Star Trek: Lower Decks Season 5 episode 3 “The Best Exotic Nanite Hotel” takes us to an interstellar cruise ship to rival Risa! They’ve got sun! They’ve got skiing! We’ve got relationship awkwardness! Bonus: we get to meet T’Lyn’s favorite musician. It’s a lot to take in, so let’s put on some sunscreen and visit Star Trek: Lower Decks Season 5 episode 3 “The Best Exotic Nanite Hotel.”
Roll for Initiative
It should be a vacation if our away mission is on an interstellar cruise ship. Except when the away mission is to catch a “glumpus” of nanites that turns into a killer d20! Watching the icosahedron roll all over the place in Star Trek: Lower Decks Season 5 episode 3 “The Best Exotic Nanite Hotel” reminded me of the PlayStation game Katamari Damacy, where you roll a ball all over, picking things up as you go. This is basically the Star Trek version of that idea.
There’s a lot of interesting character development going on in this episode. We hear T’Lyn say to Tendi, “Despite the increase in cheering, your presence is a comfort.” How sweet is that?! And then we get to see T’Lyn fangirling in the most Vulcan way possible over Krog on the Rocks. And she defeats the icosahedron with music and gets to have a cool moment with her favorite musician. What a great finish! I am enjoying getting to know T’Lyn this season, and I hope we get to know her even better before the series ends.
Speaking of character development, Mariner and her BABE, Jennifer have to get things figured out. Mariner wanting to avoid awkward emotional confrontation is understandable. Sure, no one likes a messy break-up and awkward conversations, but the way Mariner consistently avoids them isn’t healthy. Watching her finally work through that is good, but even better for me perhaps was watching Jennifer get one over on Mariner. Not everyone can do that, so it’s a nice little role reversal. They end on good terms and it shows a little bit more emotional maturity for both of them. Good job, gals.
MORE: Here are our reviews of Star Trek: Lower Decks Season 5 Episode 1 and Episode 2!
AWOL Admiral
Boimler gets to go on a boys’ trip this week in Star Trek: Lower Decks Season 5 episode 3 “The Best Exotic Nanite Hotel” with Ransom and Billups. Now the way Boimler reacts is not unreasonable. Boimler is basically Goofy doing those sports cartoons, flying off a cliff, getting walloped by other guests, falling in the river, etc. All that’s missing is the signature yell.
The trip to “AWOL Falls” and the “Temple of Dread” to find Admiral Milius definitely made me laugh. That being said, I can relate to Admiral Milius’ reaction. It’s hard when you feel like you’re capable of more, but aren’t given the opportunities you think you deserve. But there’s also something to be said for doing your work well, no matter what it is. Those kinds of jobs are necessary, even if they’re not glamorous. It highlights the importance of being a team player, which is what Starfleet is all about.
MORE: Do you want to know much more? Check it out all our Star Trek stuff!
Final Thoughts
Star Trek: Lower Decks Season 5 episode 3 “The Best Exotic Nanite Hotel” is a fun episode, chockful of character development. Along with the character development, the progression of Boimler’s facial hair is delightful. We get a few more whiskers with every episode. I hope he’s able to get the full beard by the end of the season. Speaking of delightful, I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the nod in the title to the 2011 film, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel. I always appreciate a good pun.
Finally, it’s not a glumpus of nanites that’s causing all the drama; it’s a tiny Intrepid class ship a la Voyager! We’ve got another issue with those temporal fissures, which is how they got there. Hearing the captain say, we’ve been through “A month of h**ll!” is a clear nod to Star Trek: Voyager Season 4 episode 8 and 9 “Year of H**ll.” Just be glad it was only a month and not a year.
The next episode of Star Trek: Lower Decks will air on November 7, 2024, on Paramount+.
