Spoilers

Lower Decks goes to Disney World

The concept as well as the graphics of the resort our intrepid crew visits (in order to capture rogue nanites) definitely call to mind a Disney park, not to mention Las Vegas. The title is an amusing call-out to The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, a novel also made into a movie. A rampaging die is a funny call-out to Dungeons & Dragons.

Mariner’s former flame Jennifer returns and joins Beckett, Tendi, Rutherford, and T’Lyn on a straightforward mission to capture nanites running amok and threatening the resort. The conceit of this plot in the episode is that Jennifer is acting as if they never broke up – much to Beckett’s consternation and confusion. The nanites are basically a McGuffin to give the characters closure on their relationship and allow them to have a heart-to-heart before Jennifer transfers to another ship. There’s nice underplayed comedy here with Beckett being Beckett without being overly manic.

Boimler, meanwhile, is called away on a ‘side quest’ with Ransom and Billups to locate a Starfleet admiral gone AWOL. This plays less well with Boimler suddenly convinced that Ransom wants to use him as cannon fodder for this mission. There’s a funny reference to the Enterprise aliens who consider the act of eating more intimate and private than that of copulating, and the admiral looks like Picard did on Risa. Not sure what’s up with the scruff on Boimler’s chin, but I hope it goes away, along with his odd fear of Ransom. Based on the explanation Ransom gives at the end of the episode, I’m guessing they won’t be revisiting that particular issue.

I’m not sure if the episodes are actually getting shorter or just seem like they are, but after the opening titles and closing credits are subtracted, they’re coming in at under twenty minutes or barely over. Especially with the shorter – now, final. Boooo! – season, longer episodes would be nice.

Verdict: A solid episode – funny and fun – with nothing particularly good or bad to make it stand out. 7/10

Rigel Ailur

http://www.BluetrixBooks.com