“I Have No Bones Yet I Must Flee”
What They Say:
Mariner tries to get demoted, Rutherford tries to get promoted, Boimler makes a big move.
The Review:
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
Giving us the bit where several of the characters have gotten promotions and aren’t quite so lower decks anymore, just lower mid-level officers, is a lot of fun. Rutherford’s cool with it but it’s good to see Tendi and Boimler starting to move up with Mariner has Ransom make it clear he’s going to make her promotion to lieutenant stick because she is good at this and her previous commanders missed the why and how of her, which isn’t going to do. He’s got the right eye on her but she absolutely doesn’t want to go up in rank because she doesn’t want the responsibilities that come with it. Which I get, she just wants to do her thing and do the basic job and just enjoy life at that level. It’s not easy in a structure or organization like this to achieve that since it’s focused on advancing its members to better lives and quality of life.
Mariner’s approach to dealing with this is to basically be herself and cause problems, figuring it’ll hasten her going back to being an ensign. At the same time this plays out, we see how Rutherford has a plan to do some amazing engineering in order to join everyone else in moving out of their bunks and getting a promotion. Of course, things aren’t better for everyone moving to new quarters such as Boimler being right next to a nacelle, making for a “red light district” feeling. It’s a tough time for him, especially as Rutherford’s attempts to do something big are interrupted by the talented new guy, Livik, who is making thing better as well – which impacts the nacelle to a comical effect. Getting him new quarters goes quickly, but being next to the holodeck isn’t quite as appealing as he thought it was going to be. There’s no soundproofing in those walls…
With Mariner, her going on a mission with Jack and new guy Gary to go to a menagerie that picked up some humans by mistake is a whole lot of fun. She’s being as obnoxious as she can and he’s trying to ignore as much of it as possible in order to encourage her to do things right, all while Gary is stuck in the middle. It’s got a lot of great visuals and Mariner in this form is definitely amusing to watch since she always takes it too far. What amps up this storyline is a creature called the Moopsy that gets loose and we see how this cute ball of fluff can such the bones out of people. It’s silly and over-the-top in the right way. It’s fun but the real story is when we get Mariner and Ransom hashing things out and that she has to figure out why she’s doing what she’s doing in sabotaging herself. Ransom’s approach is spot on as well, though it’s Gary that gets everyone back on track. Which has its own drama in the big way that Lower Decks tends to go.
In Summary:
The character growth side of this episode is a lot of fun and Mariner in particular delivers the best stuff. And in doing so gives us more good Ransom material that has been building well across the seasons. It has its share of silly stuff that goes too big but it works in this show. Boimler and his story is pretty simple third-story plot but it makes for some good laughs to be sure. Rutherford and his grudge with Livik has a lot of good stuff and I absolutely love the way it ends bcause it shows good stuff from Tendi but also remind us that Rutherford should have been promoted ages ago and explains why he’s been at this level with his friends ever since. The slow ascent of the lower decks gang continues and it’s thoroughly enjoyable, right down to the final gag.
Grade: B+
Streamed By: Paramount+
