Warning: SPOILERS for Star Trek: Lower Decks Season 5, Episode 3 – “The Best Exotic Nanite Hotel”Star Trek is no stranger to evil Starfleet Admirals, but Star Trek: Lower Decks introduces an Admiral who has a reason why he turned. Star Trek: Lower Decks season 5 is the animated comedy’s final season on Paramount+ and it continues to explore new and hilarious aspects of life in Starfleet. In Star Trek: Lower Decks season 5, episode 3, “The Best Exotic Nanite Hotel,” Lt. Bradward Boimler (Jack Quaid) hunts for Admiral Milius (Toby Huss), who went AWOL with “vacation madness” on the interstellar cruise ship, the Cosmic Duchess.

Star Trek: Lower Decks has had encounters with corrupt Starfleet Admirals before. Star Trek: Lower Decks season 3‘s Big Bad was Admiral Les Buenamigo (Carlos Alazraqui), who sought to replace the California Class armada, which includes the USS Cerritos, with his own Texas Class starships. The A.I.-controlled Texas Class fleet turned evil and attacked Starfleet, including Admiral Buenamigo, who was killed by his own creation. But Starfleet never seems to learn when it comes to their own flag officers turning on the United Federation of Planets.

Star Trek: Lower Decks Gives A Reason Why An Admiral Turns Evil

Admiral Milius Has A Gripe With Starfleet

In Star Trek: Lower Decks season 5, episode 3, “The Best Exotic Nanite Hotel,” Lt. Brad Boimler, Commander Jack Ransom (Jerry O’Connell), and Lt. Commander Andy Billups (Paul Scheer) locate Admiral Milius in the Temple of Dread aboard the Cosmic Duchess. Milius, an Elite Latinum member of the cruise ship, was in hiding because he was furious at Starfleet for how he was treated. Milius’ reason for turning was because Starfleet routinely assigned him humiliating missions involving milking space whales.

Admiral Milius’ hideout was
Star Trek: Lower Decks
‘ hilarious parody of
Apocalypse Now
.

Admiral Milius’ grievance with Starfleet is understandable, even if he went about his protest wrongly. Starfleet repeatedly siloed Milius into the same embarrassing missions. It turns out, even in alternate Star Trek realities, Admiral Milius is still known for milking space whales. However, Milius got a shot at redemption after the USS Cerritos’ crew discovered the USS Endeavor, a starship from a microscopic dimension trapped in the Prime Universe. Admiral Milius returned to duty with a mission to bring the Endeavor back to its proper universe.

Star Trek Has Lots Of Evil Admirals

Badmirals Have Cropped Up All Over Star Trek

The sheer number of evil Starfleet Admirals (AKA ‘badmirals’) has plagued Star Trek for decades. Power corrupts, and the power gained after achieving the flag officer rank in Starfleet seems to twist the minds and hearts of formerly exemplary Starfleet Officers. Admirals like Cartwright (Brock Peters) in Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country or Layton (Robert Foxworth) on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine are driven by fear of Starfleet enemies so that they form conspiracies or coups to divert power into their hands in order to ‘protect’ the Federation.

Other dastardly Starfleet Admirals who believed they act for the greater good are Admiral Dougherty (Anthony Zerbe), who was willing to steal the Briar Patch and forcibly relocate the Ba’ku in Star Trek: Insurrection, and Admiral Pressman (Terry O’Quinn), who violated a treaty with the Romulans to create a cloaking device on Star Trek: The Next Generation. Admiral Alexander Marcus (Peter Weller) tried to militarize Starfleet and start a war with the Klingons in Star Trek Into Darkness.

Star Trek’s Best Captains Also Became Great Admirals

Admiral Picard And Admiral Janeway Are Exemplary

Thankfully, Star Trek has many heroic Admirals who are a counterpoint to the bad apples among the highest ranks of Starfleet. Captain Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) and Captain Kathryn Janeway (Kate Mulgrew) ascended to the Admiralty and are paragons of virtue. Star Trek: Picard season 3 promoted Dr. Beverly Crusher (Gates McFadden) to Admiral. In Star Trek: Discovery, Admiral Charles Vance (Oded Fehr) is a respected leader, as is Admiral Maxwell Forrest (Vaughn Armstrong) on Star Trek: Enterprise.

It’s unthinkable that Admirals like Kirk, Picard, or Janeway would turn on the Federation.

Former USS Enterprise Captain Robert April (Adrian Holmes) is a trustworthy Admiral on Star Trek: Strange New Worlds. Although Captain James T. Kirk (William Shatner) became an Admiral and Chief of Starfleet Operations, his heart wasn’t in it, and he preferred to be Captain of the Enterprise. It’s unthinkable that Admirals like Kirk, Picard, or Janeway would turn on the Federation for their own ends. At least on Star Trek: Lower Decks, Admiral Milius had an understandable grievance and returned to duty in order to do some good.