Star Trek: Lower Decksmade T’Pol (Jolene Blalock)Star Trek’snewest Dax, but it’s unclear what this means for either character’s future or if audiences will ever see it. In its fifth and final season on Paramount+,Star Trek:Lower Decks’USS Cerritos investigated a series of quantum fissures that had mysteriously opened up throughout the galaxy. The penultimate episode, “Fissure Quest,” revealed that Section 31 had assigned Captain William Boimler (Jack Quaid) and aStar Treklegacy character crewof"interdimensional castaways"to discover the cause of these unstable connections to the multiverse.
Captain Boimler’s ragtag crew was made up of several familiar faces from acrossStar Trek’svast timeline, including T’Pol and Curzon Dax (Fred Tatasciore), the Trill host for the Dax symbiont beforeStar Trek: Deep Space Nine’sJadzia (Terry Farrell). Although Curzon died before the events ofDS9,he nevertheless had a presence on the show, mostly through Jadzia and her friendship with Captain Benjamin Sisko (Avery Brooks). In “Fissure Quest,“Curzon served as the tactical officer aboard Boimler’s Defiant Class starship Anaximander,and he had a contentious friendship with T’Pol.
How Lower Decks Made T’Pol Star Trek’s New Dax
T’Pol & Curzon Dax Returned in Lower Decks Season 5, Episode 9, “Fissure Quest”
ThroughoutStar Trek: Lower Decks'“Fissure Quest,” Curzon lives his"life to its fullest"by his own admission, diving into battles and indulging in unhealthy food. WhenLt. Harry Kim (Garrett Wang)goes rogue and steals Captain Lily Sloane’s (Alfre Woodard) multiverse-jumping starship. Curzon does not hesitate to battle the hostile Khwopians surrounding the Anaximander. AlthoughCurzon is severely injured in the fight,he conceals his injury until it causes him to pass out at his console. In sickbay, the ship’s surgeon, Dr. Garak (Andrew Robinson), treats Curzon’s injury but cannot heal him.
Who Is Curzon Dax? Star Trek: DS9 Legacy Trill Character Explained
Best known as the predecessor to Star Trek: DS9’s Jadzia Dax and Ben Sisko’s mentor, Curzon Dax has a long history before DS9 even starts.
On his deathbed, Curzon laments that the Dax symbiont will end with him, but T’Pol has other ideas. She initiates a mind meld with Dax, transferring all of the symbiont’s memories to her own brain for safekeeping. Although it’s"more katra than [she] had anticipated,“T’Pol promises to protect Dax’s memories and"pass them on.“T’Pol now possesses the memories of all seven of Dax’s hosts, up to and including Curzon — but not including Jadzia or Ezri (Nicole de Boer). It’s unclear if anything like this has ever been attempted before, and the effect it will have on T’Pol remains unknown.
What Happens Next To T’Pol As Dax?
And Will We Ever Get To See More Of Her Story?
Star Trek: Lower Decks’final season left the ramifications of T’Pol’s decision to download Dax’s memories an open question. T’Pol implies that she plans to travel to Curzon’s universe and deliver the memories to Trill, but it’s unclear how this would work without the Dax symbiont. This would likely be an unprecedented situation, butit’s possible Dax’s memories could be transferred into a new symbiont,which could then be transferred to a new host. Otherwise, T’Pol will be stuck carrying the memories of seven Dax hosts, which is a lot for one Vulcan mind to handle.
Star Trek: Lower Decks’final season left the ramifications of T’Pol’s decision to download Dax’s memories an open question.
AsStar Trek: Lower Decksended with season 5, it remains to be seen whether any of these questions will ever be answered on screen. AlthoughStar Trek: Lower Decks’series finaleleft the door open for several storylines to continue, there has been no news about any potential spinoffs. Whether or notStar Trekever continues the story of T’Pol hosting the Dax symbiont’s memories, “Fissure Quest” was a great episode that offered a fun glimpse of alternate versions of several beloved characters and helped endStar Trek: Lower Deckson a high note.
