Congrats to our four new junior lieutenants, they did in 4 seasons what Harry Kim failed to do in 7.

Assimilated salamander robot is my new favourite villain. That said, why did the exhibit not display their children?

Some thoughts after sleeping on it…

— I found the 4 x 01 Twovix the best season premiere yet.

All the premieres seem callback and Easter egg heavy. Making this one a museum (ship) mishap episode worked that into the story in a natural way and allowed some of the weirdest and trippyest things from Voyager to pike on. Bravo.

While some reviewers have expressed regrets that the original Voyager actors voices weren’t used, I’m glad that the focus stayed on the Cerritos crew, the artifacts and how Voyager remains dangerous wherever she is, even as a literal museum.

I am unhappy that the Klingon lower decker and his ship were sacrificed for the seasonal mystery big bad. It’s clear it’s really dangerous though. (Perhaps the mystery ship is collecting humanoids to take them to another era where they are extinct….?)

It’s also likely the case that I enjoyed the ride of the premiere more for knowing I had another new episode to watch immediately.

— The second episode was mostly a straightforward Lower Decks classic, but one that did its job to move the main 4 lower deckers into their new roles.

We’ll have to see how well it works on rewatch, but the moopsie scenes seem likely to be classics. After the Voyager celebration of weird in the season premiere, it was very smart for Lower Decks to underscore its ability to give us its own very original weirdness, and remind us that humanity are the most dangerous in the menagerie.

I’m glad that they make Rutherford a bit of an odd man out in the promotions. I still feel that he’s a bit of an incomplete person/character because his ambition and drive has been submerged by the implant. I really hope that the writers will keep dribbling out more about that.

I grinned like an idiot throughout the first episode because of all the Voyager callbacks but I got the biggest laugh in the second episode when Boimler goes to his new quaters and the room is bright red because of the glowing nacelle. I had to pause because I was laughing so much. For the past ~30 years I always wondered what crew quarters which face towards the nacelles were like. Thank you, Lower Decks.

…moopsy

T’illups using “Tuvix” as a verb was golden.

Also Captain Dr. Frigleeman definitely didn’t awaken anything in me I swear.

So why did Boimler’s between-the-holodecks room have the (embarrassing) events of both adjacent holodecks reverberating through it? One of the core capabilities of a holodeck is the ability to manipulate where sounds appear to be coming from, which must include the ability to dampen sounds enormously. And if that technology exists, it should likely be available for ordinary walls between quarters too.

Is this just another case of Boimler not realizing that basic niceties (like viewscreen light filters) exist? And did both Freeman and T’Ana disable the audio dampening of their own holodecks?

Now I want to know how T’Lyn knows what Borg smell like.

I only watched the first of the two last night, but I’m so glad those of us who called Janeway a murderer for what she did to Tuvix are finally validated since most other Starfleet officers seem to agree.

Observations and thoughts as I watched (initially posted at the other place):

• We begin with “Twovix”.

• Holodeck waste material, AKA jizz, poop, and god knows what else.

• Oh, hey, T’Lyn!

• DAT VOYAGER THEME!

• Oh, hey, the probe from the one with the whales!

• Neelix cheese!

• Shit did get freaky.

• Oh shit, they’re going to Tuvix Billups and T’ana!

• “Janeway straight-up murdered Tuvix.”

• MACROVIRUS.

• The Pike Thing, of course.

• “Back in the 70s”

• “Captain, I caution against socializing with the organism.”

• So many VOY deep cuts.

• “Holy shit. Janeway didn’t mess around.”

• Macrovirus of Borg. And robotic warp salamander of Borg.

• “Water, room temperature.”

• This is definitely T’Ana’s side of T’Llups.

• Oh god, they tuvixed the Matt the whale! Wait, what about Kimolu? Is he alright? Is he okay?

• A Tuvixy meatball!

• Heh, the real solution to the Tuvix conundrum was just to keep merging until it’s a nonsentient blob of meat so there is no murder, so to speak.

• Oh god I just realized that we’re going to get so much Tuvixy fanart.

• Bizarre series of Voyager-themed obstacles.

• SHE GOT A PIP

• Beckett Mariner receives the fate worse than death for her: promotion.

• Nothing ever good happens “somewhere in Klingon space”

• RIP Klingon lower-deckers.

And now, episode 2:

• Heh, Romulan lower decks.

• Goodbye, Romulan lower deckers!

• Heh, those 80s workout stuff.

• Oh, cool, Boimler still has his Tom Paris tplate!

• Please tell me Denty has a Memory Alpha page.

• The Nacelle is right there!

• Non-botanicals

• I have just met Moopsy but I would die for it.

• Oddly enough, this is the SECOND time this year that a Jack Quaid character looked at a VERY bright light. Shoutout to my boy Richard Feynman, the one man crazy enough to watch a nuclear test without goggles.

• Okay, I would no longer die for the moopsy.

• Tucker Tubes! Good old Trip got stuff named for him!

• The Ad Astra Per Aspera poster!

• I do feel like Starfleet would have better soundproofing, but then again this is the Cerritos.

• RIP corn guy.

• LIVIK!

• Aww, D’Vana Tendi giving orders.

• Teeth as bread crumbs.

• Heh, the humans really are the worst.

• Hah, he could have just used the viewports.

• Overall, I think I liked this second episode more, even though I loved the VOY fan service.

The big blob of merged people was so disturbing, glad this was in a cartoon and not live action. That would have been extra horrifying!

Veneers? Really?

Worf can get a new spine but they can’t regrow some teeth?

I’m late to the party.

“Twovix.” Love it. From Jack’s advice to Shax at the start through the end, I enjoy this episode. Voyager becoming a museum was a great way to cram a lot of VOY escapades into an episode. I’m going to miss Mariner’s, Boimler’s, Tendi’s, and Rutherford’s time together in their hallway bunks, but the promotions are well deserved and bound to happen. I think T’Lyn is a great addition. The ending though, oh, no. Not Ma’ah and the Che’Ta’! I’m betting their demise (seeming? seems likely?) is because of William Boimler or Badgey. Maybe both of them. Keep in mind I’m terrible at guessing.

“I Have No Bones Yet I Must Flee.” Also love it. First and foremost, yes, I, a grown woman, want a Moopsy plush. Preferably one that says, “moopsy.” I was wondering if Mariner’s being promoted would go smoothly, and I was not disappointed with how it played out. For all his goofiness, I think Ransom is a great commanding officer. I’m pretty meh on the potential of Rutherford and Livik being adversaries. It seems out of character for Rutherford. But, LD continues to pleasantly surprise me, so I’m keeping an open mind. Boimler’s tribulations with his new quarters were funny, and very Boimler. With what happened to the Romulan ship at the beginning of the episode, I’m wondering if the whatever it is will take out a different ship every episode this season.

I bet we see the Vulcan Lower Decks ship destroyed next. I wonder if Tlyn will find out

Where can I get Moopsy as a ringtone for my phone?