Space, the final frontier. While other starships might have been the first to discover Q or go to Gangster planets, none have had quite as wild an adventure as Captain Janeway and the crew of the Voyager. While this show might have its fair share of ups and downs for the Lower Decks crew, it is a ship worthy of accolades and deserves its honor as a museum. The problem? When you explore the Voyager, things get weird. Join us as we take a look at season 4, episode 1, “Twovix.”
1. An increasingly weird series of misadventures on the universe’s favorite exploring vessel.
While I’ve started Star Trek: Voyager I haven’t gotten very far. It’s a show that is incredibly polarizing. While there are some passionate defenders of Janeway and her crew, it’s difficult to see that the show fully embraces the stranger side of Trek. From turning into primordial lizards to dealing with Macroviruses, it’s a show that leans into some weird misadventures. Honestly, that makes it the perfect bait for Lower Decks to parody, and “Twovix” takes full advantage of the situation.
From borg-possessed lizard robots to multiple holodeck baddies, including Doctor Chaotica in all of his film grain glory, “Twovix” is about as strange as you can get. The show has a wonderful little moment of lampshading as Captain Freeman comments on the gauntlet of Voyager based situations the crew had to deal with, and it’s just fun to see Mike McMahan and team get to play in the bizarre side of the universe. It’s a joyful episode celebrating some wonderfully strange episodes of TV.
2. Finally, putting the whole Tuvix debate to rest.
If you have spent any amount of time on Star Trek fan sites or meme pages, you probably know about the Tuvix controversy. It’s an episode perfectly emblematic of the problems of Voyager, a big idea with a controversial ending. Did Janeway do a murder? Is Tuvix a murdered innocent being or an evil parasite that was a threat to the crew? Lower Decks puts its finger on the scale in “Twovix,” arguing that the melded beings are more threatening than innocent.
Well, it depends on the pairing, I suppose, but the initial blend of Billups and T’ana, called T’Illups, is a malevolent being. As “Twovix” continues, the main crew continues to “get Tuvixed,” creating increasingly weird mashups of Lower Decks favorites. The episode culminates in a truly haunting image: a mega-merged blob of meat. While Tendi had her initial thoughts, by the time it becomes a true eldritch horror, it’s time to put everyone in their proper place. While it might not truly put the Tuvix debate to rest, it seems to be a final judgment that the being, given enough resources, was a threat.
3. Letting your geek side out could be the key to saving the day
One of the biggest shocks on “Twovix” is that Boimler just isn’t acting, well, Boimler-y. He’s screwing up (at least more than usual) and making a situation go from bad to worse, not using his intense knowledge of the ship he loves to save the day. Over time, we find out his reasoning, but when he’s encouraged to let his geek flag fly, he saves the day, and it’s beautiful.
One of the things that makes Lower Decks so great is the active encouragement of letting their protagonists be dorks. It’s a strange phenomenon, specifically because other shows with their characters in awe of Star Trek stuff can get a little tiresome, but for this crew, it’s an utter delight. “Twovix” works because the characters are obsessed with the history of Trek and use it to their advantage, much better than characters being impressed at the moment. Letting Boimler and Rutherford save the day by using cheese or defeating Dr. Chaos by pretending to be Captain Proton’s son makes them fans, just like us. It might be a little cringe, just in a fun way.
4. Friends that work together get promoted together
The real reason that Bradward is acting off? He doesn’t want the promotion. Yes, the ever-eager ensign sabotages his promotion chance simply because he doesn’t want to ruin his relationship with Mariner. It’s a sweet moment that plays up the real strength of Lower Decks, that our ensigns are more than friends; they’re a family. Mariner puts those fears to rest, suggesting that she recommended Boims for promotion, and “Twovix” lands in a lovely spot. Despite promotions, these friends will always be together.
Continued belowThe problem is that Mariner’s little pep talk gets her the worst possible fate: her promotion. It’s exciting that “Twovix” is willing to shake up the status quo and give our heroes more responsibilities, opening the doors for different kinds of adventures. They might not be Lower Decks anymore, but they won’t get the best jobs, not yet. (But hey, at least no more holodeck clearing.)
5. A new threat to the galaxy
While “Twovix” ends with the now lieutenants happy that they’re past strange cosmic treats, wouldn’t you know it, one shows up. While the show has gone all in on T’Lyn, her Klingon compatriot from “wej Duj” isn’t quite as lucky. The new threat to the galaxy has made its mark and destroyed a Klingon Bird of Prey. What does this mean for the crew of the Cerritos? It’s too early to say, but you know it isn’t good.
What did you think of the episode? Sound off below, and see you among the stars!
