WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Star Trek: Lower Decks Season 1, Episode 4, "Moist Vessel," now streaming on CBS All Access.
Through its first three episodes, Lower Decks focuses on Ensign Mariner's (Tawny Newsome) relationships with the various characters, most notably Boimler (Jack Quaid) and Ransom (Jerry O'Connell). But surprisingly, the one dynamic that hasn't been the focus is with her mother and captain, Carol Freeman (Dawnn Lewis). That all changes, however, in "Moist Vessel," which chooses to both highlight and terraform their complicated relationship.
Unlike the previous two episodes, this week's cold open chooses to introduce rather than isolate. The Cerritos' mission this week is to help relocate an abandoned Generation ship that was transporting an emulsion that could transform inorganic material into organic. The ship is partnered alongside the Merced and its Tellarite captain Durango, who shares a history with Freeman. Their cooperative mission briefing is interrupted, though, by Mariner, who haphazardly distributes PADDs to the officers and can't even stifle her yawns with how boring she finds Durango to be.
After the credits, Freeman continues her issue from last week's episode, feeling Mariner's rudeness is a representation of how she can't manage her crew. All her daughter can muster in response is a sarcastic Vulcan salute. Seeing his superior's frustration, Ransom suggests assigning Mariner to all the worst jobs on the ship. The hope would be that she would request a transfer onto another ship, ridding Freeman of her insolence.
In the B-plot for this episode, Tendi (Noël Wells) gets pumped for attending an ascension ceremony. O'Connor, an officer aboard, has apparently mastered the art of alien meditation to the point where he is about to ascend the physical realm and become a being of pure energy. As Tendi excitedly describes it, "It’s like studying so much for a test that you become the literal test." That test will have to be postponed, though, thanks to Tendi literally crashing the ceremony. Her interest in the serene environment causes a kerfuffle that ruins a mandala filled with two years' work of colorful sand.
Both Tendi and Mariner work to clean up a mess, as the latter is assigned to the worst grunt work as part of Freeman's plan. Despite gagging on the scatological side of the holodeck and nearly getting killed while working a turbolift, her day ends on a surprisingly high note when she makes a game out of the boring task of cleaning the carbon off the carbon filter. A stunned Ransom reports her enjoyment to Freeman, who pivots to a much more cavalier idea. And we see that idea play out in the very next scene, as Mariner receives a promotion to Lieutenant, much to the chagrin of a cleaning Boimler.
Despite the shock of the promotion, it becomes immediately clear why Freeman made the move, as Mariner gets dragged into the menial tasks that come with being a senior officer. We then get a montage of Mariner being subjected to the nitty-gritty of what we don't usually see Trek officers doing in their day-to-day. It ranges from intense arguments about new chairs to audits upon audits to a cringeworthy management training involving scat singing and one-man shows. Over time, Mariner falls further and further into a comatose state, overworked and uninterested. But unfortunately for her, her role on the ship is all in, much like her unorthodox poker strategy.
Tendi is similarly committed to helping O'Connor achieve ascension. She dives headfirst into faiths from across the galaxy, trying everything from chants to bugs to "blow him away with spirituality." Her continual presence pushes O'Connor over the edge, and he drives her away by outright calling her a villain. Meanwhile, aboard the Merced, Freeman's undermining of Durango has gotten to the captain. He makes a literal jockeying for position, moving his ship closer to the Generation vessel to show his importance in the mission. But his grab for power also grabs a piece of the Generation hull, and the terraforming emulsion leaks onto the Merced, beginning to destroy the ship.
Back aboard the Cerritos, Freeman dangles a transfer in front of Mariner, before she needs to attend Ransom's birthday party of Barcelona-focused guitar songs. Though Mariner refuses, she chastises her mom for her tactics. Their conversation gets crashed by the emulsion, which made it away aboard from the Merced to create encroaching rock spires. As the two escape, Freeman can't help but micromanage her daughter, down to her choice in chiseling rock. Mariner accuses Freeman of treating her like a child, and she, in turn, accuses her daughter of not being mature enough to warrant anything but that treatment.
In the warp core, Tendi and O'Connor get swept up in rising waters, and prospects of survival look nigh. He confesses that he was faking his ascension, looking for a way to stand out among the rest of Starfleet, and used Tendi as a scapegoat for why he couldn't move on. Tendi is thrilled by the revelation, realizing that they both are so desperate to be liked that they'll concoct a big lie. She goes into action to save her new best friend, blowing up the wall to sweep them out of the chamber. But it's O'Connor who gets the last move, pushing Tendi out of the way of a falling rock, being crushed as a result.
Despite their arguing, Mariner snaps into problem-solving mode, suggesting they flood the ship with gas and trigger a reversion. Freeman is actually impressed at her daughter's intuitive thinking, especially when it ends up dissolving the emulsion and saving the ship. With O'Connor now safe, he and Tendi kiss after their near-death experience. However, it turns out that experience was enough to actually make him ascend, as he gleefully floats into the air to shed his corporeal form. Unfortunately, that glee dissolves along with his body, as agonizing burning coupled with the mind-blowing revelation that the universe is built on the back of a smiling koala makes O'Connor's transition into pure energy anything but peaceful.
With the Cerritos back to normal and the Merced safe with the crew beamed onto the Generation ship, Freeman and Mariner celebrate their cooperative effort. As an admiral enters to give them both medals for their work, Freeman eagerly anticipates the two working side-by-side. But seeing that path in front of her, Mariner goes for the road less traveled. She purposely gets herself demoted, embarrassing Freeman by calling the admiral out on his goofy mispronunciations. As Tendi tries (and fails) to learn the lesson of not caring what others think of her, Mariner lies back in her bunk, feeling back at home.
"Moist Vessel" is a nice portrayal of Mariner's core philosophy from the jump. Seeing the promotion through her eyes gives a fun take on the usually revered bridge crew, showing no jobs in Starfleet are as glamorous as advertised. She also gets the chance to show her mother that not only does she have the ability to be a great officer, but she also has none of the drive to do so. That push-and-pull dynamic should continue to make for interesting stories as Lower Decks continues.
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. The show premiered on CBS All Access on Aug. 6.