Lower Decks: A Few Badgeys More

Lower Decks has given us episodes that aim right for fan nostalgia of Deep Space Nine and Voyager. But this week, they dip heavily into their own backstory for "A Few Badgeys More."

Three evil AIs from the Cerritos' past have returned to menace the crew. In deep space, Badgey has commandeered a Drookmani ship and is determined to destroy his creator Rutherford. On Earth, Agimus and Peanut Hamper are plotting together to escape from imprisonment -- and Boimler and Tendi are caught up in it all as they try to gather intelligence from Agimus.

All three of the main guest stars this week have given excellent performances in their previous episodes of Lower Decks -- Jeffrey Combs, Jack McBrayer, and Kether Donohue. Getting all three together in one episode is almost overload. It feels like it should be, and yet the episode is written deftly enough to balance all three of the villains. (But then, I think Peanut Hamper is better in small doses anyway.)

Of course, the episode doesn't find room for just those three characters, but for (as the title says) all the versions of Badgey that split off. That's a wild concept, and Jack McBrayer goes above and beyond voicing Goodgey and Logic-y in the episode's most fun storyline. It's great that Rutherford's boundless positivity winds up being a "weapon" of sorts against Badgey. Better still that for once, Star Trek shows us a lifeform that ascends to omnipotent godhood and doesn't turn irredeemably evil.

Reform is also part of the B plot with Boimler, Tendi, and the other two AIs. While Agimus talks a hilarious game in which even everyday activities merit maniacal laughter, it's nice that he's made a turn for good. I guess that when you spend a lot of time with your light turned blue, it sinks in. It's maybe a little weird how far Boimler and Tendi let Agimus go before "escaping" (even if Boimler thinks Starfleet can undo plantary subjugation in "an hour"), but that's just one of those moments where you have to let Lower Decks be funny first and foremost.

One area where I'm less sure about letting Lower Decks do its thing, though, is the late revelation about what's been going on with the mysterious alien ship all season. We learn that it has been capturing, not destroying, all the aliens it has encountered this season -- which doesn't feel like a twist, but a disingenuous bait-and-switch. We were shown a debris field in this very episode, left by the Bynar ship; it feels like the writers deliberately misled the audience about the ongoing plot, rather than simply nudging us to a wrong conclusion. (I also didn't find much humor in seeing the Bynars in this context. You have to understand the dialogue for a visit to an alien "lower decks" to be funny.)

But I found that a minor quibble amid a mostly delightful episode. Badgey has been one of Lower Decks' most fun and anarchic creations. And I love me some Jeffrey Combs. So I give "A Few Badgeys More" an A-. It was one of my favorite episodes so far this season.