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 Season 2, Episode 2, “Kayshon, His Eyes Open” has a literal ship full of Easter eggs as the crew attempts to catalog the collection of the late Kerner Hauze to deadly – and hilarious – effect. The episode gained a lot of attention for its title character, Starfleet’s first Tamarian, whose species communicates in metaphor. Kayshon carried the ceremonial knife of his people, which played a key role in Star Trek: The Next Generation Season 5, Episode 2, “Darmok,” during the species’ introduction.
Lower Decks used the moment to highlight several bladed weapons from the franchise, many of which were gathered into a pair of cases mounted on the Collector’s wall. Together, they make an impressive sampler of Trek weapons, running from The Original Series all the way up to Star Trek: Discovery and embracing multiple core alien cultures in the process. Here's a brief rundown of the entire collection, along with their function in the Star Trek universe and notable appearances.
Ushaan is the name of an ancient dueling art on the Andorian homeworld, using a specialized blade called an ushaan-tor. It’s based loosely on an ice pick, giving it practical value on Andoria’s frozen surface, and ushaan dueling has been an ingrained part of the culture for many centuries. The code of honor surrounding it is incredibly complex, with over 12,000 rules and amendments in its entirety. The ushaan-tor played a large role in Enterprise Season 4, Episode 13, “United” when Captain Archer accepted a duel against Shran as a way of halting a diplomatic incident.
The bat’leth is a curved two-handed sword, modeled after the one that the Klingon hero Kahless supposedly used. The mek’leth is a smaller, one-handed weapon that resembles a bat’leth broken in half. Worf is an expert in both weapons and has spoken about them at length throughout the franchise. The Next Generation Season 7, Episode 11, “Parallels” opens with him returning to the Enterprise after winning a bat’leth tournament. Similarly, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Season 4, Episode 15, “Sons of Mogh,” features a discussion between Worf and Lt. Dax about the comparative benefits of both weapons.
The lirpa is another traditional weapon, this time belonging to Vulcan. It consists of a staff with a fan-shaped blade on one end and a round metal weight on the other. It serves ceremonial purposes in many Vulcan rituals and was used in their planet’s desert, the Forge, where phasers and other advanced weapons won’t function. Its most famous onscreen appearance was likely The Original Series Season 2, Episode 5, “Amok Time,” where Kirk and Spock dueled each other with them during Spock’s pon farr.
The kar’takin is a small halberd, with a long handle dominated by a large blade that ends in a point. The Jem’Hadar used them in melee combat, notably in Deep Space Nine Season 4, Episode 23, “To the Death.” In addition, Worf and his son are seen practicing with them in Deep Space Nine Season 6, Episode 3, “Sons and Daughters.” The Jem’Hadar have no culture to speak of – they are genetically bred for war – so the weapons serve entirely practical purposes.
Once the alarms on the ship are triggered in “Kayshon, His Eyes Open,” a frame carrying three swords springs open and fires its weapons at the away team. The topmost is instantly recognizable as the rapier Sulu brandished in The Original Series Season 1, Episode 6, “The Naked Time.” A contagion that lowers inhibitions spreads throughout the Enterprise, causing Sulu to storm the bridge shirtless while wielding a rapier. George Takei famously called the sequence his favorite in the whole series, which was originally supposed to involve a katana. It changed to a rapier when Takei noted that he used to pretend to be Robin Hood as a boy, and as he put it on the VHS release of the episode, “by the 23rd century, a man’s cultural heritage should be greater than just his ethnicity.”
Both of the remaining swords in the case are Klingon, though only one of them has a formal name. The tajtlq, on the bottom, is never formally named onscreen but has appeared in the Star Trek Online MMORPG and other ancillary material. According to The Klingon Dictionary, the name means “long knife,” and more specifically a knife with a particularly long blade. Chancellor L’Rell wielded a pair of one-handed versions in Star Trek: Discovery Season 2, Episode 3, “Point of Light,” though the version in “Kayshon, His Eyes Open” looked a good deal larger. The other sword has no formal name, though it appeared in numerous episodes of The Next Generation as a background piece. Both Worf and his brother Kurn kept a crossed pair on the wall in their respective quarters, as did the Duras sisters, Lursa and B’Etor.
To see all of these Easter eggs and more, watch Star Trek: Lower Decks Season 2 now on Paramount+, with new episodes premiering every Thursday.
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