STAR TREK: LOWER DECKS
SEASON 3, EPISODE 9
SEASON 3, EPISODE 9
Trusted Sources
Series: Star Trek: Lower Decks - (2020 - 2024)Season: 3
Episode #: 9
Original Airdate: October 20th, 2022
Writer(s): Ben M. Waller
Director(s): Fill Marc Sagadraca
Guest Stars
Carlos Alazraqui as Vice Admiral Les Buenamigo
Alison Becker as Victoria Nuzé
Sean Clements as B'Nir
Kevin Dorff as a Starbase 80 Officer
Georgia King as Petra Aberdeen
Phil LaMarr as the Cerritos Docking Bay Officer
Lauren Lapkus as Ensign Jennifer Sh'reyan
Jessica McKenna as Ensign Barnes
Carl Tart as Ltjg. Kayshon
Fred Tatasciore as Lt. Steve Levy
Paul F. Tompkins as Dr. Migleemo
Paul F. Tompkins as a Cerritos Security Guard
Stardate: 58496.1
Synopsis
Captain Freeman has managed to convince Starfleet that California-class ships’ second contact missions are important, and that the Project Swing By, missions to check in on neglected planets, is crucial. The Cerritos’ task is to find out how things are going on the planet Onara. So confident is Starfleet in the importance and success of the Cerritos’ mission that they’ve sent a reporter to cover it. Which immediately puts Freeman on edge. After all, the Cerritos isn’t exactly known for leaving a good impression.
The Onarans were dependent on their sister planet, Brekka, to supply a drug that ostensibly cured a plague but was actually a narcotic that turned all of Onara into a planet of addicts. Years earlier, Captain Picard and the U.S.S. Enterprise solved the problem by cutting off contact between the two planets – severing the addicts from their supplier. And then warped out without looking back. But Freeman is more concerned about reining in the typical Cerritos chaos for the cameras. Mariner, especially, must be hidden from view, a point emphasized by the blueberry juice covering her uniform. So, Beta Shift is reassigned. Mariner, of course, doesn’t seem to take any of this seriously. As Freeman walks by with the reporter, she (still covered in blueberry juice) offers the reporter a tour. Freeman responds by telling our lower deckers that it’s bedtime and orders lights out.
Meanwhile, the reason Mariner was covered in juice in the first place is that she was prepping for the ship’s pie-eating contest, something that she and the rest of Beta Shift have been eagerly anticipating. But, of course, it’s canceled. Can’t have the cameras catching a bunch of officers cramming pie into their faces! The reporter interviews several approved crew members who put their best foot forward, describing life aboard their ship in glowing terms. Naturally, Mariner isn’t on that list. That frustrates her because she feels the reporter isn’t capturing the truth about the Cerritos. While her mood about the whole thing was initially chipper and dismissive, her annoyance begins to bubble over.
Freeman takes the reporter and an away team to Onara, where they find a happy, wellness-obsessed planet that’s completely recovered from its drug crisis. Starfleet assistance isn’t required here. Freeman suspects – hopes, actually – that there’s something sinister going on beneath the surface, but all appears to truly be well. The reporter, naturally, is not impressed, and Freeman is irritated that her mission appears to be superfluous. Eager to find a problem she can solve, Freeman orders the Cerritos to travel to the sister planet Brekka, instead.
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[ Screencap Index ]
Mariner runs into the reporter in the hallway and states, with eyebrows raised, that she has some things to say. Later, the reporter arrives in Freeman’s office for her interview, but when Freeman claims she runs a tight ship, the reporter starts rattling off all the “chaotic,” “irresponsible,” and “silly” things she’s heard… details of when Freeman took engineering on a spa trip, or Lt. Kayshon getting turned into a puppet. Freeman takes her job seriously and isn’t happy that she and her crew have been made to look foolish. And she’s furious when she learns that Mariner spoke to the reporter.
Mariner is called to Freeman’s office, where Ransom is waiting as well. She greets this with her usual nonchalance. But Freeman is serious this time. She’s through with Mariner’s nonsense and has had her transferred to Starbase 80, considered the least desirable place for a Starfleet officer (Ransom once threatened to have Mariner transferred there, and Mariner, in horror, said not to even joke about that). At first, Mariner assumes Freeman must be making another empty threat, but the Captain is completely serious this time – a fact that shocks even Ransom. Mariner protests that she didn’t say anything bad to the reporter, but Freeman doesn’t believe her. The transfer shuttle is already on the way.
As Mariner leaves, she gets dirty looks from the entire crew, who are all upset that she apparently torpedoed their reputation after all their hard work. She runs into her girlfriend, Jennifer, hoping at least she’ll understand. But Jennifer might be the most upset of them all since Mariner hurt the entire crew by making them sound like losers. Mariner has always been a little bit horrible as a person – arrogant, self-centered, impulsive – and that was part of her charm, but it seems she’s gone too far this time. Realizing that everyone has turned against her, Mariner walks away in tears.
Boimler, Tendi, and Rutherford watch as Mariner packs, with Boimler protesting that she can’t leave, that it’ll all blow over if she just apologizes. But Mariner, still insisting she didn’t do anything wrong, dismisses him. This isn’t the first ship she’s been kicked off of, and she’s done with this place. Mariner unceremoniously boards the shuttle to Starbase 80, with no one to see her off.
With the troublemaking ensign gone, Freeman proceeds with the mission to Brekka. The away team arrives to find that the powerful, warlike Breen has invaded the place. They hurriedly beam back onto the ship, where Breen ships attack the Cerritos. For a moment, it seems all is lost, but then a shining Starfleet ship swoops in to save the day. Who’s on that ship? No one, it turns out. The new Texas-class ship is fully automated.
Later, the report comes out, with the sensational title “Starfleet’s Shame.” It’s framed as an expose, with dramatic, reality show-like snippets of the crew interviews as they offhandedly talk about the Cerritos’ shenanigans. Turns out, it was those oh-so-polished, approved crew members who inadvertently exposed the ship’s chaotic nature. As for Mariner? She gave a sincere interview about how the Cerritos was her family. “If you’re measuring by heart, this is the strongest ship in the fleet,” she says.
Freeman desperately calls Starbase 80 to admit and fix her mistake. But Mariner is nowhere to be found… because she resigned from Starfleet and joined forces with Petra Aberdeen, the archaeologist, and the two warp off to new adventures together.
Trailer
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