Star Trek: Lower Decks 2x4 "Mugato, Gumato" Review

 rating: ***

the story: An away team grapples with Ferengi poachers.

review: In the original series there were two notable attempts at full-body costume aliens: the Gorn and the Mugato.  Of the two, the Gorn have gotten plenty of attention, and thanks to Enterprise even a another appearance in the franchise.  Finally, it's the Mugato's turn!

Unlike the Gorn, the Mugato is an animal, kind of an ape with a horn, and so naturally the horn is what the Ferengi poachers are after.  That setup allows Lower Decks to once again spotlight for fans who never quite got the Deep Space Nine memo that the Ferengi aren't one-dimensional anymore.  Mariner had a friend in the first season who played off that ignorance, but in this instance the Ferengi are more or less true to stereotype until a successful negotiation turns the tide.  (There's a whole running gag in the episode about negotiations, making the resolution all the more clever.)

Tendi, for the second episode in a row, is out to prove herself, while Boimler and Rutherford are scared out of their minds that Mariner has another secret, a plotline that feels a little lazy, especially after two episodes where the series knew exactly what it was doing, but it involves enough elements (including a bartender of considerably less insightful banter than Guinan, and another of the many accents the season has been spotlighting, which for an accent guy like me has been easy to enjoy).  Although, I guess, it's nice to be worrying about Mariner for exactly the kinds of reasons we did at the start of the series instead of the business with her mom (y'know, Captain Freeman).

criteria analysis:

• franchise - It's nice to have throwbacks like the Mugato, the Ferengi, and even Denobulans (!) in the mix.  Just imagine if anyone ever gets around to all the background aliens from the original cast movies!
• series - Probably only an animated series could successfully the Mugato anyway, right?
• character - The season has been throwing up different combinations between the lead characters, which here is once again refreshing, with Boimler and Rutherford teaming up for a change.
• essential - But the stakes are fairly low.