Easter Eggs are to Lower Decks what gritty war is to Deep Space Nine: pretty much the whole point. So when the crew of the USS Cerritos is tasked with transporting Janeway’s old ship to Earth, you know there’s going to be a mountain of references.
Star Trek Voyager might be the most unloved of the three golden-era Star Trek series, but it was still brilliant in its own way. The show brought a number of the best Star Trek characters to the screen, and featured some of the strangest incidents from right across the Star Trek timeline.
Naturally, then, the first Lower Decks episode of season 4 is a blast, taking us on a literal journey through Voyager’s history of adventure as the ship is turned into an exhibit. It’s packed to the brim with Easter Eggs for Star Trek fans to enjoy, but there are more than a few deep cuts which require some further explanation. Here’s every single Easter Egg in the Lower Decks Voyager episode, unpacked.
The Neutral Zone
As the mission kicks off and the USS Cerritos departs to begin some mysterious assignment, Mariner and Freeman both share their hopes that it will have nothing to do with the Romulan Neutral Zone. Nothing good ever happens there.
That, of course, was what the crew of the USS Enterprise-D discovered, especially in earlier episodes and seasons of the show. A whole plotline was devoted to suspicions that the Romulans were gearing up for war, explored in the likes of The Neutral Zone, The Enemy, and The Defector.
The best theme tune
It’s not the Neutral Zone, though: the assignment is to transport a repaired USS Voyager back to Earth, now that it’s been fitted with an internal exhibition. The ship looks stunning in animation, and as dry dock lights up, the core Voyager theme plays. Tingles.
The one with the whales
Then we hit the credits: each season, a new ship has been joining in with the USS Cerritos’ fight against the Borg as seen in the credits. This season, we have the Star Trek IV space probe joining in – annoying sound effects and all.
A short tour
After the credits, the opening pans around the interior of the ship. We get a look at Seven’s Borg regeneration alcove, the bridge, and the Voyager mess hall with Neelix’s kitchen. All are complete with mannequins of the Voyager senior staff, including Janeway, Tuvok, Harry Kim, Tom Paris, Neelix, and Seven.
Space bacteria
We get a mention of the ‘Neelix cheese’ that almost destroyed the ship. Yes, this was a real plotline. It’s a reference to the season 1 Voyager episode Learning Curve, in which Neelix brings aboard an alien cheese with bacteria cultures that go on to infect the ship while he attempts to make a crew member macaroni cheese. Oh Voyager, we really loved you.
Dangerous flowers
As Spock could tell you, alien flowers can be dangerous. While Tendi and T’Lyn are transporting to the Cerritos, a leaf from an orchid discreetly blows away and lands on the transporter pad. Billups and T’Ana beam with the leaf, and, like with Tuvix, it creates a hybrid. Tuvix isn’t really an Easter Egg because going over that plot point is the whole point of the episode, but here we are nonetheless.
Macro-microviruses
Behind a panel on the bridge is a dormant macrovirus from the episode Macrocosm in which Janeway and the EMH battled against a flying swarm of alien viruses that had assaulted Voyager. It’s awakened, and flees into the ship.
Those Old Scientists
Mariner mentions: ‘that Pike thing we aren’t supposed to talk about,’ referring to the Lower Decks crossover with SNW, AKA: the best episode of Strange New Worlds season 2.
The Janeway lizard
As Boimler chases down the macrovirus, we see the exhibits that line the corridors. These include mechanical recreations of the Tom Paris and Captain Janeway salamanders from the infamous episode Threshold. Yet another Voyager classic.
Photon-faces
The Holodeck is accidentally triggered and set online, reactivating Dr Chaotica, from Tom Paris’ Holodeck adventures where he’d be Captain Proton, and Michael Sullivan, Janeway’s short-term holographic love interest. But, they’re now equipped with mobile emitters.
It also activates a holographic version of The Clown: the villain from the season 2 episode The Thaw played by Better Call Saul’s Michael McKean. “These are like VOY’s deepest cuts!” cries Boimler. Yep.
No prisoners
Freeman and Shaxs discuss Janeway’s approach to ‘solving’ the Tuvix conundrum (she killed him so bring back Tuvok and Neelix) and Shaxs says, “Janeway didn’t mess around.” No she didn’t: her willingness to compromise her morals (making a pact with the borg) was part of her character arc.
The Astrometrics lab
Ransom, Rutherford, and Kayshon are trapped in Seven of Nine’s Astrometrics lab. Remember that? Seven of Nine was obsessed with science, and her development of the Astrometrics lab got Voyager home quicker. Speaking of which, she should have joined Daystrom Institute, not been shoehorned into Starfleet as a captain… anyway.
The Golden Gate Bridge
Voyager is taken back to earth and stored as an exhibit next to the Golden Gate bridge, which is also the location of Starfleet Academy. A good learning place for cadets, and a familiar sight from the TOS movies.
Unlucky Ensign Kim
It has to be an Easter Egg that it’s the Voyager episode in which overdue ensigns get promoted, right? Somewhere, Ensign Kim is weeping.
Klingon food
“They’re serving eyes, or hearts, or something,” says an ill-fated Klingon in the final scene. The best look we’ve gotten at Klingon food is probably the TNG episode A Matter of Honor in which Riker joins a Klingon ship in an exchange program. He has to eat some really gross stuff, hearts and eyes and the rest, and does so with gusto. Good old Riker.
Whew! That was pretty intense. Those were all the Easter Eggs in the debut Lower Decks episode of season 1. It was a real treat to be back aboard the ship, even with the absence of any Voyager cast members. Now Lower Decks has been to Deep Space Nine and Voyager: might they stumble across Geordi as he fixes the Enterprise-D? Probably not. But, if they do, we’ll be there to unpack all the Easter Eggs.
For more on Star Trek, check out our ranking of the best Star Trek captains, and see our pick for the best way to watch the Star Trek movies in order. Or, if find out why we’re convinced Kirk was definitely in love with Spock, and see why Jonathan Frakes wants one TNG episode banned for good.
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