WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Star Trek: Lower Decks Season 2, Episode 4 “Mugato, Gumato,” streaming now on Paramount+.
As the starships of the various Star Trek series boldly go where no one has gone before to explore strange, new worlds, it’s a cinch that they would encounter some of the most bizarre aliens the cosmos has to offer. In Star Trek: Lower Decks Season 2, the crew of the Cerritos travels to a remote planet where one of the weirdest creatures from The Original Series makes its return: the dreaded Mugato. And while Captain Kirk had a particularly harrowing encounter with the Mugato decades ago, Brad Boimler and Sam Rutherford get even more up close and personal with a whole family of the beasts.
The Mugato made a sole appearance in TOS, with its debut in the second season episode “A Private Little War.” Introduced as a native predator on the planet Neural — a world that descended into a proxy war between Starfleet and the Klingon Empire — the Mugato is a white-furred gorilla, with back spikes and a prominent horn on its head. In addition to its unique design, the creature has a toxic bite which can prove fatal and temporarily affect the neurological system until a cure derived through the indigenous mahko root is administered. Kirk was bitten by a Mugato while investigating Klingon activity on the planet, barely surviving his encounter with the horned carnivore.
A Mugato made a post-mortem cameo in a previous Lower Decks‘ Season 2 episode, with a skeleton seen among collector Kerner Hauze’s vault while it was being visited by the Cerritos, but the species makes its full return in “Mugato, Gumato.” Investigating Mugato activity on a planet where it would be considered an invasive species, the Cerritos discovers a Ferengi poaching ring has been illegally detaining Mugato and harvesting their venom and horns on the black market. The resulting skirmish between the Cerritos’ landing party and Ferengi results in the Mugato escaping before the Ferengi agree to open a wildlife preserve for the species — but not before Boimler and Rutherford are forced to watch three Mugato copulating while hiding from the beasts’ wrath.
In addition to the Mugato playing its most prominent and numerous role since TOS, the title of the Lower Decks‘ episode is itself a sly, behind-the-scenes reference to their introduction. In the original shooting script for “A Private Little War,” the creatures were referred to as the “Gumato” but Doctor McCoy actor DeForest Kelley was unable to pronounce the species name, leading to its change during filming. However, the change was not reflected in the episode’s credits, with the original name of “Gumato” still listed.
Originally coming off as a B-level, sci-fi movie monster, with its odd design and plot-mandated toxic bite, the Mugato have been more warmly embraced by Lower Decks as only the animated series could pull off. And with an entire preserve populated by Mugato and quickly proving a franchising and merchandising latinum mine for the Ferengi, the creatures are more popular than ever within the Federation as a lucrative tourist attraction. Just don’t expect Boimler and Rutherford to be particularly eager to observe the Mugato again any time soon.
To see the newest iteration of the Mugato, Star Trek: Lower Decks Season 2 is now streaming on Paramount+, with new episodes premiering every Thursday.
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