Star Trek's Prime Timeline from being erased from the Multiverse.

end of Star Trek: Lower Decks season 5.

Star Trek: Lower Decks Season 5’s Premiere Foreshadowed Captain Freeman Going To Starbase 80

Lower Decks' Finale Reframes Starbase 80 As The New Deep Space Nine

Star Trek: Lower Decks season 5's premiere, "Dos Cerritos," saw the USS Cerritos cross over into an alternate timeline, and introduced the curveball that their USS Cerritos is commanded by Captain Becky Freeman, not her mother, Captain Carol Freeman. "Dos Cerritos" eventually revealed that the alt-Captain Freeman was sent to Starbase 80 after too many errors, and her daughter took over the Captain's chair in her place. It wasn't obvious at the time, but Star Trek: Lower Decks set the stage for the Prime Timeline's Captain Freeman's next mission.

As a reward for saving Star Trek's Prime Timeline, Captain Freeman was transferred to Starbase 80 at the end of Star Trek: Lower Decks season 5. However, unlike in the alternate reality, this was no punishment for Carol. Captain Freeman was tasked with the crucial mission of overseeing Starbase 80 and Starfleet's exploration of the Multiverse. It's a fitting new role for Carol, who had outgrown commanding her California Class starship and was ready for a greater challenge and responsibility.

Captain Freeman Made The USS Cerritos Great In Star Trek: Lower Decks

The Cerritos Is The Enterprise Of The California Class

Captain Carol Freeman may have been a disaster in the alternate reality of Star Trek: Lower Decks season 5's premiere, but the Prime Timeline's Captain Freeman was a rising star in Starfleet. Freeman felt she was better than the California Class starship Starfleet assigned to her, but to Carol's credit, she dedicated herself to proving her ship and her crew were the best Starfleet had to offer. Her daughter, Lt. Beckett Mariner, didn't always make it easy, but Captain Freeman's tireless efforts eventually garnered the respect she deserved.

The Cerritos was a true hero ship under Captain Freeman.

In Star Trek: Lower Decks season 3, Mariner and her friends learned that the other California Class starships in Starfleet envied the USS Cerritos, which gained the reputation of "the USS Enterprise of the California Class." Captain Freeman's Cerritos stopped the Pakleds and later, saved the galaxy from disgraced ex-Starfleet Academy cadet Nicholas Locarno (Robert Duncan McNeill) and the soliton wave that nearly engulfed the Prime timeline in Star Trek: Lower Decks' finale. The Cerritos was a true hero ship under Captain Freeman.

While Starbase 80 was punishment for Captain Freeman in one reality, it's a bold new opportunity to make a Muliversal difference for Captain Freeman in the Prime timeline. Star Trek: Lower Decks season 5 had a bold master plan going into its final season on Paramount+, and, upon a rewatch, it's eye-opening to see how ingeniously showrunner Mike McMahan and his creative team mapped out the most ambitious and fan-rewarding season of Star Trek: Lower Decks.