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

To be honest from the outset, this was one pagh'tem's far from being a DOWN, too. Not for the content or the intent, but for the fact that, like the concept of the episode, it was all a little late in the 26-hour day. The exploration of Shaxs' past, as it is presented here in Upper Decks, surely deserved priority long ago, season five, the unexpected last or no. Moreover, and the nature of Lower Decks aside, it arguably deserved its own entire episode.

Nevertheless, what we do get, however briefly, is a brilliant insight into Shaxs' psyche — into his trauma, and even feelings of guilt, over his actions during the Occupation of Bajor. When contrasted with the usual comedy of the rest of the episode, Shaxs' story in Upper Decks is particularly sombre, although appropriately so.

Through flashbacks and hallucinations, we find Shaxs reliving the "Battle of Tempassa," fighting not only Cardassians, but also versions of himself — his inner demons, as it were, or "the astral projection of [his] unresolved rage". As the bodies of the Cardassians mount up, Shaxs (the primary of the present) concludes that, "They [the Cardassians] weren't warriors. They were occupiers". In that, he begins to put his demons to rest, adding his own truth to the discourse of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. Therapy (with Migleemo) is now the armour for his "metaphysical battles".