While this blog's theme for the month is November Nineties, the focus of today's post is about a current show.
But we can't get through this post without referencing the 1990's so it seems we will be able to fit in with this month's theme.
Last week brought us to the finale of the 4th season of Star Trek Lower Decks and the revelation of who was the big bad behind the season long arc about the strange ship that has been attacking the Ferengi, the Klingons, the Romulans and more.
And we know the answer for real this time, Keith DeCandido.
OK, a little background on that. Keith DeCandido is someone I admire and respect a great deal not just for his prolific career of writing for Star Trek in a variety of novels and short stories but also writing about Star Trek, reviewing and analyzing episodes and movies from The Original Series all through the current new series on Paramount+.
I trust and respect Keith DeCandido.
But damn did he royally mess up one episode review.
In the 7th episode of the 4th season of Lower Decks, DeCandido declares the episode reveals the big bad behind the alien attacks is Badgey, the sentient holographic AI Rutherford created that turned to the evulz.
Sorry dude but there is nothing in that episode that pins the alien attacks on Badgey.
No, the season finale reveals the big bad behind the attacks across the course of the 4th season was...
Nick Locarno?
What?
Yeah, Keith DeCandido got the 7th episode wrong and yeah, that was kind of embarrassing. But damn, ain't it a shame that DeCandido wasn't right? I think Badgey being the instigator of the attacks makes more sense than....
Nick Locarno?
Really?
OK, some back story.
Nick Locarno was introduced in the 5th season Star Trek: The Next Generation episode "The First Duty" which first aired on March 30, 1992. (And there's a November Nineties connection.) Locarno was the leader of a group of cadets (including Wesley Crusher) called Nova Squadron which pulls a stunt that gets a fellow cadet killed. Locarno tries to cajole the team into a cover up so that they all don't get expelled from Starfleet Academy.
But Wes cops to the truth while Locarno takes full responsibility, accepting expulsion from the Academy in exchange for the rest of the team not being kicked out.
Locarno was kind of a dick but in the end, he did the right thing.
It seems 31 years later, Locarno has 2nd thoughts about his noble sacrifice for his teammates.
One of those teammates was a Bajoran cadet named Sito Jaxa who we find out was friends with Becket Mariner.
Sito Jaxa made a return visit for the 7th season Star Trek: The Next Generation episode "Lower Decks" which first aired on February 7, 1994. (And there's your 2nd November Nineties connection.)
Picard gives her a stern talking to for her participation in Locarno's cover up scheme. But he's assessing her character and abilities as she is needed for an undercover mission into Cardassian territory. The episode ends with the understanding Sito Jaxa does not survive her mission and never makes it back to the Federation.
So Locarno has been gathering aliens and ships for his own "Nova Fleet" to do... stuff? I'm not clear on Locarno's endgame here other than he's pissed off at Starfleet and that Sito sacrificed herself for nothing. And he thinks Becket Mariner will be on his side.
After all, Mariner is the radical in Starfleet, the rule breaker, the chaos agent, the one within Starfleet that can see Starfleet is not worth anyone's loyalty.
But he misjudges Mariner. She concedes that sometimes Starfleet sucks but she still believes in the ideals of Starfleet. She still believes in the mission.
Locarno winds up blowing up with a Ferengi black market Genesis Device and whatever the hell he was up to is... stopped? Or something?
Poor DeCandido! Badgey made more sense that.... whatever this was.
The season ends with a bit of a change in the status quo as Tendi is compelled to return to the Orion Syndicate. Her time as Mistress of the Winter Constellation is not quite over.
Side note: Boimler thinking Nick Locarno and Tom Paris look alike and Rutheford just not seeing it. Robert Duncan McNeill played Locarno in the Next Gen up and was cast as Tom Paris in Star Trek Voyager which launched on January 16, 1995 (And that is your 3rd November Nineties connection.) Apparently there was some discussion of having McNeill continue as Locarno on Voyager but they went with a different character with a similar backstory (disgraced Starfleet guy).
Andrea and I have finished up The Librarians and we will miss our family of magic nerds. More on that next week.
Until next time, remember to be good to one another and try to keep it down in there, would ya? I'm trying to watch TV over here.
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