Lower Decks season 5

[hammerofglass]

If anything I think the idea of the multiverse, especially as Star Trek does it, is anti-nihilistic. Everything could have gone completely differently if different decisions were made and elsewhere it did, so everything everyone does matters. No fate, no destiny, and every choice echoes in eternity.

[Durandal_1707]

Ultimately, it really does feel as if all stakes have been removed. What does it matter if this universe ends in the grand scheme of things? Nobody is special, nobody is unique, nothing is actually important or meaningful.

The multiverse is a very nihilistic concept imo.

Counterpoint: turn on the news for five minutes and you will quickly understand how the idea that life will keep going on somewhere could be a comfort in these times.

[CharlesPhipps]

Counterpoint: turn on the news for five minutes and you will quickly understand how the idea that life will keep going on somewhere could be a comfort in these times.

Eh, it also means Nazism will never stop happening somewhere.

[Durandal_1707]

The fact that it won't quit happening here already tells us that.

[Thebestoftherest]

The fact that it won't quit happening here already tells us that.

Rick was right. [youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=luK3GNF8c6E&t=95s[/youtube]

[Fuzzy Necromancer]

I...LOVED IT! Holy Hecate and Dionysus's DIsmembered Dick on a Stick! The penultimate episodes of Star Trek Lower Decks always seem to knock it out of the park, and this one was no exception. I laughed. I got excited. Talk about that sweet, sweet, Garak x Bashir VINDICATION!

There were a couple things that surprised me. Given how feral they seemed I expected the Axolotls to be controlled or ruled over by some outside force, but I guess they were really just a threat to show the crews in action. I'm also surprised that William Boimler isn't doing something more evil, like tortury experiments or setting up coups or something, given his big evil laugh from the end of Crisis Point II.

[Riedquat]

ARRGH! WHY CANCEL THIS?! YOU COMPLETE AND UTTER PILE OF *£&%!" @$%!"%(s!

I didn't even feel this annoyed about cancelling Firefly (admittedly because it had already been cancelled by the time I first saw it).

OK they were mostly alternative versions of regulars and of past characters, but it's still the only Trek show other than DS9 that has the (very much earned) confidence to do something like that rather than stick to its core characters. And I loved it. Sure, there's a big aspect of fan service in this episode but it's fan service done right (unlike early Lower Decks).

[clearspira]

ARRGH! WHY CANCEL THIS?! YOU COMPLETE AND UTTER PILE OF *£&%!" @$%!"%(s!

I didn't even feel this annoyed about cancelling Firefly (admittedly because it had already been cancelled by the time I first saw it).

OK they were mostly alternative versions of regulars and of past characters, but it's still the only Trek show other than DS9 that has the (very much earned) confidence to do something like that rather than stick to its core characters. And I loved it. Sure, there's a big aspect of fan service in this episode but it's fan service done right (unlike early Lower Decks).

Money.

1) The streaming model is not profitable. It was, briefly, during Covid. But since then it is becoming more and more clear that only Big Daddy Netflix and Amazon have a handle on it and the latter because you get far more for your Prime subscription than just movies. There are also mountains of evidence that Disney Plus has barely turned a profit if at all. LD marks four different Star Trek shows winding up at almost the exact same time and this is not a coincidence.

Hindsight is 20/20, but anyone here remember the cable model? 15 minutes of completely unskippable ads. No pausing live TV, no fast forward, no On Demand, no catching it later on Netflix. Your choice was: sit there, take it, or turn off. Note how all of these streaming services are now trying to go back to that model? Only now, people have gotten used to getting everything immediately and nearly for free and are protesting.

2) The American animation industry right now is facing a severe contraction if not verging on collapse. AI, cheap overseas animation costs, outsourcing, the writers strike, the dominance of anime etc. have all played their part. It is probably cheaper long term to put out a series of SNW. They already have the sets, the actors, the same repeated bits of CG.

[Makeshift Python]

If the finale is as good as the penultimate episode, it's probably best that LDS ends on a high note and fans can forever talk about how we were robbed of two more seasons that were just as good. Maybe they would have been, but then again maybe the show would have started to run out of steam and limp its way to the series finale.

I'm just grateful we got what we got.

[Fuzzy Necromancer]

I mean, considering we got way, way less screentime in five seasons than Star Trek TNG did in two, I'd say we really were robbed. Imagine if The Next Generation had never gotten as far as Best of Both Worlds. Saying it's "better it ends on a high note" and treating it as if it's run its course is a cope at best, and insulting at worst. I honestly can't remember the last time I trusted a writing team this much.

We do agree on one point, however, and that is I am grateful the series got made at all.