Welcome back to Star Trek: Lower Decks for its fifth, and as it stands now, final season. Star Trek: Lower Decks 5×01, “Dos Cerritos,” is a solid opener. We have a parallel universe! We have space potholes! We are avoiding feeling our feelings! There is a lot packed into the season opener, so let’s dig into my full thoughts Star Trek: Lower Decks 5×01 “Dos Cerritos.”
Tendi’s Take on Piracy
Star Trek: Lower Decks 5×01 “Dos Cerritos” opens on Tendi in disguise, luring an unidentified species previously seen in Star Trek: The Next Generation 3×22 “The Most Toys” into complacency until she and her crew can pillage his collection. I appreciate that Tendi doesn’t want to kill as well as pillage. Heck, she doesn’t want to do the pillaging either. However, her crew is going full Orion Pirate because it’s simply the cultural norm. Tendi’s pushback in this area is making waves in Orion culture. Small waves, but as with any wave, it has a ripple effect. By the end of “Dos Cerritos,” we begin to see a slight shift, starting with her crew. I hope by the season’s end we begin to see a greater shift in Orion culture.
But before we can get there, we’ve got to square off with the Blue Orions. I hoped to see my girl Tendi back on the Cerritos soon, but it looks like she’ll be sticking around Orion for a little longer. Also, Blue Orions! We haven’t seen Blue Orions since Star Trek: The Animated Series. They were blue in that series due to coloring issues with the animation. I appreciate when my Star Trek can do a solid deep cut like that, and this is no exception.
Double Your Fun?
We’re doubling our fun in Star Trek: Lower Decks 5×01 “Dos Cerritos.” Filling in those space potholes, or quantum fissures, might not be glamorous, but it’s important work. How else can we stop these extra copies of the Cerritos from coming through? It’s interesting to see how our duplicate pairs work with each other. Boimler sees who he could be if he acted with more confidence. Rutherford sees who he could be in “Otherford” if he fails to deal with his emotions properly. The fascinating difference between Captain Becky and our own Beckett Mariner is one of pragmatism versus working through her emotional issues.
The differences between the two Becketts are stark. While yes, scientifically, the T’Lyn doubles determined that the two Cerritos are only a small variance apart, the variance here is startling and even appalling. When Captain Becky pulled out the riding crop, I literally felt queasy. How could corporal punishment be allowed at any level in Starfleet? Does she have her crew in such a chokehold that everyone is afraid to contest her? It’s shocking. I do hope this is the last we’ve seen of her.
Final Thoughts
Overall, Star Trek: Lower Decks 5×01 “Dos Cerritos” is a great start to the season. We’ve established a good baseline for where our crew is and how they’re feeling. “Dos Cerritos” also gave us some great laughs. I definitely giggled with the Mariners saying, “How do I look?” “Cute, which sucks!” Also the nice call back to Mariner’s sarcastic Vulcan salute was perfection. There are also lines played for laughs but are quite revealing of a darker emotional state. When Rutherford says, “I like the way work makes it hard for my brain to focus on the sad stuff!” we see him doubling down on NOT dealing with his emotions. My poor guy is so sad without his girl Tendi. I hope they are reunited very soon. What did you think of Star Trek: Lower Decks 5×01 “Dos Cerritos?” Leave me a comment and let’s talk Trek.
Star Trek: Lower Decks is streaming now on Paramount+.
