A wayward Starfleet ensign struggles to find a path to redemption.

The Lower Decks Season 1 finale No Small Parts concluded with exocomp Ensign Peanut Hamper estranged from the crew of the Cerritos, unable to embrace the selflessness of ‘The needs of the many…’ We pick up two years later and the selfish droid has crash-landed into a primitive, pre-first contact society.

The extent to which you will enjoy this episode will depend on how irritating you find the sassy robot. It makes a change to have an episode set away from Starfleet and barely featuring the crew, and Peanut Hamper does demonstrate a character arc, but this feels like the sort of episode you might squeeze in to fulfil a 26-a-year quota rather than just 10. The avian race are curious beasts, designed like something from the 70s Filmation show, and the show doesn’t shy away from the merging of organic and non-organic lifeforms…

Verdict: A curious step away from the usual path, with a couple of unexpected guest performers, but a little Peanut Hamper can go a long way. 7/10

Nick Joy