"The Best Exotic Nanite Hotel" is a classic comedy of misunderstanding; Star Trek: Lower Decks S5E3

This one is fun. The third episode of Star Trek: Lower Decks Season 5, "The Best Exotic Nanite Hotel," may not have had a spooky story for its initial release on October 31, but that's okay! Instead, it mixes Star Trek-style conundrums with two plots that mirror each other in their themes about assumptions and miscommunication.

Episode summary

In this episode, the USS Cerritos has come to the massive interstellar cruise ship, the Cosmic Duchess. Their primary mission is to help with the nanites that have infested the ship. Tendi has fully reunited with the other Lower Deckers, and they are all looking forward to helping with the nanites, while Mariner is making plans for all the activities she wants to do aboard the Cosmic Duchess.

Just as the Lower Deckers are about to depart, their team is changed slightly. Boimler is recruited by Commander Ransom for an undercover mission to find Admiral Milius, who has gone AWOL. Then, the rest of the team is joined by Jennifer Sh'reyan, Mariner's Andorian ex-girlfriend who seems to think that the two are still dating.

Once aboard the Cosmic Duchess, Mariner and Boimler are distracted on their respective missions. Mariner doesn't know what to do about Jennifer and won't listen to her friends' advice to simply talk to Jennifer about it. This despite the Vulcanly comment from T'Lyn that:

"Assumptions are anathema to communication."

- Lt. T'Lyn, Star Trek: Lower Decks

Meanwhile, Boimler is having his own communication issues with Commander Ransom due to assumptions. Namely, Boimler believes that Ransom is using him as a human shield, because another crewman who was terribly injured claimed that was what Ransom does with junior officers on away missions.

After a series of gaffes, both Boimler and Mariner manage to resolve their issues by actually talking to the other person. Boimler learns that Ransom wanted him because he is a responsible, well-prepared officer. Mariner learns that Jennifer knew they weren't dating anymore and was instead messing with her for not actually talking about it.

Similarly, their respective missions are completed successfully. The nanites are incapacitated when T'Lyn plays the vibe tubes of Krog on the Rocks, her favorite musician, at which point the team discovers the tiny USS Endeavor, a ship from a small-scale alternate universe. Meanwhile, Admiral Milius returns to Starfleet duty to help the Endeavor find a way home.

Memorable moments

This episode has a few moments that stood out as cute or fun. Some of them were character moments, while others were references and callbacks, not only to previous Star Treks but to other movies as well.

• Admiral Milius's reveal is remeniscent of the reveal of Colonel Kurtz—a renegade officer—in the 1979 film Apocalypse Now.
• T'Lyn's fandom for Krog on the Rocks in this episode. In particular, when Tendi gives T'Lyn an autographed picture, and T'Lyn comments that there is no logic in an autograph, but then also says that she will keep it in her quarters, to "study handwriting."
• The USS Endeavor is an Intrepid-class starship, like the USS Voyager. The captain also mentions a "month of hell," likely referencing the two-part "Year of Hell" episode of Star Trek: Voyager.

Thoughts on the episode

While I admit to finding the first two episodes of this season rather dull, this episode was much more fun. The nanite and rogue admiral conundrums took a backseat to the character drama, but that was okay, because the character interactions were what made this episode.

I am a bit wary of the fact this is our second encounter with a multiverse this season. As Chad Porto pointed out last week, multiverse stories are not new to Star Trek, but they can also become tedious. Given that this is the final season of Lower Decks, I'd rather we spend time with "our" Lower Deckers than get bogged down in alternate versions.

That said, the multiverse was minor here, and the episode is fun. The two plots complemented each other thematically while keeping a light tone and balance between characters. Plus, T'Lyn basically saved the day and had several funny moments. As a T'Lyn fan, I'm pleased with that!