around the docking bay. The ensigns continue arguing. Ransom says this reminds him of a story, and calls the ensigns over so he can tell it to them. Later, the ensigns are bored and exhausted from the long and rambling story.
Elsewhere, Shax records a log in his quarters. He states he’s being haunted by the visions again, which have grown more potent. The bloody Shax reappears. Becoming unbloodied, the second Shax tells our Shax he can’t get rid of him, because he is him. Soon they’re both at the Battle of Tempasa. This is where Shax lost his eye to a Cardassian bomb in a Bajoran artifact. Shax says he must control himself to control the past Shax. He begins meditating. This results in an astral projection, which begins fighting with past Shax.
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In engineering, Billups records a much more lighthearted log. Ensign Meredith (Charlotte Nicdao) asks if he’s busy. She asks for permission to fix a nonfunctional indicator light. But behind the panel, they discover malfunctioning retrofitted equipment. Its power source must be disabled before it overloads the warp core. Billups enlists Meredith to fix the problem.
Meanwhile, in medical, T’Ana records her log. She’s in a bad mood over the criticism in the staff meeting. Nurse Westlake arrives and says he refilled the hyposprays. T’Ana says people don’t like her pain management. Westlake says this is because she doesn’t manage pain. T’Ana says making people healthy should be sufficient.
Sousaphone Recital
Westlake says not everyone has the pain tolerance T’Ana does. T’Ana says they have to update the pain chart. She leaps out of her clothes and into a bio bed. Then she instructs Westlake to inflict pain on her. She urges Westlake to be brutal.
In the Cerritos bar, Freeman and Stevens attend Barnes’ sousaphone recital. Next, they attend a crew member’s fertility event. Then it’s on to a one-man show by Winger Bingston, Jr. (Eugene Cordero). Outside in the planetary rings, a hidden Clicket ship observes the Cerritos. In the docking bay, the team is now dealing with dozens of Buhgoon that have entered in pursuit of the asteroid. Ransom gathers them to share more guidance. The ensigns leave him to his exercise as they attempt to corner the Buhgoon.
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The crisis continues in engineering. Billups is soon attacked by the ship’s AI Defense Golem. He instructs Meredith to reboot the golem while telling a sad story from her childhood. In medical, T’Ana tells Westlake to increase the pain. Meanwhile, in his quarters, astral Shax battles past Shax. Past Shax is defeated, but next Shax must conquer all the Cardassian occupiers he killed.
In the docking bay, the ensigns struggle with the Buhgoon as Ransom lifts. The ecologist is hit in the face by a cloaked Buhgoon and flees from the bay. In the hallway, he’s found by Freeman and Stevens. It’s revealed that he’s a Clicket in disguise. The Clicket want to harvest the Buhgoon’s cloaking organs, and maybe eat what’s left. The Clicket reveals that his infiltration team is targeting Cerritos senior officers. In the docking bay, Ransom has fallen asleep. T’Ana is distracted by snakes placed on her by Westlake. And Shax is still meditating.
Clicket Infiltrators
More Clicket ships surround the Cerritos. Freeman tries to remember the Clickets, who tell her they’ve faced off before (in Season 1’s “Veritas”). The Clicket prepares to attack Freeman, but she’s rescued by Barnes and her sousaphone. Freeman tells Stevens they have invaders to repel. In engineering, Billups is near death in a tube. But Meredith uses an axe to free him, refusing to let him die. After some Treknobabble, they begin to work furiously at their stations.
In the docking bay, the Clicket warrior attacks the ensigns. They come together to defeat the invader, and then agree Ransom is the worst. They put aside their differences to get the Buhgoon under control to spite him. Meanwhile, Barnes takes out several Clicket to assist Freeman in reaching the bridge. But soon they’re cornered by a survivor. However, a bandaged T’Ana emerges from medical and sustains the Clicket “killshot.” In response, she tears the Clicket to shreds. He’s finally conquered by Bingston.
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Meanwhile, several Clicket arrive in Shax’s quarters. Shax is still meditating. However, his vision of fighting Cardassians effectively translates into unconsciously fighting Clickets. Shax returns to his body and is shocked at the incapacitated Clickets around him. On the bridge, Freeman, Stevens and Barnes are surrounded by Clickets. The Clicket commander contacts them and says they are powerless to resist.
But then Freeman begins complimenting the Clickets at their invasion and subterfuge. Stevens transmits this to the whole ship. The Clickets find the compliments excruciating. Finally, the Clickets are emergency transported off the Cerritos. Their ships flee. In the docking bay, the team has successfully cleared the now-calmed Buhgoon. Karavitas says their mutual enemy, Ransom, has brought them together. They head to the bar.
Anniversary Dinner
Ransom says his plan worked. Moxy reveals she knows Ransom just pretends to be an idiot to get them to get along. In engineering, Billups and Meredith have restored the warp core. Meredith thanks him for the learning experience. The cadet from the end of “wej Duj” approaches Billups and asks for help with a burned-out indicator light. “Let’s do this,” says Billups.
In the hallway, Freeman takes the PADD from Stevens and says the next agenda item is a meeting in Holodeck Three. Stevens protests that Freeman said she needed time off. Freeman reveals it’s her anniversary and she wanted to have an extended call with Admiral Alonzo Freeman (Phil LaMarr). She says little meetings with the crew are essential and Alonzo will understand that she got too busy. But Alonzo is waiting for her in Holodeck Three. Stevens arranged for him to surprise Carol with dinner.
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In the bar, Migleemo joins Shax, T’Ana and Westlake at a table and asks Shax about his exit from the morning meeting. Shax says it was his usual fight with unresolved rage. Migleemo offers to assist him with therapy. Shax eagerly agrees. His reaction knocks chowder onto T’Ana. This pain finally convinces her to allow for pain meds.
Mariner, T’Lyn, Rutherford, Tendi and Boimler arrive in the bar. They are completely ignorant of the Clicket invasion. T’Lyn postulates that their commanders have their own stories while unobserved by the Lower Deckers. Mariner doesn’t believe this, nor that her father visited the ship. The Lower Deckers laugh over T’Lyn’s joke. Outside, a Buhgoon family floats by.
The first eight episodes of Star Trek: Lower Decks Season 5 are now available for streaming on Paramount+. New episodes debut on Thursdays.
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