Lieutenant Mariner’s 10 Best Star Trek Episodes, Ranked

Warning: SPOILERS for Star Trek: Lower Decks Season 4

Star Trek: Lower Decks introduced the animated, chaotic, and capable character Lieutenant Beckett Mariner (Tawny Newsome), who serves on the USS Cerritos’ lower decks with her courageous and hopeful shipmates. Serving under the command of her mother, Captain Carol Freeman (Dawnn Lewis), with her father among the admiralty, Beckett Mariner navigates the unexpected, unusual crewmembers and familial tensions and dedicates herself to embodying Starfleet’s loftiest ideals and missions of peace. Mariner’s loud and ungoverned countenance, however, masks a profound and very raw vulnerability – distrust of authority and a fear that the people she cares about will ultimately leave. These qualities are prevalent in significant Mariner episodes.

Beckett Mariner excelled in Starfleet Academy and served in various positions – including space station Deep Space Nine – before finding a home amid the Cerritos’ lower decks, where she spends significant effort to self-sabotage and avoid promotion, avoiding loss. Following a brief reassignment to Starbase 80 and subsequent resignation, and with the assistance and insistence of Commander Jack Ransom (Jerry O’Connell), Mariner begins to address her behavior. By the end of Star Trek: Lower Decks season 4, Mariner’s mysterious past slowly unfolds as tragic loss and old connections resurface. Here’s a look at Beckett Mariner’s best episodes in Star Trek: Lower Decks.

10 Star Trek: Lower Decks, Season 1, Episode 7

“Much Ado About Boimler”

Ensign Beckett Mariner encounters a face from her past when her Starfleet Academy best friend takes temporary Captaincy of the USS Cerritos. Though both are initially excited to reunite, with Mariner swiftly appointed as visiting Captain Amina Ramsey’s (Toks Olagundoye) first officer, it’s soon apparent that their ambitions and approach to their careers are in opposition. Mariner continues with a casual, unprofessional demeanor – strongly contrasted by Ramsey’s efficient officers – until Ramsey calls out the deliberate act, and they reach a comfortable compromise. It’s a starkly clear example of Mariner’s deliberate undermining of her position and role, seen through a refreshingly objective lens.

9 Star Trek: Lower Decks, Season 4, Episode 1

“Twovix”

Referencing Star Trek: Voyager’s numerous adventures, this Star Trek: Lower Decks episode sees the USS Cerritos crew assisting with setting up Voyager-specific museum exhibits. Predictably, things go awry, and in a nod to Star Trek: Voyager season 2, episode 24, “Tuvix,” a transporter accident leads to two crew members becoming merged. As the situation deteriorates and more and more transporter incidents occur, Mariner finally talks with Ensign Brad Boimler (Jack Quaid) and draws a line under the misunderstandings, insecurities, and hurt relating to Boimler’s transfer. It’s a peaceful moment, with the reassurance of a comfortable friendship back in place, before a promotion to Lieutenant, junior grade throws Mariner back off-kilter.

8 Star Trek: Lower Decks, Season 3, Episode 2

“The Least Dangerous Game”

Intent on testing and establishing his authority over his newly assigned wayward subordinate, Beckett Mariner, Commander Ransom includes her in a small away mission landing party and further delegates engineering tasks to the Ransom-Mariner team of two. Though mixed with humor and hijinks throughout the episode as the engineering half of the away team struggles to deal with the diplomatic tasks assigned to them, it’s also an intriguing insight into Mariner’s increasingly chaotic, turbulent, and rebellious thinking habits and the personal and professional dynamics between her and Commander Ransom. Though initially stubborn and sure of her views, Mariner’s character develops over the episode as Ransom’s informative lessons land.

7 Star Trek: Lower Decks, Season 3, Episode 1

“Grounded”

Through a series of comical, problematic, yet well-intentioned actions, Mariner and the Star Trek: Lower Decks crew hatch a plan to save their Captain, who was framed and arrested for destroying the Pakled planet in the explosive Lower Decks season 2 finale. Though their actions prove spectacularly unnecessary, it’s a timely reminder of the Lower Deckers’ low status and out-of-the-loop reach. Newly assigned to Commander Jack Ransom, Beckett Mariner risks the consequences of her actions, positioned to face the rest of the series without a familial safety net. Overwhelmed, restless, and intent on restoring justice, Mariner acknowledges her family connections in this episode in a manner not done previously.

6 Star Trek: Lower Decks, Season 3, Episode 10

“The Stars At Night”

Following the events in the previous episode, with Mariner escorted in disgrace from the USS Cerritos, Star Trek: Lower Decks season 3’s finale deals with the immediate emotional aftermath while pressing forward with new mission assignments. Throughout the series, Mariner’s character has steadfastly demonstrated fear of losing the people she loves. This arc is interesting because it flips this concept, with them forcing her to leave. Though no less of a loss, it’s a powerful opportunity for growth, and Mariner comes full circle and realizes that her life had more meaning to her within Starfleet than outside it. This episode shows how far Mariner has come since Lower Decks season 1.

5 Star Trek: Lower Decks, Season 4, Episode 2

“I Have No Bones Yet I Must Flee”

This significant Star Trek: Lower Decks season 4 episode highlights Mariner’s destructive habit of self-sabotage and is notable for introducing the utterly adorable yet disturbingly deadly Moopsy. A spotlight also shines on the ever-developing relationship between Mariner and Commander Jack Ransom, with the Lower Decker slowly learning to trust in the good intentions of superior officers. Following a recent promotion to Lieutenant Junior Grade at the end of the previous episode, Mariner overhears Ransom and Security Chief Shaxs (Fred Tatasciore) and assumes a plan to demote her back to Ensign. Devising a series of unprofessional behaviors, Mariner schemes to ‘earn’ the demotion but ultimately learns to accept her new role instead.

4 Star Trek: Lower Decks, Season 1, Episode 9

“Crisis Point”

Beckett Mariner leans in hard to her darker, chaotic streak in this episode, taking over Boimler’s questionable holodeck interview-practice program to create an epic movie-esque scenario and casting herself as Captain Freeman’s violent and vengeful arch-villain Vindicta. Even with Mariner’s worst behaviors a matter of record over Star Trek: Lower Decks’ first season, Mariner’s uncomfortable friends still separately begin to question her actions and choices. It’s an exciting, informative contrast to Mariner’s usual chaotic-good bent in other episodes. Though the experience overall did not have any significant or lasting impact on her overall persona, Mariner did achieve several critical personal realizations.

3 Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, Season 2, Episode 7

“Those Old Scientists”

Directed by Star Trek icon Jonathan Frakes, Lower Decks’ crossover episode with Star Trek: Strange New Worlds sees Ensigns Beckett Mariner and Brad Boimler travel back in time through a portal to the USS Enterprise of the 23rd century. Tawny Newsome delivers a strong performance as a live-action Mariner, effortlessly balancing the chaotic hijinks and energy of the character in zany and amusing settings alongside private, poignant moments with Ensign Nyota Uhura (Celia Rose Gooding) and Captain Chrisotpher Pike (Anson Mount). It’s a significant episode for Beckett Mariner, in both animated and live-action formats, showcasing a range of emotional depth and maturity.

2 Star Trek: Lower Decks, Season 4, Episode 9

“The Inner Fight”

In this vital and significant episode, Beckett Mariner struggles with emotional angst, not unnoticed by her friends and crewmates, who have become concerned with her increasingly reckless behavior. After a fight with Klingon warrior Ma’ah (Jon Curry) is cut short by a knife-esque ice shower, it’s revealed that while at Starfleet Academy, Mariner used to be friends with Bajoran Ensign Sito Jaxa (Shannon Fill) from Star Trek: The Next Generation. Her connection to disgraced person-of-interest Nick Locarno (Robert Duncan McNeill) and Wesley Crusher (Wil Wheaton) is also revealed. Jaxa’s subsequent death greatly affected Mariner, pushing her to sabotage any chances of career progression in an attempt to protect the people under her command.

1 Star Trek: Lower Decks, Season 4, Episode 10

“Old Friends, New Planets”

In the high-octane and action-packed Star Trek: Lower Decks season 4 finale, Lt. Beckett Mariner works to save the galaxy from disgraced former Starfleet Cadet Nick Locarno’s evil schemes. Alongside the Nova Fleet, named for the elite Academy-based Nova Squadron as seen in Star Trek: The Next Generation season 5, episode 19, “The First Duty,” Locarno planned to use a stolen Ferengi Genesis Device to establish power over the galaxy. Escaping her captivity with the Device and working in tandem with the USS Cerritos crew, Mariner maintains strength and moral courage while simultaneously confronting – and potentially overcoming – difficult but formative moments in her past.

Beckett Mariner is an intelligent, complex, private, fast-talking, and pure-hearted Lower Decker who cares very much about people and genuinely believes in Starfleet’s peaceful mission. Despite her impressive range of skills borne from a diverse pattern of experiences, a complicated relationship with her parents and a pattern of reckless insubordination have led to a comfort zone career in a stagnant spiral. On the USS Cerritos, she has found a safe place, a family, and a home and can finally start pushing for more. Beckett Mariner is a committed friend, daughter, and crew member who will stop at nothing to help others and do good things.

Star Trek: Lower Decks season 4 is available to stream on Paramount+.