Warning: Spoilers ahead forStar Trek: Lower Decksseason 5, episode 1, “Dos Cerritos.“With the fifth and final season ofStar Trek: Lower Decksunderway, the season 5 premiere ends with a brilliant tease that could mean a permanent multiversal character switch has been made. TheStar Trek: Lower Decksseason 5 castwon’t be reuniting oncethe finale hits Paramount+ on June 22, 2025 - at least not in the current context. So, if the switch in question has taken place, it would make sense for the show to reverse the process before the last episode. Otherwise,it could be a massive turning point inLower Decksand the generalStar Trekcanon.
There are many instances of multiversal adventures throughout theStar Trektimeline, although it’s a sci-fi trope that’s still used far less than others. Starting withStar Trek: The Original Seriesseason 2, episode 4, “Mirror, Mirror,” the alternate reality installments have been some of the franchise’s best offerings. While they can often be self-contained adventures, recent occurrences have resulted in the Prime Universe experiencing the lasting impact of colliding with another reality - which could very well be the case withStar Trek:Lower Decks.
Both Versions Of T’Lyn May Have Swapped In Star Trek: Lower Decks Season 5, Episode 1
The Lower Decks crew’s shared moment may have a sneaky undertone
Star Trek: Lower Decksseason 5 immediately visits multiverse. The adventure isn’t the franchise’s usual approach, as the alternate versions of the USS Cerritos crew exhibit a 0.237% quantum variance. Simply put - they’re really, really similar. Because of their almost identical nature, it can be tricky to tell the difference between two characters' respective counterparts. At the end of the episode, with the dimensional rift closed,theLower Deckscrew are all briefly shocked when T’Lyn (Gabrielle Ruiz) says “Remarkable"instead of her usual holophrastic expression of “Fascinating.” It may seem innocuous, but it could mean something big.
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The moment is played off as T’Lyn being influenced by her non-Vulcan crewmates, leading them to jokingly believe that she is not their original T’Lyn. After the reveal, they all share a laugh, butthe close-up on T’Lyn could be interpreted in one of two ways- she is either pleased her joke was well-received, or relieved that she covered up for her mistake of saying “Remarkable” instead of “Fascinating.” In other words, the T’Lyn at the end ofStar Trek:Lower Decksseason 1, episode 5, “Dos Cerritos” may actually be the version from the other USS Cerritos.
Lower Decks Quietly Set Up T’Lyn’s Perfectly Undetectable Character Swap
Both T’Lyns are almost impossible to tell apart
Both T’Lyns are almost indistinguishable, and the only notable visual clue is that their uniforms are each a slightly different shade of blue. So, unlike characters like Rutherford (Eugene Cordero) and Shaxs (Fred Tatasciore) - whose counterparts are visibly different -the T’Lyns trading places would be hard to detect with the naked eye. “Dos Cerritos” capitalizes on this by featuring a tense plotline where the Prime Mariner (Tawny Newsome) is unwillingly and unsuccessfully swapped out by her alternate self. However, this could all have been a narrative misdirection for a secret T’Lyn swap.
It’s not unreasonable to believe that the alternate T’Lyn made a genuine error when she said “Remarkable” instead of “Fascinating” and was forced to lean into her mistake to hide the subterfuge.
The aforementioned final scene of the episode is the biggest piece of evidence to support this theory. Earlier in the episode, the T’Lyns have a brief exchange that reveals their respective preferences for using the words “Fascinating” and “Remarkable.” BecauseVulcans generally aren’t great liars, it’s not unreasonable to believe that the alternate T’Lyn made a genuine error when she said “Remarkable” instead of “Fascinating” and was forced to lean into her mistake to hide the subterfuge.
Star Trek: Lower Decks' Final Season Doesn’t Need To Swap T’Lyn Back Again
Other Star Trek characters have crossed into other realities and stayed there
If the T’Lyns have indeed swapped places,Star Trek:Lower Decksdoesn’t need to return them to their original universes before the finale - or even at all. Although the twist can be revealed in the coming episodes, it may not have been a non-consensual arrangement like the attempted Beckett/Becky exchange. Instead,both T’Lyns may have quietly agreed to trade realities out of pure intellectual interest. Vulcans don’t tend to form emotional attachments in the same way as other species, so it would be easier for them each to settle into their new homes for the long haul.
The other crew in “Dos Cerritos” is not fromStar Trek’s Mirror Universe, but rather another reality entirely that’s far more similar to the Prime Universe.
Star Trekhas a precedent of allowing characters to cross permanently into other realities. The most prominent example is Michelle Yeoh’s Philippa Georgiou, whose Mirror Universe self quickly became a major part ofStar Trek: Discovery’s story. Similarly, Leonard Nimoy’sSpock stayed in JJ Abram’s Kelvin Timelinefrom 2009’sStar Trekmovie onward. So,Star Trek: Lower Decksallowing the other T’Lyn to stay wouldn’t be new ground.
Star Trek Lower Decks
Cast
The animated comedy series Star Trek: Lower Decks follows the support crew on one of Starfleet’s least significant ships, the U.S.S. Cerritos, in 2380. Ensigns Mariner (Tawny Newsome), Boimler (Jack Quaid), Rutherford (Eugene Cordero), and Tendi (Noël Wells) have to keep up with their duties and their social lives often. At the same time, the ship is being rocked by a multitude of sci-fi anomalies.
