Mariner and Boimler are delivering an "evil computer" named Agimus to safe storage when their shuttle crashes on a desert planet. As they try to survive, Agimus tries to turn them against each other. Meanwhile, the Cerritos meets up with the Hysperians, whose Queen Paolana is the mother of chief engineer Billups. She's looking for Billups to take the throne as the Hysperian king... by tricking him into losing his virginity.
There's a meme going around that shows a chameleon-like actor in an array of screenshots from their wide-ranging performances, with a firm declaration that "[This actor] always understands the assignment." Jeffrey Combs always understands the assignment. I've already revisited all of Deep Space Nine, enjoying his long runs as Brunt and Weyoun (not to mention his one-off appearance as the slimy Tiron). His Voyager and Enterprise appearances will come in future re-watches. Each of his characters was distinct, and perfectly calibrated to the story at hand. So it is again here for Lower Decks.
As megalomaniacal AI Agimus, Combs delivers every line with over-the-top commitment, whether threatening, cajoling, or anything in between. It's the type of intensity that lends itself perfectly to animation, and it's hilarious. In short: Jeffrey Combs understands the assignment. It's likely that Lower Decks just reached out to him in a bit of stunt casting for Star Trek fans, but based on his past performances, it should come as no surprise that Combs turned out to be really good at voice acting.
Lower Decks has a way of taking elements of Star Trek that were already dialed up to a 10, turning them to 11, and making comedy. Past Trek series are littered with dysfunctional family relationships, and no episodes loom larger in the minds of fans than The Next Generation's Lwaxana Troi episodes. Without ever poking fun at the (theoretical?) segment of fans that might have liked Lwaxana episodes (no one liked them all, surely?), Lower Decks gives us a great send-up of the premise by giving us an overbearing mother who also presides over a neverending Renaissance Festival.
This was all in service of featuring chief engineer Billups more than ever before, and giving us his wild back story: he needs to remain a virgin, lest he be drafted to rule his people as king and forced to leave Starfleet. I suppose people who might have had trouble with Mugato sex a few episodes back might complain about this plot, but Gene Roddenberry infused plenty of sex-charged stories into episodes in his time. It all walked a rather delicate line of making comedy without mocking Ren Fest lovers, virginity, or (as always) fans of Star Trek.
In the midst of all that, it wasn't as though the show abandoned its focus on its main characters, either. Although Mariner and Boimler had essentially "made up" already, Boimler's constant references to the Titan ripped open an unhealed wound and made for interesting drama between them. In the other plot, Rutherford's apparent death hit hard for Tendi in a meaningful way.
In short, Lower Decks has fully dialed into the kind of show it wants to be, and served up another solid episode. I give "Where Pleasant Fountains Lie" a B+. Let's see what Star Trek veteran they call on next.
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