I loveStar Trek: Lower Decks' running joke about Captain Carol Freeman (Dawnn Lewis) hating Sovereign Class starships like Captain Jean-Luc Picard’s (Patrick Stewart) USS Enterprise-E.Star Trek: Lower Deckswrapped up its fifth and final season on Paramount+ with an epic story spanning theStar Trekmultiverse. Only Captain Freeman and the USS Cerritos could saveStar Trek’s Prime timelinefrom being obliterated by a devastating soliton wave.
Captain Carol Freeman took great pride in the USS Cerritos, which became the pride of Starfleet’s California Class. Though there were moments throughoutStar Trek: Lower Deckswhere Freeman felt she deserved command of a better starship, Carol ably led the Cerritos through numerousSecond Contact missionsand crises. Freeman was promoted to Starbase 80 at theend ofStar Trek: Lower Decks, but she spearheaded a greater respect for the California Class -a respect Carol doesn’t have for Sovereign Class starships.
Why Star Trek: Lower Decks’ Captain Freeman Hates Picard’s Sovereign Class Enterprise
Captain Freeman Is No Fan Of The USS Enterprise-E
Star Trek: Lower Deckscreator Mike McMahan first sprinkled in Captain Carol Freeman’s disdain for the Sovereign Class inStar Trek: Lower Decks’season 1 finale, “No Small Parts.” When the USS Cerritos undergoes repairs at Douglas Station, Freeman orders no cosmetic changes to her starship, stating, “I hate it when a ship gets repaired and comes out looking all Sovereign Class.“Hilariously, it’s one of the rare times aStar TrekCaptain dissed the design of Captain Picard’s USS Enterprise-E.
WhenStar Trek: Lower Decks' finale takes place, Worf (Michael Dorn) is Captain of the USS Enterprise-E, although he wasn’t seen in the episode.
InStar Trek: Lower Decks' series finale, “The New Next Generation,” the USS Cerritos is transformed into other designs found in the multiverse. When the soliton waveturns the Cerritos"all Sovereign Class,“a resigned Captain Freeman says,“I guess I’ll have to take it.“Carol had no time to complain since she had a universe to save. It’s a riotously funny callback to Freeman’s disdain for the Sovereign Class, especially whenStar TrekCaptainscommonly envy the USS Enterprise. But Carol just doesn’t like the Sovereign Class, and I love her for it.
Picard’s Sovereign Class Never Became As Great As USS Enterprise-D
The USS Enterprise-E Was Mysteriously Lost
The USS Enterprise-E and the Sovereign Class starship design in general debuted inStar Trek: First Contact. The Enterprise-E replaced the Galaxy ClassUSS Enterprise-D, which was destroyed inStar Trek Generations. Designed by John Eaves, the sleek Sovereign Class was built as a warship, specifically to fight the Borg. However, because it only appeared in threeStar Trek: The Next Generationmovies,the Enterprise-E couldn’t imprint itself on fans the way the USS Enterprise-Ddid after seven seasons ofTNG.
What Happened To Captain Worf’s Enterprise? Star Trek: Picard Mystery May Have Been Solved
A Star Trek fan theory suggests what happened to the USS Enterprise-E is tied to Star Trek: Prodigy, but is it really not Captain Worf’s fault?
Despite its successes inStar Trek: First Contact, Star Trek: Insurrection,andStar Trek: Nemesis, the USS Enterprise-E feels like a lesser successor to the D, which returned to glory inStar Trek: Picardseason 3. The Enterprise-E was also lost under mysterious circumstances, which adds to its legacy feeling underdeveloped. It tickles me that Captain Freeman onStar Trek: Lower Deckssure doesn’t think much of the Sovereign Class, even if one of them is the USS Enterprise-E.
