IR TV Review: STAR TREK - LOWER DECKS - EPISODE 10 (“First First Contact”) [Paramount+-S2]

In concluding the 2nd season of "Lower Decks", Creator Mike McMahan brings the show full circle because he embraces the cliffhanger aspect while giving a bit of scope. The last few episodes have been diametric in a way from the training episode which was both a deep cut and straddled a certain line to the parallel Lower Decks episodes which tackled emotional notes while bridging ideals with a little more subtlety. Episode 10, "First First Contact" actually is maybe one of the more straightforward episodes of the series and brings to bear what the Lower Decks members have been going through the past two seasons. It throws actually Mariner and Boimler in a reversal but not overarchingly.

But it does it very well in the cloud of problem solving and making those experiences matter. It also integrates certain elements that would be hard in live action. It is not as thrilling as certain moments in the previous episode but it brings it to a head that help define the characters in many ways and their path, whether they like it or not. Certain friendships or repercussions, especially in one moment on the bridge is quite textured. There is even a throwback to one of the best scenes in "The Abyss" which gives the episode at one point a stakes it didn't have bringing it back to an essence of its reality before throwing it on its head again. "Lower Decks" for its creator has been a tricky balance but despite the Trek fandom tight on him, McMahan manages to find a balance that showrunners have struggled with in making Trek both new, nostalgic and still in the best of times, itself. B+

By Tim Wassberg