S01.E08: Veritas

[tessaray]

Air Date: September 24th, 2020

Quote

Mariner, Boimler, Tendi, and Rutherford are caught off guard when aliens force them to testify about a series of seemingly unrelated events. 

 

[marinw]

Isn't Romulas destroyed at this point in the canon?

The ensigns seem to know a lot about the Enterprise. How many of their missions were declassified or never classified in the first place?

Another fake out where the creepy setting becomes less scary than it first appears.

Edited September 25, 2020 by marinw

[starri]

28 minutes ago, marinw said:

I'sn't Romulas destroyed at this point in the canon?

Romulus was destroyed in 2387, although Picard put together his rescue mission (with resulting synth attack) a few years before that.  Right now, we're in 2380.

[marinw]

I actually really like Mariner. We usually don't see someone who is intelligent and capable  yet not ambitious in Starfleet.

[ottoDbusdriver]

Man, that was annoying and dumb.  This show is getting more painful to watch.

Roga Danar gets a reference -- seriously ?  The number of random Star Trek references in this episode was ridiculous.

That was a waste of John De Lancie.

[Chicago Redshirt]

2 hours ago, marinw said:

The ensigns seem to know a lot about the Enterprise. How many of their missions were declassified or never classified in the first place?

Lower Decks takes place about 10 years after TNG's Season Seven. So it makes sense to me that the events of TNG would be mostly accessible to Starfleet members and that they would spend a lot of time fanboying over them. Even some things that would have been classified at the time might be taught in the Academy now, or the subject of holo-documentaries, news reports, etc. 

[KimberStormer]

I enjoyed this one because everyone got a turn and interact with each other, at least to some degree.  Like, a Tendi/Mariner scene, short as it was!  It did seem extra silly, though that's not bad. The endless references are tbh getting a little old.  I thought the first Q scene was very funny, with the chess costumes and the cards, but they sort of dragged the joke out slightly too long (which is a weird thing to say about a show as fast-paced as this one.)  Also the "WE'RE BEING SCANNED" one but I acknowledge the point of that joke was to drag it out too long; I just don't like that kind of joke personally.  Also, I find again they're hammering too hard on the theme of the show, with Boimler's speech.  But these are minor nitpicks.  It was fun.

Love the old Bird of Prey, and actually the contrast between it and the huge TNG era Bird of Prey was a striking effect.  Also, when we were kids my sister had a model of that Vulcan shuttle so that was also nostalgic to see.

[Chyromaniac]

I was a little confused by the reveal the first time I watched, but it did make more sense the second time.  Once you know the twist, it puts Clar’s role in a completely different light.  Clar was fun though- I’m enjoying this show bringing back our grumpy old guys from 90’s Trek to play exasperated aliens, and no one does that better than Kurtwood Smith.

i will say, I’m interested to see what the show has planned for the next two weeks, because this kind of felt like a season finale.  Not only does Boimler’s speech sort of encapsulate the series, but the flashback formula makes it feel like they’re recapping the whole show.  Plus, I kind of assumed they would use the Q cameo as a send off.

I loved the “who’s the biggest badass” debate because it felt like authentic Trek nerdery.  This is totally the sort of thing a bunch of fans would get into.  Of course Mariner, the old school fan, picks the big name with Khan - while Boimler, the 90’s stan, picks an obscure TNG dude (no shade to Danar- he’s a compelling character in a good, if not flashy, episode).  I also liked that much of the humor in the flashbacks was about how these characters would tell their stories- like how Rutherford’s implant left out all the important stuff, and how Tendi wasn’t great at redacting details.
 

And hey - shrieking eels!  I hear they always grow louder when they’re about to feast on human flesh...

[starri]

I liked the callback to Rutherford's implant being Vulcan.

Honestly, I really liked the episode period.

[txhorns79]

8 hours ago, starri said:

 

Honestly, I really liked the episode period.

I do kind of love the idea that Earth has nothing but soul food restaurants and vinters, not to mention any reference to Dr. Crusher's masturbatory candlestick.       

[starri]

7 minutes ago, txhorns79 said:

I do kind of love the idea that Earth has nothing but soul food restaurants and vinters, not to mention any reference to Dr. Crusher's masturbatory candlestick.       

I just love Mariner's constant reminders that, well, Earth is boring.

[Chicago Redshirt]

12 hours ago, starri said:

I just love Mariner's constant reminders that, well, Earth is boring.

I think it is meant to be a wink at the fact that across all Trek series and movies, we have seen just a handful of Earth settings more than once in the timeframe of the shows: Chateau Picard (the vineyard, shown in TNG and Picard), Sisko's (the soul food restaurant, although technically Cajun/creole isn't soul food, shown in several DS9 episodes), Starfleet HQ/Starfleet Academy. There was Hoshi's Rio De Janeiro school when Archer was recruiting her, a scene at a Starfleet adjacent bar, and Kirk's childhood and youth in JJ Trek. There might be some that I'm overlooking but that's about it. (I'm not including things like time travel, flashbacks or holodeck recreations, obviously)

Personally, I would have loved there to be a Trek series based on Earth that showed us more about what Earth is like, either truly focusing on the founding days of the Federation in a way Enterprise didn't/couldn't, or the Starfleet Academy show that had been floated . 

[Tachi Rocinante]

"Fuck! They all look the same!"

"Do I need to shave my . . . "

Doc had the best lines.