Star Trek: Lower Decks concluded its 5-year run recently, cementing its place in Star Trek canon. Let's explore in more detail what made Lower Decks feel like top-tier Star Trek.
Core Star Trek Themes
As I've previously discussed, not all modern Star Trek contains the core ingredients that make Star Trek great - exploring cultural and philosophical issues, showing character growth, and portraying a positive vision of the future. Lower Decks does all of these, following a group of low-ranking Starfleet officers as they get to better know themselves and each other while remaining close friends. From Spock to Data to The Doctor, good Star Trek offers an exploration of growth, and Lower Decks continues this theme:
- Mariner learns to grow past her rebellious side and become a valued, trusted officer
- Boimler gains the confidence to be himself and leverage his strengths
- Tendi coming to terms with her Orion family and figures out how she fits into both that world and Starfleet
- Rutherford discovers that he doesn't need cybernetic enhancements to be the best version of himself
- T'Lyn learns to embrace all aspects of herself, not just Vulcan logic, and found a home on the Cerritos
Lower Decks manages to blend these serious themes with comedy to great success.
More Aliens
Lower Decks uses its setting as an animated series to great effect by providing many opportunities to see more races, both in Starfleet and beyond:
- a Bajoran and an Orion in Starfleet (Shaxs and Tendi respectively)
- a member of the cat-like Caitian species (Dr. T'Ana)
- the first Tamarian to serve in Starfleet (Kayshon)
- a member of the food-obsessed Klowakhan bird species (Dr. Gabers Migleemo)
In addition to new and novel aliens, we saw stories that enhanced the depth to several familiar races:
- the exploration of Klingon culture with Mariner's relationship with Ma'ah and helping him regain is captaincy
- visiting Rom and Leeta on Ferenginar
- understanding more about Orion culture (including both the blue and green Orions) with Tendi's family
Fun Tropes
Lower Decks is also a gift to Star Trek fans, cleverly exploring tropes found throughout the franchise in a lighthearted but still-relevant way:
- the dilemma of Tuvix
- the Riker Maneuver
- Harry Kim always remaining an ensign
- prank-calling Armus
- admiring DS9's pylons
- what happens when a society joins the Federation and gives up all its money
- fun cameos or alternate universe versions of familiar characters
- many more
Conclusion
It's abundantly clear that Lower Decks follows the classic Star Trek themes and will remain a jewel within the tapestry of Star Trek canon. Let's hope that we get to see future adventures with Mariner, Boimler, Tendi, Rutherford, and T'Lyn.