Star Trek hints at a future we'll unfortunately never be able to see for its lower floors

Warning: spoilers ahead for Star Trek: Lower Decks Season 5, Episode 8, “Upper Decks.”Star Trek: Lower Decks Season 5 Episode 8, “Upper Decks,” gives viewers a preview of what the series' main characters might experience as they venture deeper into their Star Trek timeline, but the animated comedy unfortunately doesn't have enough time to fully explore this particular era. Star Trek: Lower Decks The Season 5 cast is reuniting for the final time, as the franchise's unconventional show is set to end when the finale airs on December 19. Star Trek: Lower Decks is ending on a high note.

Lower decks has a peculiar place among Star Trek TV programs. While still canon, the parodic nature of the animated saga means that its storytelling rules are perhaps a little looser than in other corners of the franchise. Additionally, the focus on the ship's junior officers is a bit unconventional, as meta-acknowledged by “Upper Decks.” THE It can be argued that the chaos experienced by Jack Quaid's Lieutenant Boimler and company will likely dissipate a little when they are inevitably promoted, but Star Trek: Lower Decks season 5 proved that this will not be the case.

Star Trek Shows Lower Deckers Becoming Bridge Crew Will Still Be Exciting

The senior officers of the USS Cerritos still have wild adventures

'Upper Decks' temporarily changes the show's formula with just a few episodes left. The focus on the bridge crew of the USS Cerritos makes Star Trek: Lower Decks feel a little more like other installments in the franchise, as Senior Starfleet officers are almost always central to the plot. Seeing what characters like Captain Freeman (Dawnn Lewis) and Commander Ranson (Jerry O'Connell) do throughout the day is strangely comforting, and for more reasons than one.

With Star Trek: Lower DecksThe main characters' humorous assertions that nothing wild happens without their presence, “Upper Decks” proves it can be equally challenging and unpredictable serve aboard Cerritos in more senior roles as well as junior ones. Why Star Trek: Lower Decks has long teased that its main characters' ascension to bridge crew could signify a major narrative and career milestone, it would be reasonable to assume that their experience at this stage in their careers would result in a more balanced daily schedule. Fortunately, “Upper Decks” disproves this theory.

Star Trek: Lower Decks' End Means We May Not See Cerritos Lieutenants Becoming Bridge Crew

Boimler and company could easily experience the next stage of their Starfleet careers off-screen

Star Trek: Lower Decks Season 5 is almost over. Then, there is very little time for the show to reveal the Lower Deckers serving directly alongside their captain. So while their promotions seem inevitable, seeing them gain a new ranking tier may be all fans get to see. So the glimpse of what their lives could be like, provided by “Upper Decks,” becomes all the more poignant. Of course, it's still possible Star Trek: Lower Decks could be revived or reworked into some new form, but there are currently no confirmed plans to do so.