'Star Trek: Lower Decks' Episode 4: Wesley Crusher's Ascension could have turned out a lot worse
Spoilers for 'Star Trek: Lower Decks' Season 1, Episode 4 - 'Moist Vessel'
Higher planes of existence hold a strange place in 'Star Trek.' Strange beings with a greater understanding of the universe have been a big and mysterious part of the franchise's history. Part of the fascination is that the series is all about exploration, and when you take higher planes of existence into account, outer space may not be the final frontier after all. However, the franchise has had mixed success in dealing with stories revolving around these planes, most infamously, with Wesley Crusher (Wil Wheaton) on 'The Next Generation,' whose story is parodied in the latest episode of 'Lower Decks.'
Wesley Crusher's story is a bizarre one. From the very first season of 'The Next Generation,' it was teased that Wesley contains the brilliance to be able to achieve a higher level of consciousness and to explore levels of existence that are beyond most ordinary people. We see Wesley's genius develop over the course of the series, but he left the show in Season 4, and it wasn't until the show's final Season that he returned. 'Journey's End' saw him finally ascend to becoming a higher being, to join the Traveler (Eric Menyuk) on his explorations of unfathomable dimensions.
Lieutenant Junior Grade O'Connor (Haley Joel Osment) has also been on a seemingly never-ending journey to reach an Ascension, but after D'Vana Tendi (Noël Wells) ruins his final Ascension ceremony and goes out of her way to help him back onto his spiritual path, it's revealed that O'Conner never had any real shot at Ascension. It was just a project he pursued to set himself apart from his other crew members as there was nothing else that was interesting about him. After saving Tendi's life in an emergency, however, his years of failed attempts finally paid off, and he begins his Ascension, something that's never been explicitly shown on 'Star Trek' history quite like this.
Unfortunately, this turns out to be a lot more violent and extreme than is expected. The process is a drawn-out, torturous process that makes it look like O'Connor is being burned alive as he is torn apart to become one with the universe. The answers that pour into his mind about life, the universe, and everything seem to completely overwhelm and baffle him and his dying screams almost share the secret of life with Tendi just before his Ascension rips him to shreds and dissolves his essence amid the fabric of the universe.
There have been many bizarre deaths in the 'Star Trek' franchise and many violent ones, but from the looks of it, Ascension is definitely one of the worst ways to go. Tendi's given cause to regret her "helping" O'Connor become a higher being, proving once again that there are some mysteries that are better left unsolved.
The next episode of 'Star Trek: Lower Decks' airs September 3, on CBS All Access.