Masquerade (episode)

Real world article

(written from a production point of view)

Trapped in the Neutral Zone, the crew encounters a rogue geneticist who sheds light on Dal's past.

Summary[]

Act One[]

Aboard the USS Protostar, the crew have their hands full dealing with Murf as he gets used to his new humanoid form, which gives him new ways to cause mayhem. They place Murf in a sphere-shaped containment pod so he can move around on his own without being able to reach things (like phasers). A jealous Dal silently fumes about the crew's fawning over their guest, Thadiun Okona, until he is interrupted by his crew asking him about finding somewhere to dock. With the Protostar in need of repairs, Okona suggests that they port at Noble Isle, where he had been going anyway. He also requests that the Protostar crew help him explain to his client how he lost the client's cargo back at Denaxi Depot. Hologram Janeway confirms that there is a starport near an M-class planet in the area that he described.

On the other side of the Neutral Zone, Vice Admiral Kathryn Janeway contacts her superior at Starfleet Command – Admiral Edward Jellico – to get clearance to enter the Neutral Zone to retrieve the Protostar so that the weapon on board doesn't fall into Romulan hands. Unwilling to risk the current negotiations with the Romulans, Jellico denies her request and tells her to destroy the Protostar if the Romulans seize it.

When the Protostar arrives at Noble Isle, Okona reveals that it can only be accessed through a space elevator because of heavy ion storms in the atmosphere, and that science is unregulated there, hence the inaccessible location. Hologram Janeway warns the crew that unregulated science is risky, and to beware of things that seem too good to be true.

While Zero and Jankom stay on board to work on repairs, Okona takes Dal, Rok, Murf (in his pod), and Gwyn to the lab of his client, a geneticist named Dr. Jago. Dr. Jago is initially angry that Okona has lost her shipment of gelatinous putrescine, but says that he has made it up to her already once she sees Dal. She is fascinated by him and, after conducting a brief scan to confirm her suspicions, she reports that Dal is a Human hybrid, composed of the recessive DNA of 26 alien species, created by the protégés of Arik Soong. When Dal bemoans the fact that he has no family and is just a "failed experiment," Jago states that with a very quick procedure, she can fix Dal by implanting an epigenetic dermal device which will activate his dormant genes. Though the crew assures Dal that he doesn't need fixing, he secretly has Jago perform the procedure after everyone else leaves.

Act Two[]

Meanwhile, on the USS Dauntless, Ensign Asencia volunteers to covertly enter the Neutral Zone to get the ship, but Janeway states that she isn't ready to defy orders. However, during their conversation, they realize that the Romulans are probably considering a covert mission as well, and agree to find a way to listen in on all Romulan sub-channels.

Just as the possibility is being discussed on the Dauntless, a Tal Shiar squad led by Commander Kaseth arrives on Noble Isle in order to take the Protostar. Oblivious to their presence, Dal interrupts Okona's bragging to share an embarrassing fact about him that Dal could only know if he was telepathic. Dal displays other odd behavior throughout their conversation, jumping around, balancing acrobatically and using uncharacteristically big words. Gwyn is suspicious that something is up, but doesn't confront him.

The Tal Shiar squad makes it onto the Protostar and incapacitates Jankom, Zero, and Hologram Janeway, but they cannot take control of the ship because command functions are locked. A group of Romulans heads off to search for the captain. Monitoring the Romulans' activities from the Dauntless, Janeway, over the loud objection of Ensign Asencia, orders a full spread of torpedoes to be prepared to fire at the Protostar if necessary in order to keep the ship from being captured.

The away team is ambushed by the Tal Shiar squad, who initially assume Okona is the captain. Once Dal clarifies that he is the captain, Okona runs away, much to the disgust of the Protostar crew. Dal kicks his epigenetic implant into overdrive and is able to fight off the Romulans with his newfound, and rapidly expanding, genetic traits. Gwyn and Rok express concern that he may be overdoing it as he begins to display erratic behavior and physical changes. They determine that they need to get him to sickbay.

Act Three[]

The crew are pursued by the Tal Shiar squad as they attempt to escape and ride the space elevator up to their ship. Dal expresses dismay when he sees his reflection in the elevator glass, and the crew soon have to put on oxygen masks when the Romulans crack the glass. The crew is able to fend off the first few attackers with Dal's mutations and Rok's science knowledge, but more Romulans attack.

Unsure of what is going on but aware that the Romulans have eyes on the captain of the Protostar, Vice Admiral Janeway orders a spread of photon torpedoes to be fired at the Protostar, despite Ensign Asencia's continued objections.

On the space elevator, Murf is desperate to be released from the containment pod that he's housed in. When Rok lets him out, Murf springs into action and easily overwhelms the Romulans with his body's incredible strength and flexibility, leading Gwyn to declare that they have a new security officer. Seeing that the Romulans are no longer a threat, the vice admiral quickly belays the torpedo order, and the torpedoes detonate harmlessly in open space.

Murf stretches his body to cover the broken part of the elevator so they can safely return to the ship. Dal's genetic traits stabilize enough for him to complain to Gwyn that he just wanted to better himself, because he knows he'll never be as good a captain as Okona. Gwyn tells him that he's right. He'll never be as good as Okona; he's already a better captain, because he stayed to fight when Okona ran off. Safe on board the Protostar, Jankom repairs the ship's damange, and Rok and Zero are able to remove the Dal's new implant before his genetic changes can become permanent.

Back on the Dauntless, Asencia visits the Diviner in his quarters and unexpectedly orders Drednok to activate. As the table transforms into a robot like the one from Tars Lamora, Asencia presses the epigenetic dermal implant on her neck and reveals herself to be another Vau N'Akat sent back in time to find the Protostar.

Log entries[]

Captain's log. Stardate, uh... ah, who cares? We just barely escaped Starfleet by hiding in the Neutral Zone. And we're not escaping anything else until we get our nacelles fixed. But at least we have Okona. As Murf gets used to his new body, we are getting used to the new Murf. But at least we have Okona. You know, for someone who's been on our ship for such a short time, it stings that the crew's taken to him so quickly, but I get it. I mean, look at him. He knows who he is. And what am I? Just some handsome lost kid with questions. But one day, I'll find out where I came from. And as for Okona, he'll be the one a million miles away.
Test, test, is this thing on? Okay. This is Rok-Tahk. Now that Murf is our official security officer, I can give my very first science log! This is so exciting! Now that we got the parts, engineer officer Jankom Pog is working hard on fixing the nacelles. Medical officer Zero and I were able to successfully remove Dal's dermal implant before any permanent changes. If there's anything we learned while visiting Noble Isle, it's that science rules, and science needs rules. And it's our imperfections that make us who we are.

Memorable quotes[]

"Be careful. When he says "cutting edge," he means unregulated. There's a reason Starfleet has laws about scientific experimentation. If it's too good to be true, it probably is."

- Hologram Janeway

"I am Dr. Jago. And you are late with my shipment. Where is my gelatinous putrescine?"
"I know, I know. But as my friends can attest, there was a mix-up at the depot, and unfortunately, your goods were permanently misplaced."

- Dr. Jago and Okona

"Ah, tell me, who is this beautiful specimen? Such interesting mandibula."
"Uh, is this how you greet strangers here?"
"The unique coloration. The skull ganglia."
"You've seen someone like him?"
"Never, but his origins are obvious."
"Whoa, whoa. You know where I came from?"
"Not where. But who."

- Dr. Jago, Dal and Gwyn

"Aha, as I suspected. You're the handiwork of the protégés of Dr. Arik Soong, a geneticist who defected from the Federation."
"Wait a minute. Are you telling them Dal was made in a lab."
"As you can see, Dal is the product of artificial hybrid speciation."

- Dr. Jago and Okona, as the geneticist reveals Dal's true origins

"It appears they began with a sample of an unremarkable humanoid specimen, most likely homo sapien."
"Unremarkable? I'm... Human?"
"Human Augment, blended with the most recessive traits of 26 species. I see traces of Vulcan, proto-Organian... Sloppy work in my opinion. Miracle you can talk."

- Dr. Jago reveals to Dal his true species

"I can bring out the best in you. My epigenetic dermal implant can activate dormant genes while also stimulating rapid cell division, and the best part? It's a fast, simple procedure, and no one will know."
"What does that mean?"
"Basically, with the push of a button--"
"I can make you better. I can fix you."
"But it will change you, Dal."

- Dr. Jago, Dal, Rok

"Dal, you don't need fixing. We're here to fix the ship."
""If it's too good to be true..." Hmm. Thanks, doc. I wish, but it's not why we're here."

- Gwyn and Dal, heeding Hologram Janeway's advice

"Just how fast is this procedure?"

- Dal to Dr. Jago, no longer heeding Hologram Janeway's advice

"First, an admiral. Now a Romulan hit squad. Who are you guys?"

- Okona

"Who are these kids?"

- Vice Admiral Janeway

"I'm sorry. I really messed things up. I didn't wanna be a mistake. I just wanted you to look at me like you look at Okona."
"You're not a mistake. But you'll never be as good as Okona. You're better. He left us. You didn't."

- Dal and Gwyn

"You weren't the only one sent back to find the ship."

- Asencia, revealing her true identity to The Diviner

Background information[]

Title[]

The title was announced by Paramount+ in 25 October 2022. [1]

Production[]

The episode was aired on 18 November 2022 by Nickelodeon in some European countries such as Croatia, Hungary, and Poland, ahead of US release. [2]
Variations of the score from TOS: "Balance of Terror" can be heard throughout the episode.

Cast and characters[]

Ronny Cox reprises his role of Edward Jellico after last portraying the character on-screen in the Star Trek: The Next Generation two-part episode "Chain Of Command, Part I" and "Chain Of Command, Part II" in 1992. Since then, Jellico has been promoted to admiral, which was established in the Star Trek: Lower Decks episode "Grounded" where the Federation News Network news ticker mentions him as an admiral and banning the Zebulon Sisters from performing on active-duty starships in 2381.

Continuity[]

Jago's advertisement that plays in the space elevator shows images of two species who were seen at Tars Lamora.
Jago's screen shows emblems of various species whose samples she checked Dal's DNA against, some of which previously appeared in other Star Trek series:
- Andorian (ENT: "Proving Ground"), Bajoran (DS9: "Emissary"), Breen (DS9: "The Dogs of War"), Cardassian (TNG: "Chain Of Command, Part II"), Ferengi (TNG: "The Last Outpost"), Hirogen (VOY: "Flesh and Blood"), Kazon (VOY: "Maneuvers"), Klingon (TOS: "Elaan of Troyius"), Risian (TNG: "Captain's Holiday"), Son'a (Star Trek: Insurrection), Suliban (ENT: "The Expanse"), Vidiian (VOY: "Deadlock"), Vulcan (TOS: "Is There in Truth No Beauty?")
- Four of the emblems originally come from Star Trek games: a Gorn symbol from Star Trek: Starfleet Academy, a Species 8472 symbol from Star Trek Online, an Orion symbol from The Orions, a Star Trek: The Role Playing Game supplement, and a Tellarite symbol from the Starfleet Operations Manual supplement for Star Trek Roleplaying Game, now used in a canon production for the first time.
- The Tholian emblem originated in the reference book Star Trek: Star Charts.
- This version of the Romulan emblem was previously used only in Star Trek Nemesis promotional materials, but not on screen. Similarly, the Reman emblem is based on a design sketch created for the movie, slightly different from the version used in the actual film.
- Three emblems belong to multi-species groups, the Dominion (DS9: "Rocks and Shoals"), Maquis (VOY: "Caretaker") and Xindi (ENT: "The Shipment"), without specifying the actual species.
- One of the symbols has the shape of the letter Q, which might designate the Q species.
This is the third time Jankom has been stunned. The first time he mildly stunned himself with a Type 1 phaser by accident. The second time he was mildly stunned by an Enderprizian wielding a Type 2 phaser. This time he is fully stunned by a Romulan stun bomb. (PRO: "Dream Catcher", "All the World's a Stage")
Okona discusses the events of TNG: "The Outrageous Okona" with the Protostar crew.
When using his epigenetic dermal implant, Dal temporarily exhibits physical characteristics, vocal characteristics, and mannerisms associated with various species, like Vulcan, Klingon, and Tellarite.
Vice Admiral Janeway's ready room contains a replica of the USS Voyager, the ship she commanded during the events of Star Trek: Voyager.
The Romulans use the same disruptor pistols and rifles featured in Season 1 of Star Trek: Picard.
Although there is no official stardate within the episode itself, a log by Janeway on the "Star Trek Logs" Instagram account dated the episode to stardate 61368.6. [3]

Links and references[]

Cast[]

And

Kate Mulgrew as "Hologram Janeway / Vice Admiral Janeway"
Kimberly Brooks as
- Commander Kaseth
- Starfleet Officer #1
Billy Campbell as Thadiun Okona
Brook Chalmers as
- Tal Shiar #2
- Tal Shiar #6
Ronny Cox as Admiral Jellico
Daveed Diggs as Commander Tysess
Bonnie Gordon as
- Ship Computer
- Tal Shiar #4
Amy Hill as Doctor Jago
Jameela Jamil as Asencia
Ben Thomas as
- Tal Shiar #1
- Tal Shiar #5

Previous episode:

"Crossroads"

Star Trek: Prodigy

Season 1

Next episode:

"Preludes"