Star Trek: Lower Decks is back for one last voyage into the final frontier! It’s always sad when shows begin their final seasons. One last mission, a chance to go out with a bang. High expectations abound, and everyone wanting to see the show they’ve been following for years ends satisfyingly. We’re still a few months away from the actual series finale of Star Trek: Lower Decks Season 5. However, it feels like we’re saying goodbye already.
It’s been a little under a year since season 4 ended. Not sure where all that time went. It was nice to be rewarded with a double-episode premiere, especially after all this time. This week has brought us “Dos Cerritos” by Aaron Burdette and “Shades of Green” by Keith Foglesong. But do these episodes bring us back to the Lower Deckers well? And how does the plot of the show’s fifth and final season look to be shaping up? Read on to find out.
WARNING – Substantial spoiler talk below for both episodes of the Star Trek: Lower Decks Season 5 premiere.
Back in the Saddle
It could well be the fact that this is the final season of Lower Decks. But there was something so nice about putting on the premiere “Dos Cerritos” today. Part of this show just feels like home. It’s nice to see the show maintain its quality, even though this wasn’t written as the show’s final season. It looks like we’re in for a hell of a ride. Not to mention, the animation by Titmouse remains as good as ever, with the series’ distinctive visual style lovingly retained.
The first episode has two very separate plots, that don’t come together at all. Although, there is a sweet thematic line between them that made it nice to watch unfold. Unsurprisingly, the season’s narrative picks up shortly after the end of season four. Notably with Tendi (Noël Wells) partially unwillingly returning to her life as an Orion pirate. It offered a good opportunity to showcase just how much she’s grown and developed as a character.
Her relationship with the other Lower Decks characters has been a touchstone of the series, so it’s a little disarming to see her out on her own. Although if this episode is anything to go by, she’s fiercely independent and determined. Watching her try to infuse Starfleet ideologies, even if it is something as simple as a ‘no-kill’ rule, was really inspiring. Tendi basically becomes a change agent, hellbent on leaving her mark on Orion society.
Best of Ourselves
Meanwhile, back on the Cerritos, things are as normal as ever. This episode felt like the standard space anomaly trick that shows like The Next Generation and Voyager have done time and again. Although it was nice to see reflections of all the major Lower Decks characters, especially since they were from a universe so similar to the Prime Universe. It feels very much in the realm of possibility that this could be where our characters end up, or at the very least could have.
Rutherford (Eugene Cordero) sees a version of himself that has disregarded just about everything that made him human – becoming a model of peak efficiency. Mariner (Tawny Newsome) is a no-nonsense captain, the perfect antithesis of her far more relaxed and fun loving self. The one exception to this among the main cast is Boimler (Jack Quaid), who’s alternate universe self is every part of the confident man he dreams he could be.
Darkness obviously lurks underneath the surface, and nothing was as it initially appeared. But it reaffirmed that the crew are largely better off just the way they are. That is, that they work and behave just as they’re supposed to. I found it the perfect mirror to Tendi’s story, as she affirms herself (albeit in a slightly different way) amongst a clan of Orion pirates.
The Pirates of Orion
Yes, this subheading was deliberate. I’m also having more fun writing about this than I ever thought I would. Tendi’s family of green Orions has a run in with blue-skinned Orions that she’s feuding with across the whole double premiere. It was little details like basing the design off the Orions from The Animated Series that solidify Lower Decks as the real Star Trek love letter. There’s obvious love for the franchise and it’s lore from every part of the creative team.
A solar sail race was a unique one. It’s hard not to compare it to the epic flight of the Bajoran Sail Ship in Deep Space Nine, but the race element gave the episode’s plot a very clear objective and time limit. The ordeal also put Tendi under a lot of pressure, which prevented her from having some lifechanging conversations when she should’ve. Mutiny could’ve been prevented had they talked to one another, but being shot at like that isn’t an environment conducive to conversation.
I’m glad that Tendi got this chance to make peace with her own heritage, and depart from her family on proper speaking terms this time. While her return to the Cerritos was inevitable, it’s good that it wasn’t the sort of cliffhanger fixed in minutes. She was gone for months. As much as she’s had to contend with her changed environment, her friends had to deal with her absence.
Dismantling the System
The other plot in “Shades of Green” concerns the Lower Decks team on teh Cerritos helping a planet transition away from capitalism. Typical Star Trek shenanigans, although it is nice to see the franchise’s ideals spelled out so simply. I do hesitate to call a B-plot, as both seem of equal importance to one another and take up similar screen time.
It also marks a real moment of transition for Boimler, as he pushes himself to become the confidant in-command person he caught a glimpse of in the previous episode. Everything from catchphrases to trying to literally grow a beard. While the show’s been good since the beginning, the increased level of fun in this season didn’t go unnoticed in my viewing. Lower Decks is still very much in its prime. If this keeps up, we’re in for a very strong finale.
Of course there wouldn’t be a Star Trek episode without villains. In this case it’s capitalists. People trying desperately to cling onto the power than the system had afforded them, going to dangerous lengths to do it. Although they do have a change of heart as they see the damage they’re inflicting, which is probably the least-realistic part of the episode. While their screentime was limited, it was nice to see the Lower Deckers fight against something as a team.
Conclusion
The season opener “Dos Cerritos” was a weirdly perfect opener. It was a loveletter to the show’s characters, and most importantly it was pretty damn funny. With hints at a wider story with the Orion syndicate, and it looks like we’ll be heading back to Starbase 80 at some point as well. There’s a wide canvas of the Star Trek universe that the writing team are playing with, and I only hope that they’re able to give this show the sendoff that it deserves.
Meanwhile, the second episode, “Shades of Green”, helps the show not-so-subtly “grow the beard”. Or I guess, peach fuzz or stubble at this point, but we’re on the way there. It made sense that these episodes released side by side, especially from the perspective of getting Tendi back onto the Cerritos as soon as possible. The less than subtle politics, even by Star Trek standards, was also hilarious. I for one had a blast with this, and I really can’t wait to see where the show goes next week.
You can find Star Trek: Lower Decks streaming every Thursday on Paramount+ in the US, Latin America, UK, Australia, Germany, France, Italy, Austria and Switzerland. Each episode is also broadcast on the CTV Sci-Fi Channel in Canada. The season will also stream in South Korea on Paramount+ later in the year when the service arrives there. For more reviews, news, and general geeking out about Star Trek, follow Trek Central!
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