Warning: Spoilers ahead forStar Trek: Lower Decksseason 5, episode 7, “Fully Dilated.“WatchingStar Trekcharacters progress through the ranks at Starfleet until they reach the rank of captain is one of the most rewarding parts of the sci-fi franchise, but one prospective captain just provided a strong argument for why they should never be given command of their own ship.All the mainStar Trekcaptainsdisplay immense levels of leadership, even if they have different ways of winning the allegiance of their crew and maintaining an air of authority.
Although there have been various captains throughout theStar Trektimeline, certain personality traits can ruin an officer’s chances of achieving their goals. In other ways, there’s no correct way to captain a starship, but there are certainly wrong ways. Although Starfleet isn’t a military organization,the universe being such a dangerous place requires Starfleet to abide by a military-esque hierarchyand level of discipline. One member of theStar Trek: Lower Decksseason 5 casthas long been teased to eventually ascend to the rank of captain, but the animated comedy just weakened their case.
Mariner Spends Her Entire Time In Exile Goofing Around In “Fully Dilated”
Tawny Newsome’s Star Trek character doesn’t act like a future captain
Tawny Newsome’s Lt. Beckett Mariner is left stranded during an away mission with Noël Wells' Lt. D’Vana Tendi and Gabrielle Ruiz’s Lt. T’Lyn. While the latter two women spend their time in isolation trying to further their careers and strengthen their respective cases for promotion for when they return to the USS Cerritos, Mariner seems to find pretty much anything else to do as she waits to be rescued. In fact,Mariner almost appears to actively avoiding doing anything that could benefit her career.
Mariner puts quite a lot of energy into trying to create a time-dilated personal life for herself inStar Trek: Lower Decksseason 5, episode 7, “Fully Dilated”, similar to how Patrick Stewart’s Captain Picard’s story went inStar Trek: The Next Generationseason 5, episode 25, “The Inner Light.”
Mariner’s more recent stories have been about her finally accepting she can’t remain an ensign forever, and that she eventually needs to mature and conduct herself like an officer with ambition. Away from the ship in “Fully Dilated”, that desire seems to have fallen completely by the wayside, perhaps proving that being separated from her larger peer group is what causes this dip in progress. In short,Mariner fails to find a way to push herself further down the Starfleet command track, while her fellow exiled officers spend their time much far more productively.
“Fully Dilated” Was The Perfect Opportunity For Mariner To Prove Herself
With only one spot initially open for a bridge promotion on the USS Cerritos, T’Lyn and Tendi are each very aware of how hard they’ll have to work to prove to their captain that they deserve the position more than the other. While this level of competition is admirable, and could even be considered healthy in certain scenarios, the fact they’re also cut off from their ship means tensions are running higher than they often would be. As a result,the dynamic between Tendi and T’Lyn turns overly competitive and perhaps even damaging. Unfortunately, Beckett was too distracted to notice.
A big part of captaincy is conflict resolution, and Beckett neither noticed nor tried to rectify the tension between her peers.
AlthoughMariner is the same rank as the others and therefore doesn’t really have any kind of meaningful seniority, her red Starfleet uniform suggests her career choices should really prioritize command decisions, just as Tendi and T’Lyn’s imply the champion scientific advancement during their time as officers. A big part of captaincy is conflict resolution, and Beckett neither noticed nor tried to rectify the tension between her peers. If she had been able to do so, it would have been a huge signifier of her progress. Unfortunately, it was a big missed chance.
Why Mariner Will Probably Continue On The Command Path In Star Trek: Lower Decks
Lower Decks' status as a comedy show gives it more flexibility than other Star Trek efforts
Star Trek: Lower Decksholds a pretty unusual place amongall theStar Trekshows. Although it’s essentially a self-referential parody of the largerStar Trekfranchise,Lower Decksis still canon and must have its own self-contained storyline while balancing its comedic elements. As a result, it can become difficult to separate the “authentic"Star Trekcomponents fromLower Decks' take on the sci-fi saga. Mariner’s arc in “Fully Dilated” is a perfect example of this.
Convincing Star Trek Theory Claims Lower Decks' First Officer Is Connected To Captain Janeway’s Voyager Enemy
The USS Cerritos' first officer could be related to an underrated villain who Captain Janeway only encountered once in Star Trek: Voyager.
SeeingMariner acting as a peacemaker between Tendi and T’Lyn wouldn’t have been nearly as entertainingas what her character actually got up to. Not only were her antics far more aligned with her personality and most prominent traits, but it was also far funnier than the alternative. So,Lower Deckswas forced to compromise and arrived at a halfway point between what Mariner “should” do and what the show demands of her character. Besides, with her redemption arc clearly foreshadowing a command position for Mariner, generalStar Treklogic can be largely ignored in her case.
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“Shades of Green”
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“A Farewell to Farms”
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“Of Gods and Angels”
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Star Trek: Lower Decks
Cast
The animated comedy series Star Trek: Lower Decks follows the support crew on one of Starfleet’s least significant ships, the U.S.S. Cerritos, in 2380. Ensigns Mariner (Tawny Newsome), Boimler (Jack Quaid), Rutherford (Eugene Cordero), and Tendi (Noël Wells) have to keep up with their duties and their social lives often. At the same time, the ship is being rocked by a multitude of sci-fi anomalies.
