Though I’m more of a casual Trekkie, something about Star Trek Lower Decks really clicked with me. I admittedly slept on it for a few years, but after finally giving it a chance, I immediately fell in love with its charming cast of scrappy underdogs, witty humor, and inventive sci-fi storytelling. Just my luck that I become obsessed with the show right as its coming to an end.
But though this may be the last on-screen adventure for our beloved Lower Deckers, at least for now, I’m happy to report that Season 5 sends them off in style with the kind of intelligence and forward thinking that makes Star Trek so beloved alongside the humor and underdog spirit that sets Lower Decks apart from the crowd. Though bear in mind that this only applies to the first five episodes, as that was what was made available to me at time of writing.
What is Star Trek Lower Decks Season 5 about?
As Season 5 opens, the intrepid crew of the USS Cerritos is tasked with closing various subspace rifts around the Alpha Quadrant, which is a fancy way of saying they’re stuck on interstellar pothole duty. But on top of these rifts sending our heroes on various multiversal shenanigans, they’ll also have to deal with interspecies warfare, bizarre alien encounters, and perhaps their greatest challenge of all: figuring out what they really want to do with their lives.
How is Star Trek Lower Decks Season 5?
Star Trek Lower Decks has always thrived at telling classic Star Trek stories from a more on-the-ground perspective and Season 5 is no exception. Most Trek shows don’t really have the time to focus on personal relationships outside the bridge crew or the nitty-gritty of how Starfleet interacts with civilian Federation members, but Lower Decks continues to provide a rare and refreshing window into those exact things.
The show’s more humorous aim at classic Trek tropes like out-of-control creatures or deadly alien rituals is at its peak here. Hysterical set pieces, great use of comedic escalation, and top-notch delivery from an ensemble cast at the top of their game. But Star Trek Lower Decks still has Star Trek in its name; so its extremely smart on top of being extremely funny.
The show utilizes these classic tropes in both humorous and inventive ways, so you find yourself going “A-ha” almost as much as you’re going “Ha ha.” And I know some of you may have rolled your eyes when you saw the word “multiverse” earlier given how ubiquitous the concept has become recently, but remember that Star Trek was using it all the way back in the TOS era with the Mirror Universe. And while Lower Decks‘ plans for the multiverse aren’t currently entirely clear, the implications of what they’ve set up are definitely intriguing.
But the truest and most surprising form of intelligence in Star Trek Lower Decks comes not from finding a logical path through sci-fi technical jargon, but rather its character writing. A huge part of the show’s appeal comes from just how charming Mariner, Boimler, Tendi, Rutherford, and the rest of the Cerritos crew are and that charm very much shines through here. But what makes Season 5 feel special is how these characters and their relationships to each other have so clearly evolved.
These characters have grown so much over the course of five seasons and the way they interact with each other and the world has changed accordingly. Mariner doesn’t need to push people’s buttons as much anymore, Boimler and Tendi are far more willing to take risks and leap into danger than they once were. It all feels remarkably smart and mature to the point that even when characters made decisions that broke my fangirl heart, I was willing to accept them because they made sense with where the characters were at emotionally.
Also, this should probably go without saying, but the animation is spectacular. Titmouse is one of the best studios in the business when it comes to blending action with comedy (They worked on The Legend of Vox Machina and Tales of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles for recent examples) and they really brought their A-game here with extremely expressive character animation alongside epic ship battles and fun hand-to-hand fight sequences.
Is Star Trek Lower Decks Season 5 worth watching?
Like its main characters, Star Trek Lower Decks has always been a bit of an underdog. Dismissed by hardcore Trekkies early on as a Rick & Morty clone when that couldn’t be further from the truth, looked down on for being an animated comedy when that makes how smart it is stand out all the more, and now being cut short at only five seasons when most Trek shows tend to get six or seven.
But if this really is the end for Lower Decks, at least it’s going out on a high note. It’s still incredibly funny, it utilizes sci-fi tropes in clever ways, and the always charming core cast of characters are at their best here. What more can be said except…… Lower Decks! Lower Decks! Lower Decks! Lower Decks!
Star Trek Lower Decks Season 5 premieres on Paramount+ October 24. Five out of ten episodes reviewed.
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