Lower Decks

Star Trek: Lower Decks (“LDS”) is the second animated series of the franchise and premiered on CBS All Access on August 6, 2020. Focused on the support staff of one of Star Fleet’s least important vessels (the U.S.S. Cerritos), the show takes us through the ups and downs of a career in Star Fleet. The series starts out in 2380, about a year after the events depicted in Star Trek: Nemesis.

All episodes are listed for each season. Each episode is indicated with either a “W” for watch or an “S” for skip. I also opted to order my viewing in “chronological order” as best determined by the initial stardate given in the episode. If there isn’t a stardate, I placed it where it made the most sense relative to the other episodes. Eventually, each title will link to a post that discusses the reasoning for seeing an episode and skipping an episode.

Lastly, episodes that are “essential” are indicated with an * in the Ep. No. column. Essential episodes are selected on a number of factors including character development, other cannon connections, and cultural impact. In other words, these often are the best of the best of each season.

Season 1

Ep. No.TitleStardateSee/Skip
01×01Second Contact*57436.2W
01×02Envoys*UnknownW
01×03Temporal Edict57501.4W
01×04Moist Vessel57538.9W
01×05Cupids Errant Arrow57601.3W
01×06Terminal Provocations57663.9W
01×07Much Ado About Boimler57752.6W
01×08Veritas57791.1W
01×09Crisis Point*UnknownW
01×10No Small Parts*UnknownW

Season 2

Ep. No.TitleStardateSee/Skip
02×01Strange Energies*UnknownW
02×02Kayshon, His Eyes Open*58001.2W
02×03We’ll Always Have Tom Paris*UnknownW
02×04Mugato, Gumato58036.4S
02×05An Embarrassment of Dooplers58053.9S
02×06The Spy Humongous*58105.1W
02×07Where Pleasant Fountains LieUnknownW
02×08I, ExcretusUnknownW
02×09wej Duj*UnknownW
02×10First First Contact58130.6W

SEASON THREE

Ep. No.TitleStardateSee/Skip
03×01GroundedUnknownW
03×02The Least Dangerous GameUnknownS
03×03Mining The Mind’s Mines58256.2W
03×04Room For GrowthUnknownS
03×05Reflections58354.2W
03×06Hear All, Trust Nothing58456.2W
SNW 02×07Those Old Scientists58460.7W
03×07A Mathematically Perfect RedemptionUnknownW
03×08Crisis Point II: ParadoxusUnknownW
03×09Trusted SourcesUnknownW
03×10The Stars At Night58499.2W

Season Four

Ep. No.TitleStardateSee/Skip
04×01Twovix58724.3W
04×02I Have No Bones Yet I Must FleeUnknownW
04×03In the Cradle of Vexilon58759.1W
04×04Something Borrowed, Something GreenUnknownW
04×05Empathological FallaciesUnknownW
04×06Parth Ferengi’s Heart Place58901.5W
04×07A Few Badgeys More58934.9W
04×08CavesUnknownW
04×09The Inner FightUnknownW
04×10Old Friends, New PlanetsUnknownW

Season five

Screenshot
Ep.No.TitleStardateSee/Skip
05×01Dos CeritosUnknownW
05×02Shades of Green59376.9W
05×03The Best Exotic Nanite Hotel59393.7W
05×04A Farewell to FarmsUnknownW
05×05Star Base 80?!UnknownW
05×06Of Gods and Angles59482.3W
05×07Fully Dilated59499.6W
05×08Upper DecksUnknownW
05×09Fissure QuestClassifiedW
05×10The New Next GenerationUnknownW