Unleashing the Ultimate Menace: Star Trek's Most Horrifying Extraterrestrial Threat Joins Forces Against Picard's Attack Tribble
Prepare for an intergalactic showdown! Star Trek's newest alien, Moopsy, is set to challenge the legendary Attack Tribble Brace yourself for an epic battle between these formidable adversaries
Summary
In Star Trek: Lower Decks season 4, episode 2, Lt. Mariner encounters a cute but deadly alien called Moopsy that can "drink bones."
Moopsy's bone-draining ability leads to gruesome outcomes for its prey and presents a significant danger to the away team. Like the Attack Tribble in Star Trek: Picard, Moopsy is often overlooked but possesses innate perilous inclinations that require careful management.
WARNING: Spoilers ahead for Star Trek: Lower Decks Season 4, Episode 2 titled "I Have No Bones Yet I Must Flee". In this episode, Lt. Junior Grade Beckett Mariner (Tawny Newsome) encounters a fearsome alien creature that rivals the Attack Tribble from Star Trek: Picard. Mariner, alongside Commander Jack Ransom (Jerry O'Connell) and Ensign Gary, embarks on her first away mission as a Lieutenant JG to rescue humans held captive by an alien menagerie. However, Mariner's plan to get demoted goes awry when a deadly alien creature known as Moopsy is accidentally released aboard "the Menage". Moopsy, an adorable little creature, poses a significant threat to the away team due to its ability to consume bones.
Moopsy is the latest addition to the Star Trek universe, combining cuteness with danger. Its bone-drinking ability results in its victims being reduced to a pile of muscle and skin. This horrifying fate befalls certain creatures in the menagerie, along with the plant-based curator. The episode "I Have No Bones Yet I Must Flee" evokes similarities to the exploration of Daystrom Station in Star Trek: Picard and the introduction of the soft yet terrifying Attack Tribble.
Star Trek's Moopsy And Attack Tribble Explained
The original cute yet lethal Star Trek aliens, known as the Tribbles, were not as deadly as Moopsy. Nonetheless, their incredibly prolific breeding habits had the potential to overwhelm entire planetary ecosystems with disastrous outcomes. Kept at Daystrom Station, the Attack Tribble in Star Trek: Picard underwent genetic enhancements, transforming it into a ferocious predator equipped with multiple mouths and limbs. Presumably, these modifications were intended to deceive unsuspecting victims before launching a vicious assault.
In contrast, Moopsy possessed an innate charm and allure that led Mariner to initially underestimate its capabilities when it escaped. Similar to the Tribbles in Star Trek, Moopsy was not intent on causing widespread destruction and mayhem, but rather obeyed its natural instincts. Moopsy was merely a small, ravenous creature with an insatiable desire to consume bones. Consequently, like the Tribbles, it was necessary to confine Moopsy within carefully controlled environments. This is why Mariner and Ransom did not resort to killing Moopsy; they simply enticed it back into its cage using a trail made of Ransom's teeth.
Who'd Win In A Fight? Moopsy Or An Attack Tribble?
It has always been unclear whether a regular Tribble possesses bones, making it potentially safe from a hungry Moopsy if they were to ever cross paths. However, the Attack Tribble is a different story altogether. Genetically enhanced with teeth and limbs, it would be nothing more than a snack for a Moopsy. In a confrontation between a Moopsy and one of Star Trek: Picard's Attack Tribbles, the outcome would likely depend on speed and agility. The Attack Tribble seems quite fast as it launches itself at the glass, attempting to attack Captain Worf in Picard, but it remains to be seen if it can outmatch the speed of a Moopsy.
Even if the Attack Tribble were faster, the victor of the battle would hinge upon where it chooses to strike first. Star Trek: Picard's Attack Tribble clearly takes inspiration from the Facehuggers from Alien, but targeting the Moopsy's face would prove problematic. With its teeth and limbs dangerously close to the Moopsy's mouth, it would quickly devour the bones of the Attack Tribble, reducing it to mere fabric. Considering this, it seems that Star Trek: Lower Decks has introduced an incredibly lethal new alien species into the Star Trek universe.
Star Trek: Lower Decks season 4 streams Thursdays on Paramount+.
