Spoilers.

The Cerritos crew tackles the dilemmas of the rifts that transporter-twin Boimler flung their way. Shield upgrades from Starfleet Command protect only the crew but not the ship from the reality-altering shockwaves pouring out of the hole between realities. Angry Klingons provide some complications.

Time to save the universe again in this action-packed outing. The pacing remains breakneck throughout, a good thing with, basically, a pretty thin plot. ‘Thin’ works in this case and gives us a simple, straightforward story on which to hang a whole bunch of easter eggs, nice character moments for our leads, and welcome glimpses of many previous guests.

Klingon brothers Ma’ah and Malor return, as does the Klingon captain who wants revenge because Ma’ah killed her brothers. (Her baby targ is cute; major demerits to TPTB for not saving him.) The universe-shattering rift interrupts their conflict, and Ma’ah and Malor flee to the Cerritos where they request asylum. That means that Freeman and company need to close the rift all while avoiding being blown up.

All the different ship designs the Cerritos morphs into will thrill ship aficionados. I’m sure people will be freeze-framing so they can note every last one, including the ones that flash by on the engineering monitor.

The plentiful character moments make up the finale’s strongest points. Rutherford’s implants no longer talk nice with the Cerritos, greatly hindering his efforts to help with upgrades and repairs in the midst of this crisis. In the end he decides to get rid of them leading him to realize–shock of shocks–he’s actually totally in love with Tendi. It also enables him to solve a crucial engineering problem and help save the day.

Speaking of Tendi, she and fellow ‘Science Bestie’ T’Lyn also resolve a dispute between them that allows them–fittingly–to reunify two versions of the whole ship and crew.

Cetacean Ops appear (and think Klingons are hot?). T’Ana and Shax’s romance continues.

Thanks to inspiration from Mariner, Lt. Olly also helps save the ship by employing her uniquely energetic ability.

Starbase 80 reappears as well, its antiquated systems perfect when the Cerritos stops all the destructive waves from the rift not by closing it but–thanks to an idea from Malor–damming it open. (No, not really explained well, but easy enough to go with the flow on that.)

Admiral Freeman appears, a nice follow-up to the glimpse of the Freeman marriage we saw in the earlier episodes. He’ll now be on Starbase 80 because Captain Freeman will as well. Although neither will command the base itself, Captain Freeman will be in charge of managing the traffic going through the now stable rift. Shades of Deep Space Nine only with different universes instead of a far-flung quadrant. As mother and daughter take their leave of each other, we see how their relationship has come so far from the very beginning of the series when they basically didn’t have one. It highlights the many times in this episode that Freeman says she trusts her crew, including the lower decks personnel.

Which leaves Captain Ransom now commanding the Cerritos. (Catchphrase: “Engage the Core!”) He appoints Mariner and Boimler co-first-officers. Yeah, just roll with that as well. Mariner does call him out for attempting to foster not just competition but all-out rivalry.

The overall tone, as definitely reinforced by the title alluding to The Next Generation, is very much ‘life goes on’, not an ending but a beginning. We see how all the characters close the door on this particular segment of their lives and what they are moving on to. It’s a comfortable and satisfying–if not overly emotional–conclusion to the show.

Verdict: A solid send-off for the series, eminently enjoyable but not extraordinary. 8/10

Rigel Ailur

http://www.BluetrixBooks.com