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** Boimler's first new quarters has an unfiltered view of one of the ''Cerritos''' nacelles, damaging his eyes with intense light. He eventually learns from Rutherford that the windows can be dimmed, but the fact that this is not the default setting (or that quarters with windowa are even located there at all) is still a problem.
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** Boimler's first new quarters has an unfiltered view of one of the ''Cerritos''' nacelles, damaging his eyes with intense light. He eventually learns from Rutherford that the windows can be dimmed, but the fact that this is not the default setting (or that quarters with windowa windows are even located there at all) is still a problem.
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Changed line(s) 70 (click to see context) from:
** Boimler's first new quarters has an unfiltered view of one of the ''Cerritos''' nacelles, damaging his eyes with intense light. He eventually learns from Rutherford that the windows can be dimmed, but the fact that this is not the default setting (or that quarters are even located there at all) is still a problem.
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** Boimler's first new quarters has an unfiltered view of one of the ''Cerritos''' nacelles, damaging his eyes with intense light. He eventually learns from Rutherford that the windows can be dimmed, but the fact that this is not the default setting (or that quarters with windowa are even located there at all) is still a problem.
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* FunnyBackgroundEvent: When Mariner starts punching Ransom's teeth out, the moopsy's eyes light up and it presses its wide-open mouth against the glass.
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* PoorCommunicationKills: This episode suggests this has been Mariner’s problem the entire time: whenever she gets promoted, she becomes convinced they're looking for a reason to bust her back down and decides to give it to them. Ransom realized this and decides not to fall for it, which allows Mariner to suffer a JerkassRealization. There is a lot more this, as we’ll find out later on in the season.
to:
* PoorCommunicationKills: This episode suggests this has been Mariner’s problem the entire time: time, at least in part: whenever she gets promoted, she becomes convinced they're looking for a reason to bust her back down and decides to give it to them. Ransom realized Ransom, having figured this out, refuses to take the bait and decides not explains as much to fall for it, her, which allows Mariner to suffer a JerkassRealization. There is a lot more this, as we’ll find out later on in That said, this only scratches the season.surface of her issues, not explaining the underlying paranoia.
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Changed line(s) 92 (click to see context) from:
* PoorCommunicationKills: This episode suggests this has been Mariner’s problem the entire time: whenever she gets promoted, she becomes convinced they're looking for a reason to bust her back down and decides to give it to them. Ransom realized this and decides not to fall for it, which allows Mariner to suffer a JerkassRealization.
to:
* PoorCommunicationKills: This episode suggests this has been Mariner’s problem the entire time: whenever she gets promoted, she becomes convinced they're looking for a reason to bust her back down and decides to give it to them. Ransom realized this and decides not to fall for it, which allows Mariner to suffer a JerkassRealization. There is a lot more this, as we’ll find out later on in the season.
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* PopCulturePunEpisodeTitle: The title is based off of Creator/HarlanEllison's ''Literature/IHaveNoMouthAndIMustScream''.
Deleted line(s) 106 (click to see context) :
** A no-brainer as the title is based off of Creator/HarlanEllison’s ''Literature/IHaveNoMouthAndIMustScream''.
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** [[https://blog.trekcore.com/2023/10/star-trek-lower-decks-interview-mike-mcmahan-nycc-2023/ According]] to Mike [[=McMahan=], Moopsy's bone drinking biology was inspired by ''Film/DeepRising''.
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** [[https://blog.trekcore.com/2023/10/star-trek-lower-decks-interview-mike-mcmahan-nycc-2023/ According]] to Mike [[=McMahan=], [=McMahan=], Moopsy's bone drinking biology was inspired by ''Film/DeepRising''.
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** [[https://blog.trekcore.com/2023/10/star-trek-lower-decks-interview-mike-mcmahan-nycc-2023/ According]] to Mike [[=McMahan=], Moopsy's bone drinking biology was inspired by ''Film/DeepRising''.
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** Rutherford's belief that he can't just ''ask'' Billips about getting a promotion he's already turned down calls back to his inexplicable first season conviction that Billips is some kind of martinet who runs a tight ship, rather than one of the most easygoing officers on the ship.
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* SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome: With Rutherford's ''multiple'' brilliant and life-saving feats of engineering genius meriting him promotion by now, it was a surprise that he wasn't promoted with the others in the previous episode; turns out this was because he ''had'' been promoted, ''multiple times'', but he always [[DecliningPromotion turned them down]] in order to continue serving alongside Tendi.
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* LaserGuidedKarma: The humans who set the moopsy free are left on the station as punishment, leaving them with a long wait for another ship, whose crew will be aware that they're murderers, to have time to pick them up.
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* LaserGuidedKarma: The humans who set the moopsy free are left end up telling on themselves by putting the panel back on upside-down, leading to the away team discovering what they did. This gets them abandoned on the station as punishment, leaving them with a long wait for another ship, whose crew will be aware that they're murderers, to have time to pick them up.
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* SpottingTheThread: When the away team goes to rescue the humans:
-->'''Mariner''': Hey, that umbrella is upside down, yeah?\\
''[The panel Mariner notices starts to come loose, and the woman in the exhibit hurriedly stops it. This results in the moopsy enclosure opening again.]''\\
'''Mariner''': ''[hurriedly closes the moopsy's door]'' Did you [bleep]ers rewire the moopsy door?! You could've got us all killed!
-->'''Mariner''': Hey, that umbrella is upside down, yeah?\\
''[The panel Mariner notices starts to come loose, and the woman in the exhibit hurriedly stops it. This results in the moopsy enclosure opening again.]''\\
'''Mariner''': ''[hurriedly closes the moopsy's door]'' Did you [bleep]ers rewire the moopsy door?! You could've got us all killed!
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* OhCrapSmile: The male human exhibit does this when Mariner notices an upside-down umbrella painting, followed by the female exhibit when she has to stop the panel in question from falling off the wall, causing the moopsy enclosure to open again.
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* HoldYourHippogriffs:
-->'''Ransom:''' ''(to Narj)'' We'll be out of your leaves[[labelnote:*]]hair[[/labelnote]] lickety-split.
-->'''Ransom:''' ''(to Narj)'' We'll be out of your leaves[[labelnote:*]]hair[[/labelnote]] lickety-split.
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* BaitAndSwitch: [[spoiler:Context clues imply that Mariner released the Moopsy, an adorable looking yet deadly creature, from captivity and nearly killed everyone present. She didn't, the humans that she was sent to rescue did.]]
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* BaitAndSwitch: [[spoiler:Context Context clues imply that Mariner released the Moopsy, an adorable looking yet deadly creature, from captivity and nearly killed everyone present. She didn't, the humans that she was sent to rescue did.]]
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* BaitAndSwitch: [[spoiler:Context clues imply that Mariner released the Moopsy, an adorable looking yet deadly creature, from captivity and nearly killed everyone present. She didn't, the humans that she was sent to rescue did.]]
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Changed line(s) 117 (click to see context) from:
'''Tedi:''' I am your superior, Ensign. Do it! ''(Rutherford stands at attention)'' We'll be friends no matter what our ranks are. We're going to spend tons of time hanging out and talking about science and telling jokes and, you know, do all the things we used to do. And that's an order!\\
to:
''(Rutherford stands at
'''Tendi:''' We'll be friends no matter what our ranks are. We're going to spend tons of time hanging out and talking about science and telling jokes and, you know, do all the things we used to do. And that's an order!\\
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--->'''Tendi:''' Mr. Rutherford, stand at attention!\\
'''Rutherford:''' What?\\
'''Tedi:''' I am your superior, Ensign. Do it! ''(Rutherford stands at attention)'' We'll be friends no matter what our ranks are. We're going to spend tons of time hanging out and talking about science and telling jokes and, you know, do all the things we used to do. And that's an order!\\
'''Rutherford:''' Yes, ma'am!\\
''(both laugh)''\\
'''Tendi:''' Oh, my gosh, I just gave my first order.
'''Rutherford:''' What?\\
'''Tedi:''' I am your superior, Ensign. Do it! ''(Rutherford stands at attention)'' We'll be friends no matter what our ranks are. We're going to spend tons of time hanging out and talking about science and telling jokes and, you know, do all the things we used to do. And that's an order!\\
'''Rutherford:''' Yes, ma'am!\\
''(both laugh)''\\
'''Tendi:''' Oh, my gosh, I just gave my first order.
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* CaptainsLog: Mariner records her first log entry as a lieutenant (j.g.) before deciding that her new rank just sounds weird.
-->"Lieutenant Junior Grade's Log...Nope, no, too weird. Uh, let's go with "Mariner's Log". So, yeah, of course it was the humans in the menagerie that set the moopsy free. They'd seen how profitable they were as an attraction, so they wanted to kill Narj and keep the station for themselves. Humans... we really are the worst. ''(laughs)'' So, anyway, instead of bringing them to the ''Cerritos'', we left them in the menagerie until somebody else has time to pick them up. Could take a while. As for Ransom, it took some doing, but Dr. T'Ana was able to fix him up with a new set of chompers."
-->"Lieutenant Junior Grade's Log...Nope, no, too weird. Uh, let's go with "Mariner's Log". So, yeah, of course it was the humans in the menagerie that set the moopsy free. They'd seen how profitable they were as an attraction, so they wanted to kill Narj and keep the station for themselves. Humans... we really are the worst. ''(laughs)'' So, anyway, instead of bringing them to the ''Cerritos'', we left them in the menagerie until somebody else has time to pick them up. Could take a while. As for Ransom, it took some doing, but Dr. T'Ana was able to fix him up with a new set of chompers."
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* NewMeat: A new ensign named Gary accompanies Ransom and Mariner to the menagerie, only to witness some of Mariner's extreme behaviors first-hand.
to:
* NewMeat: A new ensign named Gary accompanies Ransom and Mariner to the menagerie, only to witness some of Mariner's extreme behaviors first-hand.first-hand while almost getting killed by a bone-drinking marshmallow.
* NiceGuy: Narj is very polite to others and caring of the creatures in his Menaje. He also has a policy against keeping sentient beings; he's genuinely apologetic about accidentally capturing two humans and happy to release them to Starfleet.
* NiceGuy: Narj is very polite to others and caring of the creatures in his Menaje. He also has a policy against keeping sentient beings; he's genuinely apologetic about accidentally capturing two humans and happy to release them to Starfleet.
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* ExplainExplainOhCrap: After Ransom's team confines the moopsy in the room where they were just hiding.
-->'''Mariner:''' Phew, no ladders. Now it can't get back through those vents.\\
'''Gary:''' Yeah. Now it's trapped in the... station's main control room!\\
''(the moopsy hits a control that sends the station falling out of orbit)''
-->'''Mariner:''' Phew, no ladders. Now it can't get back through those vents.\\
'''Gary:''' Yeah. Now it's trapped in the... station's main control room!\\
''(the moopsy hits a control that sends the station falling out of orbit)''
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* CuteApproachesCamera: The moopsy approaches the camera in all its deadly cuteness.
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* LaserGuidedKarma: The humans who set the moopsy free are left on the station as punishment, leaving them with a long wait for another ship, whose crew will be aware that they're murderers, to have time to pick them up.
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** In the scene where Narj first notices the moopsy escaped, one of the wall panels in the human enclosure is upside down; at the end we find out they sabotaged the moopsy enclosure by using controls hidden behind the wall panel. And before that, when Narj is saying the line, "I've given these sweet creatures a safe home", the two humans are looking at something off-screen in their cage which also happens to be in the direction of the moopsy's cage, and it's later revealed to be the controls.
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** In the scene where Narj first notices the moopsy escaped, one of the wall panels in the human enclosure is upside down; down and the girl is always leaning on it; at the end we find out they sabotaged the moopsy enclosure by using controls hidden behind the wall panel. And before that, when Narj is saying the line, "I've given these sweet creatures a safe home", the two humans are looking at something off-screen in their cage which also happens to be in the direction of the moopsy's cage, and it's later revealed to be the controls.
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-->'''Moopsy:''' ''(standing outside the swamp habitat as the gobblers recoil in fear)'' Moopsy.\\
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* ImpendingDoomPOV: As Narj and the Starfleet officers flee into the station's control center, the camera briefly shows them through the eyes of the moopsy as it relentlessly waddles closer.
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* BlackComedy: Much fun is had during the menagerie subplot with the fact our characters are fleeing in terror from an adorable little CartoonCreature, even if it ''is'' dangerous.
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** In the scene where Narj first notices the moopsy escaped, one of the wall panels in the human enclosure is upside down; at the end we find out they sabotaged the moopsy enclosure by using controls hidden behind the wall panel. And before that, when Narji is saying the line, "I've given these sweet creatures a safe home", the two humans are looking at something off-screen in their cage which also happens to be in the direction of the moopsy's cage, and it's later revealed to be the controls.
to:
** In the scene where Narj first notices the moopsy escaped, one of the wall panels in the human enclosure is upside down; at the end we find out they sabotaged the moopsy enclosure by using controls hidden behind the wall panel. And before that, when Narji Narj is saying the line, "I've given these sweet creatures a safe home", the two humans are looking at something off-screen in their cage which also happens to be in the direction of the moopsy's cage, and it's later revealed to be the controls.
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* HumansAreBastards: After the moopsy is successfully put back into containment, the new ensign expresses relief that the trouble wasn't caused by the human residents of the Menagerie like one would expect. He's disappointed to learn that they actually are responsible, scheming to take control of the facility from Narj for the money.
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* HumansAreBastards: HorrifyingTheHorror: Even the swamp gobblers are terrified of the moopsy... and with good reason, given it slips into their enclosure and sucks their bones out.
* HumansAreTheRealMonsters: PlayedForLaughs. After the moopsy is successfully put back into containment, the new ensign expresses relief that the trouble wasn't caused by the human residents of the Menagerie like one would expect. He's disappointed to learn that they are actuallyare responsible, responsible for letting the moopsy out, scheming to take control of the facility from Narj for the money.
* HumansAreTheRealMonsters: PlayedForLaughs. After the moopsy is successfully put back into containment, the new ensign expresses relief that the trouble wasn't caused by the human residents of the Menagerie like one would expect. He's disappointed to learn that they are actually
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* OhCrap: Narj is terrified when he sees the moopsy out of its cage. The others don't understand why until they see it drink the bones of two Pyrithian swamp gobblers.
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* OhCrap: OhCrap:
** Narj is terrified when he sees the moopsy out of its cage. The others don't understand why until they see it drink the bones of two Pyrithian swamp gobblers.
** Narj is terrified when he sees the moopsy out of its cage. The others don't understand why until they see it drink the bones of two Pyrithian swamp gobblers.
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** If you [[RewatchBonus watch the Pyrithian swamp gobblers when they first see the Moopsy, they back up defensively and their legs are shaking]], indicating they already know the danger the Moopsy is to them.
to:
** If you [[RewatchBonus [[FiveSecondForeshadowing watch the Pyrithian swamp gobblers when they first see the Moopsy, they back up defensively and their legs are shaking]], indicating they already know the danger the Moopsy is to them.
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* PoorCommunicationKills: This episode suggests this has been Mariner’s problem the entire time: whenever she gets promoted, she becomes convinced they’re looking for a reason to bust her back down and decides to give it to them. Ransom realized this and decides not to fall for it, which allows Mariner to suffer a HeelRealization.
* PrecisionFStrike: Two back-to-back examples. Nari's first, when when he realizes Moopsy's broken out of its cage. Then, Mariner's next after seeing Moopsy eating one of the Swamp Gobblers.
* PrecisionFStrike: Two back-to-back examples. Nari's first, when when he realizes Moopsy's broken out of its cage. Then, Mariner's next after seeing Moopsy eating one of the Swamp Gobblers.
to:
* PoorCommunicationKills: This episode suggests this has been Mariner’s problem the entire time: whenever she gets promoted, she becomes convinced they’re they're looking for a reason to bust her back down and decides to give it to them. Ransom realized this and decides not to fall for it, which allows Mariner to suffer a HeelRealization.
JerkassRealization.
* PrecisionFStrike: Two back-to-back examples.Nari's Narj's first, when when he realizes Moopsy's broken out of its cage. Then, Mariner's next after seeing Moopsy eating one of the Swamp Gobblers.
* PrecisionFStrike: Two back-to-back examples.
* RefuseToRescueTheDisliked: After realising the humans they were sent to rescue on the menagerie let the moopsy out of its enclosure and nearly got them killed, Mariner and Ransom opt to leave them on the station until Starfleet can send another pick-up crew.
* ScreamsLikeALittleGirl: Narj's screams while running away from the moopsy are high-pitched and rather undignified.
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* TheUnsmile: The "new set of chompers" Ransom gets at the end is a couple of sizes too big for his mouth, making his encouraging speech to Mariner seem... off.
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* TheUnsmile: The "new set of chompers" Ransom gets at the end is a couple of sizes too big for his mouth, making his encouraging speech to Mariner seem... seem off.
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* UnderestimatingBadassery: Nobody except for Narj takes the moopsy seriously as a threat (understandable, given how cute and harmless it looks) until it jumps onto a swamp gobbler and sucks out its bones.
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* Mariner overhears Cmdr. Ransom talking with Shaxs that Mariner "won't be my problem anymore." Believing he plans to demote her again (which is what she wants), she decides to be insubordinate and disrespectful all over a mission to a "menagerie" (an alien zoo) with a new ensign named Gary.
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* Mariner overhears Cmdr. Ransom talking with Shaxs that Mariner "won't be my problem anymore." Believing he plans to demote her again (which is what she wants), she decides to be insubordinate and disrespectful all over a mission to a "menagerie" (an alien zoo) with a new ensign named Gary. Their visit takes a turn for the deadly when an ''extremely'' dangerous and [[KillerRabbit equally adorable]] exhibit escapes from its enclosure.
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* OutOfContextEavesdropping: Mariner overhears Ransom telling Shaxs that Mariner "won't be my problem for long" and concludes that he's going to demote her back to Ensign. What Ransom really meant was that he had made the ''opposite'' decision: to no longer give in to her habitual self-sabotaging attempts so that she can finally mature into the capable leader he knows she can be.
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* ThenLetMeBeEvil: After overhearing Ransom talking about her, Mariner concludes (mistakenly) that he is planning to demote her back to Ensign, despite all the hard work she has done to reform herself to Starfleet standards. Mariner decides, if her [[BlackSheep scarlet letter]] refuses to go away no matter what she does, that she might as well go back to her insubordinate ways and get demoted on her own terms.
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Putting tropes and summary in correct episode title.
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[[quoteright:1000:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/tt_lwd_bones_v1.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:1000:It's cute, it's cuddly, and it'll drink your bones faster than you can say, "HOLY [BLEEP]!"]]
Having been promoted at the end of the previous episode, Lieutenants Junior Grade Bradward Boimler, D'Vana Tendi and Beckett Mariner pack up their things and leave the barracks they have bunked in for the past three seasons. ThreeLinesSomeWaiting emerge:
* Mariner overhears Cmdr. Ransom talking with Shaxs that Mariner "won't be my problem anymore." Believing he plans to demote her again (which is what she wants), she decides to be insubordinate and disrespectful all over a mission to a "menagerie" (an alien zoo) with a new ensign named Gary.
* Rutherford decides to try to get promoted, immediately entering into a rivalry with a new engineer named Livik, who is apparently the AlwaysSomeoneBetter to Rutherford.
* In a sitcom-standard plot, Boimler looks for quarters that aren't ridiculous.
----
!!Tropes:
* AlwaysSomeoneBetter: Livik is always one step ahead of any attempts from Rutherford to impress Billups, and always manages to do it slightly better.
* BlackHoleBelly: The moopsy can seemingly drink a limitless amount of bones without growing visibly larger, even though everything it attacks should possess more mass in bones than the moopsy could hold.
* BlindedByTheLight: When Boimler enters his first quarters, he's immediately blinded by the red lights of the ''Cerritos''' nacelles, damaging his eyes with intense light. Boimler puts on visors to help him deal with the light, which works until Billups made the lights brighter after implementing Livek's improvements to the nacelles, making Boimer's visors useless. At the end of the episode, where Boimler decides to be roommates with Rutherford, their new quarters is by the nacelles again, but Rutherford easily deals with the situation by adjusting the settings in his quarters to block out the lights.
* BrickJoke: Boimler admires a dent on the ceiling of his bed from all the times he was startled by a Red Alert. After he and Rutherford end up sharing a room, he ends up making a new dent in the similarly-sized bed and feels a little more at home.
* BringMyBrownPants: Ensign Gary ruins two pairs of pants, one during Mariner's ComingInHot landing and one while fleeing the moopsy.
* CallBack:
** In their opening conversation while they stretch, Ransom and Shaxs are wearing the same leotards that Dr. Crusher and Counselor Troi wore in ''[[Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration TNG]]'': "[[Recap/StarTrekTheNextGenerationS3E8ThePrice The Price]]." (The originals are featured in the Recap picture.)
** The idea of being an outpost scientist as an alternative to a Starfleet career is brought up again. When it was first brought up in "[[Recap/StarTrekLowerDecksS1E02Envoys Envoys]]", Boimler used it to indulge in some BitingTheHandHumor about how that career would likely end with him being mysteriously killed, and Starfleet would need to piece together what happened from his logs; Mariner told him not to even ''joke'' about the possibility. This time, it's Ensign Gary's turn to contemplate a career change- and he actually considers it, because outpost scientists don't often see their commanders [[ThatsAnOrder ordering]] people to [[TeethFlying knock their teeth out]].
* CardCarryingVillain: Both Romulan ensigns are openly plotting to betray the subcommander of their ship, and he himself is aware and completely unconcerned by their plotting--he just wants them to fix the problem so he can "go back to being suspicious."
* CanonImmigrant: Of a sort: the Romulan ship seen in the ColdOpen is based on the original design of the ''D’Deridex'' from ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration'' (more specifically, a ''Next Generation''-related calendar image).
* ChronicBackstabbingDisorder: ''Everyone'' on the Romulan ship wants their Commander dead, and he knows it. Just don't let it interfere with the mission.
* ColonyDrop: The moopsy accidentally sends the Menagerie hurtling towards the planet below, but thankfully, Ransom and the new guy stop it.
* ContinuityNod:
** The "Ad Astra" Starfleet recruitment poster from "[[Recap/StarTrekStrangeNewWorldsS2E07ThoseOldScientists Those Old Scientists]]" is visible among Boimler's stuff.
** Rutherford's multiple promotion-worthy accomplishments and ideas are brought up, when Tendi comes up with the idea of him accepting a previously turned-down promotion.
** Boimler is able to call in a favor with Shaxs, who addresses him as "Baby Bear", indicating that he's holding true to his promise back in "[[Recap/StarTrekLowerDecksS3E10TheStarsAtNight The Stars At Night]]" to take him under his wing.
** As shown in Recap/StarTrekTheNextGenerationS7E14LowerDecks, as described by Ensign (soon Lt. jg.) Sam Lavalle, getting promoted from Ensign to Lieutenant Junior Grade awards you better quarters aboard a starship (though with what Boimler is going through to find quarters that doesn't cause him problems, "better" is relative).
* CouldHaveAvoidedThisPlot:
** Boimler's whole dilemma is created by him not realizing he could adjust the settings in his quarters to block out the lights from the Bussard {{Ramscoop}}s, till Rutherford shows him later on when they move into their shared quarters.
** Rutherford has turned down plenty of promotions, and never considered simply asking for one of them until Tendi does it for him.
* CruelMercy: Mariner and Ransom decide to leave the humans at the zoo until someone else can be bothered to pick them up.
* CurbStompBattle: The mystery ship from last episode [[OneHitKill one-shots]] a Romulan ship as easily as it did the ''Che'Ta''.
* DissonantSerenity: The moopsy still has the same cute smile and voice after sucking out the bones of two creatures and while chasing the ''Cerritos'' away team.
* DrivesLikeCrazy: Rather than take the shuttle into the starbase "nice and easy" like Ransom wants, Mariner flies in at full speed and screeches to a stop just before hitting the back wall of the hangar.
* EurekaMoment: When Mariner plans to sacrifice herself to lure away the moopsy from the station's main control room so Ransom and Gary can stop the station from plummeting into the planet but Ransom stops her, Mariner tells him if her plan works then they'll only stop the station's re-entry by the skin of their teeth. Ransom hearing "teeth" gives him the idea to have Mariner punch his teeth out from his mouth so they can use it to lure the moopsy out from the control room and back into its cage.
* EvenEvilHasStandards: Played for comedy as the Romulan Commander suspects an underling of sabotaging the cloaking field, who denies it claiming that he wouldn't do that just to betray his commander.
* FawltyTowersPlot: Ransom knew Mariner's history of acting out to get demoted, so he knew he had to weather out her bad behavior and not fall for it like previous senior officers. Mariner overheard and misunderstood a conversation he had with Shaxs, thinking he was setting her up as a power play to later demote her. So she was even more overt in efforts to be demoted on her own terms and he was allowing a lot to slip by. He eventually explains what he was trying to accomplish, which caused her a real moment of reflection on her self-sabotage.
* FiveSecondForeshadowing: Narj's fear of the moopsy is backed up by its first two victims trembling before it breaks into their cage.
* FluffyTheTerrible: Moopsy may look cute and say its own name in a form of PokemonSpeak, but is actually very dangerous and sucks up the bones of much more intimidating animals.
* {{Foreshadowing}}:
** When Mariner takes a close up look at the moopsy in its enclosure, it crouches its front and rears up its hindquarters for a wiggle. This isn't just generically cutesy behavior, people familiar with cats (big and small) will recognize this as preparing for a pounce at prey.
** In the scene where Narj first notices the moopsy escaped, one of the wall panels in the human enclosure is upside down; at the end we find out they sabotaged the moopsy enclosure by using controls hidden behind the wall panel. And before that, when Narji is saying the line, "I've given these sweet creatures a safe home", the two humans are looking at something off-screen in their cage which also happens to be in the direction of the moopsy's cage, and it's later revealed to be the controls.
** When Narj states "Everything here is incredibly dangerous!", that also includes the two humans in the zoo who freed the moopsy in order to kill Narj so they could take over his Menagerie.
* FreakyFridayFlip: Mentioned as the crew are reminiscing about what they've been through in their bunks. Evidently they were body-swapped by cosmic rays offscreen at some point, which resulted in them 'learning way too much about each other.'
* FromBadToWorse: After the moopsy chows down on Narj, Mariner notes that it lacks the means to crawl back out of the room it just jumped into and which it can't open by itself. Unfortunately, the room is in fact the ''main control room'', and the little beast ignorantly crawling over the controls causes the station to de-orbit. Now they're faced with death by reentry if they do nothing, or death by bone-drinking monster if they open the door to solve the problem.
* FurryReminder: Shaxs is having relationship problems with T'Ana, saying that she's been crawling under the bed when mad. Ransom recommends scratching the bed and going "psp-psp-psp-psp," which Shaxs already did.
* HumansAreBastards: After the moopsy is successfully put back into containment, the new ensign expresses relief that the trouble wasn't caused by the human residents of the Menagerie like one would expect. He's disappointed to learn that they actually are responsible, scheming to take control of the facility from Narj for the money.
* HungryMenace: Or thirsty menace, the moopsy is relentless in pursuit of its next victim.
* KillerRabbit: The moopsy is an adorable pink ball of cuteness that purrs... and ''[[BodyHorror sucks your bones out!]]''
* MythologyGag: When Ransom and Shaxs are in the rec room, their stretching poses and leotard outfits resemble a similar scene between Troi and Crusher in TNG.
* NewMeat: A new ensign named Gary accompanies Ransom and Mariner to the menagerie, only to witness some of Mariner's extreme behaviors first-hand.
* NoOSHACompliance:
** Boimler's first new quarters has an unfiltered view of one of the ''Cerritos''' nacelles, damaging his eyes with intense light. He eventually learns from Rutherford that the windows can be dimmed, but the fact that this is not the default setting (or that quarters are even located there at all) is still a problem.
** Boimler's second new quarters are not in sight of the bussard collectors of the ''Cerritos'', but they are sandwiched between two holodecks, for some reason, and there is insufficient soundproofing that you can hear the holodeck simulations within the quarters, when they are active.
* NotMeThisTime: Despite one scene suggesting it, Mariner is ''not'' behind the moopsy escaping, and Ransom believes her once she comes clean about why she's been acting out. It was actually the human prisoners.
* OhCrap: Narj is terrified when he sees the moopsy out of its cage. The others don't understand why until they see it drink the bones of two Pyrithian swamp gobblers.
-->'''Moopsy:''' ''(standing outside the swamp habitat as the gobblers recoil in fear)'' Moopsy.\\
'''Narj:''' Hmm? ''(sees the moopsy outside its cage and does a DoubleTake)'' [[DelayedOhCrap OH [BLEEP]!]] THE MOOPSY IS FREE!\\
'''Mariner:''' [[SarcasmMode Oh, no, your cuddliest prisoner is loose. Whatever shall we do?]]\\
'''Narj:''' You don't understand! Everything here is incredibly dangerous!\\
'''Moopsy:''' ''(crawls into a floor vent)'' Moopsy. ''(emerges in the swamp habitat)''\\
'''Ransom:''' Can't be worse than the Swamp Gobblers.\\
'''Narj:''' ''Of course'' it's worse! They only gobble you. The moopsy drinks your bones!\\
'''Mariner:''' How does something drink bones?\\
''(The moopsy jumps onto a swamp gobbler and sucks out its bones)''\\
'''Mariner:''' [[PrecisionFStrike HOLY [BLEEP]!]]\\
'''Narj:''' ''(running away as the moopsy kills the other gobbler)'' [[RunOrDie RUN! RUN FOR YOUR LIVES!]]\\
''(everyone else runs out of the room)''\\
'''Moopsy:''' ''(waddles away from the swamp)'' Moopsy.
** If you [[RewatchBonus watch the Pyrithian swamp gobblers when they first see the Moopsy, they back up defensively and their legs are shaking]], indicating they already know the danger the Moopsy is to them.
* PlantAliens: Narj, the curator of the Menagerie, is a mobile plant-based organism whose physiology is completely ossified, meaning there is NoBodyLeftBehind when the moopsy sinks its fangs into him.
* PokemonSpeak: The moopsy's only dialogue is its name.
* PoorCommunicationKills: This episode suggests this has been Mariner’s problem the entire time: whenever she gets promoted, she becomes convinced they’re looking for a reason to bust her back down and decides to give it to them. Ransom realized this and decides not to fall for it, which allows Mariner to suffer a HeelRealization.
* PrecisionFStrike: Two back-to-back examples. Nari's first, when when he realizes Moopsy's broken out of its cage. Then, Mariner's next after seeing Moopsy eating one of the Swamp Gobblers.
* PropRecycling: The Most Important Device In The Universe makes an appearance here, and is revealed to be known in-universe as the "Tucker Tubes" (presumably after [[Series/StarTrekEnterprise Trip Tucker]]). Livik figures out how to add a ''third'' tube without [[TechnoBabble triggering a Heisenberg collapse]], and names the result the "[[ProfessionalButtKisser Billups Tubes]]", much to Rutherford's annoyance. Billups isn't even sure what they actually do.
* RankUp: Rutherford gets promoted to lieutenant junior grade, just like his fellow Lower Deckers last episode.
* {{Redshirt}}: Subverted. While Gary doesn't contribute significantly to the resolution, Mariner and Ransom treat his potential death as unacceptable, and he survives the episode.
* RedHerring: When Narj first notices that the moopsy has escaped, [[SeenItAll Mariner]] dismissively refers to it as "your cuddliest prisoner," giving the impression that she might have thought it harmless enough to [[NiceJobBreakingItHero release]] as part of her campaign of insubordination. While Mariner ''was'' being GenreBlind about the moopsy, she [[NotMeThisTime had nothing to do with its escape]].
* RewatchBonus: At the end of the episode, Mariner realizes the cell the humans are in has the umbrella panel upside down, meaning they were the ones who let the moopsy loose. Going back to their first appearance, you can see it's been that way since that point, {{foreshadow}}ing their guilt.
* RightThroughTheWall: Boimler's second choice for a cabin is right between two holodecks, and the walls are so thin that he can hear what happens in each one-- Shaxs and T'Ana roleplaying as Robin Hood in one, Freeman playing out her fantasy of being named "President of Starfleet" and performing "inaugural scatting" as part of her acceptance speech in the other.
* ShoutOut:
** Two to ''Series/{{Seinfeld}}'':
*** Boimler's quarters having a window facing a source of blinding red light is an obvious reference to Kramer's problem with the neon Kenny Rogers sign in "The Chicken Roaster".
*** Rutherford bitterly cursing the name of his new SitcomArchNemesis evokes Jerry Seinfeld often doing the same to ''his'' nemesis, Newman.
** A no-brainer as the title is based off of Creator/HarlanEllison’s ''Literature/IHaveNoMouthAndIMustScream''.
** The moopsy is basically the ''Star Trek'' equivalent of a Franchise/{{Pokemon}}. It only [[PokemonSpeak says its name]], and its cute appearance belies its incredibly dangerous nature.
** Save for the color of its eyes, its face is near-identical to that of [[Anime/PuellaMagiMadokaMagica Kyubey]], [[spoiler:another cute and cuddly creature that's far more dangerous than it appears to be]].
** The BGM when everyone flees the moopsy is similar to that from ''Film/JurassicPark1993'' when people are fleeing the ''Velociraptors''.
* SitcomArchnemesis: Livik keeps beating Rutherford to ways to marginally improve the ship's performance. They even [[SayMyName curse each other's name]] akin to [[Series/{{Seinfeld}} Seinfeld and Newman]].
* SpannerInTheWorks: The upside down umbrella panel. Had Mariner not spotted it, the humans might have won.
* StatingTheSimpleSolution:
** Boimler's first quarters was right next to the nacelle and was bathed in a blinding red glow. This inspired him to search for other available quarters, all of which had other problems. He then bunks with Rutherford only to find the same nacelle flood light problem... and Rutherford casually fixes the problem with window filter controls.
** Rutherford decides to actively seek a promotion and starts looking into miniscule efficiency improvements to catch Billups' attention. After an entire episode of getting one-upped by Ensign Livik, he mentions to Tendi that he was actually offered several promotions in the past due to [[HypercompetentSidekick saving the day several times]] (stopping the Pakled attack, removing the hull plating) but rejected them to stay the same rank as his friends. Tendi suggests just asking for a promotion based on having one in the bank anyway, which works.
* StatusQuoIsGod: Subverted; the episode begins with the Beta Shifters leaving the bunks they lived in for the first three seasons, and a sad moment is shown as the lights go out one last time. In an earlier season, Mariner’s antics get her demoted, Rutherford gives up, Tendi joins him, and Boimler returns in defeat; instead, Mariner is convinced to keep going, Tendi gets Rutherford his promotion, and the boys bunk together, showcasing the NothingIsTheSameAnymore of this season.
* TeethFlying: Ransom orders Mariner to punch his teeth out so they can use them to bait the moopsy. Gary is disturbed and remarks that he should have been an outpost scientist.
* ThatsAnOrder:
** Ransom orders Mariner to punch his teeth out so he can use them to lead the moopsy back to its cage.
** When Rutherford becomes despondent over being unable to rank up and thus remain friends with Tendi and the other lower deckers, Tendi makes it an order that they will continue to remain friends, which both get a laugh out of after he affirms the order.
* ThirdPersonPerson: Narj always calls himself "Narj." The moopsy always calls itself "moopsy," though given PokemonSpeak this might not signify anything.
* TheUnsmile: The "new set of chompers" Ransom gets at the end is a couple of sizes too big for his mouth, making his encouraging speech to Mariner seem... off.
* TrappedWithTheTherapySession: The conflict between Ransom and Mariner is so hard to ignore that at one point Narj and Ensign Gary head over to ''check whether the [[KillerRabbit moopsy]] is breaking in'' just to distance themselves from the argument.
* UniquenessDecay: Menageries have become quite commonplace, with Narj even saying he maintains his according to Federation code. The main limitation is to not collect sentient aliens like humans.
* WhamEpisode: After being passed up for a promotion last episode, Rutherford is promoted to Lieutenant Jr Grade after accepting one of the ''many'' promotions he has turned down over the years. This allows him to move out of the bunk quarters along with the rest of the main cast and into sharing a room with Boimler.
* WorkoutFanservice: {{Downplayed}} as she's not actually working out, but Mariner spends a majority of the episode in her workout clothes instead of her Starfleet uniform. [[InvokedTrope This is part of her plan to EARN her demotion]], although Gary does sense her BelligerentSexualTension with Ransom.
----
[[caption-width-right:1000:It's cute, it's cuddly, and it'll drink your bones faster than you can say, "HOLY [BLEEP]!"]]
Having been promoted at the end of the previous episode, Lieutenants Junior Grade Bradward Boimler, D'Vana Tendi and Beckett Mariner pack up their things and leave the barracks they have bunked in for the past three seasons. ThreeLinesSomeWaiting emerge:
* Mariner overhears Cmdr. Ransom talking with Shaxs that Mariner "won't be my problem anymore." Believing he plans to demote her again (which is what she wants), she decides to be insubordinate and disrespectful all over a mission to a "menagerie" (an alien zoo) with a new ensign named Gary.
* Rutherford decides to try to get promoted, immediately entering into a rivalry with a new engineer named Livik, who is apparently the AlwaysSomeoneBetter to Rutherford.
* In a sitcom-standard plot, Boimler looks for quarters that aren't ridiculous.
----
!!Tropes:
* AlwaysSomeoneBetter: Livik is always one step ahead of any attempts from Rutherford to impress Billups, and always manages to do it slightly better.
* BlackHoleBelly: The moopsy can seemingly drink a limitless amount of bones without growing visibly larger, even though everything it attacks should possess more mass in bones than the moopsy could hold.
* BlindedByTheLight: When Boimler enters his first quarters, he's immediately blinded by the red lights of the ''Cerritos''' nacelles, damaging his eyes with intense light. Boimler puts on visors to help him deal with the light, which works until Billups made the lights brighter after implementing Livek's improvements to the nacelles, making Boimer's visors useless. At the end of the episode, where Boimler decides to be roommates with Rutherford, their new quarters is by the nacelles again, but Rutherford easily deals with the situation by adjusting the settings in his quarters to block out the lights.
* BrickJoke: Boimler admires a dent on the ceiling of his bed from all the times he was startled by a Red Alert. After he and Rutherford end up sharing a room, he ends up making a new dent in the similarly-sized bed and feels a little more at home.
* BringMyBrownPants: Ensign Gary ruins two pairs of pants, one during Mariner's ComingInHot landing and one while fleeing the moopsy.
* CallBack:
** In their opening conversation while they stretch, Ransom and Shaxs are wearing the same leotards that Dr. Crusher and Counselor Troi wore in ''[[Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration TNG]]'': "[[Recap/StarTrekTheNextGenerationS3E8ThePrice The Price]]." (The originals are featured in the Recap picture.)
** The idea of being an outpost scientist as an alternative to a Starfleet career is brought up again. When it was first brought up in "[[Recap/StarTrekLowerDecksS1E02Envoys Envoys]]", Boimler used it to indulge in some BitingTheHandHumor about how that career would likely end with him being mysteriously killed, and Starfleet would need to piece together what happened from his logs; Mariner told him not to even ''joke'' about the possibility. This time, it's Ensign Gary's turn to contemplate a career change- and he actually considers it, because outpost scientists don't often see their commanders [[ThatsAnOrder ordering]] people to [[TeethFlying knock their teeth out]].
* CardCarryingVillain: Both Romulan ensigns are openly plotting to betray the subcommander of their ship, and he himself is aware and completely unconcerned by their plotting--he just wants them to fix the problem so he can "go back to being suspicious."
* CanonImmigrant: Of a sort: the Romulan ship seen in the ColdOpen is based on the original design of the ''D’Deridex'' from ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration'' (more specifically, a ''Next Generation''-related calendar image).
* ChronicBackstabbingDisorder: ''Everyone'' on the Romulan ship wants their Commander dead, and he knows it. Just don't let it interfere with the mission.
* ColonyDrop: The moopsy accidentally sends the Menagerie hurtling towards the planet below, but thankfully, Ransom and the new guy stop it.
* ContinuityNod:
** The "Ad Astra" Starfleet recruitment poster from "[[Recap/StarTrekStrangeNewWorldsS2E07ThoseOldScientists Those Old Scientists]]" is visible among Boimler's stuff.
** Rutherford's multiple promotion-worthy accomplishments and ideas are brought up, when Tendi comes up with the idea of him accepting a previously turned-down promotion.
** Boimler is able to call in a favor with Shaxs, who addresses him as "Baby Bear", indicating that he's holding true to his promise back in "[[Recap/StarTrekLowerDecksS3E10TheStarsAtNight The Stars At Night]]" to take him under his wing.
** As shown in Recap/StarTrekTheNextGenerationS7E14LowerDecks, as described by Ensign (soon Lt. jg.) Sam Lavalle, getting promoted from Ensign to Lieutenant Junior Grade awards you better quarters aboard a starship (though with what Boimler is going through to find quarters that doesn't cause him problems, "better" is relative).
* CouldHaveAvoidedThisPlot:
** Boimler's whole dilemma is created by him not realizing he could adjust the settings in his quarters to block out the lights from the Bussard {{Ramscoop}}s, till Rutherford shows him later on when they move into their shared quarters.
** Rutherford has turned down plenty of promotions, and never considered simply asking for one of them until Tendi does it for him.
* CruelMercy: Mariner and Ransom decide to leave the humans at the zoo until someone else can be bothered to pick them up.
* CurbStompBattle: The mystery ship from last episode [[OneHitKill one-shots]] a Romulan ship as easily as it did the ''Che'Ta''.
* DissonantSerenity: The moopsy still has the same cute smile and voice after sucking out the bones of two creatures and while chasing the ''Cerritos'' away team.
* DrivesLikeCrazy: Rather than take the shuttle into the starbase "nice and easy" like Ransom wants, Mariner flies in at full speed and screeches to a stop just before hitting the back wall of the hangar.
* EurekaMoment: When Mariner plans to sacrifice herself to lure away the moopsy from the station's main control room so Ransom and Gary can stop the station from plummeting into the planet but Ransom stops her, Mariner tells him if her plan works then they'll only stop the station's re-entry by the skin of their teeth. Ransom hearing "teeth" gives him the idea to have Mariner punch his teeth out from his mouth so they can use it to lure the moopsy out from the control room and back into its cage.
* EvenEvilHasStandards: Played for comedy as the Romulan Commander suspects an underling of sabotaging the cloaking field, who denies it claiming that he wouldn't do that just to betray his commander.
* FawltyTowersPlot: Ransom knew Mariner's history of acting out to get demoted, so he knew he had to weather out her bad behavior and not fall for it like previous senior officers. Mariner overheard and misunderstood a conversation he had with Shaxs, thinking he was setting her up as a power play to later demote her. So she was even more overt in efforts to be demoted on her own terms and he was allowing a lot to slip by. He eventually explains what he was trying to accomplish, which caused her a real moment of reflection on her self-sabotage.
* FiveSecondForeshadowing: Narj's fear of the moopsy is backed up by its first two victims trembling before it breaks into their cage.
* FluffyTheTerrible: Moopsy may look cute and say its own name in a form of PokemonSpeak, but is actually very dangerous and sucks up the bones of much more intimidating animals.
* {{Foreshadowing}}:
** When Mariner takes a close up look at the moopsy in its enclosure, it crouches its front and rears up its hindquarters for a wiggle. This isn't just generically cutesy behavior, people familiar with cats (big and small) will recognize this as preparing for a pounce at prey.
** In the scene where Narj first notices the moopsy escaped, one of the wall panels in the human enclosure is upside down; at the end we find out they sabotaged the moopsy enclosure by using controls hidden behind the wall panel. And before that, when Narji is saying the line, "I've given these sweet creatures a safe home", the two humans are looking at something off-screen in their cage which also happens to be in the direction of the moopsy's cage, and it's later revealed to be the controls.
** When Narj states "Everything here is incredibly dangerous!", that also includes the two humans in the zoo who freed the moopsy in order to kill Narj so they could take over his Menagerie.
* FreakyFridayFlip: Mentioned as the crew are reminiscing about what they've been through in their bunks. Evidently they were body-swapped by cosmic rays offscreen at some point, which resulted in them 'learning way too much about each other.'
* FromBadToWorse: After the moopsy chows down on Narj, Mariner notes that it lacks the means to crawl back out of the room it just jumped into and which it can't open by itself. Unfortunately, the room is in fact the ''main control room'', and the little beast ignorantly crawling over the controls causes the station to de-orbit. Now they're faced with death by reentry if they do nothing, or death by bone-drinking monster if they open the door to solve the problem.
* FurryReminder: Shaxs is having relationship problems with T'Ana, saying that she's been crawling under the bed when mad. Ransom recommends scratching the bed and going "psp-psp-psp-psp," which Shaxs already did.
* HumansAreBastards: After the moopsy is successfully put back into containment, the new ensign expresses relief that the trouble wasn't caused by the human residents of the Menagerie like one would expect. He's disappointed to learn that they actually are responsible, scheming to take control of the facility from Narj for the money.
* HungryMenace: Or thirsty menace, the moopsy is relentless in pursuit of its next victim.
* KillerRabbit: The moopsy is an adorable pink ball of cuteness that purrs... and ''[[BodyHorror sucks your bones out!]]''
* MythologyGag: When Ransom and Shaxs are in the rec room, their stretching poses and leotard outfits resemble a similar scene between Troi and Crusher in TNG.
* NewMeat: A new ensign named Gary accompanies Ransom and Mariner to the menagerie, only to witness some of Mariner's extreme behaviors first-hand.
* NoOSHACompliance:
** Boimler's first new quarters has an unfiltered view of one of the ''Cerritos''' nacelles, damaging his eyes with intense light. He eventually learns from Rutherford that the windows can be dimmed, but the fact that this is not the default setting (or that quarters are even located there at all) is still a problem.
** Boimler's second new quarters are not in sight of the bussard collectors of the ''Cerritos'', but they are sandwiched between two holodecks, for some reason, and there is insufficient soundproofing that you can hear the holodeck simulations within the quarters, when they are active.
* NotMeThisTime: Despite one scene suggesting it, Mariner is ''not'' behind the moopsy escaping, and Ransom believes her once she comes clean about why she's been acting out. It was actually the human prisoners.
* OhCrap: Narj is terrified when he sees the moopsy out of its cage. The others don't understand why until they see it drink the bones of two Pyrithian swamp gobblers.
-->'''Moopsy:''' ''(standing outside the swamp habitat as the gobblers recoil in fear)'' Moopsy.\\
'''Narj:''' Hmm? ''(sees the moopsy outside its cage and does a DoubleTake)'' [[DelayedOhCrap OH [BLEEP]!]] THE MOOPSY IS FREE!\\
'''Mariner:''' [[SarcasmMode Oh, no, your cuddliest prisoner is loose. Whatever shall we do?]]\\
'''Narj:''' You don't understand! Everything here is incredibly dangerous!\\
'''Moopsy:''' ''(crawls into a floor vent)'' Moopsy. ''(emerges in the swamp habitat)''\\
'''Ransom:''' Can't be worse than the Swamp Gobblers.\\
'''Narj:''' ''Of course'' it's worse! They only gobble you. The moopsy drinks your bones!\\
'''Mariner:''' How does something drink bones?\\
''(The moopsy jumps onto a swamp gobbler and sucks out its bones)''\\
'''Mariner:''' [[PrecisionFStrike HOLY [BLEEP]!]]\\
'''Narj:''' ''(running away as the moopsy kills the other gobbler)'' [[RunOrDie RUN! RUN FOR YOUR LIVES!]]\\
''(everyone else runs out of the room)''\\
'''Moopsy:''' ''(waddles away from the swamp)'' Moopsy.
** If you [[RewatchBonus watch the Pyrithian swamp gobblers when they first see the Moopsy, they back up defensively and their legs are shaking]], indicating they already know the danger the Moopsy is to them.
* PlantAliens: Narj, the curator of the Menagerie, is a mobile plant-based organism whose physiology is completely ossified, meaning there is NoBodyLeftBehind when the moopsy sinks its fangs into him.
* PokemonSpeak: The moopsy's only dialogue is its name.
* PoorCommunicationKills: This episode suggests this has been Mariner’s problem the entire time: whenever she gets promoted, she becomes convinced they’re looking for a reason to bust her back down and decides to give it to them. Ransom realized this and decides not to fall for it, which allows Mariner to suffer a HeelRealization.
* PrecisionFStrike: Two back-to-back examples. Nari's first, when when he realizes Moopsy's broken out of its cage. Then, Mariner's next after seeing Moopsy eating one of the Swamp Gobblers.
* PropRecycling: The Most Important Device In The Universe makes an appearance here, and is revealed to be known in-universe as the "Tucker Tubes" (presumably after [[Series/StarTrekEnterprise Trip Tucker]]). Livik figures out how to add a ''third'' tube without [[TechnoBabble triggering a Heisenberg collapse]], and names the result the "[[ProfessionalButtKisser Billups Tubes]]", much to Rutherford's annoyance. Billups isn't even sure what they actually do.
* RankUp: Rutherford gets promoted to lieutenant junior grade, just like his fellow Lower Deckers last episode.
* {{Redshirt}}: Subverted. While Gary doesn't contribute significantly to the resolution, Mariner and Ransom treat his potential death as unacceptable, and he survives the episode.
* RedHerring: When Narj first notices that the moopsy has escaped, [[SeenItAll Mariner]] dismissively refers to it as "your cuddliest prisoner," giving the impression that she might have thought it harmless enough to [[NiceJobBreakingItHero release]] as part of her campaign of insubordination. While Mariner ''was'' being GenreBlind about the moopsy, she [[NotMeThisTime had nothing to do with its escape]].
* RewatchBonus: At the end of the episode, Mariner realizes the cell the humans are in has the umbrella panel upside down, meaning they were the ones who let the moopsy loose. Going back to their first appearance, you can see it's been that way since that point, {{foreshadow}}ing their guilt.
* RightThroughTheWall: Boimler's second choice for a cabin is right between two holodecks, and the walls are so thin that he can hear what happens in each one-- Shaxs and T'Ana roleplaying as Robin Hood in one, Freeman playing out her fantasy of being named "President of Starfleet" and performing "inaugural scatting" as part of her acceptance speech in the other.
* ShoutOut:
** Two to ''Series/{{Seinfeld}}'':
*** Boimler's quarters having a window facing a source of blinding red light is an obvious reference to Kramer's problem with the neon Kenny Rogers sign in "The Chicken Roaster".
*** Rutherford bitterly cursing the name of his new SitcomArchNemesis evokes Jerry Seinfeld often doing the same to ''his'' nemesis, Newman.
** A no-brainer as the title is based off of Creator/HarlanEllison’s ''Literature/IHaveNoMouthAndIMustScream''.
** The moopsy is basically the ''Star Trek'' equivalent of a Franchise/{{Pokemon}}. It only [[PokemonSpeak says its name]], and its cute appearance belies its incredibly dangerous nature.
** Save for the color of its eyes, its face is near-identical to that of [[Anime/PuellaMagiMadokaMagica Kyubey]], [[spoiler:another cute and cuddly creature that's far more dangerous than it appears to be]].
** The BGM when everyone flees the moopsy is similar to that from ''Film/JurassicPark1993'' when people are fleeing the ''Velociraptors''.
* SitcomArchnemesis: Livik keeps beating Rutherford to ways to marginally improve the ship's performance. They even [[SayMyName curse each other's name]] akin to [[Series/{{Seinfeld}} Seinfeld and Newman]].
* SpannerInTheWorks: The upside down umbrella panel. Had Mariner not spotted it, the humans might have won.
* StatingTheSimpleSolution:
** Boimler's first quarters was right next to the nacelle and was bathed in a blinding red glow. This inspired him to search for other available quarters, all of which had other problems. He then bunks with Rutherford only to find the same nacelle flood light problem... and Rutherford casually fixes the problem with window filter controls.
** Rutherford decides to actively seek a promotion and starts looking into miniscule efficiency improvements to catch Billups' attention. After an entire episode of getting one-upped by Ensign Livik, he mentions to Tendi that he was actually offered several promotions in the past due to [[HypercompetentSidekick saving the day several times]] (stopping the Pakled attack, removing the hull plating) but rejected them to stay the same rank as his friends. Tendi suggests just asking for a promotion based on having one in the bank anyway, which works.
* StatusQuoIsGod: Subverted; the episode begins with the Beta Shifters leaving the bunks they lived in for the first three seasons, and a sad moment is shown as the lights go out one last time. In an earlier season, Mariner’s antics get her demoted, Rutherford gives up, Tendi joins him, and Boimler returns in defeat; instead, Mariner is convinced to keep going, Tendi gets Rutherford his promotion, and the boys bunk together, showcasing the NothingIsTheSameAnymore of this season.
* TeethFlying: Ransom orders Mariner to punch his teeth out so they can use them to bait the moopsy. Gary is disturbed and remarks that he should have been an outpost scientist.
* ThatsAnOrder:
** Ransom orders Mariner to punch his teeth out so he can use them to lead the moopsy back to its cage.
** When Rutherford becomes despondent over being unable to rank up and thus remain friends with Tendi and the other lower deckers, Tendi makes it an order that they will continue to remain friends, which both get a laugh out of after he affirms the order.
* ThirdPersonPerson: Narj always calls himself "Narj." The moopsy always calls itself "moopsy," though given PokemonSpeak this might not signify anything.
* TheUnsmile: The "new set of chompers" Ransom gets at the end is a couple of sizes too big for his mouth, making his encouraging speech to Mariner seem... off.
* TrappedWithTheTherapySession: The conflict between Ransom and Mariner is so hard to ignore that at one point Narj and Ensign Gary head over to ''check whether the [[KillerRabbit moopsy]] is breaking in'' just to distance themselves from the argument.
* UniquenessDecay: Menageries have become quite commonplace, with Narj even saying he maintains his according to Federation code. The main limitation is to not collect sentient aliens like humans.
* WhamEpisode: After being passed up for a promotion last episode, Rutherford is promoted to Lieutenant Jr Grade after accepting one of the ''many'' promotions he has turned down over the years. This allows him to move out of the bunk quarters along with the rest of the main cast and into sharing a room with Boimler.
* WorkoutFanservice: {{Downplayed}} as she's not actually working out, but Mariner spends a majority of the episode in her workout clothes instead of her Starfleet uniform. [[InvokedTrope This is part of her plan to EARN her demotion]], although Gary does sense her BelligerentSexualTension with Ransom.
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