Lower Decks Shows A New Side Of One Of Star Trek's Most Over-The-Top Alien Races
This article contains spoilers for "Star Trek: Lower Decks" season 4, episode 5, "Empathalogical Fallacies."
On the latest episode of "Star Trek: Lower Decks," titled "Empathalogical Fallacies," the U.S.S. Cerritos serves as host to a trio of visiting diplomats from the planet Betazed. The Betazoids are on their way to Risa, the most famous vacation destination in the "Star Trek" universe, and are determined to keep the mood light and the party hearty. They traverse the Cerritos with yard-long margaritas and flirt with just about every member of the crew, including the captain. Although Betazoids are psychics, they do not live a life of quiet, Appollonian intellectualism. Indeed, we see that middle-aged Betazoid women are Dionysian creatures dedicated to sensual pleasures.
These characters are modeled after one of the "Star Trek" franchise's most famous supporting characters, Lwaxana Troi (Majel Barrett), the mother of Deanna Troi (Marina Sirtis) on "Star Trek: The Next Generation." Lwaxana, too, was a Betazoid diplomat who lived for sex and romance. She also wouldn't be content until both she and her daughter could find respective mates. Lwaxana is deeply beloved by Trekkies as she offers a flirty counterpoint to the stuffy formality of most Starfleet officers. On the U.S.S. Enterprise-D, a notoriously well-behaved ship, Lwaxana was a chaos agent. On the U.S.S. Cerritos, a notoriously ill-behaved ship, a trio of Lwaxanas will only invite "Animal House"-style shenanigans. Naturally, said shenanigans ensue.
But, as it so happens, the Betazoid diplomats are up to more than mere diplomacy. Over the course of the episode, they will reveal that they are on a secret mission and will whip off their dresses, extract retractable beatin' batons, and prove to Captain Freeman (Dawnn Lewis) that they are capable of more than partying. Betazoids are not merely horny alcoholics. They are also badasses.
It's a secret mission in uncharted space
Over the course of this season of "Lower Decks," a mysterious UFO has been systematically attacking and destroying random ships throughout the Alpha Quadrant. An Orion ship, a Klingon ship, and a Romulan ship have already been decimated and the attacking UFO has not been identified. It seems that the Betazoid diplomats have been investigating that mysterious ship, hoping to ascertain whatever psychic energies it might have.
Sadly, no one on board the Cerritos — including the Betazoids — is thinking clearly due to a mysterious psychic phenomenon that enhances everyone's emotions to the point of irrationality. The Betaoids are scanned for Zanthi fever, the emotional affliction suffered by Lwaxana Troi on the "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine" episode "Fascination" (November 28, 1994).
When Captain Freeman confronts the Betazoids about any possible effect their presence may be having on the emotions of her crew, that's when the batons come out. Despite fighting highly-trained Starfleet officers, the Betazoid women make quick work of them. They even manage to use their psychic abilities to their advantage, sensing that two crewmates are very attracted to one another, and using their moment of subsequent flirtation to knock them unconscious. One might think that psychic party-lovers wouldn't necessarily be able to commit such violence. It seems that Betazoids are just as steely and action-oriented as any other species on "Star Trek." We just had never seen it until this episode.
Betazoid culture
Deanna Troi was the first Betazoid character on "Star Trek." Because she had a human father, however, she wasn't a full-bore psychic, only able to sense the emotions of others without reading their thoughts outright. Her full-blood Betazoid mother, meanwhile, often communicated psychically with her daughter. One might note that Betazoids all have black eyes, an effect achieved on "Lower Decks" — a show where all the characters have cartoonish, ink-dot eyes — by making their pupils slightly larger.
There weren't too many episodes wherein a Federation starship visited Betazed, as such a quiet, peaceful planet — a planet where no one had to speak — wouldn't necessarily have made for good television. Also notable: Many Betazoid celebrations, including weddings, are nudist affairs, wherein all the guests strip down to their birthday suits. On a world of psychics, modesty wouldn't exist. This freewheeling sexuality would likely have excited the notoriously horny Gene Roddenberry, creator of "Star Trek: The Next Generation." Unfortunately, it would have also been too naughty for network TV.
Readers of "Star Trek" novels, meanwhile, will have already visited a Betazoid wedding in Peter David's 1992 book "Imzadi." In that book, about the first time Will Riker and Deanna Troi met, we also learn that Betazoid men don't have body hair. Note that "Star Trek" novels, however, are not canonical. The impression one might get of Betazoids from the "Next Generation" days is that they're gentle, benevolent hedonists. Thanks to "Lower Decks," they can also kick some butt.
"Star Trek: Lower Decks" is streaming on Paramount+.