Star Trek: Lower Decks Learns That Making a Sequel Is Really Hard Work

Sequels are at all times a difficult endeavor, in Star Trek or in any other case. But there’s one thing about Star Trek cinematically that makes it actually tough—the franchise hardly ever ever escaped the cursed of the odd-numbered sequel, and so it’s becoming that Lower Decks approaches its personal first try at a direct sequel with a way of trepidation… and largely makes it work.

“Crisis Point II: Paradoxus” is, because the identify implies, a direct sequel to the movie-riffing delights of “Crisis Point,” the late-game Lower Decks season one episode that was the spotlight of an already extremely robust season. “Paradoxus”—the identify Boimler has given his holo-sequel to Rise of Vindicta, the place he performs the heroic Captain Bosephus Dagger of the united statesS. Wayfarer—has rather a lot to dwell as much as. That’s in phrases of each the pastiche it brings to the desk, on condition that “Crisis Point” already fantastically parodied Star Trek’s cinematic self, however in additionally what it will possibly deliver to the desk by itself phrases. Thankfully, the latter is the factor that issues most right here, and it’s what “Paradoxus” largely will get proper.

That’s to not say the pastiche isn’t enjoyable—the time-hopping journey Boimler has written for him and his buddies positively performs on some Trek classics, and there’s all the pieces from the flowery upgraded film costumes (the Lower-Decks-meets-TNG-movies vibe is so good it ought to nearly grow to be the present’s primary uniform) to an absurd motion automobile chase sequence. Making the Romulans the menace this time continues that TNG film vibe, even when fortunately there’s nothing as dangerous as Nemesis right here. It’s good, it’s simply… sort of what “Crisis Point” already did, so it loses a few of its sheen the second time spherical.

Like “Crisis Point” earlier than it nonetheless, the power of “Paradoxus” lies in its character work, and it’s way more of a broadly intimate piece. While “Crisis Point” shone its highlight solely on Mariner’s struggles, “Paradoxus” builds like sequel ought to and comprises vital growth for each Boimler and, surprisingly, Tendi. Boimler’s arc sees him cope with the obvious grief of shedding his transporter twin William in a random gasoline leak on the Titan, eschewing the heroic, daring persona he’d crafted for himself as Paradoxus’ Captain Dagger to make use of the algorithmic storybeat technology of the Holodeck’s programming to as an alternative chase down a seek for that means in his life. And whereas there’s additionally one thing for Mariner to study right here—she initially sees Boimler’s distracted temper as irritating and disrespectful to the cinematic universe she created in Vindicta, solely to melt when she learns of William’s accident—the emphasis on Brad’s catharsis right here, and making an attempt to know and course of the sophisticated emotions about what it means to die in obligation, is profoundly touching in a means Lower Decks hardly ever is. That it comes from a dehydration-induced hallucination of George Takei as a retired Sulu is simply, effectively, additionally completely Lower Decks.

Tendi’s growth, in the meantime, is way more subdued, however nonetheless appreciated. As she and Rutherford chase down the A-plot of Boimler’s film within the background—with Tendi as Dagger’s “Acting Captain”—their friendship slowly turns into increasingly strained as she takes her position significantly, whereas Rutherford treats it because the movie-LARP it truly is. It explodes in a realization for Tendi that picks up on her doubts earlier within the season: she doesn’t simply need to strive being a senior officer, she desires to be within the captain’s chair sometime, nearly as a lot as Boimler does. It’s an interesting growth for her (somebody put her on a path with former Science Officer turned Captain Kathryn Janeway, please and thanks) contemplating Tendi’s nervousness about taking the lead generally, and good materials to select up on together with her because the present progresses.

While that is all good, “Paradoxus” additionally picks up on the errors sequels makes too. Lower Decks remains to be seemingly incapable of creating its 4 core characters as a unit, always splitting them into the Tendi/Rutherford, Boimler/Mariner pairings, and stretching two massive character arcs throughout two totally different pairings and two totally different threads offers the episode an pointless messiness that takes a number of the shine off the load of what our characters undergo. There’s additionally the very fact like a number of the most annoying sequels, it sort of exists simply to hook future plots—on this case, the “twist” lampshaded within the present itself as annoying cliffhanger, a joke that solely actually works for those who don’t instantly have an annoying cliffhanger. That twist is the revelation that William Boimler has gone full Tom Riker, and is not only alive however faked his dying to affix Section 31 in a seemingly nefarious plot—and it’s arduous to not see the weather of the episode which are actually good simply get misplaced within the bits which are half-hearted echoes of what got here earlier than it.

It’s maybe devoted to plenty of Star Trek sequels in that regard—however possibly it is a regard wherein Lower Decks didn’t should be. A second act can at all times be robust to tug off, and whereas we will’t precisely say that’s what the present did right here compared to the unique “Crisis Point,” it at the very least tried to. Sometimes that’s ok for a sequel.

New episodes of Star Trek: Lower Decks arrive Thursdays on Paramount+.

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