"Lower Decks" is a Fantastic episode of Trek, but not for the reasons that I recall. I had a memory of a show about the junior officers whose stories we never see, and that it was very different from other episodes for that reason. However, my recent viewing actually reveals that the episode is less about the junior officers, and more about the senior officers through a different perspective. We see Will and Deanna laughing and flirting while going over some meaningless crew evaluations. But what the subjects of this evaluation see is a couple of unapproachable supervisors jerking around while holding the fates of their careers in their hands. We even see the bridge through the eyes of the redshirts for once, and Riker is kind of a dick (One "aye" is sufficient acknowledgment, Ensign." We're used to seeing Picard in charge, but we're not used to the mean-spirited dressing down that he gives Ensign Sito. Nor are we used to him using his power just to test someone. We've been in plenty of briefing rooms, but not until Sito walks in blind to the context do we really appreciate the how elite these meetings are.Strangely, by following the junior officers, we also see a side of Worf that we rarely, if ever, get to appreciate. Normally, we see Worf in full "permission to kill everyone, sir" mode, but in this instance he takes the time to bring Sito under his wing and encourages her to stand up to herself to the captain. The way he does it is typical Worf fashion, but it plays out as downright touching, and I nearly cried.
Another way to look at this episode, is as a rare tribute to the doomed redshirt. Since the days of TOS, we have seen redshirts die, and nary a tear shed for them. Countless ensigns and crewmen have died over the decades, and we never hear their stories with the sort of depth that this episode provides. With "Lower Decks," the whole episode plays out from the perspective of our poor doomed redshirt, Sita. She is a Bajoran, who risks (and ultimately gives) her life to help a Cardassian operative get back home after defecting to Federation space to share important ... you know, Cardassian stuff, I guess. The lack of knowledge about what is really going on is an important part of the show. Instead of being told in the captain's log exactly what is going on, it is left a mystery, as any secret mission would be to the scores of lower-ranked crew and civilians aboard the Enterprise. But it's also a bit disturbing that Sito is sort of coerced into doing this mission. Obviously saving Bajoran lives is a noble cause for her, but how important was it to get this Cardassian back to where he started? If she had known this mission meant her certain death, I doubt she would have agreed. Plus we are given an inkling that the Cardassian knew with more certainty that she would die, when after meeting her he said very ominously, "I didn't realize she would be so young.."
Sito isn't the only one we get to meet in this episode. One member of the lower decks that we already know is Nurse Ogawa, who comes off in this episode as bit of a goody-two-shoes with an annoying smile that she just can't seem to wipe off her face. Next we have Taurik, a Vulcan who at first irritates, and then surprises LaForge with his ideas on improving things around the engineering department. Then we have Sam Lavelle, who is an obvious stand in for a young Riker. And finally we have Ben, a civilian waiter who is the only one that successfully bridges the gap between the junior officers and the senior staff. Ben even convinces Worf to join the table of the junior officers in the closing scene, but this gesture would have been much more powerful if it were Riker or Picard making it. Worf was actually approachable and helpful throughout the whole show already.
"Lower Decks" is an extremely touching episode of Trek. I cried. Seriously. This is an episode that could only work towards the end of the show's run. If such an episode had been placed else ware, we would have wondered why in the world they bothered to introduce these new characters, just to never follow up on them again. But where the episode is placed, we understand that it's not about following new characters, but rather a further exploration of the characters that we have spent seven years growing to love. Well done, TNG. Well done!Published April 18, 2019
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