8 Ups & 1 Down For Star Trek: Lower Decks 5.8: Upper Decks

Blink or click your tongue and you'll miss 'em. We were introduced to the Clickets — a species of insectoids to make the Xindi jealous — in the Lower Decks' first season episode Veritas. Truth be told, we'd all forgotten about them. So had Captain Freeman, even after they'd popped up for discussion in the morning senior staff briefing. Put down your clicker and let Freeman push the Clickets' buttons.

President Inyo? Not even a Professor of Buhgoon Studies! The fake Grazerite's body-horror transformation back into a Clicker would have been right at home in a Cronenberg piece. Too bad Doctor Kovich/Daniels wasn't around to see it! Or was he? Eyeballs everywhere, let alone the glasses!

You've heard of 'killing with kindness,' this is 'crushing with compliments'. Though we already knew this particular evolutionary weakness of the species from Veritas, in Upper Decks, Freeman ramps up the setting on flattery like a fully powered phaser fired at them. The compliments work. Soon enough, the whole Clicket complement is beaming off the Cerritos. Who knew "kind words" could burn so much! Perhaps they're just British? Either way, Captain Freeman, "I'm impressed with your whole vibe".