No That Wasn’t Q Hiding In Star Trek: Lower Decks Season 4, Probably
Remembering the 36 year old Star Trek: The Next Generation episode “Hide and Q,” a lot of fans think John de Lancie’s fan-favorite trickster Q showed up in “I Have No Bones Yet I Must Flee,” the latest episode of Star Trek: Lower Decks on Paramount+.
An Aldebaran serpent shows up in the newer story, a creature we haven’t seen since Q took the form of one in TNG. But it seems likely, from the mouth of Q himself, that fans are making the same mistake Captain Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) made way back when.
“Neither am I an Aldebaran serpent, Captain… but you accepted me as such.”
-Q in Star Trek: The Next Generation‘s “Hide and Q”
In “Hide and Q” — the eponymous antagonist’s second appearance in Star Trek — Q appears on the bridge of the Enterprise first as an Aldebaran serpent. These serpents are three-headed, and their bodies stretch out of a kind of floating translucent orb. However, this is not Q’s natural form, which he says himself.
Assuming the Aldebaran serpent in the recent episode of Lower Decks is Q because Q once disguised himself as an Aldebaran serpent would be no different than assuming every rat you see in the franchise has to be Odo.
Q transforms from an Aldebaran serpent into the more human-like form we’re familiar with, dressed in a Starfleet admiral’s uniform. When Picard says, “You’re no Starfleet admiral, Q” the trickster retorts, “Neither am I an Aldebaran serpent, Captain… but you accepted me as such.”
So there you have it, from the Q’s mouth — he was simply disguised as a serpent in the earlier episode. Of course, technically, Q could be masquerading as the imprisoned Star Trek: Lower Decks serpent for some reason. But he could also be disguised as literally anyone or anything in any TV episode or franchise film.
The shapeshifting Changeling Odo (René Auberjonois) took on the form of a rat in the premiere episode of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. Assuming the Aldebaran serpent in the recent episode of Lower Decks is Q because Q once disguised himself as an Aldebaran serpent would be no different than assuming every rat you see in the franchise has to be Odo.
Of course, you get to believe either of those things if you want. The great thing about head canon is that you don’t have to listen to anyone (including us) when they tell you that you’re wrong.
Q In Star Trek: Lower Decks
Whether or not that’s Q in the latest episode of Star Trek: Lower Decks, the trickster has appeared in the series. In “Veritas,” from Lower Decks‘ first season, De Lancie voiced an animated version of his signature character.
