Star Trek: Lower Decks Calls Back One of TNG’s Most NSFW Episodes
WARNING: The following article contains spoilers for Season 1, Episode 2 of Star Trek: Lower Decks, "Envoys," now streaming on CBS All Access.
In the second episode of Star Trek: Lower Decks, fans get further acquainted with Ensigns Boimler and Mariner when the pair go on a mission to act as envoys for a respected Klingon warrior named General K'orin. Boimler continues to operate by the book, but he's taken aback when Mariner joins him on his mission, but she's got a good reason. She actually knows the Klingon from previous adventures, and they spend most of their time in their Shuttlecraft drinking and reminiscing about old times.
Click the button below to start this article in quick view. Start nowNow that he's in a mood to party, K'orin insists they make an unscheduled stop before being taken to the Federation Embassy on Tulgana IV so he can further enjoy himself. Unfortunately, K'orin strands Boimler and Mariner on the planet, and their search for him leads to a fun callback to one of Star Trek: The Next Generation's saucier episodes.
In "Envoys," General K'orin disappears to have some fun on Tulgana IV, and Boimler and Mariner must scour the planet's various districts in search of the Klingon warrior. This search takes them through districts that are all home to various alien species, such as the Klingons and the Andorians.
As they go through with their search, Boimler and Mariner wander into a district representative of the planet Risa. Risa, as seen on Star Trek: The Next Generation, is a planet devoted almost entirely to relaxation and pleasure. In the Season 3 episode "Captain's Holiday," Jean-Luc Picard went for a brief vacation on Risa after the planet was recommended to him by his first officer, William Riker.
During his visit, Riker asked Picard to bring him back something called a Horga'hn, a wooden statuette of cultural importance on Risa. However, what the Captain failed to realize at first was that, on Risa, if someone was in possession of a Horga'hn, it was a signal that they were willing to participate in Jamaharon, which is essentially a rite of sexual pleasure. With the Horga'hn, Captain Picard was approached by several women, and he turned them all down until he understood what exactly the statue signified.
So when Boimler and Mariner enter the Risa district, they find an immense Horga'hn statue at the center of a fountain, and everyone in the square appears to be acting subjectively. When Boimler is near the fountain, he is approached by a women, offering to take part in Jamaharon with her.
Boimler has a difficult time saying no, but Mariner stops him, warning him that his would-be partner is a dangerous insectoid alien looking to implant eggs in his body. It's a fun callback to a classic episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation, and it even allows the animated series to poke fun at the explicit nature of Risan culture.
Star Trek: Lower Decks stars Tawny Newsome as Ensign Beckett Mariner, Eugene Cordero as Ensign Rutherford, Jack Quaid as Ensign Brad Boimler, Noël Wells as Ensign Tendi, Dawnn Lewis as Captain Carol Freeman, Jerry O'Connell as Commander Jack Ransom, Gillian Vigman as Doctor T'Ana and Fred Tatasciore as Lieutenant Shaxs. New episodes premiere Thursdays on CBS All Access.
Source: www.cbr.com