The Cerritos crew must prove their worth in a mission race.

This Season 3 finale is written by Lower Decks creator Mike McMahan, but it doesn’t have any elements to mark it as an event episode.

On the USS Cerritos, Captain Freeman is disturbed to hear that the California class vessels are going to be shuttered in favour of the new Texas class, which is fully automated. She makes a challenge, believing that a manned craft will ultimately be the winner, but she hasn’t counted on some of the subterfuge that has been fuelling the programme.

As with McMahon’s previous episode, Rutherford gets the best material, with more of his back story revealed, while Mariner… she’s just having the time of her life on her Indiana Jones-style adventures away from Starfleet. The ending, however, we’ve seen this manoeuvre far too many times in Star Trek season finales, even on this series.

Verdict: A fun episode that bounces along at speed, but lacking any of the originality or creativity that would mark it out as a great season closer. 7/10

Nick Joy