Empathological Fallacies

 Blu-ray, Lower Decks S4 (Empathological Fallacies)

One of those where it's difficult to decide how I feel about it: is it a crude, inappropriate mess leavened with machine-gunned Trekferences? Or is it a cleverly subversive turn on expectations taking into account the seasoned Trekker's knowledge of the universe? It's clearly both, but the real question is where the balance falls on the scale between these two points - in the same way that T'Lyn preaches emotional balance, does the episode get dragged down by its flaws or is it successful in getting off its story despite them? In many ways this is the eternal question of the series and I wish it were not so. In other words I would prefer if they could control their darker impulses and allow us to experience good Trek without the staining. The episode just about succeeds in the end because of the positive ending, and for not simply recreating the many telepathic trials we'd seen before, most obviously in the 'DS9' episode 'Fascination' (or 'A Midsummer Night's Trek-Dream'). In that we learned something new about the fate of some mature Betazoid women and so it's easy to assume the problems associated with the crew's emotions are down to the three exuberant Betazoid ambassadors being escorted from Angel One to Risa. That this is a red herring and it turns out to be our currently resident Vulcan, T'Lyn behind the outbursts was an enjoyable twist, especially so when this is an actual T'Lyn episode: she's the focus, and while Boimler takes the B-plot with his lack of self esteem and need to relax, T'Lyn does retain much of the running time.

She's a great character, a real Vulcan, and the humour comes from her being so Vulcan so much of the time. That she wants to express her request to return to the Vulcan fleet rather than remain aboard gives the episode stakes, and that she decides against her original plan creates the happy ending. Her issue is typically Vulcan: this slight irritation at being unable to send the message due to a comms blackout during the ambassadors' stay (in itself an unlikely stipulation, the series once again choosing to bend the reality of Starfleet to suit a story, but not more than other modern Trek does, and in its defence it does at least show a strong knowledge of the subject matter), creates an emotional 'turmoil' within her which is inadvertently broadcast and affects the crew. We never actually discovered the cause of this telepathic effect, since it's another unlikely result from such a small stimulus that hadn't been shown before - they mention Bendii Syndrome (Mariner even saying Spock's Father had it, though I'd imagine with Vulcan reserve and the shame around the condition, it would have been a revelation locked up tight), but seem to discount it as T'Lyn is 'only' sixty-two and it affects older Vulcans (plus that would be a rather devastating twist as it would limit her lifespan and potential as an ongoing character). We don't have to have a justification for it all, maybe her telepathy was exacerbated by the effects of a nearby nebula or a new filter in the Replicator changed her glass of water, room temperature, a degree cooler or warmer. The important thing is that she's responsible rather than the Betazoids we were expecting.

Even they are more than what they were projecting, playing Lwaxana-like roles that jive with our experience of older Betazoid women (well, just Lwaxana, really - that's one element that should have been explored with Deanna Troi in 'Picard,' but sadly wasn't, in the usual apathy toward alienness in modern Trek. It would've been nice if at least one of them had been played by a Trek name, perhaps even Marina Sirtis, but maybe budget didn't permit?). It turns out they're undercover operatives from the BIA (Betazoid Intelligence... Authority? Surely with Betazed part of the Federation they'd be part of Starfleet Intelligence?), tying this episode into the season's arc of a mysterious vessel taking out various races (also cleverly disguised by the lack of a teaser this time), as they're planet-hopping in a telepathic search for clues. It rings true since they can read most races' minds, and have unearthed a grainy image of the offending ship to incrementally advance the story. They, too, were being affected by T'Lyn so they really weren't responsible for amping up the stereotypes of their kind. A little much that they carry stun rod weapons disguised as lipsticks, but we have to remember where we are: it's a comedy. For all its silliness it does still feel so much more Trekky than most of these series' manage so I'm more inclined to give it the benefit of the doubt. Boimler's story is also quite silly to some degree, with Rutherford nominating him for 'The Programme,' Shaxs and the Security team entertaining him to give him a break from his self-imposed high standards (in this case memorising every crewmember's name - we find out there at least three Merps which adds to the series' internal reality!).

The important thing about Boimler's story is that it's a warmhearted tale of compassion - we know Shaxs is a particularly soft man when it comes to feelings, despite his huge size and deadly skills as Chief of Security, and he's a great character. It makes sense he'd have a jigsaw of Malcolm Reed and the NX-01 (if 24th Century people still did jigsaws - it comes across as rather another contemporary reference to our own culture more than anything, but it was fun to see Malcolm get a reference, his first, I think!). Wasn't so pleased to see he's also got Bajoran tarot cards which have no place in Trek at all, but at least they weren't real, instead entertainingly in the form of 'DS9' references, the most intriguing being an image of the Emissary decked out in a white version of the kind of robes a Vedek might have worn. Shame this is probably the closest we'll ever come to seeing Sisko again, or perhaps that's a relief after what this era has done to too many classic Trek characters in recent years. We also get poetry about Worf and Kayshon miming Odo in a game of charades, so it's a fun time for Niners like me, even if I may complain it sometimes seems like there's more Trekferences than story. The interesting part was Shaxs' holistic view of his Security department's role: that they're just as responsible for the crew's emotional wellbeing as their physical protection. I wouldn't agree, it's another joke about the softness of modern views on dealing with things, but it is, as I said, goodhearted and positive, far from the cynicism that pervades even this corner of Trekdom.

It may not be an accurate example of the way Starfleet Security is taught its responsibilities to its crews, but I can believe Shaxs having this attitude, and it is meant to be humorous, I don't think they're genuinely making a statement that any future Treks would follow - it's a joke! There are still things that go too far, however: the yellow mop bucket complete with 'Caution' and an image of a figure falling over, as you get in modern cleaning apparatus, is just totally ridiculous, both in form and function, and I wish they could have got the Odo idea across more elegantly. They still betray their modern Trek leanings, even if they do succeed at subtle mocking on occasion (the moment Captain Freeman states her crew don't just get emotional for no reason immediately brings to mind the 'DSC' crew, intentionally, I'm sure, since their over-emotionalism has long been one of the biggest complaints about the series!), which can be most amusing. There's also one of the ambassadors complimenting the Captain on Starfleet carpeting, something missing from all the other modern Treks which have eschewed tradition and made all the floors ugly and shiny for the sake of modern TV visual effect (just one more reason why this series is superior - who'd have thought carpet would make that much difference!).

The funniest moment comes near the end when the course towards the Romulan Neutral Zone which the Betazoids had put the Cerritos on (not entirely sure why - some kind of shortcut, a test, or where their investigations had been leading them?), is foiled at the last moment and we see a Romulan Warbird de-cloak from lurking on the border, the crew voicing cries of dismay they didn't cross over. It's funny because you can believe Romulans would do that - surely they shouldn't be in the Neutral Zone themselves, but they always would be. It's also quite nice because it reminds us that this series keeps to Trek continuity, and at this time in the early 2380s Romulus remains alive and well, if only for a few more years before the ridiculous supernova wipes out the planet. I still want to know more about that and its aftermath for the Quadrant, but sadly, with 'LD' ending we'll likely not get another series set in this time period on the cusp of such major galactic changes and shifts in power, which 'Picard' could and should have been about, but instead was quite a weak examination of the subject - all that sticks in the mind is a Romulan challenging elderly Picard to a duel, then getting his head cut off, a shame such a graphic scene is more memorable than anything substantial, and for all the wrong reasons. This episode, by contrast was actually fine, visually. The incessant swearing as Mariner and others lose their cool was oppressive (especially having T'Lyn swear in the most disgusting way for the sake of puncturing anything 'sacred'), as were moments of heavy innuendo, but the story itself played out well - I loved seeing T'Lyn perform a nerve pinch on Barnes when she goes to shut down the engines so they can party longer.

Similarly, she does something akin to a mind meld on Mariner to balance her emotions. Lore-wise I'm not sure what that was, since she claimed it wasn't a mind meld, but I don't think we'd ever seen that before, and indeed had seen a meld performed in order to calm emotions: interestingly, Tuvok did it to Suder, a Betazoid. Either she was lying about it being a meld or it wasn't a full meld, just a brief telepathic brush of minds. Why she'd be able to do that if her own mind was accidentally splashing out emotion on others, I don't know, but I wasn't too concerned, despite being someone that really cares about the Vulcan lore. Also fun to note T'Lyn voice actress Gabrielle Ruiz voices her other character, Castro, for the third time. Other things I liked: the mention of Zanthi Fever, the infamous mature female Betazoid condition learned in 'Fascination;' Boimler asking if Shaxs was going to teach him Tsunkatse; the painting of the statues from 'TMP' in T'Lyn's Quarters (I don't think we'd seen her living space before), and Mariner talking about Boimler's quarter-life crisis, saying he turned twenty-five and grew a moustache - this points to one hundred being the average life expectancy of a human at this time, something always hinted at, but not stated so blatantly. I almost didn't even register the Neutral Zone map with its Romulus and Romii (not to mention Cheron), drawn out just like in 'TOS,' and that's because I expect the canon expertise from this series, and really appreciate it when they accomplish the basics of Trek as they should! It's good they concentrate on two or three of the main characters, Rutherford and Tendi having lesser roles, affected by emotion, allowing T'Lyn to take more of the lion's share with Mariner as companion and friend, and it all made for a good mix. We get to see that even the 'low' Security of a California-class ship can be tough Starfleet officers, and it reminds that Starfleet is the best, no matter what grade of fleet they serve in.

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