Man, I’ve been waiting for a Boimler/T’lyn episode ever since they confirmed she was going to be a recurring character! It’s cool how having an extra member unlocks new sub-group to bounce ideas off each other.

A little let down by this one if I’m being honest. The setup is pretty fun and Vexilon is a charming character. I feel like there was nothing unexpected in Boimler’s plotline though. He’s stressed and sweaty just like we (and his friends) expect, he screws up a little, pep talk from T’lyn, he’s got his confidence and is a good boi leader. Sure, him questioning why he’s fit to lead is interesting, but the little “get your shit together Boimler!” moment is basically what we’ve seen in something the hunt vs Kranch and the resolution isn’t that much different.

I think the only bit of the episode that landed for me was the Dirk/Ransom bit at the end. Sure it feels a little mean and un-Starfleet but the past couple episodes have built up why Ransom’s actually a good superior officer/Mariner’s attitude about him is wrong, and it’s fun to peel back the reasons that he’s not so above it all.

yeah it’s missing a bit where the ensign falls in front of Captain Gomez. As portrayed in the subsequent panels though she’s extremely chill about it.

I mean if you’re being pedantic that still traces back to the JJ Abrams, the use of synths at Utopia Planetia was precipitated by the pending doom of the Romulan sun which was a prime timeline event canonized in Trek 09.

Freeman looks like she’s doing a legitimate non-diplomatic smile in that under-shuttle pic.

We don’t see that a lot, it’s weeeird.

Throw T’lyn (promoted after a short stint of time served offscreen) and Tom Paris in too.

The Tom Paris one was absurd and Harry was right to call it out when Paris made lieutenant again before he was even considered.

All our Wej Duj heroes came back for episode 1! …I hope Ma’ah’s okay.

It’s interesting how between Lower Decks and Prodigy (plus some brief mentions in other post-VOY shows) we have a decent picture of how the universe view now-Admiral Janeway. It’s clear she’s viewed with a sort of heroic reverence, Captain Freeman assumed that Janeway’s logs would have a good answer for a Tuvix situation. Voyager’s celebrity status has definitely inflated her image a little, really put’s Dal’s awkward first encounter with the real Janeway in perspective.

It feels very right that they didn’t actually dive into the morality of killing Tuvix other than “that’s messed up!” and making the Tuvix’d crew clearly in the wrong/not sapient before de-Tuvixing them. Lower Decks does earnest optimism about Starfleet well, but I don’t think deep dives into moral situations are something for a goofy 22 minute show.

They’ve definitely edited some of the rank pips in trailer shots we haven’t seen yet (and some we have). Might explain why T’lyn is rocking a standard ensign pip a bit into the first trailer.

Oh man. Voyager’s one of my least favorite series overall but I do love me some ship beauty shots.

“I’ve dreamed of doing this for so long…eject.”

25th century. Too late for at least two of the sentient holograms we’ve seen who really could’ve used em.

It’s from Lower Decks. A simulation of the Borg Queen says this to Boimler while he’s taking a test on a mini-holodeck.

“A remarkable creature. Your design nearly passes as human.”

“…I am human?”

“Ew! well, then you need to drink more water.”

Poor Sonya Gomez. She can grow to be the badass captain of an Obena-class cruiser and slated to go on first contact missions, but that’s not how we remember her.

Spill cocoa on the captain of the flagship, though…

Canonically one of his strengths, Boimler said it and he’s got access to the history books. (Boimler wouldn’t just butter up Pike by complimenting his hair, right?)

Picard, his face mortified.

Huh, I was expecting this to be about T’lyn! no such luck on that front unfortunately. Haven’t combed through the trailer in too much detail, but if this is the first time I’m hearing confirmation about them all getting promoted would that imply most of the trailer shots are from relatively early in the season?

It feels right for the gang to get promoted. If you asked me what Lower Decks is about, underneath all the nostalgia and jokes, I’d say it’s about growth–Starfleet is awesome, but its legends of yesteryear don’t start that way. These goofy, lower-decker ensigns may be screwups, but at the core they’re Starfleet though and through. It kind of feels appropriate to move on from where the original TNG episode Lower Decks left off-- the promotion of proto-Boimler Sam Lavelle-- and explore what growth looks like beyond that.

Edited to add: I went back through the trailer and yep, no visible changes to their rank pips. Although T’lyn has a shot where she’s switched over from a provisional lozenge to the standard single round ensign pip.

Star Trek Prodigy had Janeway acknowledge being turned into a salamander. Does she know about/remember the lizard babies? it leaves only more questions unfortunately.

You’re not wrong in practice, but on paper Data worked Ops.

I mean, different shows focus on different officers, besides captain no position is truly sacred. As important as Spock was, the TNG crew didn’t highlight their Chief Science Officer.

Stamets: Put mushrooms in it. It made it work better, but Reno made fun of him anyway.

Billups: Took 30 years just to spend extra time away from his mother’s royal consorts.

Jankom Pog: What, you think Trip acted alone?