Star Trek Revives One Of Its Greatest Ultimate Weapons

If you’re not familiar, the Genesis Device was the ultimate doomsday weapon of the ‘80s. Every great sci-fi weapon has to have the power to destroy a whole planet, but the Genesis Device had the power to destroy and create worlds. 

In fact, the power of the Genesis Device was so mind-blowing (and a bit taboo) that mention of the weapon has been hard to find within Star Trek content for nearly forty years. The device was only brought to fruition in Star Trek II, and it was laid to rest due to its instability in Star Trek III: The Search for Spok. 

After the Genesis Device was phased out on the big screen, Picard writers saw fit to place a small mention of the weapon in season three of the show. There was also one episode of Voyager, The Omega Directive, where Captain Janeway mentioned the Genesis Device creator’s moral shouldering comparatively to the predicament she was currently facing. Other than that, the only other mention of the device is in the two aforementioned Star Trek movies. Until now…

In Season 4 of Lower Decks, the Genesis Device returns. Of course, in fine form, Lower Decks writers brought a bootleg version of the weapon into play. There’s a new lesson to be learned, and the Lower Decks crew is going to figure it out. 

The episode’s story strengthens the connection between Lower Decks and Star Trek: The Next Generation by resurfacing the story of Nick Locarno. In short, Locarno was a young Starfleet hotshot who chose to do a forbidden maneuver during his Nova Squadron graduation from Starfleet Academy. 

His decision to break the rules got one of his classmates killed, and the character then went down a path of self-destruction. Locarno returns in the season finale of Lower Decks with his motley crew, The Nova Squadron, and a thrown-together bootleg of the Genesis Device at his disposal. 

The finale episode entitled, “Old Friends, New Planets” felt like a trilogy addition alongside TNG episodes, The First Duty and Lower Decks. In the episode, viewers get a flashback peak into the relationship between Mariner and Sito. 

Sito was also a member of the Nova Squadron when Mariner was in her first year at Starfleet Academy. When Sito was sent to return a defector to their home territory, she was lost and never returned. Mariner looked up to Sito as a mentor and suffered a lot at the news of her death, causing her to fear being in a position of power. 

However, Mariner is repeatedly placed in positions where she needs to make important judgment calls, and she is ready and willing to thwart Locarno’s plans for the knock-off Genesis Device. 

If you’ve yet to allow yourself indulgence in the new animated series Lower Decks on Paramount, you’re missing out on a wonderful compilation of Trekkie movie memories and standout episodes from some of the older television series.