Warning: SPOILERS for Star Trek: Lower Decks Season 4, Episode 5 – "Empathalogical Fallacies"
Summary
- Star Trek: Lower Decks pays homage to Star Trek: Enterprise character Lt. Malcolm Reed through two shout-outs in recent episodes.
- In "Empathalogical Fallacies," Boimler faces "sacred security officer challenges," including a jigsaw puzzle of Malcolm Reed from Enterprise.
- The increasing callbacks to Star Trek: Enterprise in Lower Decks highlight the show's newfound appreciation and recognition within the Star Trek franchise.
Star Trek: Lower Decks and Star Trek: very Short Treks calls back to another Star Trek: Enterprise favorite character besides Commander Trip Tucker (Connor Trinneer). 18 years after Star Trek: Enterprise was canceled, and Trip Tucker was killed off in Enterprise's controversial series finale, Connor Trinneer played Trip once again in the Star Trek: very Short Treks episode "Holograms All The Way Down." However, in a surprise, Trip's fellow Enterprise crew member got two shout-outs in two different Star Trek animated series in the same week.
In the B-story of Star Trek: Lower Decks season 4, episode 5, "Empathalogical Fallacies," Lieutenant Brad Boimler (Jack Quaid) is taken under the wing of Lieutenant Shax (Fred Tatasciore) and the USS Cerritos' security team. Boimler believes Shax intends to teach him how to be tougher, and Bradward is shocked to learn the Cerritos' security squad instead practices slam poetry and holistic ways of balancing their mental and emotional health. Boimler does eventually see the advantages of Shax's methods, but first, Boimler is presented with "two sacred security officer challenges," one of which is a hilarious shout-out to Star Trek: Enterprise.
