Star Trek is a fan of explosive stories, whether they are season finales or not, classic Trek or modern Trek. Lower Decks is no exception. While its first season finale was a threat that was not obvious at the time, the second season turns it into a complete disaster movie epic. However, the show never loses sight on the things that are most important to them.
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First First Contact is, as the name suggests, a first contact mission that kicks off in a suitably Lower Decks manner, even though the stakes may be higher than usual. Because of her extensive efforts to end the Federations skirmishes against the Pakleds', Captain Freeman was given the task of attending a first contact mission once again, despite Cerritos status as a second-contact ship. Assisting the U.S.S. Archimedescaptained, not by anyone but Sonya Gomez, The Next Generations ex-ensign of big dreams (voiced by Lycia Naff), no less! Q Who? It turns out Carol isn't just entering the big leagues to accomplish this mission. Mariner overhears while smuggling contraband off-Starbase. This could be Captain Freeman's last time on the Cerritos. Starfleet won't allow her to bring her bridge crew.
This seems to be the main conflict in the episode at first. Mariner is hurt by her mother's decision to keep this information secret after all the bonding she and her mother have done. She does what Mariner does best, throwing a fit and telling Shaxs, Billups and Ransom the news. This will frustrate her mother and get her hurt. We've seen Mariner react in this way when she feels aggrieved. But it is clear that Mariner is the one who is most upset about her mother's upcoming departure from her daily life.
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First First Contact pushes our heroes to the limits, as if this personal crisis weren't enough. The Archimedes mission goes horribly wrong, and tensions rise among senior staff members due to Freeman's imminent departure. A freak plasma discharge from Laaperian system sun causes a fragmentation of a planetoid, sending ionized material crashing into the Archimedes. The former ship becomes a spinning, disabled asteroid, hammering its path to the only Laap systems habited world. At first, no one on Cerritos knows what to do. The ship cannot fly through the planetoid to help the Archimedes as the magnetized debris will slam into its hull. All of it comes crashing together: the conflict between Mariner and Freemans, the frustrations amongst the b ridge crew, and even our other ensigns. Lower Decks suddenly finds itself in a disaster epic like Voyagers Year of Hell and Generations infamous Enterprise accident.
First First Contact feels like a new level for the show after wej Duj expanded the world Lower Decks lives in last week. It is the show's most dramatic episode since the finale of Crisis Point. The series' most stunning visuals and grandest scale have been created. This is also the first time that a threat to the series has escalated this way. The show begins with Mariners' mean-spirited and interpersonal conflict. It then progresses to the Cerritos being in danger as well as the lives of several other crew members. It's great to see First First Contact swing big with a movie-worthy catastrophe epic in the space it takes. But what really makes First First Contact work? First First Contact never sacrifices the core of Lower Decks.
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The entire season has been about trust from the beginning. Not just trusting oneself, as Mariner discovered in season one, but the confidence that comes from trusting others. That is how you can overcome a struggle shared. This theme runs through the finale. Another heated argument ensues between the two as they try to figure out a way for either one to heroically sacrifice themselves in order to save the Archimedes. Freeman pleads with Mariner to allow her to be near her. She claims that she cannot solve the problems of today by pretending that she has Kirk-ian machismo, but the truth is that she doesn't have the confidence to lead a Trek hero, while pushing others away. This realization is what brings together the crew to save the Archimedes. It takes all of the crew to execute Rutherfords risky plan for the Cerritos to pass through the asteroid field. The Cerritos primary hull will be removed, leaving it vulnerable. Mariner must work alongside Jen, an Andorian who she has made fun of all season. Jen is there to help Ransom guide the ship through danger. Even though the series' lighthearted humor finally paid off with its long-running gag regarding Cetacean Ops aboard Starfleet ships (where literally two adorable dolphins in uniform run the ship), there is a theme of teamwork, communal trust, and being valued more than individual actions. Rutherford, Tendi and Boimler all shout Go talk to Mom! at Mariner as she attempts to bravely and dangerously swim through the Ops waterworks to unlock the final hull plates.
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Our characters have all learned lessons about trusting each other and pushing each other to do the right thing. This season's episode is a spectacular one, with ensign and bridge crew coming together to save the Archimedes and keep the Cerritos (mostly) in one piece. Mariner attempted to explain that they do this because they are able to stand together and not push people around. Everyone is rewarded for their compassion. Mariners close friendships with her mother and her closest friends are strengthened by her admitting her vulnerability to them. Jen, who had been pushing her away for so long, is able to help her open up to Jen. Tendi, at Rutherfords request, decides to believe in her abilities and confront Dr. TAna face-to-face. Only to discover that she's being promoted to a science officers track. Rutherford trusts her and lets go of any doubts about re-losing memories after season one. Even though he does discover a bit of a larger mystery, Boimler is still the one who gets to be the Starfleet officer that he's always been capable.
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First First Contact is a powerful reminder that even though it requires a lot of time and the heroics of our heroes are doing a great job, it recognizes that there are higher stakes and that things cannot be solved by a single act. After the Laaperians were successfully contacted and the Archimedes saved, Starfleet discovers that Captain Freemannow isn't happy aboard the Cerritos. Instead of being promoted to the Cerritos she's taken off, and accused of instigating a terrorist attack on the Pakled homeworld with the Klingon extremists. This puts us on the show's first major step into another Trek staple, the To Be Continued finale cliffhanger.
Lower Decks has learned the lesson, but there is no turning back. Our heroes now need to learn to stand together in a new world that is much larger and more dangerous than the ones they have been facing. This is doubled when one of their heroes is attacked by the animus of Starfleet, which doesn't quite get the value of a crew as strong and united as the Cerritos.
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