Star Trek: Lower Decks Season 5 Celebrates Its (Actual) Most Underappreciated Crew

Warning: Set phasers to spoilers, because this article discusses plot details from the latest episode of "Star Trek: Lower Decks."

Nearly five full seasons into "Lower Decks" and Trekkies might have noticed that some of its most integral characters have remained a bit of an enigma so far. No, we're not talking about our usual crew, all of whom have transformed from some of the franchise's biggest upstarts when the animated series first debuted to fan-favorite additions to the canon. We're not even referring to the simmering rivalry between the delta shift and beta shift on the USS Cerritos, which was first introduced way back in the season 1 episode "Terminal Provocations." No, this team has been hiding in plain sight all along, going about their duty on a daily basis while rarely ever receiving the credit they deserve. And, in an episode that couldn't possibly be more fitting for the show's final season, they're finally getting their time in the spotlight.

That would be none other than the tireless, hardworking, and well-oiled machine known as the bridge crew, of course.

Wait, what? The no-nonsense Captain Carol Freeman (Dawnn Lewis), the insufferable Jack Ransom (Jerry O'Connell), and all the rest of the command crew have been right there in the middle of the action since the very beginning, true. And it'd be a mistake to claim that we've never really gotten to know them individually over the years. (In fact, considering things like the awfully intimate relationship between Gillian Vigman's Doctor T'Ana and Fred Tatasciore's Lieutenant Shaxs, some would argue we know too much as it is.) But with so much focus placed squarely on our Lower Deckers, we've never actually seen things from the bridge crew's perspective as they go about their business on a daily basis, solving problems and creating whole new ones — but, at the end of the day, still managing to get the job done. "Lower Decks" has now righted that wrong, celebrating the actual most underappreciated crewmembers of all.

Huh, who knew the Cerritos bridge crew had their own motivational, pep-talk chant to psyche themselves up after every meeting? These are precisely the kinds of (admittedly cheesy, yet endearing) details we haven't actually seen in "Lower Decks" before. Thanks to episode 8, titled "Upper Decks," fans have been taken on a major detour outside the show's usual comfort zone (which, to be fair, has been something of a trend this season with occasional format-breaking episodes). Even though the writers couldn't have foreseen that the fifth season would end up being the last one, this entry might as well be a perfect sendoff for the most senior officers of the starship.

It all starts with Captain Freeman suffering through a briefing of her relentless schedule, assembled by the ever-dutiful Steve Stevens (Ben Rodgers). Pathogens turning officers into cavepeople, insectoid Clicket aliens causing trouble, and arranging for a Starfleet ecologist to investigate local populations of Buhgoon creatures are all routine items on an agenda during a hard day's work. But, for once, we actually get to see how each member of the bridge crew takes these issues on and finds creative solutions. Ransom, as we find out, knows exactly how to motivate the ensigns under his command to pull together and resolve a crisis — even as he knows this makes him little more than a "doofus" in their eyes. In the most hilarious subplot, Dr. T'Ana must directly address her sado-masochistic tendencies just to be persuaded to offer anesthetic to crewmembers in distress. And, in a surprisingly heavy B-story, even Shaxs gets his moment to shine as he battles his own inner demons and PTSD from the Bajoran/Cardassian conflict.

Honestly, an episode like this has been a long time coming ... even if it comes at the expense of more time spent with Boimler, Mariner, Tendi (Noël Wells), and Rutherford (Eugene Cordero). As the season creeps ever closer to its grand finale in a few weeks, it's nice to be reassured that the creative team is spreading the love around. 

New episodes of "Lower Decks" stream on Paramount+ every Thursday.