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We count down the 10 most shocking and twisted deaths in Star Trek: Lower Decks. From darkly comedic to genuinely disturbing, these moments show the series isn’t afraid to go to extremes.
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00:00In Star Trek Lower Decks, the stakes tend to be fairly low. It's a comedy after all,
00:04who wants to see the characters that make them laugh explode into smithereens,
00:08or even disappear up the chimney of a transporter accident?
00:11No one, that's who. End of the list, thanks for joining.
00:14Although, Lower Decks still is a Star Trek series, and as such features the same kinds of danger
00:22that one might find in Discovery or Deep Space Nine. The Jem'Hadar may be lying in wait while
00:27a giant anomaly slices its way through the galaxy, hoovering up all of the particles in its wake.
00:33Standard Tuesday in The Final Frontier. While the show is admittedly a little lighter
00:38on the horrific body count, it still contributes a few examples for our series. Things may seem
00:46grim at Trek Culture Towers when we concentrate on the grisly demise of our favourite heroes,
00:52but then what's life without a bit of balance? And what's death without the chance to come back
00:57hiking boots and all? Lower Decks gave us the great get-out-of-jail-free card that is the Black
01:04Mountain, but how many officers and crew passed over it? And more pointedly, how many of them were
01:10junior officers or just those exalted senior staff? Join us as we take a look through the obituary
01:17section of the USS Cerritos and beyond. I'm Sean Ferrick for Trek Culture, and here are the 10 most
01:24messed up deaths in Star Trek Lower Decks. 10. The Genesis of Locarno.
01:32In 1982, audiences were treated to the awesome power of the Genesis device. As it detonated,
01:39exploding the USS Reliant, Khan and any remaining survivors aboard, it began to reshape all of the
01:46matter in the Mutara sector while the Enterprise escaped at warp. It was a beautiful sight watching a
01:52new planet form in the stars, even if it didn't have a long shelf life. Jumping forward 100 years,
01:58and wouldn't you know it, the Ferengi had managed to get their hands on this technology despite bans
02:04from Earth to Kronos. Tom Locarno, Nick Locarno, disgruntled with his place in society, sought the
02:12means to bolster his Nova fleet and hold the Quadrant to ransom. He acquired a Ferengi Genesis device as
02:20insurance, but activated it during a fight with Lieutenant Junior Grade Mariner, having badly
02:25misjudged his former academy classmate. While she was beamed away, he attempted to deactivate the
02:30device only to discover that the Ferengi had installed a paywall in front of any deactivation
02:36commands. Out of time and latinum, Locarno was vaporized in the resulting explosion, though it didn't
02:41end there. His atoms, molecules in every part of him were reshaped and reformed, becoming the basis of
02:48a new world, Locarno. While an explosion to the face isn't the best way to go, having your atoms
02:54reform into a world that would be used for refugees to resettle is actually a bit of a consolation.
03:01Number 9. The Black Mountain
03:04When Lieutenant Shaxx met his bitter, or triumphant depending on who you ask,
03:08end in no small parts, one would be forgiven for believing that was the end of the road for the
03:14Bajoran security chief. This man had lived his life in service to the prophets and explosions,
03:20so he was on a one-way ride to the Celestial Temple. Easy.
03:25Suddenly, Ensign Rutherford started to notice some strange things aboard the Saritos. Who was the
03:32hulking Bajoran walking around the ship in gold? Why was there an officer who bore a striking resemblance
03:37to the dearly departed Shaxx still serving on the bridge? It was true! Shaxx was back! And he didn't
03:44come via the easy route. Star Trek Lower Decks took fine aim at those times characters popped back
03:51from the dead in the rest of the franchise. Spock had taken a siesta in the Wrath of Khan, and Harry
03:56Kim may even be a record holder in death standings, but both of them came back. Why not Shaxx? Why not
04:03everyone? It involves a black mountain and a large koala. When Rutherford confronted Shaxx,
04:09the latter whispered the truth into the former's horrified ears, warping his very understanding
04:14of reality and the universe. Some things are better left unsaid, as Rutherford would surely agree.
04:21But hey, at least we got Shaxx back. 8. Death by Neckbreak
04:27When you're an AI being with a heart full of digital hatred for your creator,
04:31is there anything worse than having that same creator lay his hands on your head and twist it
04:37violently around? If you want to know what that feels like, it's best to ask the original version
04:40of Bajoran if one can get in touch with him on the higher plane. When Rutherford's errant AI
04:46started to show its true maniacal leanings, things were looking grim for the young Ensign and his friends.
04:52Trapped on the holodeck, surrounded by a frozen tundra and running out of time,
04:57Rutherford tried to reason with the charmingly murderous Starfleet Delta.
05:01Having run out of options and with diplomacy rapidly failing, he tried the only option left,
05:07a little mercy killing. Rutherford snapped Bajoran's neck, despite the anatomical questions raised,
05:14killing him and saving the ship. Things obviously didn't end there, as Bajoran was directly responsible
05:20for Shaxx's death later in the season, and is currently an omnipotent being travelling the very
05:26highways of reality, but in the moment it was a fairly brutal way to go. Death by parent has got
05:32to be grim, delta shaped body or not. 7. Patleds? Really? Captain Dayton and the crew of the USS Solvang
05:42had one of the more tragic endings in Star Trek Lower Decks. Long before they took over the fresh
05:49out of the wrapping USS Solvang, they were faced with the loss of their previous ship,
05:54the USS Rubidoux. That ship was the birthing site of a large space organism, so at least there was
06:00life from lifelessness. The Solvang was not so fortunate. In one of the more shocking twists of
06:06Lower Decks' first season, the Pakleds had begun to gather pieces of other technology together,
06:14forming huge clump ships. Though they weren't burdened with an overabundance of intelligence,
06:19they were suddenly in possession of fairly devastating ships. The USS Solvang is ambushed by
06:25these Pakleds and quickly overpowered. Captain Dayton is horrified, naturally. She had just been chiding
06:31the crew not to wear their shoes on the carpet on the bridge, and then here comes some of the
06:36galaxy's dumbest villains, ready to ruin her day. The shields are quickly depleted, so a quick escape
06:43would seem to be the best course of action. Dayton gives the order to warp away, not realising that
06:49the Pakleds had grabbed the ship with giant claws and tendrils. As the Solvang engages the warp engines,
06:55a nacelle is torn away from the rest of the ship, causing a devastating explosion and destroying the
07:02Solvang, Dayton, and all hands were lost. It's bad enough to lose the ship and her crew, but to lose
07:09them to the Pakleds? What a chump way to go. That's just sad. Number 6. Harry. Again. Though it took more than
07:1920 years, as well as two guest spots from his podcast co-host, Garret Wong returned to Star Trek
07:26in the fifth season penultimate episode, Fisher Quest. The catch was that it wasn't the original
07:33Harry Kim on our screens, though to be fair, the original Harry Kim's body was still floating in
07:38space somewhere in the Delta Quadrant, so who's to say? Harry, Harry and a group of Harrys found
07:45themselves aboard the USS Anaximander, captained by Captain William Boindler. The ship was tasked
07:51with closing quantum fissures, all of which were damaging reality one tear at a time. Though the
07:57cause of the tears was benign, the impact was anything but. One of the Harrys, tired of being
08:04the brunt of most jokes, took his second pip and the rest of the Harrys, hijacked the Beagle,
08:10and made straight for one of these fishers. Though he was determined to take his tribe
08:15somewhere to get a bit of respect in the universe, the rest of them were having none of it,
08:19trying their best to overpower him before causing yet another explosion. In the end,
08:24Harry was flying solo with only his lieutenant's bars to keep him company.
08:28Engaging the drive, he pushed forward, heading straight into the mouth of a massive explosion.
08:33The result was another dead Kim and the potential end of reality as we knew it.
08:39The promotion was a mistake.
08:41Number 5. Killer AI in the face
08:45Vice Admiral Les Buenamigo is very much responsible for his own demise to be clear from the outset.
08:51His ambition and his hubris resulted in not only his own death, but the deaths of many other officers
08:57and crew in Starfleet. He is yet another cautionary tale of putting too much trust in entirely automated
09:04ships, a lesson one would think had been well-learned by 2381.
09:09His plan to implement the Texas-class ships into Starfleet was part of his long-term ambition to
09:15advance. Though he began the project as a lieutenant commander, by the time he'd reached Vice Admiralty,
09:20he felt that he'd hit the ceiling in terms of promotion. The Texas-class was then to be his legacy,
09:25though as things turned out, it wouldn't be a legacy he would particularly want. He had been
09:31responsible for then-cadet Rutherford's Vulcan implant, leading to a complete personality shift.
09:37Rutherford had been an errant and troubled young man and had designed an artificial intelligence
09:42program that Buenamigo would use, though, as the future would show in the form of Bagi,
09:48it was not suitable for autonomy. In 2381, Rutherford recognized his own work,
09:55corrupted and controlling the USS Aledo, but it was too late for Buenamigo. Fearing exposure by
10:01Captain Freeman and the USS Cerritos, he gave the Texas-class ships full freedom to control
10:06themselves and ordered the destruction of the California-class ship. The Aledo instead turned
10:11its phasers on the Vice Admiral, vaporizing him and destroying his office aboard Douglas Station.
10:174. Decapitation by Mugato
10:21It's quite a thing to see a cheerful Tellarite, yet Patingi was exactly that when Ensigns Boimler
10:27and Rutherford encountered him on the surface of Freilon IV in 2381. He claimed to be a biologist
10:33of some renown, with five whole books on Mugatos. Boimler and Rutherford had just encountered several
10:40such Mugatos herded by Ferengi in an illegal trading mission and had watched them break free. Mugatos,
10:47not well known for their calm nature, escaped into the forest full of rage at having been captured.
10:53Patingi bursting with confidence assured the young men that he knew enough to keep everyone safe.
10:59Something about his story began to confuse the boys. Though he had implied that he had
11:03written five books, he had in fact read five books on the wild animals. Adding to this,
11:09he didn't seem entirely sure what they were called. Were they Mugatos or Mugos?
11:16Brushing any uncertainty aside, he stepped out of their hiding place confident that he had learned
11:20how to communicate with an angry Mugato looming overhead. Before he had a chance to do anything
11:25about it, the Mugato lifted him up, opened its mouth and chomped down on the Tellarite's head.
11:31He was decapitated, leaving only his ponytail behind. Perhaps he should have read a sixth book after all.
11:38Number 3. Moopsie. A cuddly little murderer is a fine description for a beloved deadly ball of squish.
11:45The Moopsie may have been Narge's favourite, but the problem was, the Moopsie fancied Narge too.
11:50In particular, it fancied his bones. In Narge's miraculous menagenarium, Mariner, Ransom and
11:57Ensign Gary are assigned with retrieving some humans who have wound up in an alien zoo.
12:02The zookeeper, Narge, is a kindly sort, who is more than happy to answer questions,
12:07give them a tour and show them the various species on display. One such species is the Moopsie.
12:13All cute and smiling, locked tight in its enclosure.
12:17Naturally, the Moopsie gets out. What could be wrong with that?
12:20Well, the Moopsie has a certain diet that might not be the most fun for vertebrates,
12:24as Narge quickly demonstrates. Despite their efforts to hide from the creature,
12:29the Moopsie manages to find a way past locked doors and winding air ducts,
12:34dropping down with a grin onto Narge's shoulder. In one swift move, the Moopsie bears its razor-sharp
12:40fangs and sinks them into the unlucky zookeeper, liquidising and drinking his bones.
12:46As the empty corpse sinks to the floor, the Moopsie squeaks in happiness,
12:50while Mariner, Ransom and Gary run away, screaming.
12:59Number 2. Vaporised by the Breen.
13:01The Ornarans and the Brekkians were introduced in the next generation's first season episode,
13:06Symbiosis. There, they were presented as two worlds engaged in an uneven exchange,
13:12with the Ornarans addicted to Felicium, while the Brekkians kept them supplied.
13:16Captain Picard refused to help either side repair their ships, eventually leading to the Ornarans to
13:22be cut off from their supply of the drug. A dark time of withdrawal followed, with the entire population
13:28struggling with the effects of Felicium leaving their systems. Thankfully, that time passed, and the
13:34population began to thrive again. Over on Brekkah, things were less rosy.
13:39By the time the Cerritos arrived in orbit, the Breen had taken control of the planet,
13:45subjugated its people, and killed anyone who got out of line. One poor local spotted the arrival of
13:51the Starfleet crew, signalling them to be quiet and stay safe, but to no avail. After a period of
13:56occupation, the woman was mercilessly killed by the helmeted hardasses, who then proceeded to chase the
14:02Cerritos in their own ships. Even a show as light as lower decks can sometimes surprise with a
14:07shocking death, and this was a full-on shock in the third season episode Trusted Sources.
14:12Number 1. Riemann Torture
14:15We're not saying that the Riemanns are the nicest species in the galaxy, but they sure have
14:19experienced their fair share of strife in their time. Forced to work under the heel of the Romulan
14:24Star Empire, the Riemanns were trapped, for the most part, on the dark side of Remus. There,
14:28they mined dilithium and were often drafted as soldiers for war. The events surrounding Shinzon's
14:35coup on Romulus probably did very little to bolster Riemann reputations in the Empire,
14:40whether they were directly involved in the plot or not. Long before the Hova Supernova destroyed
14:46presumably both worlds, the Scimitar was destroyed with all hands thanks to Lieutenant Commander Data's
14:52sacrifice. Whichever Riemanns were left behind were not in for a happy future.
14:57In the early 2380s, there was enough ill will towards them that Romulan soldiers tortured
15:04several of them to death, dismembering them and tossing their bodies into a waste bag.
15:09Malok, one of the Romulans tasked with cleaning the room, wryly comments that Riemanns leave the
15:15biggest messes for them to clean up. Though hardly a noble ending for a Riemann soldier, perhaps they
15:21could take slight solace in the fact that Malok and Sub-Commander Vrek both had to deal with stains
15:27on their uniforms from the pieces of Riemanns that were left behind.
15:38Hi, I'm Duncan Relic, no relation, and I collect relics from before the burn. Thanks to a temporal wormhole,
15:47I now have an unlimited supply of Trek culture t-shirts and I'm selling them to you.
15:56You could be wearing this stylish down and up t-shirt. Or how about this fish watching design?
16:03Bright yellow on black. The colours I'd use in thumbnails, I tell you that for nothing.
16:08I plan to take these designs and transfer them via quantum duplication onto hats, mugs and posters.
16:17So look out for those. Back!
16:22Treat this unlimited supply as a limited time deal. Get your t-shirt quick! Who's your daddy?
16:38And that's everything for our list today, folks. Thank you so much for watching along. You are
16:44awesome. You are wonderful. Thank you so much, Bill, who edited this video. And you can follow us
16:49all on the various socials. We're at TrekCulture, at TrekCultureYT on Instagram. I'm at Sean Ferrick,
16:53and you are all wonderful. Thank you everyone who has subscribed to the channel. Please do so,
16:58or the moopsies coming to get you. I will keep the moopsie at bay as long as you promise to live long
17:03and prosper, and I'll see you again soon. Thanks very much.
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