8 Ups & NO Downs From Star Trek: Lower Decks 5.6 - Of Gods And Angles

Someone prep the Prokofiev because it's about to get all Montagues and Capulets (Cublets and Orblets) up in here! Not Romeo and Juliet, but Quadralon and Radiara of the Cubes and the Orbs — warring photonic species of the Veraflex nebula. Never mind the whys and the wherefore art thous when just the where will do. Missing turned to murder investigation and good cop, terrible cop aboard the Cerritos, but in the end, it was all just two very kinky star-remnant-crossed lovers.

On the whole, Of Gods and Angles is another solid episode, blending quintessential sharp (sorry Orbs) wit with compelling A and B plots, both of which marry well throughout (perhaps not unlike the energetic odd couple at the centre). It is equally a strong episode for Mariner and Boimler (separately), and for, as ever, the marvellous minutiae of Star Trek lore.

If there is a negative to be had, it's that what is fine by a linear pace might soon need to switch up to a more geometric progression before the fast approaching, now series, finale. The main arc of the season (the spacetime potholes) has been lost, in part, to the more episodic format of Lower Decks. That, however, is a very modern criticism.

Whatever your thoughts on Of Gods and Angles, just please remember that tractor beams are not just for tractoring!!

The cold opener was fairly brief this week. Though a little jarring, that is to say of the type that trails off into the credits rather than coming to a more formal conclusion, it was effective enough not to warrant a DOWN in and of itself. Through Ransom's first officer's log, the opener introduced us not only to the "Orbs" and the "Cubes" of the diplomatic half of the plot, but also to a certain hapless ensign with electrical troubles.

A nice nod back to Who Mourns for Adonais? with the pointy finger and giant, green hand, we discovered that Ensign Olly was a direct descendent of Zeus, himself a member of an alien species that had posed as deities on ancient Earth. "One with the wind," gone with the sled for Olly, whose hidden powers had been causing all sorts of malfunctions on every ship she had served on.

You don't need to be a Greek god, however, to serve on a starship, although if Ransom doesn't get his kettlebells back, he might not make the gains to match the 'divine' physique. More on this later, but with the help of Mariner, Olly found a way to work with, and not against, her powers — a boon for her and for the machinery of the Cerritos. Those bouncy lightning bolts did look fun, too, just not stuck where Olly's distant relative Helios (and Apollo) don't shine!