Star Trek: Lower Decks references the original series in the latest episode
Fans are still delighted by Star Trek: Lower Decks' plethora of allusions to the legendary "Star Trek" series. The animated comedy series is a pleasure for die-hard Trekkies since it doesn't hesitate to incorporate inter-franchise nods and callbacks at lightning-fast speed. In the series's most recent episode, "A Few Badgeys More," the Lower Deckers waged up against renegade sentient technology, and a famous callback to the original Star Trek series appeared.
Things took an interesting turn when Badgey, the AI hologram, made a move suggestive of a classic Star Trek episode. He suffered a change akin to the famous Star Trek episode "The Enemy Within."
In this iconic episode, Captain Kirk is divided into two parts, one representing his heroic side and the other his evil side. William Shatner gave an outstanding performance as the glaring contrast between the good and evil Kirk in the episode.
Star Trek: Lower Decks sees Badgey pull an “Enemy Within”
Characters like Exocomp Peanut Hamper (Kether Donohue), the evil computer AGIMUS (Jeffrey Combs), and the tainted AI hologram Badgey (Jack McBrayer) all made appearances in the Star Trek: Lower Decks episode "A Few Badgeys More."
The narrative of the episode also touched on the enduring Star Trek topic of renegade technology and its possibility for redemption as the crew of the USS Cerritos overcame the difficulties faced by these erstwhile adversaries.
"The Enemy Within" is one of the most unforgettable episodes of Star Trek: The Original Series, partly because William Shatner gives an even more committed performance than usual when Captain Kirk splits into two halves, one heroic and one malevolent. The episode, which airs early in the first season of the program, demonstrates to potential viewers that the show may be far more goofy than anticipated.
The fact that "The Enemy Within" established a precedent for some dubious science further makes it stand out in the series. Sure, Star Trek foresaw and influenced many technical advancements. Still, it also had an episode where a transporter divided a person up according to the composition of their soul rather than their anatomy or chemical structure.
This idea is taken to a whole new degree in Star Trek: Lower Decks when Badgey divides into not two but three unique personas. Initial interactions with Rutherford (Eugene Cordero) led the renegade AI to change its behavior momentarily and become "good." This new identity, which Rutherford playfully dubbed "Goodgey," could be immediately distinguished from the villainous Badgey by his kind and upbeat personality.
Due to Badgey's rational nature and realization that hurting his pals was pointless, Logicy, a third persona, appeared. The episode's plot took an interesting turn thanks to this nuanced representation. In an entertaining twist typical of power-hungry villains from previous Star Trek: Lower Decks episodes, Badgey abandoned his nasty ways and retired to a tranquil existence comparable to a celestial being.
Even if the episode didn't go into great detail about the intricate science behind Badgey's change, it is a fascinating tribute to "The Enemy Within." While a transporter failure caused Kirk's split in the original series, Lower Decks pays homage to the idea with its novel take, further referencing Star Trek's themes of rouge technology.
Star Trek: Lower Decks continues to air new episodes every Thursday on Paramount+. For fans of the illustrious Star Trek series, it continues to be a gold mine of allusions and callbacks and is thoroughly enjoyable.
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Ivanna Lalsangzuali