WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Star Trek: Lower Decks Season 2, Episode 2 "Kayshon, His Eyes Open," streaming now on Paramount+.
Star Trek: Lower Decks has always possessed something of a noted sense of self-awareness, poking good-natured fun at well-worn franchise tropes even as the U.S.S. Cerritos tackles Starfleet's more tedious tasks. And as Brad Boimler acclimates to role on the bridge crew of the action-seeking U.S.S. Titan, he directly calls out some of the more divisive trends apparent in Star Trek in recent years.
In contrast to the Cerritos and its relatively low-stakes missions, Captain Will Riker's Titan is constantly fighting formidable threats to the Federation, from pitched starship battles to squads infiltrating enemy operations on daring undercover missions. As much as Boimler always wanted to serve on an important starship, the emphasis on combat isn't why he signed up for Starfleet. He reminds his crew mates the appeal of Starfleet was its devotion to exploration.
Earlier, the Titan crew ridiculed the Enterprise's usual activities in the era of The Next Generation, which permitted time for art classes and theater. However, Boimler reminds his new colleagues that there's more to life than never-ending battles, complete with plot twists that shake up how they see reality. And as Captain Riker reminisces about the slower, good old days aboard the Enterprise, Boimler returns to serve on the Cerritos and its more lightweight, episodic adventures.
Boimler's criticism is a thinly veiled nod to elements of Star Trek: Discovery that have been met with a mixed reception from longtime fans. Discovery and Star Trek: Picard both feature a story that unfolds over the course of a season. Similarly, both series are filled with action sequences, often more graphic and intense than classic Star Trek had been. With his assessment of the jarring transition to the Titan, Boimler is providing a knowing observation at the criticism that has come with the latter generation of Star Trek series with the knowing wink to the audience in the way that Lower Decks has historically done best.
The mixed response to the more action-heavy and serialized storytelling prevalent in the latter series was so noted that the upcoming series Star Trek: Strange New Worlds clarified it would provide episodic storytelling to vocal relief of fans online. And while there is certainly a time and place for serialized storytelling -- Discovery and Picard have their own laudable merits -- Boimler's assessment of the more action-packed counterparts to Lower Decks and his reexamination of why he joined Starfleet stands as a reminder to why longtime Star Trek fans fell in love with the franchise as the Cerritos boldly goes where several Star Trek series have gone before -- and is all the better for it.
Star Trek: Lower Decks Season 2 is now streaming on Paramount+, with new episodes premiering every Thursday.
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