The Unnoticed Triumph In Lower Decks: How Klingons Were Fixed While Fans Missed It

[@LoreReloaded]

Ya'll need to watch Discovery or do more research ;P The Cast and Crew all said that the Klingons were modeled after Trump Supporters and the Terran Empire utilized MAGA phrases. In this video, I neither supported nor put down Trump - it was pointing out something happened in the past that i pointed out and it was bad writing. Do research People ;P

[@stalkholm5227]

With respect: I believe the Klingons were intended to be all-purpose xenophobics, their desire for cultural purity is echoed in totalitarian regimes throughout human history. Whatever one's opinions of Donald Trump's rhetoric, none of it is anything we haven't heard before. On the other hand the writing staff of Star Trek Discovery have about as much creativity as the metric system, so I can't rule out the possibility that they just copy/pasted a Jacobin article and switched out some names.

[@Andreas_42]

I don't know about that. For me, Discovery is simply the manure needed to grow the beautiful flower that Stange News World is now.

[@LoreReloaded]

@@stalkholm5227 the director and crew literally state.. I'm only going on what they said..

[@cesarr8582]

Well the actors did a decent job, sometimes innovating on something already established doesn't work, it's not like the previous series don't have mistakes, CBS mishandled all the videos made by fans at that same time and their lawsuit with the result of the guidelines for them was pathetic. On the discovery side; the stolen script plus vague and even contradictory writing in a hurry to close the arc and force a new threat, and the insufferable excess of totally unnecessary woke, well it didn't work well. Honestly I only watched it because it was new and I wanted to support the franchise, fortunately after discovery more projects came out and we got more series to watch, not everything has been perfect there are flaws and not everyone will be 100% satisfied. The important thing is that in the end there is more startrek to see and enjoy

[@STSGingie]

If they had said the Klingons were at their xenophobic peak that would have been fine. But connecting them to MAGA was a mistake. It was a lightning rod for the entire fandom menace. In a discussion yesterday I was still pushing back against the same inane talking points those people parrots ad nauseum about Discovery.

[@rjframe4410]

"Klingon therapist: the battle against mental illness cannot be won decisively. It is a long campaign against an enemy who never tires, whose forces swell to twice their size whenever you look away. Battle against a foe of such magnitude, who occupies your very mind… every moment you survive is a triumph against all odds. There is no more honorable combat." this has always been something I wanted to see...(this is a good meme)

[@lennierofthethirdfaneofchu7286]

General Martok said it succinctly of Garak when they were in the Dominion prison.

[@ImaPseudonym-go6oy]

I hope you don't mind if I steal that. As far as I'm concerned, this is now canon

[@standhaftgarithos3832]

This isn't a canon quote?

[@dylanehooverlibrarian7026]

IIR it made the rounds on Tumblr a few years ago. I rther like it - the idea of Cultural Honor being one of conviction and commitment to actions. To make Klingons Shakespearian Mongols is a neat big picture view, but they can fall too easily into a planet-of-the-hats situations if writers don't take care. I rather like this lens - looking at how a dominant cultural value would filter down into different social roles, like farmer, restauranteur or therapist. My dream would be a klingon science officer, from a family whose name came more from research innovation rather than military conquest. "We bartered much on exploring this new formulation of antimatter focus technology - I will not have you impugn my work my suggesting I was not methodical in my testing regimen!"

[@rifter0x0000]

@@lennierofthethirdfaneofchu7286 Martok also saved Worf from giving in to despair and essentially committing suicide by letting the Jem'Hadar kill him. Worf said he lent him his warrior's heart, and in that moment, gave him the strength to carry on. Martok was a great friend and a wise and honorable Klingon who never judged people by their background. He even praised Nog's bravery for issuing a warning of citation, recognizing his mettle long before he became a war hero. He also tried to save Alexander's life by showing him he was fighting the wrong kind of battle.

[@Nemoticon]

I genuinely love Lower Decks, it doesn't take it's self serious but it takes Star Trek lore, it's themes and philosophies EXTREMELY serious, even more so than any other Trek after DS9. I rewatch Lower Decks all the time, it truly is a love letter to its self, Trek showing other Trek how to do it and do it properly.

[@tyrant-den884]

Well said.

[@rylian21]

This puts it perfectly.

[@RS-ls7mm]

Its childish and has very few original ideas so yes, its perfect for the current generation.

[@brendancaulfield970]

​@@RS-ls7mmPfft from me too.

[@Nemoticon]

@@RS-ls7mmWow, someone is anally retentive, lol. You're unwillingness to accept something different and new prevents you from appreciating and enoying sometihng that is actually very good. Shame.

[@VeronwDS]

The ending part of this when Mariner decides 'WE'RE FRIENDS NOW!' is precisely how I imagine the interaction between most humans and most aliens goes down. Probably the entire reason that the Klingons and Federation are on again off again friends is utterly stubborn human insistence and equally stubborn Klingon honor. Lower Decks does a consistently good job of showing this and how the various species interact with one another with their own unique cultural traits. It really is the best of modern trek, I just wish people wouldn't look at animation and run away thinking its just for kids. You can't tell me that Mariner isn't exhibiting intense PTSD multiple times throughout Lower Decks from the horrors of the Dominion War and everything else she's been through. This show is, in part, about healing.

[@kevingriffith6011]

When an unstoppable force meets an immovable object... they become great friends and drink blood wine together.

[@guilhermesavoya2366]

Humans are basically Naruto. "You are my friend, even though you don't feel the same way, and I'm gonna bring you to the light, even if I have to break every single damn bone in your body to so."

[@michaelholloway3667]

Well said

[@VME-Brad]

Isn't that basically what happened when Sisko got Gowron to reinstate the Kitomer accords?

[@Darlf_Sevil]

Klingons: you are enemy Humans: look i have a flower for you we frends now Klingons You ugly Pa..... Humans: WE FRENDS NOW I SAY... KLIMGONS: ...

[@Shadx27]

Though more silly than other Star Treks, it feels more Trek than most of the newer stuff. I have been loving it.

[@horatiobiggins]

it seems the writers of Lower Decks actually watched, and enjoyed, Star Trek.

[@MrChupacabra555]

Exactly. I'm hoping that with "Lower Decks" and the reception of 'Picard Season 3" help give a hint to Paramount about the Trek we want to see (and makes them money, as I buy every season of Lower Decks on DVD and actually paid P+ to see PS3 as it was broadcast).

[@rmdodsonbills]

Most Trek is drama with the occasional light-hearted or even comedy episode sprinkled in. Lower Decks is pretty much the other way around.

[@DogsRNice]

@@rmdodsonbillsyes that is the basic premise of the show

[@TurKlack]

When it comes to Klingons, I'm always reminded by that lawyer that helped Captain Archer. "Back when Honor was earned, through integrity and acts of true courage."

[@joshuairwin2016]

I absolutely loved this arc. I thought it was the perfect way to honor the episode the show was named for. As weird as it sounds, for me the cartoons have been the best Star Trek shows in the modern era.

[@Topher4455]

So many good character moments in lower decks. This one, the scene when Brad is dealing with the loss of William and talks to sulu in Kirk’s stable, T’lyn and determining who she is. Lower decks is worthy of joining the other great star treks. I was originally skeptical, but as the seasons kept coming, it’s just good trek.

[@technocore1591]

Yeah I got into Lower Decks specifically because I thought it wasn't real Star Trek, because recent 'real Star Trek' wasn't doing it for me. It was with shock that I realized after a while it was the best Trek since DS9. Despite the mockery what shines through is the people writing this show understand and love Star Trek and I'm so glad it's canon.

[@thepbg8453]

This was my experience also. I watched many clips of it, mostly out of annoyance... but over time I came to realise it got Star Trek more then most of the more recent shows. It has done what a lot of shows have failed in recent years, which is to change my mind.

[@yegirish]

After being pretty ambivalent about Star Trek most of my life, it was DS9 clips that started hooking me into the series, and ended up stumbling across Lower Decks while trying to see more about the Breen. It's honestly such a good show, and was the first time the Star Trek ethos and an optimistic vision of a sci fi future really clicked for me. Then from the crossover episode, I found Strange New Worlds and now really love that as well. Lower Decks and SNW were some of my favourite new finds last year and have really made me pro-Star Trek.

[@DogsRNice]

It's obvious that the people complaining about lower decks haven't watched much beyond the first few episodes of season 1

[@kagato23]

A proper roast can only be done by people who love you.

[@crunchthenumbers]

I love how it parallels the OG Lower decks episode in which they encourage the one to take the promotion they all knew would have gone to Sito and honor her in excelling in here place.

[@captainteutonica5474]

I had to watch that bit of the Klingon talking twice. Peak Klingon characterization. Thank you for sharing and analyzing this gem.

[@frenchfriar]

Lower Decks is Star Trek for people that love Star Trek. It's written with a very deep appreciation for the lore of the early series, and even the better parts of the new ones. It uplifts the lore of previous series, instead of spitting on it, as Discovery and Picard both did in early episodes. It's truly excellent, and those that can't watch it because it's animated or because it contains humor are really missing out. SNW is the only other series that "gets" what original Trek was about. Prodigy is good, but it's literally aimed at kids (and there's nothing wrong with that), but Disco had no idea what they were suppossed to be doing for the longest time (and yes, I enjoyed it in spite of that), and Picard wasn't bad, but it was more fan service with no substance, while Lower Decks has substance in abundance. I agree with your statement that this particular Klingon is an exemplar one, who shows what it really means to be Klingon.

[@GSBarlev]

I don't blame anyone for being put off by the first few episodes of _Lower Decks,_ when it really seemed like _Rick & Morty Roast Trek_ and 90% of the humor was either toilet gags or-worse-inside jokes and Easter eggs. But *it got so much better,* and what they did in the fourth season, especially exploring neurodiversity in the workplace through T'Lyn, will stay with me forever.

[@billjohnson2327]

Lower Decks is the trekiest Trek that ever Trekked. - Signed an old-school Star Trek fan.

[@trustin.p9504]

Lower decks gets better with each new season. I hope it can stay on that course.🖖👍. P.S More episodes per season please.

[@tobsonasanya4765]

eh

[@LeoInterVir]

This coming season will be it's last season.

[@gwensdad2003]

I vaguely remember a TNG episode where someone joked about "Klingon councilors" but here we see they can be good ones - even better than Starfleets councilors.

[@c0nd0rd4myt]

Couldn't tell you the name of the episode, but it's where Data takes over as acting captain of a ship for a training exercise and the would-be XO wants to be transferred out of his role because he doesn't trust Data to make the right call being an android, and points to the seeming infeasibility of a Klingon Councilor

[@ginsengaddict]

Soldiers and veterans, especially those who have seen active combat, are often those who need counselling the most. In a culture built around honour and combat, that is almost certainly reflected.

[@BladeOfLight16]

@@c0nd0rd4myt The episode is "Redemption II," and it's not a training exercise. It's a blockade to stop the Romulans from supplying the Duras family in the Klingon civil war against Gowron.

[@Zeppex]

Ma’ah is a true Klingon, needs to meet Worf!!!

[@Anthyrion]

"Because honor isn't always at the end of a Bat'leth." I am suddenly reminded on the old Klingon Lawyer from ENT. When he talked to Archer, he said, that Klingons used to seek honor in every aspect of life and not only in combat. Honor can be found in a law process, or finding an antidote to a illness, or researching new ways of agriculture or simply doing your best everyday. And i think, that is what most modern Klingons have forgotten.

[@SalinaMoonfall]

This take reminds me of the mostly forgotten Star Trek game, Klingon Academy. In the game, you are mentored by Chang in the period right before Star Trek VI, and you see the lead-up to that. Like this scene and this take, he teaches your character about honor, REAL Klingon honor; the Klingon version of the Kobayashi Maru is a situation with no clean "honorable" solution. By the end of the game, you see things moving toward where they end up in ST VI and Chang coming to the choice he makes...but you see it from his perspective. You see a profoundly philosophical and honorable Klingon making a choice he KNOWS will make him the bad guy. Still, he commits to it despite knowing it will make him the bad guy cause his convictions say so...he commits to the fact it's a one-way path he's going down and makes sure to keep your character out of it for your own sake.

[@LoreReloaded]

That game and Star Trek borg were the best

[@scottnahler4027]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/hJqcnKxnmtykn7ssi=5XCi6X4zJ-mmSBgC

[@simonupton-millard]

That's a game I rearly want to play, played Starfleet Academy so much the CD 1 exploded in my drive, that game I got on Gog again but Klingon Academy isn't rearly out there downloads a iffy copy but was a virus and keep missing out on ebay, and never hears of Star Trek Borg, we rearly need all the 1990s and 2000s treck games out on Gog

[@davidgipe997]

"is what you heard dishonorable enough to destroy the ship, or is there honor hidden in the whole message." That is the thought that returns to me think of that game. Klingon Academy and ST Academy, such gems and such culture.

[@roberthoward9500]

Lower Decks is more Star Trek than all of Discovery and the first two seasons of Picard. Lower Decks and SNW are just as good as the TNG, DS9 and VOY era.

[@Eroica1805]

Season 2 of SNW is a disgrace.

[@tobsonasanya4765]

eh is it

[@everettjohnson9374]

​@@Eroica1805season 2 is amazing

[@everettjohnson9374]

I'd say disco and Picard are definitely star trek, its just trek for a newer audience since they wanted to do more.

[@francescozenocchini4428]

I consider it in fact the true continuation of the 90s Trek era. Picard was more of a send off of the characters of TNG. LD and Prodigy are the true successors to that era of Star Trek.

[@thomascarpenter8177]

Lower decks show what you get when the writers respect even love the universe they are writing in

[@TalesOfWar]

Lower Deck is the most Trek of modern Trek in my opinion. Strange New Worlds is a close second.

[@chronos1157]

Another YT channel, which shall remain nameless, kept getting upset that Mariner kept "backsliding" instead of continuing to improve. He called it "Season One Mariner." Clearly, he didn't understand how PTSD and healing works. In real life, it isn't just a sudden, "OMG, I'm cured!" moment and that's it. It is a battle with one's own mind and sometimes the bad side wins for a time.

[@rmdodsonbills]

I know exactly which channel you're talking about and I don't know why he's so anti-Lower Decks. Especially considering how he's so supportive of Discovery.

[@kendrakirai]

​@rmdodsonbills he's not down on LDS, he just doesn't seem to get that this isn't the "people have a longstanding problem in one episode and it's fixed by the end of it and never mentioned again" type of Star Trek, which is what Voyager and particularly Enterprise was. He's around the right age for Enterprise to have been "his" Trek and to filter things through that point of view. And the idea of revisiting personal emotional and psychological problems that aren't just trotted out as things you "got over" or just never attempted to fix at all just doesn't fit into the Enterprise mindset.

[@chronos1157]

@@kendrakirai The closest Enterprise got to it was Trip dealing with the attack on Florida and losing his sister.

[@kendrakirai]

@chronos1157 I'd say T'Pol and the trellium might also count, but yes, exactly. It's just 'this is the character, this is the fix, and we'll never speak of it again'. DS9 was the poster child for actual character arcs, and then it wasn't seen again until Discovery.

[@sparrowlt]

Also renember Mariner has lost more than one friend in horrible circustances

[@PhilosoShysGameChannel]

Thanks so much for calling out the folks that say that lower decks isn't "Real Trek" Lower Decks have some of the BEST and MOST Star Trek scenes in the alpha! It's LEGIT one of the best of them!

[@jessicaluchesi]

There's also another tone of this message I feel that makes this episode ressonate so deeply... we wanted our world to be in a position we could focus on what we really wanna do... be educators, be scientists, be architects... be whatever we chose as our paths in life to better ourselves, our skills and contribute to the world... but right now, we gotta fight to defend it. We gotta stand up, and be warriors, even if we do not want to. It carries the message that, to protect what we hold dear, sometimes we have to stand up, regardless if that is what we wanted to do. Because it is what we have to do. Star Trek has always been political and progressive and commented on what we face in the world outside of the screen, but not always with such a high degree of finesse.

[@estoguy]

I'm pretty impressed by this scene and it hits personally, actually. I'm currently in the Canadian Navy, and I definitely work with people who are just dialling it in like Mariner. I came to this career later on in life, in my 40s,and despite the issues we have, I'm legit proud to be there and made that choice to be there.

[@MaraudingManiac]

Ma-ah stands up there with Martok as being one of the most shining examples of an honorable Klingon. I'm so glad they brought him back.

[@qwopiretyu]

I was terrified we'd never see either him or T'Lynn until the end of the episode where she is transferred. Then I knew we'd see Ma'ah again. No point in the parallel for just 1 episode.

[@codytalley9187]

They just brought him back again, too! In farewell to farms.

[@BOYVIRGO666]

This episode is great. Really love the one with Rikers elite crew too where they had been a combat cree for so long they had forgotten that they went into it to be scientists. And it was the cerritos crew that got them to go 'oh wait...im not a soldier...im a botanist with really good cardio' i love how the lower decks makes the federation more a bunch of nerds who want to make the world a better place but the galaxy is sometimes complicated. Its great character work and really captures the energy of old school trek

[@KertaDrake]

Finally, a Klingon that can show how their civilization actually survives. If it was all battle and dying with honor, they would be extinct because they would have no engineers or scientists to develop their weapons or ships! Sometimes you gotta go out and fight for survival, sometimes you fight for fun, sometimes you go grab a big-ass quantum wrench and crawl into an engine, or you go farm some food so your people have something to eat. Just be true to yourself and your people, and you'll always have your honor in the end... and can go charge out in a blaze of glory when you get bored of being one of those peace-loving weirdos that seem to infest the galaxy.

[@ojisanhoward8940]

I've been a fan since season 1. Plus, my boy Boimler is awesome! My favorite character. You see, I like Trek, but I don't hate those who like the Trek I don't like. For me, it is STTNG, STE, STDS9, STLD and then STV.

[@mountainjew1474]

There is no Boimler here. Only Excretus of the Borg.

[@fumarc4501]

Ma’ah was hands down my favorite takes on a honorable Klingon. Every scene he’s been is a treat. When I thought he had been killed, I was so sad that the Klingons had lost such a great character and of such great character.

[@77NARF]

SUPERB analysis! When I watched this episode, I missed NOTHING! I’m always seeing how VERY “Star Trek” Lower Decks is! The show runner, writers, and actors did not mess around when they created this masterpiece of a show! The heart and soul of Star Trek not only lives in Lower Decks, it THRIVES!! I simply cannot properly express how much I love this show!! WARP ME!!

[@chickenpermission]

For a very long time i was opposed to Lower Decks because it was animated. The moment i watched the first episode? Yeah im hooked. ❤

[@RogueShadows]

Loved this show from the beginning, but during this scene when Mariner named Sito, my jaw _hit the floor._

[@Pocgamer]

Lower Decks is the most Star Trek show that's been made to date, if for no other reason than they can actually show the diversity of the Federation and larger universe.

[@saerain]

What stands out to me most is how he keeps framing things in larger terms, further from the individual. She's talking me, my friend, I want-while he's stuck on the Federation, the Dominion, the space opera of it all, until the point that she dissociates herself from her position by tossing the pip aside. Distanced from her greater whole, he treats her more as such, finally making it as personal as she was seeing it the whole time.

[@donovanbradford8231]

Well said I very much enjoy Lower Decks as well because this is what Star Trek is exploring mysteries yes but sometimes you are gonna get dirty and have a battle. To me Marinar is a warrior but feels she doesn't fit in the era of Star Fleet she's in when the reality is she is very much Riker, Sisko, or Janeway and the Klingon sees that she is a warrior but feels she's on the wrong path but helps her get back on that path the way Worf did that with Kurn, Martok, and even his own son Alexander. As someone once said "you don't need to have a uniform to have honor" and you don't need to slay thousands if enemies to be one either, be true to who you are no matter what that is and you will live with honor.

[@morebaileyskim]

I watched the first few episodes of LD with some kind of horror at things that seemed so utterly out of place in the Trek universe (like an officer stashing contraband and weapons behind panels) but I was such a fool and I am so glad I gave this show the chance it deserves because it has some of the most trek like trekkiness I have ever had the pleasure of watching. I genuinely love these characters after four incredibly well written seasons and such immense character development. I am so damn invested in every one of them. I also have to say the writing of the captain is masterful. She is initially painted (pun intended) as a bit of a mess but ALWAYS with conviction and always determined to do the right thing as everything gets more and more wrong all around her. This last season they gave her some very very well earned wins. God I love this show

[@Giganfan2k1]

There are buckets of Star Trek in Lower Decks.

[@Beyondthe5thPanel]

This episode came at a time where I was, and still am, undergoing a massive healing of a currently 14 year old pain of heartbreak, relationship and toxic work trauma/PTSD, mental, spiritual and physical sickness. It’s like my heart was dislocated and shredded, and I was hanging on to faith (I’m Baptist) by a thread. I wasn’t exactly running, I was pressing on, but was lost, at times wanting to just search for something better, more stable. Except here I was more eagle eyed and less myopic and confusing myself This episode helped get me a bit more focused, even if rhetorical pain is still there, the final bit of healing being absolutely painful

[@Evohunter7]

I’ve only seen the first two seasons, but you’ve nailed it. Lower Decks IS peak Trek for the Disco era.

[@Cauin450]

I love Lower Decks! My first thought was finally, they gonna take us into a Starship's crew. Believe me when I say, I had hopes. I wished to do this in a live-action! Too flesh-out a starship. That there was more to it than the bridge, the sickbay, engineering and various quarters. I want to see what makes Federation Starship REAL! I want to see the plumbers, electricians...the guys who clean the windows! We've seen the Save-The-Galaxy-sized adventures of Captain's April, Pike, Kirk, Picard and so on. Let's see the everyday-sized ones? Let's see the real five year missions!

[@CorbCorbin]

Can’t have robots doing that work, because they all become evil AI’s, that want to destroy us all!

[@robertaylor9218]

I cry every time I see this scene. It’s so perfect. It also makes me want so badly to see a Klingon serving as ships’ counsel on a federation vessel.

[@wilomica]

Lower Decks is definitely Good Star Trek! I liked how you explained how I feel about the show but couldn't put into words! It's a good time to be a Trekkie.

[@R-Tech_Gaming]

Lower Decks is the best thing in Star Trek today imo. I have a Paramount subscription JUST for watching that show.

[@KariIzumi1]

It's the first Trek show since DS9 that I've made the effort of buying physical media for because I don't wanna lose this series if and when Paramount goes under and the franchise is sold to 🤮 Warner Brothers 🤮

[@LeoInterVir]

I got Walmart+ for $50 a year and it comes with Paramount+. I'd never give Paramount money directly, they killed Halo and Star Trek. Lower Decks is the only great thing to come out and this coming season will be its last since they canceled it.

[@PainfullySubjective]

this is the kind of discourse i like to see take place about the art we watch

[@Richy0326]

This scene reminds me of one of my favourite lines in TNG, where Worf says he honours Natasha's memory by trying to perform her duties as well as she did.

[@Kasamira]

That line hits really hard after watching this analysis 😭

[@solidshadow01]

I don't like Discovery or Picard, but I've watched a couple of episodes of this and liked it, with this video you're convinced me. This is peak Star Trek, you won me over. Will watch.

[@catrinastars]

The episodes I have seen of this show really do carry the spirit of Star Trek honour is something that’s been missing for a long time

[@Rambox600]

Another amazing video! Well done!

[@61089loki]

Lower decks took me a while to get into. It honestly took rewarching it to really get a good feel for it again, but this isn't the only episode or instance where Lower Decks does indeed feel like it's taking itself seriously, and fixes the mistakes of the Discovery Era, and even the mistakes of the TNG and TOS Eras. I'm actually quite pleased with the series now, and hope that Lower Decks spawns a few spinoff series that can hopefully open up other aspects of the universe.

[@basilreid257]

Yeah the perfect defence of lower decks I couldn’t have said it better it’s why I love the show. Many praises to you ❤👌🏼the whole show was about showing what we miss in the live action shows. It’s a mirror held up to the federation. Anyway you rock!

[@SilverGuy-v2]

I really wish we get a Klingon show. This honestly got me inspired to jump back to Online and start a new Klingon character. The Klingons have always been my favorite faction and this show is a great reason why I love them so much because you can be honorable in much more than combat like that Klingon middle school teacher in that one book.

[@vicroc4]

Until the recent revamp, the Klingons in STO really did feel very Klingon. The revamp and the bringing in of Discovery plot threads has made the faction somewhat drift from that, but they do have their moments.

[@Wedgekree]

I think this is my favorite video of all the ones you've done and it tells a truth I never realized. And yes, you do a great job showing off why this series is the best Trek we've had in decades (now alongside Brave New World)

[@gsamalot]

lower deck is showing us the effect some of the major events from the older shows like TNG, voyager, DS9, even classic first start trek, and the enterprise series, had on the universe like the fact we see klingon, go from always wanting to start wars and fights people to a warrior race of true honor taking alot of inspiration from worf, or the ferengi the goof ball money grubbing race being more flesh out an coming off as yes they care about money but they also care about their people, and understands how badly a bad deal can effect them.

[@wastelander138]

What you said here, I've been saying for ages now. Beyond the animation and the jokes, LD is one of the best things Trek gas offered in a long time. Yes, some of the characters are goofy but they also have more to them. A depth that I was never expecting from the show. Hats off to the team behind it. They really did an amazing job.

[@BGRANT777X]

Seriously your best and most thoughtful video Lore.

[@getxyzzy]

I really wasn't sure about lower decks before it came out, but it's currently right at the tippy top of all current extant trek media and is quite frankly possibly one of the best of all. It has so much depth in a 'gag' show, so many nods, so many stories and people in it that just show the writers not only love trek but are, shockingly, absolutely competent, incredible writers.

[@STSGingie]

I loved this episode and this scene. Lower Decks is the breathbof fresh air Trek really needs and uses comedy to enhance its own drama. I felt the echos of the best TNG Klingon moments in this scene. Its also notable that the Klingon she is speaking to was also lower decks till that season.

[@GreatGreenGoo]

Lower Decks really grew on me and I hated Discovery and Picard. I actually kinda wanted to hate Lower Decks the same way but your right in that it had the Trek feel.

[@mountainjew1474]

Picard has its moments. It's not a bad show. But Diacovery?! How is it possible it wasn't canceled after season one? Who is paying fat that shot?

[@Sootielove]

Lower Decks has such a fascinating take on so many of the common aliens through Star Trek. I feel like we really get to see them as living cultures and people, with no two characters with the same take on their speciies. Tendi, Ma'ah, T'Lyn, Quimp, they're all opportunities to show off these different facets. Ma'ah was introduced as the kind of pathetic Boimler-type of the Klingons, but he really shows a great sense of justice and insight into the people around him through his lens of Klingon culture

[@RobFalcon141]

The first two episodes were shaky with me, but from episode three onward the show has grown into one of my favorite Trek series. Scenes like this one are the reason. I'm in full agreement with you. Lower Decks is absolutely worth one's time to watch, and always gets my strong recommendation whenever I discuss the new crop of Trek series. (Strange New Worlds as well.)

[@r0b0coffee]

Lower Decks and Prodigy are the best Disco era Star Trek shows, they are immersed in cannon without relying on nostalgia or retcons.

[@silversonic1]

Lower Decks is one of the Star Trek shows I love the most and WISH had more than 10 episodes a season. It's the first time in decades that I went out of my way to buy relevant merch for a Star Trek series. And, yeah. This was GOOD. Some people think taking this long to finally get to the root of Mariner's self-destructive tendencies was grating, but they clearly haven't had to deal with trauma of this kind before. She puts on an act to keep people from getting too close because her role model died. That's seriously the kind of shit that takes YEARS to deal with. And honestly I think having one of the most honorable Klingons to grace Star Trek call her out was exactly how this all needed to happen, though it's a shame that Worf didn't. Seriously, Worf would have been perfect, but he was busy dealing with whatever was going on with the Enterprise-E at the time. But not even when they were both on DS9, it seems.

[@prion42]

I'm wearing a Cerritos bar shirt right now but it's faded.😞

[@axelprino]

I love sci-fi comedies, so Lower Decks was right up my alley despite not being much of a Star Trek fan. But yeah, I've seen a lot of people online that dismiss this show just for daring to have fun with its setting instead of being constantly serious, it's like making a joke about the silly parts of the lore is somehow heresy to them.

[@FrederikSchumacher]

Great video essay! Anyone who says Lower Decks isn't Star Trek, never understood what Star Trek really is. It's not just a science-fiction franchise about space ships, aliens, space battles, time-travel, dimensional rifts, interspecies relations, wars, politics, etc. Star Trek asks and attempts to answer the question: What does it mean to be human? What kind of human will it take to shape a future able to resist and thrive in an uncaring universe, a universe of entropy? The setting serves to entertain, but also to suspend disbelief, serves to create another birds-eye-view perspective on our current society. Klingons are a device to reframe this question in terms of honor and fighting for and with honor. They're not supposed to answer this question, but instead offer a discussion on the questions: What does honor mean? What does fighting (for and with honor) mean? Not in terms of what this means for Klingons, but what interpretations of honor mean for a society. For the Klingons and their society it meant: being perceived as villains due to an excessively limited interpretation of honor. It meant overcoming this limited interpretation to survive in a bigger and more diverse universe. It meant enduring and overcoming an identity crisis, one that almost destroyed their culture and society, both within the context of the show, but also in the context of writing. Without the premise "what does it mean to be a conscientious human" underlining the plot and the lore, it's not a Star Trek show. Without this premise, it's like being served a Starbucks cup filled with hot water claiming to be Starbucks coffee. It's missing the point.

[@dylanknight2761]

@Lore Reloaded, I fully agree, Lower Decks reminds uswhat we love about Trek in the first place and honours its history. Now, let us bring on the blood wine! 🍷

[@segevstormlord3713]

I'm just repeating what most of the other comments are saying, but I still have to chime in: Lower Decks is the most Star Trek thing to be produced since Voyager, if not since DS9 or even TNG.

[@maikatase]

I remember watching the first few episodes of Lower Decks when it first came out and dismissed it as cheap nostalgia bait. Around the end of season 2 I decided to give the series another try, I'm really glad I did. Lower Decks really captures the essence and philosophy of Star Trek from the era of TNG/DS9/VOY. Yes it's a bit light heartrd and makes lots of references, but you can just feel the admiration and respect of the source material from the writers of this great little cartoon.

[@shoesncheese]

Watching this video made me tear up. That episode was everything great about Star Trek and Lower Decks respects the hell out of the entire series in a way no other series has for a long time.

[@DavionStar]

There are so many great things about this scene. Mariner's growth, Ma'ah's conviction. One thing especially. He doesn't personally understand the appeal of studying the universe, but he doesn't view it as a sign of weakness either. He isn't all "pah, humans are weak", he may not fully like Starfleet, but he doesn't look down on it. I love them both as characters. Mariner is scarred, flawed. That doesn't make a bad character, as long as it's written well. And I think Lower decks did a pretty good job building up to this moment. She's also not stupid. I think her 'quick' revelation is that someone finally hit the core of her problem. Everyone else thought she was just being lazy or insubordinate or something else. Ma'ah saw through all of that and essentially hit her where it hurts, and it finally made some impact. Also, I feel like there's a bit more to this whole discussion that gets a bit more meta about real life arguments about Star Trek. The people who argue that DS9 ruined Star Trek with the Dominion War or any other time Star Fleet has to roll up its sleeves and fight. It is a discussion with WAY more nuance than can be talked about here, and good arguments from both sides, but I feel like the point here is "Sometimes you have to fight for your beliefs and convictions. You may not like it, but it's necessary."

[@eriklundstrom1336]

Lower Decks has such range. Hits you in the feels, makes you laugh, has action, weird science mission, romance, all of it. So good

[@dennisgardiner43]

Lower Decks is in the same vein as Star Trek: The Animated Series. This clip with the Klingon, correcting the path the Federation ensign, is classic Star Trek with good writing. Two thumbs-up for Lower Decks.

[@joshuamacdonald4913]

Love Love Love this. I agree with most things said. I don't get the same feels though. I get something different, something more. I remember the episode "Lower Decks" when it first aired. I was young, too young to really get much out of it. I would see it in syndication off and on through the years apricating it more and more. To see it continue in a whole series (I wish they had a civilian in the show like the episode) made me happy. The perspective changes really man a lot to some of us. Many of us would be lower decks in that and our universe, atleast at some point in our life. If you watched Babylon 5 you may remember their own take on it and that too stands out in my mind to this day. As far as Klingons go, I still say DISCO did them dirty right from the very start. To be given all the potential in the world and just poo out blue bug people. There are mistakes but oh my god. That should have ended careers.

[@chrismacdonald5923]

you have summed up exactly how i feel about lower decks

[@johnpatz8395]

This is basically what I’ve said since first starting to watch the series, although I hadn’t used that episode as an explanation, but will going forward as it’s perfect and very easy to understand

[@VkmSpouge]

It was a very good scene between Mariner and the Klingon Captain, I never thought about what it tells us about the Klingons, so I really liked your insights here! Lower Decks is right up there with my favourite Star Trek series. I love the stories, the characters and the jokes. The jokes come from a place of love for Star Trek. The series embraces Trek where Discovery seems to keep it at arms length.

[@mr51406]

I wholeheartedly agree. Lower Decks is satirical, but the stories are Trek at its best. 🌟🖖🏼 One reason is because it’s made by people who love Trek. Satire isn’t respected as it should be. Real world example: “Private Eye” is a satirical magazine but the news in it is as accurate and important as in the Guardian.

[@miggz8487]

LD is my favorite trek show, I gathers everything I love about the franchise and makes a work of art

[@lvc394]

Lower Decks is Star Trek for everybody. I showed to my 20-30 year old children which have no interest in Star Trek and they jumped right into it with joy. Lower Decks stories can stand on their own, but there are funny Easters eggs in there for those of us in the know.

[@termigasts5227]

Your argument has convinced me to give it a chance when before I dismissed it entirely. Well done

[@granttheprice]

I love lower decks it’s what trek should be an adventure. With highs and lows and a little self reflection.

[@ThatanOmega]

Lower decks is the most Star Trek thing since Enterprise. It feels genuine and retains the spirit of it

[@rmdodsonbills]

There is a lot of silliness in Lower Decks, especially in the early seasons, but it's written by people who get what Star Trek has become. There was a lot of silliness in the original series, too, but they always took it seriously. Lower Decks is that old friend from your childhood that still cares about you, and so reminds you and even kids you about the silly things you did when you were younger so that you don't get too caught up in your own hype. And it is that friend who helps you see the bigger picture, filling in details that maybe you missed, so that you can understand your own story a little better. And it's that friend that goes out for a night on the town with you, reminiscing about the old days and having new adventures.

[@starclone4]

Thank you..... I've often wondered if I was wrong, for liking Lower Decks, better than any of the new live action shows!? I get more of the old Star Trek there... People don't like Mariner, says she's a screw up... Well, I just think she's just trying to hide how vunerable she is.... This is a great Star Trek show... 😊

[@_NIKOS9_NIKOS]

Lower Decks has fixed alot of things. Unfortunately alot of fans were very quick to write it off as a silly non canon cartoon. And lets not forget those who jumped into the "Mariner is a Mary Sue and the show is trying to push WoKe sjw agendas" bandwagon literally after episode 1

[@KariIzumi1]

Mariner is the least Sue-ish lead character in the franchise by a country mile 😂😂😂 Yeah, she's loud and obnoxious and the show doesn't make it obvious that it's a front for the first seven episodes but she solves as many problems as she creates and there's a good chance Boimler was probably her only friend on the ship for good reason until Rutherford and Tendi showed up. Hell, she's not even coasting on nepotism because no one even knows Freeman is her mother despite being on the ship for a year at that point, unlike Archer, who brought up his daddy every other episode of ENT's first season or Tom Paris, whose daddy got him picked for that Maquis mission or Burnham who for some the absurd things people hate her for got a plum assignment on Georgiou's jop due to Sarek. There's is no character that the term "Mary Sue" applies to _less_ than Beckett Mariner.

[@JoeoftheWest]

This scene spoke to me. Be the best you, that you can be is the highest form of honor.

[@cane6074]

This is one of the things I like about Star Trek, just because humanity and other species have achieved something close to Utopia doesn't necessarily mean struggling is over. Now that you've achieved Paradise you have enough struggle even harder to keep what you've gained, that essentially was what are the main story themes of DS9, how far will you be willing to go to protect what you have, and how far is too much. The threat of the Dominion and the actions of section 31 embody this.

[@hollyswoods]

While Lower Decks has some of the best versions of Klingons on screen in recent times my favorite versions of them come from the comics especially the old DC comics with Konom and his take on honor.

[@DrowSorcerer]

Lower Decks is a work of pure love for the franchise. For any trekkie it's just as peak star trek as it can be

[@CinnamonKnightEntertainment]

I'm sure the things I'm gonna say will prolly already be in the comments. Lower decks is awesome, much like other trek it took some time to get its footing but it is very much emotionally charged, like avatar(the last air bender, not dances with blue people) sure the first few episodes feel more Rick and Marty, but they abandon that quickly. Most people who hate it dislike the inside joke nature of the show, nostalgia plays an important part, but they also put that nostalgia in perspective. Flying around ds9 extra to mimic the slog of an opening for that show is an awesome inside joke, but the lines used make the joke inclusive, not a gate to bar people. It has some of the most exciting moments in all of disc era, and include how much I enjoyed discovery after if discovered..... yes I said it.... how much I hate the main character of the show. Lower decks is surprisingly magical, hell I can't even finish the Picard series yet. Anyway, for once I fully agree with you lore.... well except for the Trump voter references but I see them as more Bush Era pro war analogous than more modern takes..... even if that isn't what they were planning on.

[@bhardasullivan720]

5:14 - It shows the divide between Rodenberry, and Berman. Between the visionary looking forward with hopeful curiosity, and the drone focused only on reproducing the known, the controlled... As such, I would call this a pretty well placed barb, and I whole-heartedly approve.

[@freeranger00]

Klingons believe in honor, it is honorable to live your life authentically and to tackle whatever challenges come your way. The Klingon chef in DS9 is honorable as he makes the best gagh he can, just as Martok is honorable as he led the Empire through the back half of the Dominion War. Lower Decks understands this in a way that newer Trek has often, seemingly deliberately, not.

[@jpgamer9197]

To me that segment of her mentioning the war and how Star Fleet shouldn't even be in it, when put alongside Cisko's lamenting about the war deaths of the war really strikes home.

[@flowrebaz6189]

I watched lower decks after the strange new worlds crossover showed me the characters in a better light than the KZbin clips. I like the show and can’t wait for next season.

[@ImaPseudonym-go6oy]

Lower Decks is peak Star Trek. It is absolutely everything good about Star Trek distilled into its ultimate form: little stories about the weird, average little people who willingly get aboard a starship to do the unglamorous, everyday work of keeping it all running while roaming a galaxy that's not only really strange, it's stranger than anyone could possibly ever guess. It's like reading the most gloriously twisted crackfic written by someone with actual writing ability who loves and respects the source material, and best of all, it's *canon.* There. I said it. Flame me.

[@MrThehoyce]

I can't say I agree with all of your takes, but you are DEAD ON here.

[@NeuroD369]

I grew up on TOS. I’m the first in line to shout “That’s not (my) Star Trek!” when the writers… ‘forget’ what makes Star Trek, Star Trek. “Lower Decks” IS Star Trek and, I’m not the only one, IS my favorite Star Trek! Zhyty dovho i protsvitaty. 🖖🏼

[@Carstuff111]

I have said it before, and I will say it again: Lower Decks is a gift to the Trek universe. It has truly been mind blowing.

[@boblowes]

Love Lower Deks. It at least, is made by people who obviously love and know Star Trek, which I'd argue was something painfully absent fromboth Discovery and at least the first season of Picard (not seen the others yet). Strange New Worlds is the same - it's a love letter to Star Trek, made by people who get the show.