Star Trek: Lower Decks Season 5 Episode 3 Review: The Best Exotic Nanite Hotel
Star Trek: Lower Decks Season 5 Episode 3, “The Best Exotic Nanite Hotel,” delivers an action-packed, fast-paced story, complete with a wild goose chase and the best Boimler scream you’ve ever heard. It’s also our first adventure with D’Vana Tendi back with the lower deckers.
Nanites, Nanites, Nanites
Narrative-wise, “The Best Exotic Nanite Hotel” never lets its foot off the gas. It maintains decent momentum throughout while deftly balancing pivotal Mariner moments. Sure, this outing is definitely more story-driven than anything, but Mariner’s development works well to break up some of the action.
If there’s one thing Mariner is good at — besides rapid-fire sarcasm — it’s avoiding tough conversations. It took until Season 4’s “The Inner Fight” for her to truly open up. She very much uses her acerbic wit to mask her deep-seated emotions and avoid hot-button topics.
However, in “The Best Exotic Nanite Hotel,” the nanite situation pushes Mariner to break up with Jennifer officially. Confronting uncomfortable truths and taking that next step, even at the expense of someone’s (perceived) happiness, is never easy. Star Trek: Lower Decks continues to knock Mariner’s growth out of the park, especially with her scenes on this episode.
The Krog Less Traveled
“The Best Exotic Nanite Hotel” also boasts fun scenes with Boimler, Ransom, and Billups. It’s always a blast when the lower deckers and senior officers get paired up for various adventures, especially when you combine Boimler’s perpetual anxiety with Ransom’s cool guy vibes. Somehow, though, they balance each other well.
This particular trio participates in just as tomfoolery as Team Nanite. However, it surprisingly culminates in Boimler getting a much-needed confidence boost from Ransom and Billups. We’ve seen that confidence wax and wane over the seasons. (Remember his “Bold Boimler” phase?) So, it’s nice to see him get outside validation from those higher up in Starfleet. Who knows? Maybe Boims will get a promotion by the series’ end.
“The Best Exotic Nanite Hotel” is another fun, breezy, and breathless Star Trek: Lower Decks episode with just enough zaniness and a pinch of heart. While we don’t have an overarching seasonal narrative yet, we’ll hopefully get an idea of it in the next few episodes. For now, this lower decker is enjoying this last ride.
Stray Observations:
- “The Best Exotic Nanite Hotel” features a mini Tacoma FD reunion. Marcus Henderson, who voices Jet Manhaver and Krog, played Granny Smith on the series. Eugene Cordero, our Rutherford, portrayed Andy Myawani.
- T’Lyn needs to go on tour with Krog on the Rocks. She rocks those vibe tubes.
- Is this the first time we’ve gotten a far-off, long-distance Boimler scream? Regardless, hats off to Jack Quaid for giving us the best Boimy screams. I’ll sure miss ’em (sobs).
- “Zandy Billups” and “Zack Bransom” — the lack of effort behind these alias names is admirable.
- I loved seeing the officer with the hijab in the final scene. Representation is a beautiful thing.
- Now, imagine if that golf cart Mariner and Jennifer were in had wheels … ouch.
What did you think of this episode of Star Trek: Lower Decks? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
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Star Trek: Lower Decks drops new episodes every Thursday on Paramount+.
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Melody McCune
Melody loves TV. Maybe too much. Besides being a Senior Writer for Tell-Tale TV, she's the Managing Editor for Geek Girl Authority, an Independent Contractor for Sideshow Collectibles, and a Senior Writer for Eulalie Magazine. Additionally, she has bylines in Culturess, Widget, and inkMend on Medium. To top it all off, she's a critic for Rotten Tomatoes and CherryPicks.