Warning: SPOILERS for Star Trek: Lower Decks Season 5, Episode 10 - "The New Next Generation"Star Trek: Lower Decks season 5 came to an explosive and ultimately satisfying end, but three big opportunities were unfortunately missing from the series finale. In Star Trek: Lower Decks' climactic episode, the USS Cerritos is the only Starfleet ship that can stop a devastating soliton wave from obliterating Star Trek's Prime timeline. The Cerritos crew rises to the occasion, working together to save the universe. In the end, the unstable fissure becomes a stable wormhole that leads to various quantum realities, setting up a future full of fascinating possibilities.
When Starfleet first learns of the soliton wave, they admit they would rather not leave the fate of the universe in the hands of a California-class starship. However, while the USS Enterprise-E is on the way, it could not reach the wormhole in time. Despite at least two mentions of Star Trek's most iconic ship, the Enterprise only appears briefly stationed at Starbase 80 and the crew do not appear at all. Plus, the lower deckers of the Cerritos do not get to meet any of the alternate universe Star Trek legacy characters who are part of the Anaximander's crew.
Star Trek: Lower Decks' Finale Never Shows The USS Enterprise-E Crew
Lower Decks Finale Set Up The Perfect Way For The Enterprise-E To Appear
The entire premise of Star Trek: Lower Decks was largely inspired by Star Trek: The Next Generation season 7, episode 15, "Lower Decks," and the animated comedy feels like a spiritual successor to TNG. Set only about a year after the events of Star Trek: Nemesis, Lower Decks takes place firmly in Star Trek's TNG era. Despite this, the crew of the Enterprise-E never appear in Star Trek: Lower Decks' finale. Unfortunately, Star Trek: Lower Decks does not reveal who is currently in command of the Enterprise, as it could be either Captain Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) or Captain Worf (Michael Dorn).
It would have been hilarious to see the Enterprise come swooping in at the last minute, ready to save the galaxy yet again, only for Captain Carol Freeman (Dawnn Lewis) to reveal she and her crew had already handled the situation. While it makes sense that the team behind Star Trek: Lower Decks would want the Cerritos and its crew to be the stars of the show (no one wants another Star Trek: Enterprise finale situation), a small cameo from the Enterprise crew would have been perfect. Plus, Deep Space Nine and the USS Voyager have both appeared on the show, compared to a very brief Enterprise-E cameo.
The USS Cerritos' Lower Deckers Don't Get To Meet Alternate Universe Legacy Characters
Boimler Does Not Get To Reunite With His Transporter Clone, Either
Star Trek: Lower Decks' "The New Next Generation" offers a glimpse of a party on Starbase 80, showing Captain William Boimler (Jack Quaid) and his crew of legacy characters mingling with the Starbase crew. The Cerritos crew members, however, are not shown at this party. Lt. Brad Boimler (Jack Quaid) records a log entry that mentions his duplicate's crew, but he is not shown reuniting with William or interacting with any of the Anaximander's crew. Considering how much William Boimler's "death" affected Brad, it would have been nice to see the two reunite on screen.
Also disappointing is Lt. T'Lyn (Gabrielle Ruiz) never meeting T'Pol (Jolene).
Also disappointing is Lt. T'Lyn (Gabrielle Ruiz) never meeting T'Pol (Jolene). As T'Lyn was partially inspired by T'Pol, the two Vulcans have a lot in common. Their interactions would have been so fun to watch, and likely a breath of fresh air for both Vulcans, who are used to working with eccentric and emotional crews. Plus, Boimler would have surely freaked out about meeting iconic characters like T'Pol and Dr. Julian Bashir (Alexander Siddig). Lt. Beckett Mariner (Tawny Newsome), too, could have gotten in on the fun; she and Garak (Andrew Robinson) would have made a particularly great pairing.
Star Trek: Lower Decks Season 5 Finale Should Have Been Longer
Every Other TNG-Era Finale Was The Equivalent Of Two Regular Episodes
Star Trek: The Next Generation, Star Trek: Voyager, and Star Trek: Deep Space Nine all had feature-length series finales, raising the question of why Star Trek: Lower Decks did not make their finale longer. A longer run time would have given them the chance to include more character cameos and shout-outs to previous Trek series. It also could have allowed for more time with the other lower deckers. Lieutenants Sam Rutherford (Eugene Cordero) and D'Vana Tendi (Noël Wells), in particular, did not get as much screen time, and Rutherford's implant removal felt abrupt.
While a longer runtime would have allowed Star Trek: Lower Decks to spend more time wrapping up some of its stories, "The New Next Generation" is nevertheless a wonderful series finale. Not only does it provide a satisfying conclusion to the series, it also conveys that the voyages of the USS Cerritos will continue. It remains to be seen whether any future Star Trek projects will explore the new multiverse wormhole or what happens next to the Cerritos, but Star Trek: Lower Decks has been an incredibly fun ride nevertheless.
