Over a month after Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 2 hosted a well-received crossover episode with the animated series Star Trek: Lower Decks, Lower Decks Season 4 kicks things off with the two-episode season premiere. The first of these episodes is "Twovix." As its typically cheeky title suggests, it is a lengthy riff on one of the admittedly stranger moments from Star Trek: Voyager. Much of what Lower Decks Season 4 does well is present here, particularly balancing the progression of overarching narratives and character arcs with well-crafted comedy.
After three seasons of successful service on the USS Cerritos, a starship tasked with completing menial and clerical assignments across Starfleet's jurisdiction, junior officers are in line for promotions. Ensign Brad Boimler scrambles to prove himself worthy for advancement up the Starfleet chain of command, and the Cerritos travels on a routine mission to help transport the historically commemorated USS Voyager and a museum exhibition celebrating its exploits in the Delta Quadrant. However, a transporter accident merging two individuals into a new composite figure creates a world of headaches for the Cerritos, jeopardizing Boimler's planned promotion.
Coming back to Lower Decks and its lovable characters really does feel like a reunion with friends, with even the more ancillary characters getting their respective moments to shine in the season premiere. The promotion premise lends itself well to feeling like the characters are moving forward on their respective journeys, even though some of Beckett Mariner's trepidation about getting promoted may feel like a temporary step back for her arc. Fortunately, this is just a quibble in the season premiere and sets up Mariner for an interesting conflict as the season continues.
Lower Decks has poked fun at Voyager before, notably with a memorable return of Voyager's main character, Tom Paris, but not quite as extensively as it is here. More than just featuring the Voyager starship, "Twovix" good-naturedly skewers a lot of the '90s series' bizarre episodes -- including the time Kathryn Janeway and Paris were temporarily transformed into amphibians -- and it takes full advantage of the comical potential that it's afforded. Lower Decks Season 3 was more serious and introspective than its preceding seasons, and the Season 4 premiere marks a steady return to form in terms of its comedic emphasis.
Even with the promotion story and threads of the overarching threat that is sure to be a recurring factor throughout the season, the Season 4 premiere feels like Lower Decks confidently leaning into its strengths. This is a Boimler-driven episode, and Jack Quaid does a good job capturing the character's trademark boyish enthusiasm and anxiety-fueled outbursts. As far as upping the ante from the Season 3 finale, it does feel like Season 4 will do so by taking a page from Star Trek: The Motion Picture in introducing a new threat that challenges the entire galaxy.
Right out the gate, Lower Decks Season 4 builds upon the animated series' solid foundation and sets up interesting directions for the Cerritos and its crew to follow moving forward. After Season 3 revisited Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, it's fun to see Voyager get the Lower Decks treatment in Season 4. Hopefully, other classic shows will get the spotlight this season.
Created by Mike McMahan, Star Trek: Lower Decks releases new episodes on Thursdays on Paramount+.