It’s the end of the road for Star Trek: Lower Decks. Not only is the show about to end, but all of reality’s about to be destroyed. Thanks to a questionable decision from Boimler’s (Jack Quaid) transporter clone, the Cerritos now have hours to save the universe from total extinction. Good stakes for the Lower Decks Series Finale and quite the fight for the show to go out on.
“The New Next Generation” has a lot to wrap up. An episode that ends the show, but with a title that seems to promise a sort of ongoing adventure. So how do you stop a universe ending space anomaly? What enemies are lurking around the corner? And, most importantly, how do we say a final goodbye to the Cerritos and her beloved crew? Read on.
WARNING – Spoilers below for Star Trek: Lower Decks Season 5 Episode 10, “The New Next Generation”. It’s the Lower Decks Series Finale, you don’t want this one ruined for you, trust me.
Just Another Day
For an episode that we know has universe-ending stakes, it has quite a relaxed opening. Following a brief recap of last week’s cameo-fuelled chaos, we get to see the lead-up to Boimler receiving the message. Everyone, with the possible exception of Rutherford (Eugene Cordero) is fairly relaxed. A sort of calm before the storm moment, if you will. But knowing this is the end of the show, this is the last time we’ll see them having a normal moment.
In an episode full of lasts and farewells, it’s the goodbye to these characters just sitting around a bar and bantering that’s the saddest. Sure they get their hero moments, save the universe, and get promoted in the process. But the show’s best moments and jokes are from simple organic conversations like these. Some classic science babbling, Boimler still trying to emulate his cooler self, it feels like home.
Before long, the cliffhanger sets in. While the episode’s about 5 minutes longer than usual, it’s not enough time to have lengthy private conversations. It’s around here that Freeman (Dawnn Lewis) calls Boimler and Mariner (Tawny Newsome) into her ready room. Getting praised as the ship’s best officers really sets in that this is the end of the line. Although it also sets up that they’re the very much up to the reality saving task ahead of them.
Harbouring Fugitives
Interestingly, a lot of the episode focuses on the Klingon brothers Ma’ah (Jon Curry) and Malor (Sam Witwer). Given they were the focus of the episode “A Farewell to Farms” earlier in the season, it’s not exactly a total surprise. Really, it’s just more of the show’s recurring characters rejoining the fold for the swan song. Still exploring the stars together, they kind of just get swept up into the episode’s events.
A whole fleet of dishonourable Klingons brands them as traitors and criminals, forcing them to seek refuge on the Cerritos. When Malor goes into hiding, it creates a b-plot for the episode, to keep all the characters equally occupied without crowding anything. Ransom (Jerry O’Connell) even gets a pretty neat hero moment here, secretly hiding Malor to delay the Cerritos handing over the brothers to Relga’s fleet.
As a whole, this felt comparatively low stakes to the end of the universe. It was also a bit of a distraction from some of the episode’s cooler moments. Although Ma’ah getting to be in charge of a fleet instead of just a farm was maybe a better place to leave his character. It’s comforting that even some relatively minor recurring characters are getting their own endings in a way that’s still satisfying as ever.
The End of the World
The real meat of the episode is in the crew trying to stop the end of the universe. I loved how they made something that seems impossible sound almost believable. It also came with a good amount of homages to some classic Star Trek movies. If you love the idea of a ship moving through some crazy effects displays, with some bridge distortion like The Motion Picture. Or perhaps just some simple battling off the hull of a Sovereign class as in First Contact.
It’s far more than subtle homages, though. If you’re a fan of ship classes, this is the episode for you. Where last week was just cameos of character variants, this week was all about the starships. While I wish they would have gone a bit more alternate universe in their designs, rather than just a Sovereign Cerritos, it was still fun. I did not think we’d see a Klingon Barge of the Dead sort of thing again, but here we are.
The whole affair ending with a farm analogy, that being building a dam instead of stopping the flow entirely, was interesting. It’s nice to have a very grounded reference in a sci-fi franchise like Star Trek, but it also keeps the technobabble at bay, which had overpowered some of the series’ most recent episodes. Doing so not only saves the day, but opens up a whole new dimension of possibilities.
A Fresh Start
Showrunner Mike McMahan has admitted that this wasn’t written as the Lower Decks Series Finale. However, I think the show ended where it needed to. The titular Lower Deckers are now the ship’s science officers and first officer hopefuls: natural character evolution, but a far cry from the show’s premise. While the adventures of the Cerritos will go on under Captain Ransom, they’ll have to engage the core in our hearts before doing so on our screens anytime soon.
Outside of a series continuation with Ransom in a larger role, which is always a good idea, the ending also seems to set up a spinoff. I mentioned earlier this season that “Starbase 80?!” made me want a series with those characters. Now, with the station standing guard over a space hole leading all over the multiverse, I want that even more. While yes, it does sound like Deep Space Nine with extra steps, I’d still watch it on a loop.
Having Freeman become the leader of the whole operation while fitting, just doubles down the DS9 parallel. Last week we heard about exploring strange new realities, and now the prime-universe Federation is making that a priority. While it’s unlikely to make it to air, it sounds like it’d be a hell of a ride. An ending that feels definitive, but also leaves the door open for continuations that would push the franchise in brand new directions. Even if we do return to the Cerritos, or Starbase 80, it would be a totally different show.
Conclusion
On the one hand, I think that Lower Decks could have gone on for another ten seasons with a lengthy movie series afterwards. However, I knew that this was a suitable place to end the show. It feels like the start of something new, but it’s also the end of this chapter. Putting aside my small problems with the season’s arc, I’m walking away pretty satisfied with the Lower Decks Series Finale and Star Trek: Lower Decks. Whatever the future holds for these characters, I hope we don’t have to wait too long to see it.
Looking at the upcoming slate of Star Trek shows, it doesn’t look like we’ll be catching up with the Cerritos again anytime soon. Next up is the Section 31 movie, which premieres in January. Next year also brings us the third season of Strange New Worlds. Beyond that, Starfleet Academy will be starting up soon as well.
The next we are likely to see the Lower Decks characters is the as-yet untitled live-action series produced by Justin Simien and Tawny Newsome. If it does actually get made as well. Regardless, the future of the franchise sounds very bright indeed.
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