WARNING: SPOILERS for Star Trek: Lower Decks Season 5, Episode 3, “The Best Exotic Nanite Hotel”Star Trek: Voyager‘s acclaimed season 4 two-parter, “Year of Hell”, can be added to the long list of Star Trek properties lovingly mocked by Star Trek: Lower Decks. It’s not the first time that Star Trek: Voyager has stood in Lower Decks‘ line of fire. The animated comedy’s 4th season opener, “Twovix”, was chock-full of references to some of the weirdest things that happened in Star Trek: Voyager. Lieutenant Tom Paris (Robert Duncan McNeill) guest starred in the Lower Decks episode bearing his name, season 2’s “We’ll Always Have Tom Paris”.

In Star Trek: Lower Decks season 5, episode 3, “The Best Exotic Nanite Hotel”, the USS Cerritos is tasked with exterminating a “glumpus” of nanites from the Cosmic Duchess, a luxury interstellar cruise ship. Rather than being a colony of sentient micro-organisms like the ones from Star Trek: The Next Generation, Lower Decks‘ nanites are controlled by a central source. The source of the nanites’ power turns out to be the USS Endeavor, a microscopic Intrepid-class starship that’s been lost in the Prime Universe for a full month as the crew tries to get back to its own alternate reality.

Star Trek: Lower Decks Mocks Voyager’s Year Of Hell

The USS Endeavour Is A Microscopic Version Of The USS Voyager

Star Trek: Lower Decks season 5, episode 3, “The Best Exotic Nanite Hotel” mocks Star Trek: Voyager season 4, episodes 8 & 9, “Year of Hell”, with the microscopic USS Endeavour, which, like the USS Voyager, is an Intrepid-class starship with a female captain. Upon being discovered by the USS Cerritos’ junior officers, the Endeavour’s frazzled Captain Tersal says they’ve been through “a month of hell.” Lieutenant Beckett Mariner (Tawny Newsome) replies with “A month?” highlighting the discrepancy between Star Trek: Voyager‘s “Year of Hell” and the USS Endeavour’s much smaller time frame.

Star Trek: Lower Decks
‘ USS Endeavour is the third Intrepid-class starship named in
Star Trek
, after the USS Voyager and
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
‘s USS Bellerophon.

That the USS Endeavour is a miniscule twin to the USS Voyager winks at Star Trek: Voyager‘s own shrunken “Year of Hell”. The Endeavour’s home universe exists on a much smaller scale than Star Trek‘s Prime Universe, so it’s funny that this Intrepid-class starship spends a smaller unit of time in so-called hell. The USS Endeavour’s month of hell in Star Trek: Lower Decks also references how Voyager reduced “Year of Hell” from a full season to a two-part episode, after the disastrous year was first predicted in Star Trek: Voyager season 3, episode 21, “Before and After”.

Star Trek: Voyager’s “Year Of Hell” Story Explained

Captain Janeway Spends A Year Battling The Krenim Imperium’s Time Weapons

In Star Trek: Voyager season 4, episodes 8 & 9, “Year of Hell”, Captain Kathryn Janeway (Kate Mulgrew) and the USS Voyager crew repeatedly dodge the efforts of Annorax (Kurtwood Smith) and the Krenim Imperium to erase the USS Voyager from time. Annorax sees Voyager as the sole anomaly preventing him from restoring the Imperium, which would also restore Annorax’s wife and family. Over the course of the eponymous year of hell, the USS Voyager experiences dwindling resources and increasing casualties, and Janeway’s patience wears thinner. It’s a darkly refreshing change of pace for Star Trek: Voyager.

Krenim technology makes an appearance in
Star Trek: Discovery
season 5, episode 4, “Face the Strange”, when a Krenim time bug keeps the USS Discovery jumping through different eras of the ship’s history.

“Year of Hell” is often regarded among Star Trek: Voyager‘s best episodes. Annorax and Janeway are evenly matched in their dedication to protecting those they love —Annorax with his family, and Janeway with her crew—so the question of who will triumph is answered by who is willing to risk everything for their cause. (Of course, it’s Janeway.) The Krenim using time-altering technology as a weapon to secure their lost Imperium is a creative science-fiction conceit not often seen in Star Trek. These concepts could have been explored much further had “Year of Hell” followed its original plan.

Why Star Trek: Voyager Didn’t Get A Real “Year Of Hell”

Voyager’s “Year Of Hell” Was Supposed To Last A Whole Season

Star Trek: Voyager‘s “Year of Hell” was originally supposed to last for a whole season, reflecting the USS Voyager’s actual year spent battling the Krenim, but the story was compressed into a “Fortnight of Hell” as a Star Trek: Voyager two-part episode. Star Trek was just starting to experiment with serialization with Star Trek: Deep Space Nine‘s ongoing Dominion War story arc, which was a huge risk in a pre-streaming, pre-DVR era. Without a way to easily catch up on missed episodes, Star Trek wasn’t interested in taking the same risk with Star Trek: Voyager‘s proposed year-long Krenim arc.

As modern
Star Trek
shows have picked up on the concept of serialization, it’s surprising that we still haven’t seen an actual drawn-out year of hell like the one that
Star Trek: Voyager
proposed for its 4th year.

It would have been interesting to see Star Trek: Voyager shaking up its tried-and-true storytelling format instead of relying on a weekly reset, but there’s no guarantee that the risk of a true “year of hell” would have paid off.Star Trek: Voyager‘s 4th season already introduced a new variable by adding Jeri Ryan’s Seven of Nine, and a drastic format change might have been difficult to balance. With its episodic stories and ongoing season-long arc, Star Trek: Lower Decks compromises nicely, and the Intrepid-class USS Endeavour’s “month of hell” suggests more variants of familiar ships may be ahead.