‘Star Trek: Lower Decks’ “Inner Fight” Finally Goes There
Star Trek: Lower Decks is often full of surprises. And after four seasons its biggest surprise yet is going back to the very beginning.
Star Trek: Lower Decks begins with Ensigns Bradward Boimler, Beckett Mariner, and Samanthan Rutherford introducing Ensign D’ Vana Tendi to the USS Cerritos. They stab each other, they save the ship from a zombie space virus, and they become friends.
Except that is not the beginning of Lower Decks.
Technically speaking the beginning of Lower Decks takes place on the USS Enterprise 1701-D. Ensigns Taurik, Sito Jaxa, Sam Lavelle, and Nurse Ogawa sit around a Ten Forward table discussing their dreams of promotion. It’s a story about hopes for the future and the consequences from the past. For Sito Jaxa, it’s a story of finding redemption only to die at the hands of the Cardassians.
Except that is not the beginning of Lower Decks either.
Very technically speaking Lower Decks begins at Starfleet Academy with cadets Nick Locarno, Sito Jaxa, Jean Hajar, and Wesley Crusher. These four members of Nova Squadron cover up the death of their fifth member after they try and fail a forbidden shuttlecraft maneuver called the Kolvoord Starburst. That story sees all members reprimanded and Nick Locarno expelled entirely.
And, yes, more than 30 years later all three Lower Decks beginnings are coming home to roost.
Courtesy of Paramount Plus
To Boldly Recap “Inner Fight”
Beckett Mariner is a loose cannon on the regular, but she’s more loose and cannony than ever. Her friends and her mother Captain Freeman notice the problem and decide to act. The Cerritos hunts down former Starfleet members at risk of attack from this season’s mystery ship. But Mariner’s friends take her on an extra safe mission fixing a space buoy.
Except it isn’t safe, of course. Boimler, Tendi, T’Lyn, and Rutherford find themselves attacked by Klingons before finding themselves trapped on Sherbal V–and they aren’t alone. Leaders from all the ships captured throughout the season are also trapped on the planet.
It isn’t long before Mariner takes off on her own and winds up in a fight with a Klingon named Ma’ah. Their fight is stymied by knife rain and the two take cover. There Mariner tells the story of the woman who inspired her most as a cadet–Sito Jaxa. Jaxa’s death at the hands of Cardassians messes Mariner up so bad that she decides to never rise above the rank of ensign. Mariner never wants to send her friends off to die.
Ma’ah calls Mariner out and forces her to acknowledge that Sito would want Mariner to lead Starfleet away from war and towards discovery. So Mariner does just that by uniting all the trapped captains.
But just then Mariner gets transported away by this season’s mystery ship. The ship’s captain is Nick Locarno and he wants Mariner to cause some trouble with him.
Oh, by the way, Freeman was looking for Locarno. He made the mystery ship.
Courtesy of Paramount Plus
To Boldly Review “Inner Fight”
It’s hard reviewing the first half of a two-part story, especially one like “Inner Fight” which has so much potential. And let’s start there: Star Trek: Lower Decks sets up A LOT in this episode. We now know who pilots the mystery ship. We also seem to know that every ship that was “captured” by Locarno is actually working with him. And we know that whatever Locarno is up to needs Mariner’s help.
The path that leads us to each of these revelations is exciting, albeit more Star Wars than Star Trek. After all, we basically go to Tatooine and the forest moon of Endor. This is also a big culminating moment that finally (albeit briefly) brings together all the Lower Deckers from the episode “wej duj“. In fact, what makes “Inner Fight” so exciting is that it’s a culminating moment both for Lower Decks the series and Lower Decks the concept.
As a result, by far the best part of the episode is the conversation between Mariner and Ma’ah. At long last we know why Mariner avoids promotion–and it connects with one of Star Trek’s best-loved minor characters Sito Jaxa. If nothing else “Inner Fight” will make people watch the TNG episodes “First Duty” and Lower Decks” which is a huge win.
Actually, considering voice actor Tawny Newsome is not only playing Mariner but also about to be writing the new Starfleet Academy series, “Inner Fight” is sneakily looking both to the past and the future.
Courtesy of CBS Television
Star Trek: Lower Decks and a New Nova Squadron
I’m going to expand this into a full article unto itself, but the coolest Easter egg in the entirety of “Inner Fight” is the insignia on Nick Locarno’s jacket. The symbol looks exactly like the Kolvoord Starburst. It’s fascinating seeing Locarno use a symbol that represents his greatest failure. More than that it makes us ask why he’s using that symbol.
The most likely answer is that Locarno is starting up a new group. Whether or not that group is called Nova Squadron or not is immaterial. What’s interesting is that the symbol, which has five points suggests five members of the team. Locarno is the leader. Mariner is a potential final member. But who are the other three? And what is their plan? And there’s another question that’s so big it’s almost unfathomable to even contemplate:
Is Sito Jaxa still alive?
The team behind Star Trek: Lower Decks loves the rich tapestry of the franchise. There are so many Easter eggs and in-jokes, but rarely does the series go back to the past to change it. There’s always risk in invoking the kind of cannon that only the die-hards obsess over. But there’s also a lot of potential reward in telling a parallel story between the Lower Decks of the past and the ones of the present.
Regardless “Inner Fight” is exciting. It makes us wonder what the future for this group of characters is and whether or not they’ll all be on the same side when it’s over. Also, the Balok puppet (that isn’t actually a puppet) shows up and that’s outstanding.
4.5/5 stars
