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Boimler and Mariner are sent off on a high stakes mission to escort a Klingon dignitary. In order to spend more time with Ensign Tendi, Rutherford quits his engineering job and tries out different opportunities aboard the USS Cerritos. “Envoys” is the second episode of the first season of Star Trek: Lower Decks. It features another A and B plot that feel very reminiscent of ’90s era Star Trek, all while peppering the script full of references and nods to the franchise as a whole.
In the A plot, Boimler is upset to learn that Mariner is the better envoy on their mission to escort a famous Klingon ambassador. After losing the ambassador, the duo have a variety of traditional “Star Trek” encounters that lead to Boimler having serious self-doubt about his innate abilities. Mariner seems to be completely in control of all situations. But then the two bump into a traditional Star Trek nemesis and Boimler has a chance to shine.
In the comedic B plot, Rutherford quits his engineering position (to the delight of the chief engineer) and moves into command, then science, and then finally security. We get short vignettes of each new position and are given additional insights into the commander of each respective division. Ultimately, Rutherford turns out to be best suited for engineering. He returns to his position in engineering and learns that Ensign Tendi and he can have different interests but still be friends (or more).
In this episode of the podcast, Wes and Clay discuss “Envoys” and wonder if Lower Decks is a series that will be able to survive on its own once the supply of references runs low. Plus! The guys chat about the potential issues with Mariner, why Rutherford works so well as a comic character, and why you shouldn’t expect to see any Lower Decks characters referenced in the next season of Star Trek: Picard.