Drawn Into Lower Decks: recapping In the Cradle of Vexilon

0:03 Mariner Boindler Starfleet is better with you in it one way mine I had big raw. Yeah, I thought you were like a boring worker drone. If you are, it's sort of unfair. Hello everyone, and welcome back to Drawn Into Lower Decks, a limited series from a film by a podcast that focuses on the animated comedy Star Trek Lower Decks. Each week, we'll get you ready for the newest episode of Star Trek Lower Decks with an animated discussion about the latest not so epic mission of the USS Cerritos. So red alert obviously, listeners. Spoilers are ahead. If you haven't seen the latest episode, please go watch it before you hear what we have to say. As always, I'm Scott Hoffman and I'm Wayne Whited. All right, we're running today's episode as a crew of two while David Burns is off cataloging gaseous anomalies.

0:57 But we know we'll hear from him whenever Secon thirty one allows. So way, let's jump right into it. How would you describe the latest episode In the Cradle of Vexillon, the USS Serritos visits Correzonia, a ring world space habitat where the ancient computer system that controls its ecosystem is deteriorating. Well, Captain Freeman takes it upon herself to do the repairs. Lieutenant Boimler, who sent on his first command away mission to upgrade the power plant. Of course, chaos begins when both have trust issues and refused to allow their subordinates to help. YEP. Well put, this is an interesting set up for an episode, brilliantly written by Mike McCann and Ben and Waller. Seemed like a lot of elements that we're just familiar enough, but seemed fairly new to me, a set from a few easter as we'll get into later. Even the Vexillon ring that you mentioned reminded me a lot of the Dicen sphere from Relics the same way. Yeah. Yeah, as soon as I saw that, I was like, Oh, it's Dyson's theory, and I like them exploring different things like that other than planet. So I thought that was a very interesting idea. Yeah, yeah, absolutely, So let's get into some of the favorite moments Wayne, some of yours. Oh, this episode felt very much in a style of an old classic Star Trek story, and we've seen many times before. I really like that. I'm not going to consider it the best because episode of the season so far, because I loved the first episode, but I really enjoyed this, this this old time original series

2:29 style episode, you know, where where the character has trescos issues and are unsure themselves and have to learn how to delegate responsibility and command others. You know, we saw that in like an old episode like the Galileo seven with Spock. We saw that with Sharp Starship Down with Warf and Troy on the Next Generation. It fits perfectly in with with Star Trek in story wise and in characterizations. Yeah, yep. I like the way that they they're kind of easing into the lieutenant junior grade right, different aspects of how you know, they're kind of dealing with it. We've already kind of seen how Mariners has done so in the previous episodes. But yeah, the spotlight and boiler is kind of interesting. Me has that imposter syndrome. Yeah, I was glad we got a spotlight on Captain Freeman played by Don Lewis, who I've got to say, as soon as I looked up who's doing the voice work, it took me right back to a different world. Late eighties sitcom.

3:28 She's done amazing voice work. She's got credits a mile long like storm That's right, among others like it's it's crazy howmet she's done. So I'm glad to see her in that in the spotlight here, and she's done a phenomenal job with Captain Freeman for what she's been given. I'm not crazy about her characterization in this episode. They tend to make her more of a bumbling captain, which I would like to see her to take the spotlights and be and be a great captain in one of the stories they just keep saying the shows she keeps making mistakes, but her as a character, I love it. I love the idea of a captain that's that's not always perfect, but I'd like to see her I do some good things for change. Yeah yeah, I mean I saw she had a strong showing in the end of the last season. I think that was the one they were kind of competing. They were like fighting for the survival of the California Class. Yes, yeah, things like that. And in this situation was was pretty frustrating. She's trying to do a system, a software update that's like six million years behind, and I think they make a great use of that. I understand why they did it because Boilers and her story goes hand in hand. I mean they're both having problems with the trust issue with using the resources that they have, and in that case and the writing it worked really well. Yeah. Yeah, and we get some of those trust issues on board the cerritos as well.

4:59 So, you know, fresh from Mariner feeling like she's being set up to fail or being hazed by ransom or whatever, is now in a situation where she's literally being hazed. But we keep having this like are they aren't they doing it? I gotta admit, scanning all those iceolitera your chips would probably be pretty tedious, but the OCD side of me would probably have some fun with it, even though there's like two layers to go through. That was a lot of chips. Yeah, yeah, And it was cool to see that back and forth hazing, especially when they had Tod haze the trap they sent in his room. It was kind of a jerky moment when he was just toying with them like that. But lines like the hidden buttons, see the hidden buttons seemed obvious. I thought that was kind of a nice touch. The design of that character. Did he remind you of anybody?

5:49 Not off the top of my head, who are you thinking about? So for some reason, it seems like he's designed to be a jerk. He reminded me of the guy who's so the next generation episode Inspiracy, you've got Dexter Remick, who was It's like the the the evil Trill kind of idea played by Robert Shanigan. I like this, it seemly Yeah, his design was just like, oh my god, why do I get the vibes from that guy that took him back? I can see that. Yeah, let's talk about some of the other deep cuts. So lower decks never disappoints when it comes to Easter Eggs. This series always does a great job of taking you back to your favorite trick moments while sparking more interest in those episodes that might be new to you. So wait, let's talk about some of your favorite Easter Eggs. Alist had less than some of the other episodes, but they kind of hit you right all at once. The Anomaly storage room was the big one that I noticed, and I saw a lot of great stuff that only may have gotten a second or two screen time. I thought that was an odd and dangerous place to have on a starship, but I guess you have to have someplace to put all that weird stuff that come across.

7:01 I saw the Nomad probe from the original series of Change Link, the gromul and cooking device from the original series Enterprise incident, cling on the bathlift, Vulcan Lerpa, which were weapons. There was of course, the Beta is a Beta's Away gift box, which was a part major part of the story that was from Haven from the next Generation. And then the big one that took a major part of the story, the Wadi Chula game from DS nine's Move Along Home, which I'll talk about that and here in a little bit. That was probably the pause worthy moment among the deep cuts because it seemed familiar. But I had to dig a bit to figure out where exactly that was from. Oh I knew exactly where it's from. Ye know, last we originally we are. In the first episode the season, we had a reference to my least favorite Voyager episode, which was a Threshold with the salamanders, and now we have an reference to my least favorite Deep Space nine episode, which was Moved Along Home. I just not a very big fan of that episode, and neither is the cast. David Brooks has went out and said it's it's he hates the episode. It's his least favorite. So but then that's what lower Dex is about. They're they're taking our best in our worst episodes and and bring him into the spotlight again. So when I dug back and I was trying to figure that out, I basically googled Star Trek hop Scotch and all I did was watch the first scene and I was like, yeah, that's all I need to see. This is early DS nine.

8:33 As much as I love DS nine, yeah, that episode, I didn't go any further into that one. Yeah, and let me say, first season DS nine, it is good. It's just this episode is just the one that that doesn't work, which I just learned that was actually one of the most expensive episodes of the season. I don't know how, but that's what. That's what it says. That's interesting. There are a lot of cuts for the lot of takes the head to do for the hop Scotch. I guess probably, yeah. Yeah. It seemed kind of weird that in the anomaly room they had things like like weapons, like the battles yeah, I wouldn't exactly call that anomaly, right, Yeah, I mean it was. It was cool to just toss in a couple of other Easter eggs, but it did seem kind of strange. Maybe they just want to keep it out of the hands of some of the people in the crew. I don't think i'd want them with the batlet, right, although it's easily get easy to get into the room because Lancelot sneaks in there and it's kind of like roaming around. That seems like a dangerous thing to have going on, true, true, Yeah. I like how the overall premise was kind of a deep cut to early day as a computer support, you know, like the safe mode for debugging distalled updates, finding a scroll in a junk drawer.

9:39 Yes, And of course you know good computer going evil. That's very classic Star Trek, right right, And everybody that finally, whenever but somebody shows up in the situation, they're like, it's not trying to like subjugate the population, is like, that's the first thing everybody thinks that first. Yeah, I kept trying to figure out Billips drops an engineering joke and he says, is it a unit tronic? And I was like, that doesn't seem familiar, But that seems like it's going to get engineer fans laughing. I didn't see anything. I was digging into it. It seems like maybe it's a predecessor to Dudo Tronics, which is form of twenty third century computer system designed by Richard Daystrom in twenty two forty three. So it's a call back to the ultimate computer and Daystrom takes me that automatically. That name just takes me back to Piccard season three. Yeah, I noticed that Ensign Taylor is representing the Kazinti from the originally animated series, kind of the a cat like race. Of course, yes you, I'm glad you caught that.

10:45 So a nod to Jeff I know he's a big fan of the animated series. I loved the use of the betazoid giftbox. That is such a weird callback. Haven was such a weird episode, but they did that was really well. I love Haven, and that was a weird thing. That was a very silly part of it, but still it was fun to see it again. Yeah. So as far as the probe that zaps that box, it seemed like they were trying to make it seem like it was in a probe like the Inner Light from TN but it wasn't the same shape. No, but you're right, it was similar. It even gives that line where it's like, oh, I missed my wife and it was like, wait, are they trying to do Inner Light? I don't know, but I mean I feel like, you know, they have that entire section of Wasn't It? The was It? Section thirty one of the Daystroom Institute Incard Season three that they visit and they find all those little easter eggs. It seems like a lot of the things in this anomaly storage room probably belong there.

11:43 You'll probably end up there right, not in some kind of storage room on the cerritos that just seems a little dangerous. Let's get into some of the pet worthy moments. So we've already talked about the you know, the growth, the fact that they're kind of at a higher rank with lieutenant junior grade for those who don't know, just kind of resetting a pip as an indication of rank that's earned, that the characters grow, and as much as the series hits the comedic beats, that doesn't miss a chance to build some of the character depth into our lower deckers. So, as far as you're concerned, what do you think which of the characters stole the show? Oh, Lieutenant J. G. Boymore. It is his first command since getting promoted, and with the exception of them getting self blown to hell and back or wherever that was that room was he went to with the Koala, he did a pretty damn good job. I will admit. He eventually learned to use the subordinates. He got the job done right, all under the threat of the death and danger. And you know, that's that's what kind I'm working he asked for. He even sent his crew away to safety while he went and made the ultimate sacrifice to save Ring World. I think he'll make a good captain some day. We see the the seeds of a good officer.

12:54 Yeah. Absolutely. I like how he talks about you know, he's had good captains and bad captains and wanting to kind of emulate the best parts, but knowing that he's going to kind of balance that. Right, He's gonna make mistakes and seeing somebody make a mistake helps them understand how somebody deals with that and learns through it. And the little Kobe ash MAREU kind of thing. Yeah, I think he had a lot of growth. It was it was interesting to see him go through his process. It was a little shocking to see him die, even though, like you said, you know, he was brought back to the weird Kowala room. But a little shocking at first. Yeah, it was. But of course, you know, like all good cartoons, you know, they don't actually die. They come back to life and to live another day and you know, have other adventures.

13:39 But I'm curious about that room. I know that has to be a reference to something, but I did not catch that. Nothing in Star Trek that I could see. Yeah, I feel like they're they're hiding a bunch there, especially with the little bit of dialogue they give the Koala. I mean, it could have just been a glowing you know, I think and I'm not sure. I'm not sure about this because I could not quite understand what the Quala was saying, but it sounded like something backwards. I'm gonna have to do some research and find out if it was what exactly that was being said. Yeah, I'm sure somebody's going to unrail that pretty soon, and I'd be interested to see whether or not that has any connection to that miniature ship that was reading havoc in the first two episodes, which was notably absence in this one. You know, I didn't think about that. You're right, it was missing. Yeah, I'll totally agree about Boimler. He has a lot of growth as a leader. I'd actually say till Inn has the most pitpworthy moment as a fellow lieutenant. It's good to see her kind of in that support role and kind of help him guide him through, helping him find a better approach. Obviously he has a hard time getting out of his own way. Guiding through getting him through his imposter syndrome, I think was a big part of it, getting him back on task. And I think this character is used really well, played with this kind of perfect cool baseline tone by Gabrielle Ruiz. And I know that we saw a lot of her relationship with Tendy the last season. I'll be interested to see if they pair up this season in that same kind of, you know, leadership role in tending kind of getting used to being a lieutenant junior grade. So as we

15:11 usually do. We know that in the critos there's a lot of different places to explore, So let's get into the turbo lift and explore a little bit. Wayne, what deck would you want to visit in this week's episode, Well, the deck I guess would be the transporter room, because I would love to have been down with Boiler and his team down to Ring World to fix the power plants. Like I said, I think Boiler's at the beginning of a road towards a great career and becoming captain. And I think in twenty years he's insins We'll see Boiler commanding his Starkly's finest ships, making Federation history and they'll be able to say, you know, I was there at the beginning when he was but a lonely junior grade lieutenant. You know, this is kind of reminds me of Wharf and how he started when during the first season he was a junior grade lieutenant and he wasn't used very much and was used for more comedy relief for or cling on stuff. And look where he came he went to. I mean, he became one of the most popular characters, and I see Boimler becoming He is my favorite now and I don't see anything changing there. Yeah, that was a good call. I think it's even when you're mentioning that. It makes me think of when Data had a field promotion to Captain. I forget the name of the episode, the Klingons Sisters. I remember that episode. Yes, it was a two parter. Moments like that when you see familiar characters you've been seeing in a specific role in the ship for a long time and then they're suddenly kind of catapulted into a higher role and seeing how they kind of work with it.

16:33 I think it's a great element that they're working into the series, even with Boimler kind of admitting that he feels a little awkward ordering around the people that used to be his colleagues. It's great that we're seeing growth to the characters. And yeah, I was going to say, you know, we can't see him stay instance forever. That wouldn't have looked good. But I wrote all this in these notes down, but then I realized, well, you know in Stan Harry Kim, the poor guy. Yeah, so I'm I'm glad to see that these characters are getting promoted, and who knows where they'll go before this series ends. Yeah, as far as where I would go, I would probably cautiously go back to the Anomaly storage room. I don't know what department is even involved in maintaining that. I guess it would be ops if nothing else. But yeah, I mean, you know, last week we talked about that menagerie and kind of wanting to cautiously look around and poke around for Easter eggs. One of the ones that I couldn't quite pin down was the reference of the spider, and she said, you don't want to touch that and have your head snap off and skid her away. Were they referencing the thing? That would be a good guess. I can't think of anything in Star Trek that would be referenced from that, so I may be missing something. Anybody anybody knows about that put it in comments and stuff.

17:48 We'd be curious to find out. Yeah, that'd be good to know. I mean, as long as it doesn't, you know, exploring doesn't implode the ship or transport me through a mirror universe. It'd be nice to kind of check some things out, maybe find out what that bad lead that's all about, you know, without killing any bidy or anything. It could be mythical or have some sort of magical or or maybe from an alternate dimension, or even the mayor universe who knows, Yeah, exactly. I'll be interested to see where they go with the next episode. We've had kind of a spectrum of, you know, different types. It doesn't seem like it's the same thing all the time, which Lowerdex does a great job of. We've had you know, deep deep cuts in Tuvis. The second episode, I Have No Bones was a little bit more of a classic trek and then this one seemed a little bit more like a like a standalone episode, So it was kind of exploring that whole range. And it seems like a lot of this season is going to be focused on those promotions, those new roles, and how they're adjusting with it. It'll be interesting to see if there's any changes to the crew this season. Something about me, something about it makes me feel like there might be a departure or a new addition or something like that that we'll have to figure interesting. The last thing I wanted to ask you, I feel like the poster for this season that I've seen seems like it's nodding heavily to voyage home. Yes, they do that every season.

19:12 Yeah, they have that space probe in the intro, right. Yes, do you think we're going to get more cuts towards that. I think we are. I think we're gonna have at least reference. I would not be surprised if one of the episodes a season is a time travel episode. That's not something we've dealt with in lower decks. We've dealt in strange new worlds. We haven't dealt with that really in lower decks, I would be I wouldn't be surprised to see one, especially with voyage home connections. I think that is a brilliant idea, especially with those old scientists. The crossover episode with strange new worlds, I think it'd be a great callback, especially to have Mariner and Boimler be part of it and helping them kind of keep the time unintact. So yeah, we'll happen to see what happens, all right, listeners, Well, thanks for joining us this week as a always hailing frequencies are open, so feel free to share your thoughts, your predictions, missing Easter eggs, or questions on social media. If you want more trek, certainly let us know. You can find us at www dot film by podcast dot com, a film by podcast at gmail dot com, on Facebook and Twitter and Instagram. Tune in next week and we'll see you on the next mission.