First First Contact: Lower Decks S02 E10

With the prospect of a move to another ship, Captain Freeman has one final mission to conduct as commander of the USS Cerritos.

That's to escort Captain Sonya Gomez (Q Who, Samaritan Snare) to first contact in the Laap System. 

While the return of Lycia Naff to voice TNG's Gomez is a big win for the series finale, it still doesn't quite hit the pace of previous entries this year.  The crew's displeasure of Freeman's imminent departure is quite funny with the senior staff all spitting their dummies out but then uniting with the crew when disaster strikes the USS Archimedes captained by Gomez.

Take also the storyline that Tendi thinks she's being transferred and you have a decent enough episode. There are some good references in here to - Captain Styles for one, the appearance of a Captain's Yacht for another. If you want a massive, head explosing one, check out Boimler's passion for Captain Freeman Day (it's really for the kids) or more spectacularly - Cetacean Ops!!! I mean, this is something that's been in Star Trek since the Enterprise-D but has never been seen. Here, thanks to the blank canvas, it's finally onscreen with some very narky and nudity obsessed dolphins.

But again, it doesn't feel overwhelmed by the references as it did at one point mid-season which ultimately failed the show and caused, in my opinion, a slight deterioration in the quality of the stories. The distractions here are minimal and are much more focused on the efforts of the crew to rescue the Archimedes when it is damaged and spinning towards the world that is their heading for first contact.

Plus we do see the indigenous people for once which adds a little element of "realism" and danger to the story. Previously - Generations being a good example - viewers never had the chance to see what was at stake (we never got to see Veridian III).

The mother/daughter dynamic in the show has gone through a big change a well since this point in season one. With the pair now acknowledging each other and working together when they're not falling out, there's a new slant on the stories and a bit more humanising. 

But don't be lured into believing that this episode is going to round events off as No Small Parts did for season one. For Rutherford there's a big reveal around his character and the cyborg implant while the ending leaves a big question mark around someone else.

This season finale does work a lot better than the already great end to season one and the batch feels more complete. The decision to include a cliff-hanger not just seals the deal for another year but confirms that while Lower Decks can be a little crazy, haphazard and certainly off the wall when it comes to Star Trek, it can still pull in the drama and offer up some questions all at the same time.

As for the Sonia Gomez inclusion; it's nice but not overwhelming when it comes to the episode and great to see another figure from the early days of TNG getting a bit more recognition which seems to be another nuance of Lower Decks - giving the lesser elements of the franchise a decent airing (looking at you The Final Frontier).

This might not be the highest point of the second season but it rounds off the year with the level of quality that Lower Decks has, for the most part, maintained since the first episode some three months ago. For now it stands as the jewel in the Kurtzman era crown. Is there anything coming that can surpass it? 

ALSO check out our full set of season one and two reviews HERE!

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