Traditionally, Star Trek shows follow a format focusing on the bridge crew; Lower Decks changed this. The fundamental shift has allowed for brand-new perspectives and a fresh new show with a structure that fans love. But it must be recognized that without a bridge crew, there can be no lower decks. Therefore, please join me in celebrating the Cerritos’ bridge crew’s journey to season five!
Warning – spoilers ahead for seasons one through four of Star Trek: Lower Decks.
Carol Freeman
Steadfast and determined, Captain Carol Freeman (Dawnn Lewis) is ready to lead the crew no matter the situation. She’s supported the Cerritos through many ups and downs throughout the series, many of them surrounding wayward daughter Beckett Mariner (Tawny Newsome).
Despite the many examples I could examine, there is one moment in which Freeman shines brightest. At the end of season two, the Captain is arrested for the destruction of Pakled Planet. The crew is in shock and angry because the accusation is absurd – she was on a mission at the time in question. It appears there is little hope of clearing Freeman’s name, her fall from grace almost certain.
However, the truth is revealed in season three’s first episode, ‘Grounded’. Mariner recruits her comrades in a failed attempt to exonerate her mother, after which Freeman returns to the Cerritos. She explains her arrest was a decoy to uncover the true culprits behind the bombing – the Pakleds themselves! Freeman trusted Starfleet and risked her career for the greater good. Could one ask for a more loyal, committed Captain?
Jack Ransom
Portraying the swagger and style of a young William Riker (Jonathan Frakes), Jack Ransom (Jerry O’Connell) is Freeman’s First Officer. The Commander has many layers to his personality, with examples of loyalty and bravery clashing with others of brown-nosing. Again, like Riker, we have the pleasure of watching him grow as the show progresses.
But which of his greatest moments do we celebrate here and now? What about that time he transforms into a giant head? Or the time he saves his away team by demanding parle and showing off his muscular torso?
The moment I have chosen is during season one’s ‘Temporal Edict’. Ransom and his team are captured during an away mission, the only escape by fighting one of the natives’ champions. Mariner argues her case for fighting the champion valiantly before Ransom snuffs her chances by stabbing her in the foot. It appears he’s doing this out of spite before giving his own short and powerful speech. He’s the First Officer, the Commander, and nobody gets to crush his team! There’s the Starfleet ethos that we have been waiting to see from the Cerritos’ number one!
Lieutenant Shaxs
Representing the Security division of the Cerritos is the loud, proud, gung-ho Bajoran: Lieutenant Shaxs (Fred Tatasciore). Shaxs wears his heart on his sleeve and tells it how it is. He may appear aggressive and unapproachable but get to know him and you quickly realize he’s a cuddly teddy bear. Who likes blowing up warp cores!
Shaxs is never afraid to get the job done. He embodies this courage with all the Starfleet values you’d expect in season one’s ‘No Small Parts’. During the battle with the Pakleds, new recruit and Exocomp Peanut Hamper (Kether Donohue) abandons the crew to their fate. Rutherford (Eugene Cordero) steps up, ready to sacrifice himself, but our favorite Bajoran isn’t going to let him go alone! Shaxs gives Rutherford a hearty lift over his shoulder and races to a shuttle, setting course for the Pakled vessel. The shuttle chosen is the Sequoia, an old, refurbished model we see the Lower Deckers maintaining frequently during season one.
They reach the Pakled ship and chaos ensues. Shaxs saves the day, tearing the cybernetics from Rutherford’s head and loading him into the shuttle. He pushes the Sequoia to safety before Badgey (Jack McBrayer) goes boom, ending Shaxs’ life in a blaze of glory. We feel his sacrifice hard, but not three episodes into season two, and the violence-loving Bajoran is back! The mystery of his resurrection is never solved, though he does tell Rutherford, who is left feeling disturbed.
Doctor T’Ana
I have a special place in my heart for feline aliens, often playing them in games like Star Trek Online. So, imagine my excitement when seeing our beloved Catian Doctor T’Ana (Gillian Vigman) on screen for the first time! Her tabby mannerisms and hilarious potty mouth make her one of my favorite Lower Decks characters. This makes selecting a greatest moment more difficult – I could write an entire article just about T’Ana!
The Cerritos’ Chief Medical Officer is very particular. The season two episode ‘We’ll Always Have Tom Paris’ brings this to life hysterically. An itchy and distressed T’Ana calls Tendi (Noël Wells) into her office, assigning her a personal mission. Our enthusiastic Orion sets off on a quest to find T’Ana’s family heirloom. Upon returning with the mating relic in pieces, a terrified Tendi prepares to be ripped to shreds. Luckily, Tendi escapes punishment – T’Ana only desires what so many cats love and adore: the box!
A Special Bond
It was inevitable that the two crankiest bridge officers would hook up, which is hinted at during ‘No Small Parts’. The possibility becomes a reality by season three’s ‘Room for Growth’. Mariner, Tendi, and Boimler (Jack Quaid) walk into a holodeck program, then hide as Shaxs and T’Ana enter the scene. A gunfight ensues between the bridge officers and the holodeck’s “Feds”, which Shaxs pauses part way through. He and T’Ana argue for a moment about their relationship – Shaxs wants them to share more about each other. They make up, and Tendi is dragged away whilst trying to hear the story of how T’Ana lost her tail.
Andy Billups
Where love is in the air between T’Ana and Shaxs, the same cannot be said for Andy Billups (Paul Sheer). In fact, it turns out the Cerritos’ chief engineer is actively avoiding romantic relationships, for fear of the career-crashing repercussions!
In season two’s ‘Where Pleasant Fountains Lie’, we discover Billups is the Price of Hysperia. He abdicated his responsibilities when he joined Starfleet. In a weird twist, if he loses his virginity, he has to return to Hysperia and rule as King. So, when his mother arrives aboard the Cerritos he’s instantly suspicious of her luring him into another virginity-losing trap.
Billups believes he’s avoided any traps this time around. Then the unthinkable happens – there’s a freak accident and his mother is killed. Resigned to his fate, he heads to his quarters to lose his virginity to two Hysperian guards. The act is about to be done when the elaborate ruse is revealed. His mother is so desperate she fakes her death so her son will become King! It’s a close call, but the Cerritos manages to keep her Chief Engineer in the end.
Season Five Is Almost Here
And that’s a wrap on some of the Cerritos’ bridge crew’s greatest moments on the journey to season five. Excitement is building with just two more days until the new season kicks off! Ahead of the debut, check out our other articles celebrating Lower Decks. These cover the journeys of Mariner, Boimler, Tendi, the Other Deckers and the Friends & Foes of the Cerritos!
Season five premieres on Paramount+ in the US, UK, Canada, Latin America, Australia, Italy, France, the Caribbean, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Ireland and South Korea. You can also catch it on Bell Media’s CTV Scifi Channel in Canada. The final, on-screen adventure warps in with a double episode debut on Thursday, October 24 (2024).
More From Trek Central
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- 🖖 Lower Decks – Other Deckers’ Journey to Season 5
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