Warning: SPOILERS for Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 2, Episode 7 - "Those Old Scientists"Star Trek: Strange New Worlds' crossover episode with Star Trek: Lower Decks ended with Ensigns Brad Boimler (Jack Quaid) and Beckett Mariner (Tawny Newsome) going back to the 24th century, but not before the Lower Deckers manage to teach Captain Christopher Pike and the crew of the USS Enterprise some valuable life lessons. Directed by Jonathan Frakes and written by Kathryn Lyn and Bill Wolkoff (with Lower Decks creator Mike McMahan), Strange New Worlds season 2, episode 7, "Those Old Scientists" was a hilarious and joyous celebration of Star Trek's generations that vividly mixed animation with live-action for big laughs and genuinely touching moments.
The critical issue of the Strange New Worlds crossover episode was how to get Ensigns Boimler and Mariner back to the 24th century. Complicating matters was Orions stealing the time portal from Krulmuth-B that brought the Lower Deckers to the 23rd century, as well as the Enterprise lacking the horonium needed to power the portal. Meanwhile, Boimler and Mariner were inadvertently wreaking havoc with their future knowledge, especially in regard to Lt. Spock (Ethan Peck), Number One (Rebecca Romijn), Ensign Nyota Uhura (Celia Rose Gooding), and Captain Christopher Pike (Anson Mount). But Star Trek: Lower Decks' time travelers did go home, and here's how they did it and what it means for both shows.
Captain Archer's NX-01 Enterprise Is The Key To Mariner & Boimler Returning To The Future
The only source of horonium the Enterprise had that could power the time portal was used up when Mariner came through the portal to rescue Boimler. This left two options: a dangerous attempt to synthesize horonium, which Spock and Boimler attempted with explosive results, or to find a new source. But while listening to Captain Pike's reverence for Captain Jonathan Archer's (Scott Bakula) NX-01 Enterprise, it was Boimler who realized Pike's Enterprise was carrying a supply of horonium because NX class ships were made with horonium, and the Starfleet tradition of new ships being built with a piece of its predecessor means there was some of Archer's Enterprise hidden on Pike's starship.
Strange New Worlds' Star Trek: Lower Decks crossover contained heartwarming odes to Star Trek: Enterprise that were appreciated. The final Star Trek series of the Rick Berman era isn't often referenced in live-action Star Trek on Paramount+ shows, but Strange New Worlds made up for lost time. Pike was whimsical that they don't make ships like the NX-01 anymore, while Lt. Erica Ortegas (Melissa Navia) looked up to Travis Mayweather (Anthony Montgomery). Of course, Uhura idolized Hoshi Sato (Linda Park), the NX-01 Enterprise's Communications Officer who spoke 87 languages. It's fitting that a piece of Archer's Enterprise helped Captain Pike rid his Enterprise of the well-meaning but chaotic time travelers from the 24th century.
Lower Decks' Time Travelers Began A Change In How Starfleet Sees Orions
The Orions who absconded with the time portal allowed Mariner and Boimler to use it to go back to the future. In payment, the Orions were credited with 'discovering' the time portal, although technically the Enterprise got to the planet Krulmuth-B first. But crucially, the Lower Deckers helped begin a new way for 23rd-century Starfleet to see the Orions. In Captain Pike's era, Orions are believed to be just a race of space pirates. However, Orion culture is rich and diverse, and Pike's Enterprise actually encountered an Orion science vessel, which Boimler pointed out since one of his best friends, Ensign D'Vana Tendi (Noel Wells), is Orion.
Thanks to Tendi, Star Trek: Lower Decks has been telling a multi-season story about the diversity of Orion culture. As Boimler tells Pike, in his 24th-century era, it's racist to only refer to Orions as pirates. By sending Mariner and Boimler home, the Orions get bragging rights about discovering the time portal, specifically Ensign Tendi's great-grandmother, Astria Tendi, although Starfleet will still claim credit for the Enterprise. But this peaceful negotiation between Pike and the Orions is one small step toward the future seen in Star Trek: Lower Decks.
Number One Is The Future Poster Girl For Starfleet
Boimler acting strangely toward Number One throughout the Strange New Worlds crossover episode left Commander Una Chin-Riley wondering if he knows something terrible about her future. While this is a wink at how Star Trek has not established anything canonical about Number One after Strange New Worlds, the truth was actually funny and oddly touching: Number One (or "Numero Una" as she's known in Star Trek: Lower Decks) is the literal "pin-up girl" for Starfleet. (Although "pin-up girl" doesn't have the same meaning in the 24th century, going by Mariner's confusion.)
Una is on Starfleet recruitment posters in the 24th century, including the one Boimler hangs in his bunk on the USS Cerritos. Further, Number One and her catchphrase, "Ad Astra Per Aspera," are what inspired Boimler to Starfleet. The Cerritos' First Officer, Commander Jack Ransom (Jerry O'Connell), is also a fan of "Numero Una," the "hottest First Officer in Starfleet," which is a wickedly sly nod to how O'Connell and Rebecca Romijn are married (and both Number Ones) in real life.
Captain Pike Learns A Lesson Thanks To Mariner & Boimler
Captain Pike caught wind that Boimler told the Enterprise crew when Chris' birthday is and that they were planning a surprise party. To Mariner and Boimler's shock, Pike told them that he knows about his future of being horribly disfigured by delta-rays, which means the 24th century doesn't find out that Pike gained foreknowledge during Star Trek: Discovery season 2. Pike also confessed that he was estranged from his father, but he planned to take a vacation on his birthday to reminisce about his dad.
Boimler made Pike realize that there are people on this Enterprise crew who would wish they had a chance to spend time with Pike after he's gone the way Chris wants to with his father. Pike then decided to cancel his fishing trip to go to his surprise party on the Enterprise. Amusingly, Pike was disarmed by Boimler's hero worship of him, including how Brad dressed up as the Captain for Halloween. While Pike wanted to keep Boimler at a distance, he found himself liking the purple-haired Ensign who obviously meant well and was very free with compliments toward Captain Pike.
Boimler's Hints About Spock's Future May Affect Spock's Relationship With Chapel
Going by Boimler's utter confusion at Spock occasionally smiling and laughing, word that the Science Officer of Strange New Worlds experimented with his humanity during this era doesn't make it to the 24th century. Spock's legend as the logical, unflappable, Vulcan hero is intact in the future. Boimler worried that Spock was acting oddly, and he ed on his distress to Nurse Christine Chapel (Jess Bush). The knowledge that Spock and Chapel had "a thing" may have made it to the 24th century, but Christine was dismayed that Boimler's behavior indicated that whatever she has with Spock currently isn't meant to last. Chapel even lamented that she never thought she'd get to "influence" Spock forever.
Spock and Chapel have not had a smooth romance since they kissed and confessed their mutual feelings at the end of Strange New Worlds season 2, episode 5, "Charades." Uncertainty about how "messy" their relationship is troubles Christine, which in turn troubles Spock. Boimler inadvertently gave Spock and Chapel more foreknowledge about their futures than they needed or wanted. Christine now knows that she's not prominently mentioned in any of the books Boimler read about Spock, and this could negatively impact Spock and Nurse Chapel's romance going forward.
Everyone In Starfleet Is A Fan Of Their Heroes
The underlying theme of Strange New Worlds' crossover with Star Trek: Lower Decks is that everyone is, essentially, a fan of Star Trek, and that's a very good thing. Boimler's hero worship of the Enterprise and the "golden age of exploration" ended up helping them solve the dilemma of how to send the Lower Deckers back home to the 24th century. It's also heartwarming to know that Pike and his crew are fans of Captain Archer's NX-01 Enterprise the way Boimler is a fan of Pike's Enterprise.
Sometimes meeting your heroes can be a bad thing, but in Mariner's case, she was actually able to help Uhura. Mariner's vision of Uhura is the "unflappable, translating badass" played by Nichelle Nichols in Star Trek: The Original Series, but the 22-year-old Ensign Uhura of Strange New Worlds is a workaholic who can't relax and is years away from the Uhura she will become. Mariner taking Uhura and Ortegas to the Port Galley and introducing them to a drink called Orion Hurricanes loosed Nyota up somewhat, and Erica soon discovered the way to get Uhura to relax is to make relaxing seem like work. Happily, Mariner returned home to the 24th century feeling like her idol, Uhura, is everything she hoped for.
Strange New Worlds' Crossover Confirms Animated & Live-Action Star Trek Are The Same Canonical Universe
Strange New Worlds' crossover episode was bookended with animated sequences set in Star Trek: Lower Decks' 24th century and aboard the USS Cerritos. But a delightful surprise was how the opening credits of Strange New Worlds season 2, episode 7 were animated in the Lower Decks-style (complete with the same space monster from Lower Decks' titles munching on the Enterprise's nacelles), and the episode ends with an animated scene starring the Strange New Worlds cast at Captain Pike's birthday party. This comes complete with an in-joke that the Orion Hurricanes they were drinking made everything seem "two-dimensional."
The greater message of Strange New Worlds' animated sequences in the crossover episode is there is no difference between the animated and live-action Star Trek series in of canon. Live-action or animated are simply the mediums of their shows, but they all exist in the same universe. Mariner and Boimler returned to the 24th century of Star Trek's Prime Timeline, not their own animated reality. Similarly, Strange New Worlds' cast being animated for a scene was just that, but they are the same characters they have always been, and that moment is canon as well. It's an incredibly clever joke for Star Trek: Strange New Worlds' crossover with Star Trek: Lower Decks to go out on, marking the end of a monumental and truly special event in Star Trek history.
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds and Star Trek: Lower Decks are available to stream on Paramount+.