This was such a good episode. Watched the whole thing with a smile. Loved seeing the lower decks on the other ships. This is my favourite of all the current treks.
19 Reviews
100% Trek
anthonymotture9 October 2021
Lower Decks grew its beard twice as long, twice as fast
craybatesedu7 October 2021
Warning: Spoilers
Season 2 of Lower Decks has been strong. After "I, Excretus," I thought we had seen this team at its best. That previous episode had every piece perfectly aligned, and expertly deployed so much of the intense character-building we've been treated to so far. How could it get better from there?
Wej Duj ("Three Ships") is a masterpiece of Lower Decks and of Star Trek. It is incredible television.
Lower Decks understands that Star Trek is, at its core, an office drama on the high seas. It is adventure and mystery experienced as the day-jobs of fantastically competent and good-hearted people. Familiar and unfamiliar faces all have their part to play in building this elaborate future of ours.
Wej Duj just gets it. It gets Star Trek, and it gets Lower Deck's place in that universe. It shows us the "Lower Decks" (the behind-the-scenes, under-the-bulkhead, behind-the-transporter-console workadays of Starfleet, as opposed to its captains and heroes), this time from the perspective of our crew on the Cerritos, a Klingon ship, and a Vulcan ship.
All three cultures are already richly explored in Star Trek and wej Duj wastes no time reiterating what these societies are about. It shows us, with breathtaking efficiency, the different values and drives behind each one - and contextualizes them in how those cultures are experienced by their own workadays. The Vulcan "rebel" who is practically declared insane for merely having instincts, the Klingon rebel-with-a-cause desperate both for honor and for the approval of a dishonorable captain, are stacked up next to Ensign Boimler - who is, to put it mildly, a Star Trek fan in uniform.
All three stories show us people struggling to find joy in societies which have become staid and aimless. Our Vulcan ensign is belittled, in cripplingly acerbic Vulcan fashion, for marginally expanding herself a hair's breadth beyond her literal duties. Our Klingon soldier finds himself groaning under the weight of an overbearing captain who is ruthless, dangerous, everything a Klingon is likely told to be by Klingon television - except that his captain is a dishonorable, craven traitor, as if the House of Duras was still able to field ships in the 2380s.
If that last reference made no sense to you, don't worry. Lower Decks does not need you to be utterly steeped in Star Trek lore. It will teach it to you, in the funniest way possible. Lower Decks has mastered the art of snarky fan service: rewarding us with tiny easter eggs like pink Klingon blood and Vulcans quoting Spock verbatim, in a way that both pokes fun at, and genuinely points out the existential weaknesses of, this great Star Trek canon we've built for fifty years.
The Cerritos crew starts with a corporate-life mundanity agonizingly familiar to anyone working today: fake socialization with the management. All of our crew accidentally find themselves having a blast with their bosses - except Boimler, of course, who can never get out of his own way long enough to live up to Starfleet and his own ideals. Does it matter that Boimler's fumble is the same gaffe pulled by LaVelle in the Next Generation episode called "Lower Decks" - trying to schmooze with a superior by concocting a shared place of birth, only to fall utterly and obviously flat? Only a little. If you aren't a Star Trek fan you'll feel the agony of your own fake sincerity amounting to nothing with the boss. And if you are, you'll chuckle grimly just a little bit louder. As always Lower Decks finds way to reward you for being a fan, but not punishing you for not.
Lower Decks has already built its own perfectly absurd villain - the Pakleds. Aboard the "crumship Pakled" (yes, they called the Pakleds called their ship Pakled, and yes, its ship class is identified onscreen as a crumship), we see our Klingon captain betraying the galaxy by selling weapons to doofuses and leaving the Pakleds to wage war on the Federation by themselves with stolen Klingon bombs. What's a Klingon solider to do when he needs the approval of such a dishonorable leader in order to advance?
The Cerritos and the Vulcan ship converge and join forces against the Pakleds in a beautifully-animated space battle. The Vulcan ship is only there because our erstwhile Vulcan ensign's disreputably fun science project tweaked the sensors a little bit. The Cerritos, too, is there on accident, only diverted from its otherwise-dull cruise because of the ingrained natural curiosity of its crew. Our guys triumph because the tiny background contributions of their respective nobodies made all the difference.
And our Klingon soldier finds himself at the exact right moment. How? Oh, you know. "Klingon stuff." He sheathes his knife into his captain's heart, takes command of the ship, and warps off to Klingon space to expose the vanity and treachery of his own captain. Instead of seeking his captain's approval, our newly-minted Klingon warrior follows his heart and maximizes his own potential by rebelling against the cynical version of his own culture epitomized by his captain.
Just as the Vulcan's logic wins the day against the oppressive faux-logic of her own military, which has replaced dispassionate Vulcan wisdom with disinterested Vulcan conformity. She, too, rebels in her own way, not by telling Vulcan culture to go screw, but by finding its long-buried heart under the layers of bureaucracy that have stifled it. Just as Boimler, our dyed-in-the-wool Trekkie, is always at risk of having his Wesley-like bright-eyed curiosity about the universe crushed under the trivialities of working life.
Just like all of us Star Trek nerds, really. If you aren't a Star Trek nerd, you've felt this somewhere in your life. Some hobby or passion you've felt excluded from not because of some fault in your interests, but through some fault of the people who have taken it over, commercialized it, homogenized it, ground it up and scattered it across a spreadsheet when it belongs in the realm of pure fun and joy. You know exactly what all three of these Lower Decks crews' lives are like, how you go through your life shielding the tiny flickering candle of your own joy against the horrendous bluster of modern life. It isn't the wind's fault - but you still have to keep the candle burning, and by God is it hard.
Every frame of this episode is perfectly-placed. The Lower Decks team has built out a Simpsons-scale cast of characters who we know, and feel like we understand, with only a few combined hours across seasons 1 and 2. You don't even notice how "in-character" the Lower Decks main cast, the bridge crew, even the one-offers and one-liners of episodes past fit perfectly into the story. Every episode is animated more beautifully than the last and this episode is no exception. The music - always a strong suit of Lower Decks's - is full of musical phrases familiar to Star Trek nerds alone, but designed to immaculately set and advance the mood even if you aren't.
As a Star Trek nerd, I confidently say that this is top-ten all-time Star Trek. But maybe more importantly, it is somehow also, finally, at last, the most perfect answer to your friends' eternal question: "I've never seen Star Trek before. Where do I start?"
You start with Lower Decks. In fact, I think you start with wej Duj. There is no more efficient an explanation of so much of Star Trek's lore and history, its feel for curiosity, exploration, personal growth, self-actualization, than wej Duj. It helps that it is a fantastically well-directed episode with peak performances by all cast and production team. Welcome aboard.
Wej Duj ("Three Ships") is a masterpiece of Lower Decks and of Star Trek. It is incredible television.
Lower Decks understands that Star Trek is, at its core, an office drama on the high seas. It is adventure and mystery experienced as the day-jobs of fantastically competent and good-hearted people. Familiar and unfamiliar faces all have their part to play in building this elaborate future of ours.
Wej Duj just gets it. It gets Star Trek, and it gets Lower Deck's place in that universe. It shows us the "Lower Decks" (the behind-the-scenes, under-the-bulkhead, behind-the-transporter-console workadays of Starfleet, as opposed to its captains and heroes), this time from the perspective of our crew on the Cerritos, a Klingon ship, and a Vulcan ship.
All three cultures are already richly explored in Star Trek and wej Duj wastes no time reiterating what these societies are about. It shows us, with breathtaking efficiency, the different values and drives behind each one - and contextualizes them in how those cultures are experienced by their own workadays. The Vulcan "rebel" who is practically declared insane for merely having instincts, the Klingon rebel-with-a-cause desperate both for honor and for the approval of a dishonorable captain, are stacked up next to Ensign Boimler - who is, to put it mildly, a Star Trek fan in uniform.
All three stories show us people struggling to find joy in societies which have become staid and aimless. Our Vulcan ensign is belittled, in cripplingly acerbic Vulcan fashion, for marginally expanding herself a hair's breadth beyond her literal duties. Our Klingon soldier finds himself groaning under the weight of an overbearing captain who is ruthless, dangerous, everything a Klingon is likely told to be by Klingon television - except that his captain is a dishonorable, craven traitor, as if the House of Duras was still able to field ships in the 2380s.
If that last reference made no sense to you, don't worry. Lower Decks does not need you to be utterly steeped in Star Trek lore. It will teach it to you, in the funniest way possible. Lower Decks has mastered the art of snarky fan service: rewarding us with tiny easter eggs like pink Klingon blood and Vulcans quoting Spock verbatim, in a way that both pokes fun at, and genuinely points out the existential weaknesses of, this great Star Trek canon we've built for fifty years.
The Cerritos crew starts with a corporate-life mundanity agonizingly familiar to anyone working today: fake socialization with the management. All of our crew accidentally find themselves having a blast with their bosses - except Boimler, of course, who can never get out of his own way long enough to live up to Starfleet and his own ideals. Does it matter that Boimler's fumble is the same gaffe pulled by LaVelle in the Next Generation episode called "Lower Decks" - trying to schmooze with a superior by concocting a shared place of birth, only to fall utterly and obviously flat? Only a little. If you aren't a Star Trek fan you'll feel the agony of your own fake sincerity amounting to nothing with the boss. And if you are, you'll chuckle grimly just a little bit louder. As always Lower Decks finds way to reward you for being a fan, but not punishing you for not.
Lower Decks has already built its own perfectly absurd villain - the Pakleds. Aboard the "crumship Pakled" (yes, they called the Pakleds called their ship Pakled, and yes, its ship class is identified onscreen as a crumship), we see our Klingon captain betraying the galaxy by selling weapons to doofuses and leaving the Pakleds to wage war on the Federation by themselves with stolen Klingon bombs. What's a Klingon solider to do when he needs the approval of such a dishonorable leader in order to advance?
The Cerritos and the Vulcan ship converge and join forces against the Pakleds in a beautifully-animated space battle. The Vulcan ship is only there because our erstwhile Vulcan ensign's disreputably fun science project tweaked the sensors a little bit. The Cerritos, too, is there on accident, only diverted from its otherwise-dull cruise because of the ingrained natural curiosity of its crew. Our guys triumph because the tiny background contributions of their respective nobodies made all the difference.
And our Klingon soldier finds himself at the exact right moment. How? Oh, you know. "Klingon stuff." He sheathes his knife into his captain's heart, takes command of the ship, and warps off to Klingon space to expose the vanity and treachery of his own captain. Instead of seeking his captain's approval, our newly-minted Klingon warrior follows his heart and maximizes his own potential by rebelling against the cynical version of his own culture epitomized by his captain.
Just as the Vulcan's logic wins the day against the oppressive faux-logic of her own military, which has replaced dispassionate Vulcan wisdom with disinterested Vulcan conformity. She, too, rebels in her own way, not by telling Vulcan culture to go screw, but by finding its long-buried heart under the layers of bureaucracy that have stifled it. Just as Boimler, our dyed-in-the-wool Trekkie, is always at risk of having his Wesley-like bright-eyed curiosity about the universe crushed under the trivialities of working life.
Just like all of us Star Trek nerds, really. If you aren't a Star Trek nerd, you've felt this somewhere in your life. Some hobby or passion you've felt excluded from not because of some fault in your interests, but through some fault of the people who have taken it over, commercialized it, homogenized it, ground it up and scattered it across a spreadsheet when it belongs in the realm of pure fun and joy. You know exactly what all three of these Lower Decks crews' lives are like, how you go through your life shielding the tiny flickering candle of your own joy against the horrendous bluster of modern life. It isn't the wind's fault - but you still have to keep the candle burning, and by God is it hard.
Every frame of this episode is perfectly-placed. The Lower Decks team has built out a Simpsons-scale cast of characters who we know, and feel like we understand, with only a few combined hours across seasons 1 and 2. You don't even notice how "in-character" the Lower Decks main cast, the bridge crew, even the one-offers and one-liners of episodes past fit perfectly into the story. Every episode is animated more beautifully than the last and this episode is no exception. The music - always a strong suit of Lower Decks's - is full of musical phrases familiar to Star Trek nerds alone, but designed to immaculately set and advance the mood even if you aren't.
As a Star Trek nerd, I confidently say that this is top-ten all-time Star Trek. But maybe more importantly, it is somehow also, finally, at last, the most perfect answer to your friends' eternal question: "I've never seen Star Trek before. Where do I start?"
You start with Lower Decks. In fact, I think you start with wej Duj. There is no more efficient an explanation of so much of Star Trek's lore and history, its feel for curiosity, exploration, personal growth, self-actualization, than wej Duj. It helps that it is a fantastically well-directed episode with peak performances by all cast and production team. Welcome aboard.
More lower decks...
WKYanks8 October 2021
Warning: Spoilers
Ah ha!!! The first 10 out of 10 season 2 episode is here!!
What's not to like?
Seeing the lower decks on the Klingon, Pakled, and Vulcan ships was awesome.
Much reverence to STVI and DS9 Klingons is shown here. All the way up to and including how the Klingon ship captain was killed. Just like Gowron's death if I remember correctly.
I'm all for an addition to the Cerritos crew. Bring on T'Lyn!
The Vulcan ship was beautiful! She saved the Cerritos much like the "E" saved the Defiant in FC.
"Retos" on Captain Freeman's t-shirt, Tendi climbing a mountain just like Kirk in STV, Boimler wearing a shirt with the words "go climb a rock" like Kirk while wearing the jet boots like Spock... all good stuff. Nice that STV isn't forgotten.
... and we get a progression of the Pakled story.
.... oh, and don't forget the lower decks on the Borg Cube at the end and throughout the credits!!! Not a twitch! HAHA!!
I'm sure "90182" as the designation of the Borg cube means something, but I don't know what it is.
All in 25 minutes.
I love this series!
What's not to like?
Seeing the lower decks on the Klingon, Pakled, and Vulcan ships was awesome.
Much reverence to STVI and DS9 Klingons is shown here. All the way up to and including how the Klingon ship captain was killed. Just like Gowron's death if I remember correctly.
I'm all for an addition to the Cerritos crew. Bring on T'Lyn!
The Vulcan ship was beautiful! She saved the Cerritos much like the "E" saved the Defiant in FC.
"Retos" on Captain Freeman's t-shirt, Tendi climbing a mountain just like Kirk in STV, Boimler wearing a shirt with the words "go climb a rock" like Kirk while wearing the jet boots like Spock... all good stuff. Nice that STV isn't forgotten.
... and we get a progression of the Pakled story.
.... oh, and don't forget the lower decks on the Borg Cube at the end and throughout the credits!!! Not a twitch! HAHA!!
I'm sure "90182" as the designation of the Borg cube means something, but I don't know what it is.
All in 25 minutes.
I love this series!
Kathryn Lyn Delivers an Excellent Script
discussing-trek7 October 2021
Possibly, the best Star Trek stuff ever
peteris-puritis8 October 2021
This was so good that could have be the plot of a TNG episode
Allys_Stark7 October 2021
Warning: Spoilers
Not only the episode was really fun and hilarious it had also a great plot and interesting things going on, the Vulcan ship from enterprise, the way that Klingon ships function inside (a nod to the TNG and DS9 Klingon episodes) and the final reveal that the Packleds were working with the rebel Klingon captain.
We had a really good time with Boimler too, he trying to fit in and be recognized and getting that at the end was really amazing. And the final borg joke was spot on hilarious. This was one of the best Lower Decks episodes until now!
We had a really good time with Boimler too, he trying to fit in and be recognized and getting that at the end was really amazing. And the final borg joke was spot on hilarious. This was one of the best Lower Decks episodes until now!
Thank you for the WONDERFUL ENDING
snugam13 October 2021
If anyone on the team of Star Trek: Lower Decks reads this -- I just want to say thank you for the wonderful ending on this episode. I've not had such a good laugh in a long time. You have really made my day. GREAT WORK!!!!
Probably the best episode of Lower Decks...
julianmarku12 October 2021
Warning: Spoilers
This episode is probably the manifestation of what the point of the show is.
This is probably what the show really wanted to be about.
I really liked everything about the Klingon and the Vulcans and everything else that happens outside of the Cerritos.
But everything that happens ON the Cerritos is the weakest of this episode. It's basically comedy or references.
Vulcans have meditation and Klingons have training. Humans have... flattery.
I am only giving it an 8 because it feels like not enough happened on the Cerritos for me to want to see what happens. I would have liked to see Boimler look for a mentor not just a buddy.
Ending was fun... sorry but 8 seems like a fair mark.
This is probably what the show really wanted to be about.
I really liked everything about the Klingon and the Vulcans and everything else that happens outside of the Cerritos.
But everything that happens ON the Cerritos is the weakest of this episode. It's basically comedy or references.
Vulcans have meditation and Klingons have training. Humans have... flattery.
I am only giving it an 8 because it feels like not enough happened on the Cerritos for me to want to see what happens. I would have liked to see Boimler look for a mentor not just a buddy.
Ending was fun... sorry but 8 seems like a fair mark.
Love This Episode!
amani-preston9 October 2021
Warning: Spoilers
I've seen every Star Trek episode across all iterations; this is one of the best episodes ever. Being a huge fan of the Vulcans I laughed so hard at the notion that T'Lyn has "lost control" and is a "hothead". LOL The entire episode is just wonderful! A++
Getting comfortable with these characters
jameswmills7 October 2021
Kudos, Lower Decks!
pilgrimtom12 October 2021
Best Lower Decks episode !
martinsmarkss8 October 2021
Supringly this episode was good fun
kakisgr9 October 2021
Very cool episode! Mariner hasn't been an obnoxious Mary Sue in the last episodes and Boimler wasn't just laughing stock. Classic ST format episode, I enjoyed the Klingon and Vulcan stories. We explore the crew more, battles etc. If the rest of the series keeps going like this, i'm going to become a fan.
Finally real Star Trek
mirecr1 December 2021
WONDERFUL episode.
jarednd11 November 2021
This episode and the orville are now the most Star Trek show running
lujason-458229 October 2021
Warning: Spoilers
I can't believe this show is actually getting really good. Wej Duj is the most enjoyable Lower Decks episode so far other than last season final.
The show is getting action right as well. The klingon plot carries real weight and isn't all just for laughs. The music when the cerritos warp in is straight from a scene we could've seen on DS9.
The show is getting action right as well. The klingon plot carries real weight and isn't all just for laughs. The music when the cerritos warp in is straight from a scene we could've seen on DS9.
An all-timer
dawinter-740885 April 2022
Warning: Spoilers
"wej Duj" does something that I never thought Lower Decks would be able to do, as much as I liked it: it gave us an episode of Trek that could easily be an all-timer for the franchise (it likely won't be since so many have negative feelings towards the show, but it could be). It is a very Lower Decks episode with our team interacting with the bridge crew. The Klingon story reminded me of Worf. The Vulcan story reminded me of T'Pol and Spock. And while neither really gives us new information or really expands the lore of those species, they do show the nuanced diversity within those species that Trek can sometimes neglect, instead treating them as monoliths of honor or logic, respectively; and they did it without making those characters anomalous (Worf being raised on earth, Spock being half-human). It was a good look at how conflict is handled in each species' heirarchical structure, and how respect can be shown and rewarded within each culture. And as if that interesting looks at the lower decks of Klingon and Vulcans weren't enough, we're treated to a plot of deception that could have been well at home in Deep Space Nine that culminates in an exciting space battle involving miscommunication and inter-species cooperation that sits nicely with any of the space battles from Trek history. AND it did all of that without falling into fan-service or bringing in any familiar characters as a crutch.
The humor, as always with this show, is usually at its best when dealing with Trek-specific tropes and references. When they venture outside of that, it can often fall flat. Luckily this episode is not primarily comedic, but achieves an appropriate balance of Lower-Decks style humor and classic Star Trek storytelling that makes it feel very at home within its own show and within the larger Trek canon.
The creative team, as has often been noted, clearly have a ton of knowledge of Star Trek and love for the franchise. But it's not just their love for and knowledge of the show that makes them able to produce something as special as "wej Duj," it's that they really understand what Star Trek is about and what it feels like and what it means to people and all it's best and worst parts through its 50-year history. Unfortunately, that understanding often feels lacking with Discovery and more unfortunately with Picard.
In short, this is the most enjoyable, exciting and familiar Trek experience I've had since this new era began when ST: Discovery premiered.
The humor, as always with this show, is usually at its best when dealing with Trek-specific tropes and references. When they venture outside of that, it can often fall flat. Luckily this episode is not primarily comedic, but achieves an appropriate balance of Lower-Decks style humor and classic Star Trek storytelling that makes it feel very at home within its own show and within the larger Trek canon.
The creative team, as has often been noted, clearly have a ton of knowledge of Star Trek and love for the franchise. But it's not just their love for and knowledge of the show that makes them able to produce something as special as "wej Duj," it's that they really understand what Star Trek is about and what it feels like and what it means to people and all it's best and worst parts through its 50-year history. Unfortunately, that understanding often feels lacking with Discovery and more unfortunately with Picard.
In short, this is the most enjoyable, exciting and familiar Trek experience I've had since this new era began when ST: Discovery premiered.
An incredible conceit for this show
jacquestheripper914 October 2023
Warning: Spoilers
This episode really defines this show. Expanding the scope to a Klingon and Vulcan ship really elevate this episode. It's understanding and very clear realisation of the long standing dynamics of the races that have existed since the conception of star trek are wonderful here. This episode might be the truest representation of Klingon and Vulcan ideologies in the star trek lore, delivered in the most "show, don't tell" way that I can remember seeing in any star trek media. And the joke at the credits is just a "chefs kiss" only deliverable in the animated medium of this show. I don't think much more needs to be said.
See also
Awards | FAQ | User Ratings | External Reviews | Metacritic Reviews
