Star Trek: Lower Decks Season 5 Has An Animated Series Orion Easter Egg

The teaser trailer for Star Trek: Lower Decks season 5 shows a glimpse of an Orion taken straight from Star Trek: The Animated Series. With reputations as pirates and slave traders, Orions have been a part of Star Trek since Star Trek: The Original Series, and Lower Decks has finally given the green alien species some much needed updating. Lt. D’Vana Tendi (Noël Wells) has singlehandedly altered the perception of Orions both within the Star Trek universe and without. With her upbeat attitude and general enthusiasm, Tendi is a bright light among the crew of the USS Cerritos.

Although the above teaser only offers a few hints about the new season, Star Trek: Lower Decks season 5 looks like it will feature the same zany adventures and deep cut Trek references the show has become known for. Despite returning to her homeplanet of Orion at the end of Star Trek: Lower Decks season 4, Tendi features heavily in the season 5 teaser, suggesting she won’t remain absent for long. In its fourth season, Lower Decks revealed more about Tendi and her life on Orion, adding more depth to the Orion culture and Orions as a species. Hopefully, Star Trek: Lower Decks season 5 will continue that trend.

Star Trek: The Animated Series’ Orion Appears In Lower Decks Season 5

The look of the Orions in TAS was quite distinct.

Orions only featured significantly in one episode of Star Trek: The Animated Series, aptly titled “The Pirates of Orion,” and they had gained a distinct new look. When the USS Enterprise encounters an Orion ship, Captain James T. Kirk (William Shatner) attempts to negotiate with the Orion Captain for the return of an important drug. Despite their pirate activities, the Orions wish to maintain their neutrality and prevent Starfleet from learning of their recent attack on a Federation vessel. The Orions are deeply suspicious of Kirk and his crew, refusing Kirk’s initial offer.

The Orions of TAS wear bright green uniforms with purple masks, and the Star Trek: Lower Decks season 5 teaser suggests some Orions continue to wear these uniforms even into the late 24th century. While the context of the image from the trailer remains unknown, it’s always fun to see Lower Decks reference lesser-known elements from Star Trek: The Animated Series. The Orions’ history of piracy remains an important element of their species in Star Trek: Lower Decks, and the teaser shows Tendi in command of an Orion pirate ship once again.

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10 Updates Star Trek Just Gave Tendi & Orions

The Orions first appeared in Star Trek back in 1966, but very little was known about their society and culture until Lower Decks’ Tendi returns home.

Star Trek: Lower Decks Season 5 Will Bring Tendi Back To Starfleet

Tendi’s heart will always belong to Starfleet.

Before joining Starfleet, D’Vana Tendi was an infamous pirate known as the Mistress of the Winter Constellations, and the skills she learned have proven useful on numerous Starfleet missions. Based on Star Trek: Lower Decks season 5’s teaser, Tendi’s return to Orion will only be temporary. (Noël Wells confirmed this during the Star Trek panel at San Diego Comic-Con.) The teaser shows numerous images of Tendi back in her Starfleet uniform alongside her fellow Cerritos crew members. It even appears she will get to go on a covert away mission disguised as an alien.

Star Trek: Lower Decks has shown time and again how much Tendi loves Starfleet and the adventures she has as part of the USS Cerritos crew. She has gone to great lengths to separate herself from her pirate past and redefine what it means to be an Orion. It makes perfect sense that Tendi would do everything she can to return to Starfleet after she takes care of the obligations to her sister and her people. Among the incredibly fun cast of Star Trek: Lower Decks, Tendi has proven to be one of the greatest surprises, and we can’t wait to see where the show takes her and the Cerritos next.

Star Trek: Lower Decks

Release Date

August 6, 2020

Seasons

5

Showrunner

Mike McMahan