What destroyed the ships in Star Trek Lower Decks? Forget the Romulans, Changelings, Jem’Hadar, and Hirogen: there’s a new threat in the Star Trek galaxy, and it’s destroying starships indiscriminately.
Star Trek Lower Decks season 4 episode 1 and 2, which are now both available to stream on Paramount Plus, are mostly a continuation of what we’ve come to expect from the animated Star Trek series: irreverent fun, and a loving homage to the franchise’s history.
But that’s not all Lower Decks is. The series has also been busy adding more texture and depth to Star Trek, with new enemies and exciting plotlines. It tells its own story. Now, a new villain appears to have emerged, and it’s destroying Klingon and Romulan ships with ease, placing the security of the Federation, and no doubt USS Cerrtios, in peril. Here’s what we know about the ship, and our speculation on what it could be.
What is the starship destroying the Klingons and Romulans?
The most likely outcome is that the starship is something new. It’s immensely powerful, with a style of design that we’ve never seen before, and a weapon that we’ve never seen before.
But, with Lower Decks, there’s always the possibility that the series is expanding on some element of Star Trek canon from the past, and that this ship could be connected to that. We’ve got two main theories on how the ship could link to Star Trek’s past.
The whale probe
Firstly, the ship might be connected to the alien probe from Star Trek IV The Voyage Home. The Voyage Home saw a huge mysterious probe arrive at Earth in order to try and communicate with the now-extinct humpback whales. Admiral Kirk and co. successfully traveled back in time to bring whales from the past into the present in order to appease it. But, the origins of the probe remained a mystery.
So what links the two? If you’re particularly eagle-eyed, you’ll spot the Star Trek IV probe in the season 4 credits in the series. It’s fighting the Borg cube, alongside the USS Cerritos, the Romulan ships, and the Crystalline entity. Could that be a coincidence? Yes, it definitely could. However, the powers of the ship and the probe have some similarity.
Both were able to completely knock out the power to ships’ systems, rendering them unable to defend themselves. Perhaps the originated from the same space, or were created by the same alien race.
The Breen
The second theory, and this one is even more tentative and baseless than the first, is that the ship is from the Breen. The Breen are a powerful and technologically advanced alien race who allied with the Dominion in the Dominion War. They’re mysterious, though, and very little is known about their society and culture.
So why do we think the ship could be the Breen? It looks like their helmets. That’s it, really. And, Star Trek Lower Decks does like to add more texture to under-developed species, having already touched on the Breen in season 3. We did say it was tentative. The mystery will likely continue to go unresolved in the immediate future, until it inevitably involves the USS Cerritos and its crew.
For more on Star Trek, check out our picks for the best Star Trek captains, and how to watch the Star Trek movies in order the best way. Or, if find out why we’re convinced Kirk was definitely in love with Spock, and see why Jonathan Frakes wants one TNG episode banned for good.
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