This week’s Star Trek: Lower Decks opens with a gag in regards to the sluggish, majestic grandeur of the Deep Space Nine title theme. And if that was all Lower Decks needed to supply for an episode set on the enduring present’s titular area station, that could be fantastic, if disappointing—and consistent with the first half of this season. Thankfully, the present’s re-invigoration desires it to be greater than that.

After final week delivered the primary episode of Lower Decks’ first season that felt prefer it leaned extra on the expansion of its heroes than it did the Trek pastiche, “Hear All, Trust Nothing” continues that pattern whereas by some means additionally arguably being essentially the most gleeful, nerdiest fanservice episode of the season. As the Cerritos docks at DS9 when Captain Freeman is hauled in on the final minute as a part of tense negotiations between the Federation and the Karemma—a Gamma Quadrant species seen in a number of episodes of Deep Space Nine partaking in financial offers with the Federation by means of Quark and Ferengi contacts—our heroes discover themselves with time to spare. As Rutherford, Tendi, and Boimler head out to geek out over the well-known locale they’re docked at, an anxious Mariner finds herself coping with an ungainly mission of her personal: being launched to her girlfriend’s circle of mates.

Blessedly, Boimler and Mariner’s plots slide effortlessly into the background of the episode. Not as a result of they’re dangerous or something, however as a result of they’re the characters which have already had a lot of Lower Decks’ consideration up to now. Boimler just about sits this one out enjoying Dabo at Quark’s, and whereas it’s good to really see Mariner correctly interacting together with her girlfriend—and rising their relationship previous her personal anxiousness of being perceived as one thing of an outcast to Jennifer’s snooty, salon-hosting mates—that this takes up the B-plot relatively than the A-plot is a welcome aid, permitting us to place the highlight on two issues Lower Decks does greatest: Trek nonsense and earnest character work.

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And each of this stuff are actually, actually good this week. The Trek nonsense is, after all, a loving celebration of Deep Space Nine, given the setting of “Hear All, Trust Nothing.” We have fantastic visitor stars within the type of Nana Visitor and Armin Shimmerman returning as Kira and Quark, respectively, and we’ve all of the form of finger-pointing “look, a DS9 thing!” you’d need out of a Lower Decks journey to the wormhole. As Tendi, Boimler, and Rutherford stroll down the Promenade—the Promenade!—they giggle over the types of tropes that turned a part of the feel of DS9 throughout its seven seasons, the retailers, the railings younger Jake Sisko and Nog would dangle their toes over whereas hanging out, Quark’s itself (now the hub of a merchandising operation that has branched out into a complete chain of Ferengi franchisees, due to course it has). But it’s past that, too. This is an episode of Lower Decks, within the type of Deep Space Nine—vacationers slicing offers with one another, no large stakes, the humdrum aftermath of the Dominion War, Kira being very a lot uninterested in Quark’s bullshit. This is past simply homage and reference, it’s a love of Star Trek so honest that Lower Decks simply mainly offers us a half-hour, two dimensional episode of Deep Space Nine season eight.

That love extends to Lower Decks taking a web page out of Deep Space Nine by giving itself a narrative that’s rooted within the banality of life in Starfleet, and life aboard a station like DS9. Following Tendi and Rutherford as they discover themselves roped into carting provides from the Cerritos to the Karemma ship, they’re joined by one other Orion stationed on DS9, one who, a lot to Tendi’s discomfort, is very into their species’ piratical roots. It gives Lower Decks an opportunity to not simply dive into Tendi’s character—one thing it frustratingly has not executed sufficient earlier than this—and discover a really Deep Space Nine concept within the view of a “perfect” member of a species, and the way individuals settle for and present components of their tradition to the individuals they belief most.

When issues go awry with the Karemma negotiations—as a result of, to the shock of nobody who watched Deep Space Nine, of Quark short-shrifting the Karemma and swiping a few of their replicator tech for his bar—it’s as much as Tendi, after blowing up at her fellow Orion for pushing their pirate heritage on her and Rutherford, to lean on what she discovered earlier than coming to Starfleet to avoid wasting the day in uncharacteristically aggressive type. It’s nice to look at Tendi kick ass and virtually single-handedly cease the Karemma from working away with Quark as a hostage, however it’s even higher for her to turn out to be the momentary star of Lower Decks right here, and study, in her relationship with Rutherford—poetic that he too was topic to some much-needed focus in final week’s nice episode—that she shouldn’t conceal who she was simply because Starfleet must see “good” Orions, however settle for the totality of who she is, is a good little bit of character work.

It’s additionally one thing that’s deeply, nicely, Deep Space Nine. A present that used everybody from Kira and Odo, Quark and Worf, Bashir and Rom, and so many others to discover the dualities of people that serve, and the stress of being torn between two cultures throughout the Federation and with out it could’ve felt proper at residence tackling an episode like this, in some wild alternate actuality the place Tendi wasn’t a Lower Decks character. It’s becoming then its titular setting was certainly relatively a literal residence for it, relatively than a metanarrative one—and no fonder a tribute from Lower Decks to Deep Space Nine may very well be potential, irrespective of what number of cute gags and references it may throw in.

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