‘Star Trek: Lower Decks’ Season 5 Finale Review
Image Source: Star Trek
The fifth season of Star Trek: Lower Decks concluded on December 19 after a stellar two-episode finale. There have been some amazing guest stars in this final season and new experiences in the Star Trek universe for the rest of the franchise to carry forward. While a couple of episodes in the last half of season five, like “Of Gods and Angles” and “Upper Decks,” don’t follow an overarching plot, they contribute to Lower Decks’ distinctive storytelling.
Several characters from other Star Trek shows and movies return for the finale of Lower Decks; a couple even returned who were only seen in flashbacks. Some past Star Trek alumni to reprise their roles in animation in the last five episodes include Jolene Blalock as T’Pol (Enterprise), Brent Spiner as Data (The Next Generation and Picard), Andrew Robinson and Alexander Siddig as Elim Garak and Julian Bashir (Deep Space Nine), Garrett Wang as Harry Kim (Voyager), and Alfre Woodard as Lily Sloane (First Contact). Some of these characters don't appear in the continuity of the Prime Timeline, instead emerging from alternate realities.
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Image Source: Star Trek
In the two-part finale with episode nine, “Fissure Quest” and episode ten, “The New Next Generation,” many of them get, at the very least, a multiverse conclusion for what becomes of their characters. We even see what becomes of Boimler’s duplicate, William, despite Boimler being told that he died. William still retains the knowledge of his friends back on the Cerritos and sends trouble their way because he knows they are the only ones who can contain the problem.
The series finale is particularly rich in references to past Star Trek shows, making it worthwhile to explore the numerous Easter eggs and callbacks that longtime fans will appreciate. In the final moments of the episode, there is a sweet montage of several characters aboard the Cerritos, including the cetacean navigators, Kimolu and Matt; an end to the mystery of what happened to O’Connor after his untimely disappearance in season 1; and four crew members talking about their problems as Mark Twain on the holodeck.
Image Source: Memory Alpha Fandom
Lower Decks is set in 2382, just a few years after the Next Generation movie, Star Trek: Nemesis. In between this time, Jean-Luc Picard has been promoted to admiral, and Worf has become the captain of the Enterprise, as revealed in Lower Decks season 3. When the ship is seen outside of Starbase 80 at the end of “The New Next Generation,” that would be Worf’s crew, giving definite opportunities for the crews to meet. Another memorable connection between Lower Decks’ finale and the Next Generation finale, “All Good Things,” occurs with a quick glance at the “new” lower deckers playing poker, just like Picard’s bridge crew did.
By the end of Lower Decks, there are multiple possibilities for continuation. If this series has taught us anything about the franchise, it’s that the audience is thrilled when they get more time with characters they thought they had said goodbye to decades ago. How nostalgic is it to see Data or T’Pol in action again? In the same vein, the creators of Lower Decks have expressed that they want the Cerritos crew to have more time and more adventures and that there are still stories to tell. Every one of the original lower deckers ends up promoted, and we see the beginnings of their career advancements.
Image Source: Star Trek
As far as career moves for the Lower Decks cast, it had previously been announced that Tawny Newsome, the voice of Beckett Mariner, is currently writing on Star Trek: Starfleet Academy while developing another comedy for the franchise, hopefully getting picked up by Paramount+ soon. McMahan has praised Newsome and the Lower Decks actors, saying that each of them is just “amazing… like a mega star I got before the rest of everybody else found out.” We can’t wait to see what comes next from these stars!
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Sources: Polygon, ScreenRant, TrekMovie
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