Space, the final frontier. For the crew of the Cerritos, life can be pretty thrilling. From crystal-loving alien attacks to Pakled schemes, it’s probably one of the most exciting second-contact assignments. Still, no ship is above its grunt work, and the Cerritos is no exception. In true Lower Decks fashion, we get to see a Starfleet ensign’s less-than-glamorous life. So grab your phaser, your recruiter PADDS, and join us as we give you five thoughts on season 3, episode 5, “Reflections.”
1. A boring week with big stakes.
While Starfleet might offer Warp 10 excitement and give you a chance to discover the undiscovered country, it’s not always a chance to boldly go where no one has gone before. So while the first half of the season has heists, base jumping, and alien hunts, “Reflections” turns down the intensity with perhaps one of the most boring assignments, staffing the Starfleet recruitment booth. While it’s not the most exciting mission in the world, Ransom raises the stakes by declaring that if Mariner or Boimler leave their post, it’s off the *shudder* Starbase 80.
While this might seem like a less than thrilling conflict for our ensigns, “Reflections” finds a way to raise the stakes and push Mariner to the limit by having all of the other booths pick away at her patience to defend their organization. The episode is full of fun little visual gags, from a Collector’s booth to a conspiracy theorist organization that peppers the team with inane theories. However, the real highlight is the Independent Archeologist Guild. (This is especially fun considering how often the Enterprise-D tried and failed to work with space’s archeologists.) While the other booths annoy Mariner, Petra has a particular way of getting under her skin, slowly picking away at the space exploring organization (in very internet ways.) It’s a fun conflict because try, as she might, Mariner can’t do anything about it. For a brash hands-on ensign, she’s at a loss.
2. Rutherford’s mysterious ailment.
While we have a good idea about the lives of most of the main cast of Lower Decks, Samanthan Rutherford is pretty enigmatic after three seasons. He’s sweet, dorky, an excellent engineer, and has a Vulcan implant. That’s about it. So “Reflections” puts him at the forefront, doing a lot of heavy lifting for the ensign and giving Eugene Cordero a chance to show his range and talent as a voice actor. After some nightmares, Rutherford tries to wipe his memory drive, but things seem to go wrong. Suddenly the kind Rutherford is brash, arrogant, and angry. While Tendi and others think it’s either hacking, alien possessions, or one of the other myriad problems someone with an impact might have, it seems that Rutherford is fighting himself.
Eugene Cordero is excellent as both halves of Rutherford’s personality. While Cordero tends to play kind, dumb (or often both) characters, “Reflections” gives him a chance to let his bad side out, and you can clearly hear how much fun he’s having in the episode. In the pre-implant version, Rutherford is cocky and self-assured, focusing on speed and style over rules and regulations. In an excellent episode, Cordero is the MVP for bringing a new edge to a familiar character.
3. Don’t mess with Starfleet!
While Mariner struggles to keep her cool against the assault on Starfleet’s values, Boimler is always there to keep the peace. The pairing of Mariner and Boimler is one of the show’s best elements, and it’s exciting to give them a chance to hang out together. While watching the show switch up the dynamic is always fun; it’s just nice to see this duo work together. “Reflections” is that classic dynamic at the forefront but sets up a fantastic subversion when Boimler loses his cool.
From defending the uniform changes to their pseudo militaristic practices, the thing that finally sets Boimler off is the disrespect to the pip, his rank, and his status in Starfleet. “Reflections” gives us some wonderfully unhinged Boimler as he, quite aggressively, defends his beloved organization. While Cordero is the episode’s overall MVP, Quaid deserves some credit for playing that Boimler rant so perfectly.
4. A race for Rutherford’s soul.
Continued belowMuch of Rutherford’s story takes place in his subconscious as the pre-implant and post-implant personalities vie for control of his body. Pre!Implant Rutherford challenges our Rutherford to a race, testing their engineering prowess and who’s worthy of being in control. “Reflections” climactic setpiece ultimately comes down to a space race between the loner academy Rutherford and the vibrant life of Rutherford and his friends. It’s a wonderfully executed reveal that while Rutherford might have lost his drive to be the best engineer in Starfleet, his friends have made him stronger.
“Reflections” also gives an opportunity to shed more light on Rutherford’s backstory. Through some excellent flashbacks, it seems like Rutherford was part of some less than savory Starfleet tests and, to save face after an accident, was given an implant to hide these interactions. It’s an excellent resolution to the story, suggesting that while the implant was there for less than savory reasons, Rutherford has been able to grow beyond it. Plus, it sets up some excellent mysteries for future adventures.
5. A job well done leads to a new job offer.
In a shocking turn of events, it’s Boimler in the brig after an away mission, violating Ransom’s rule. While “Reflections” has an all’s well that ends well resolution, the show quickly reminds us that it’s messier than it seems. Rutherford’s past is still a big question, and Mariner is still on the Starfleet team.
After their less than thrilling mission, it turns out that the archeologist giving Mariner guff was trying to trick her into causing a scene to create a distraction and steal an artifact. However, she was also impressed by Mariner and suggested that perhaps her future is in archeology. While “Reflections” ends with Mariner sticking around, she doesn’t delete the contact, and that’s telling enough.
So there you have it. While the crew is together, it seems like something bigger is going on behind the scenes. What did you think of the episode? Sound off below, and see you next week among the stars!