Our favorite Orion has had quite the journey, from renegade pirate to science officer. D’Vana Tendi (Noël Wells) is first introduced as an optimistic, excitable ensign with a passion to learn and explore. However, as the series continues, we learn more about the past she has been trying to keep hidden. Now, we celebrate Tendi’s journey to season five by recounting her greatest moments!
Warning – Spoilers ahead for Season 1 through 4 of Star Trek: Lower Decks.
Reporting for Duty
When Tendi first boards the Cerritos in ‘Second Contact’, she greets the ship and its crew with child-like glee. She gasps and squeals at every interaction while trying to remain cool and professional. Friendships with the other core characters develop quickly and she throws herself into the hijinks that the Cerritos faces. Of particular note is her relationship with Ensign Sam Rutherford (Eugene Cordero). This powers the B-plot of the earlier seasons, with the dynamic duo finding comfort in the confined space of the Jeffries Tubes.
In season one’s ‘Much Ado About Boimler’, Tendi shows off her scientific genius by creating The Dog (Jennifer Hale). This lovable canine is a shape-shifting, lightning-spitting creature with the eventual ability to talk. Tendi places these attributes into The Dog with a cute naivety. Orion does not have dogs, so she believes these to be normal features! When The Dog is forced to go to “The Farm”, Tendi is sympathetic and upset at leaving her beloved creation. However, she finds the strength to see the benefits of the decision and ultimately accepts the change.
A Secret Past
The first sign that there’s more than meets the eye to this cheery Orion is in Season One’s ‘Veritas’. We watch with amazement as Tendi defeats several Romulans in hand-to-hand combat, with ease and her typical enthusiasm. Later on, into season two, Tendi starts to get very defensive over the stereotypes of her Orion heritage. She tells Beckett Mariner (Tawny Newsome) that “many Orions haven’t been pirates in over five years!”.
This is further explored in the season three episode ‘Hear All, Trust Nothing’, when we meet Mesk (Adam Pally). Another Orion Starfleet officer, Mesk annoys Tendi by demonstrating all the stereotypes Tendi has been trying so hard to break. However, this is short-lived as all of his tales come crashing down. Instead of a pirate’s life, Mesk was raised on Earth by humans. Ironically, it’s shortly after this admission that we realize Tendi is the one with the pirating past! She uses her hidden, shady skills to save the day.
The truth about Tendi’s pirating days is fed to us in dribs and drabs throughout the seasons. In season two’s ‘We’ll Always Have Tom Paris’ she is called the “Mistress of the Winter Constellations” by her cousin. She is embarrassed and refuses to explain until season four when she opens up to Mariner and T’Lyn (Gabrielle Ruiz). She reveals her upbringing as an assassin and proclaims that she doesn’t want her friends to “see the real me”. The trust and acceptance received from her closest friends soothes Tendi, allowing her to truly show off her skills.
Mistress of the Winter Constellations
We finally uncover much about Tendi’s past and family in season four’s ‘Something Borrowed, Something Green’. She is called back to Orion on urgent family business – her younger sister D’Erika (Ariel Winter) is getting married. Finally, we see the Orion side of Tendi – demanding, powerful, and violent – although it’s clear she’s uncomfortable using this power. We learn that the title “Mistress of the Winter Constellations” is inherited by the first-born child and was not something D’Vana chose. Her grandmother, also named D’vana Tendi, previously held the title.
The Tendi family is of high standing with significant influence over the Syndicate and other Orion families. This contributed to the rift between Tendi and her sister when she decided to leave to join Starfleet. D’Erika saw it as D’Vana shirking her responsibilities and leaving her to pick up the pieces.
Towards the end of ‘Something Borrowed, Something Green’, D’Erika challenges her sister to a fight, and they discuss their past. D’Vana reveals one of the reasons she joined Starfleet was because she believed D’Erika was more suited to her title. This parallels her dream of becoming a Starfleet Captain, a fact we learn in season three’s ‘Crisis Point 2: Paradoxus’. Tendi successfully turns the pressure from the title “Mistress of the Winter Constellations” into a driving force towards her goal. She doesn’t let her past define her and instead uses it to keep moving forward.
Season 5 Is Warping In
Season four left us with a smile, our favorite Orion officially having a new “science bestie” in T’Lyn. However, it also left us heartbroken with the news that she’s leaving the Cerritos to return to Orion. Where will Season 5 find D’Vana? We don’t have long to find out, with season five premiering on Paramount+ with a double episode on Thursday, October 24th!
In the meantime, why not continue to celebrate Lower Decks’ journey to season five by delving into our other articles? These cover the voyages of Beckett Mariner, Brad Boimler, 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.
More from Trek Central
- 🚨 Lower Decks: Friends & Foes Journey to Season 5
- 🔥 Lower Decks: Boimler’s Journey to Season 5
- 🖖 Lower Decks: Other Deckers’ Journey to Season 5
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