WARNING: Contains SPOILERS for Star Trek: Lower Decks Season 5, Episode 9 – “Fissure Quest”
Star Trek: Lower Decks – A Superior Sequel to First Contact
The latest episode of Star Trek: Lower Decks has emerged as a more compelling sequel to Star Trek: First Contact than the treatment it received in Star Trek: Enterprise. In First Contact, Captain Jean-Luc Picard and the USS Enterprise-E venture back in time to thwart the Borg’s efforts to impede humanity’s historic First Contact with the Vulcans. During this critical mission, Picard and his crew encounter Zefram Cochrane and Lily Sloane, who are on the brink of launching Earth’s first manned warp flight. Ultimately, Picard successfully ensures that First Contact proceeds as intended.
Exploring a New Mission in Season 5
As it concludes its run on Paramount+, Season 5 of Star Trek: Lower Decks sends the USS Cerritos on an investigation into a series of mysterious quantum fissures plaguing the galaxy. Episode 9, titled “Fissure Quest,”reveals that Captain William Boimler and his crew from an alternate universe are also probing the origins of these anomalies. After facing capture by “feral Khwopians,”Boimler and his team learn that an alternate version of Captain Lily Sloane is the unknowing source of these wormholes destabilizing the multiverse.
Lily Sloane: From Pioneer to Multidimensional Explorer
Initially, Captain Boimler suspects that Sloane could be a dangerous antagonist; however, she quickly reassures him of her peaceful intentions. In her reality, Sloane played a pivotal role in the development of a Quantum Reality Drive alongside Zefram Cochrane, a technology allowing travel across the multiverse. Unbeknownst to her, the ship’s excursions were inadvertently generating additional rifts with each jump. Following her timely apology for the unexpected chaos, Sloane facilitates Boimler’s return to the Anaximander before her own ship meets destruction at the hands of a renegade Lieutenant Harry Kim.
Contrasting Universes: The Dilemma of Starfleet
In this distinct narrative thread, Sloane’s alternate character has risen to a Starfleet captain dedicated to exploring the vast multiverse. In comparison, the Star Trek: Enterprise portrayal starkly contrasts this – where Cochrane’s actions result in hostile engagements with Vulcans, dismissing Sloane’s significant role entirely. In Enterprise’s “In a Mirror, Darkly,”humans are depicted raiding Vulcan ships, showcasing a darker and less collaborative vision of humanity’s future in stark opposition to the values held in Star Trek: Lower Decks.
A Tale of Two Realities
Captain Lily Sloane’s vessel, aptly named the Beagle, symbolizes the spirit of exploration that is quintessential to the Star Trek franchise. While the Mirror Universe embodies a ruthless Terran Empire focused on domination, Lower Decks carves out a brighter narrative, emphasizing exploration and unity through the actions of Cochrane and Sloane.
Ultimately, Star Trek: Lower Decks offers a refreshing perspective on the legacy begun in First Contact, positioning Sloane not merely as a footnote but as a dynamic hero in a hopeful vision for the future.