It’s time once again for a Two Captains Log with the a review of Star Trek: Lower Decks. This time we get a rather long awaited episode of the season where the crew visits Deep Space Nine. Captain Freeman must negotiate with the Karemma to start trade between quadrants. Meanwhile, Tendi runs into an Orion and must face her past. Mariner visits with Jennifer’s friends and finds it to be an actual challenge to get along with them. Here we go with this week’s review of “Hear All, Trust Nothing.”
Music
Mr. Daps: “I absolutely loved the music in this episode. It combined some well known themes along with some new stuff. Overall, it was a solid and very nostalgic store for this episode. I was particularly happy to hear the Deep Space Nine theme heard in a reverent way and then used humorously as well.”
Murray: “I’ve been having a hard time with the music this season where it doesn’t quite have that homage panache in all episodes. This episode brought it with the Deep Space Nine theme, and even some musical cues from the former Trek series. It was a nice touch with it feeling like a whole parody of the Deep Space Nine show (and tastefully too). In all, the music was great this episode.”
Design
Mr. Daps:”This may not have been the most design-heavy episode in terms of new things. However, there were some really good choices made. First off, they nailed the look and feel of DS9 along with everything in it. The details one expected to see on DS9 were in place, including Morn at Quark’s. The expansion of Quark’s empire was also a lot of fun. Overall, solid design this episode even if it wasn’t crazy and out of the box.”
Murray: “The many aliens that are present on Deep Space Nine really took some nice forms. There was even one that was a giant Axolotl, which is a weird water pet in Japan and looks like a Pokemon. It was great to have Morn be at Quark’s also. Speaking of, I really liked the design of the franchised Quark’s, which took on a Hard Rock feel to it. In all, it was a well done designed episode that had the tones of DS9 with the fun animation of Lower Decks.”
Story
Mr. Daps: “This episode was really enjoyable in terms of story. There were several happening at the same time that surprisingly ended up working well together. One story looked it was going off on its own and would be pointless, but then ended up fitting in with the main storylines. Along the way, we also got some really good character development that added a lot of depth to the show. It also is helping the viewers care more for the characters and the show as it moves forward, and also, the Cerritos itself.”
Murray: “I liked how the three stories intertwined with each other. Two of them really connected, while it was great to have Mariner’s solution be caused by the blackout from the Karemma. It’s hard to really feel like three stories are needed in one episode, but this did a great job at bringing them together.”
Hit or Miss?
Mr. Daps: “This one is definitely a hit. I loved the connections with past Trek history and characters. I loved how it was still focused on the crew of the Cerritos, instead of making it all about DS9. It walked a line between moving forward and nostalgically looking to the past very skillfully I thought. It was wonderful to see how the lore for the crew Cerritos grew and at the same time, so did Star Trek canon in a very natural way. This might be one of my favorite episodes of this show. I will say, each episode feels more and more classic Star Trek and a less comic-like. I think this is a good thing though. This show is really becoming a nice addition to the Star Trek canon.”
Murray: “I’m calling this a hit. I’ll admit a part of it is because of the continuation and homage to DS9, but it really was a solid episode. There was a lot of comedy in it, while sticking true to the hijinks of the Cerritos crew. It came so close to failing and then ended up being pulled together. I especially loved that Mariner had once made her way to the station as we find out at the end. And it even advanced a lot of the characters’ growth and stories. I think this was one of the best of the series, in my opinion.”
