The season finale of Star Trek: Lower Decks delivered its series finale this week, and in doing so, addressed one of the most controversial issues in the Star Trek franchise. The issue in question revolves around Star Trek: Discovery, which has now been officially removed from the prime timeline canon, much to the relief of many fans, who are sick of wokeness in the storied franchise.
Discovery was infamous among Star Trek fandom for altering the appearance of Klingons and injecting identity politics into the universe.
Giant Freakin Robot reports that: "In the show’s finale, a group of Klingon ships encounters a phenomenon that transforms things into alternate-reality versions of themselves. When a Klingon ship hits one of those transformation rays, it transforms into a big, ugly Discovery-style Klingon ship. Then one of the crewmembers transforms into a Discovery-style Klingon.
"This couldn’t have happened if those weird Discovery Klingons had ever existed in the prime Star Trek timeline. It means that Discovery and its Klingons, just like the J.J. Abrams Star Trek movies, happened in an alternate universe. One that has nothing to do with the rest of Star Trek."
Fans across the internet rejoiced at the revelation.
Some referred to Discovery as "garbage."
One Star Trek enthusiast put it this way: "Thanks to the finale of Lower Decks, we can now also safely conclude that because of Kurtzman's obsession with having all his Nu-Trek projects being integrated into eachother via references & distinctive visual styles, that not only is STD no longer prime/legacy timeline/canon but also neither is Picard or SNW. Nu-Trekers can squeal as much as they like about "it's not different universes! It's just different points in time!". Afraid not chums. When you dive into the realm of alternate universes, strict rules on timelines no longer apply. It's all down to variables and anything different from the established norm is NOT canon. It is it's own thing & wholly separate which frankly, is all any of us Trekkies ever wanted in the first place. People can say whatever shit they like about Enterprise but at least that show intelligently rectified inconsistencies in the lore and fixed them. Nu-Trek made no such attempts."
Fan site That Park Place put it thusly: "Star Trek: Discovery debuted with high expectations, but over its run, it faced significant backlash from segments of the fanbase. Criticisms ranged from drastic changes in the portrayal of iconic species, such as the Klingons, to deviations from established timelines and character arcs. The early seasons set the series in the past, but inconsistencies soon emerged, leading to widespread dissatisfaction," explaining further, "There’s a rift surrounded by a Schrödinger possibility field that remaps matter into alternate-reality versions from the multiverse. This event transforms the main timeline Klingons into those seen in Discovery, clearly delineating between the two universes. Consequently, while Lower Decks remains canon and part of the prime timeline, Discovery is relegated to an alternate reality, mitigating its previous inconsistencies."
In 2022, Stacey Abrams used a cameo in Discovery to solicit donations for her gubernatorial campaign.
Both Lower Decks and Discovery were canceled in 2024, with the LD finale airing on December 19, providing a final Christmas present for disaffected fans.
