How Star Trek: Lower Decks' Mariner Became My New Favorite Character

Summary Lieutenant Beckett Mariner is a complex character in Star Trek: Lower Decks, with a rebellious persona that hides her true potential and caring nature.

Mariner's self-sabotage stems from traumatic Star Trek history and her fear of failure, but her journey towards self-acceptance and growth mirrors humanity's journey in the franchise.

Mariner's character arc resonates with those who struggle with self-doubt and impostor syndrome, showing that embracing one's true self is the key to unlocking potential and success.

Throughout Star Trek: Lower Decks's 4 seasons, Lieutenant Beckett Mariner (Tawny Newsome) has become my new favorite character. Born sometime in the late 2340s to Starfleet officers Captain Carol Freeman (Dawnn Lewis) and Admiral Alonzo Freeman (Phil LaMarr), Beckett Mariner has Starfleet in her blood. At Starfleet Academy, Mariner drops her parents' surname (presumably to be judged on her own merit), befriends Nova Squadron's Cadet Sito Jaxa (Shannon Fill), and excels as a student, eager to learn and succeed. In Star Trek: Lower Decks, however, Mariner is still an Ensign in her thirties; she brazenly disrespects authority, breaks "stupid" rules, and intentionally holds herself back.

Star Trek: Lower Decks' characters are surprisingly complex for an animated comedy, and Mariner stands out as particularly fascinating and deeply relatable to me. At first, Beckett Mariner seems careless and selfish, ready to ignore the chain of command and blow off responsibilities that aren't exciting or fun. Beneath the thrill-seeking and fast-talking, though, Mariner is armed with a hyper focus on historical knowledge that would win any Star Trek trivia night, which she uses to become a self-styled mentor to fellow lower deckers like Brad Boimler (Jack Quaid). There's a lot more to Beckett Mariner than what's on the surface, and every layer matters.

Related Star Trek: Lower Decks Season 5 - Cast, Story & Everything We Know Great news: Star Trek: Lower Decks is coming back for season 5. Bad news: It's the final season of Lower Decks on Paramount+.

Mariner Really Cares About Starfleet (And What Other People Think)

Mariner Is Protected From Success By A Carefully Crafted Rebel Persona

Close

Paradoxically, Lt. Beckett Mariner's outward cool-girl persona proves that Mariner really cares about Starfleet and about what other people think of her. Mariner's projected identity of a slacker ensign who "loves the brig" and revels in defying authority protects Beckett from getting too close to people, even when Mariner really wants real connections. Ensign Jennifer Sh'reyan (Lauren Lapkus) finds rebellious Mariner attractive, but Jennifer's attraction is disingenuous. Add Mariner's own negative self-image, and Mariner and Jennifer's romantic relationship in Star Trek: Lower Decks season 3 easily implodes. Mariner learns that real friendships come from Mariner being her real self, and that's hard for someone so used to masking their truth.

Mariner's rebel persona also lets Beckett believe she's more useful as an ensign who can secretly use Starfleet resources to help the less fortunate, like providing (stolen) farming equipment in Star Trek: Lower Decks' premiere, "Second Contact". Easier to ask for forgiveness than permission, right?

Mariner's career matters so much that Beckett would rather fail on her own terms than actually try being an excellent Starfleet officer and wind up being terrible at it. In Star Trek: Lower Decks season 1, episode 7, "Much Ado About Boimler", one of Mariner's old Academy friends, Captain Amina Ramsey (Toks Olagundoye), points out that Mariner should have been made Captain by now. Mariner responds with repeated mistakes, as if to prove that Ramsey is wrong to believe in Beckett at all. It's easier for Mariner to ruin her career on purpose than actually live up to the pressure of potential, especially when command-level mistakes can cost lives.

There's A Relatable Reason For Mariner's Self-Sabotage

Mariner's Trauma Comes From Star Trek History

Close

The reason for Beckett Mariner's ongoing self-sabotage clicks into place in Star Trek: Lower Decks season 4, episode 9, "The Inner Fight". Trapped in a cave with Klingon lower decker turned Captain Ma'ah (Jon Curry), Mariner explains that the death of her Academy friend, Ensign Sito Jaxa, showed Mariner that being a Starfleet captain actually means sending people to their graves. Mariner sabotages her Starfleet career to keep her conscience clear, but that triggers a spiral of guilt and shame that makes Beckett believe she doesn't actually deserve success. Someone capbable of being a great Starfleet captain wouldn't self-sabotage, right? But there's more to it than that.

Because Star Trek: Lower Decks is acutely aware of Star Trek history, Mariner is intentionally shaped by multiple significant events in Star Trek. The Battle of Wolf 359 happened when Beckett was a teenager with two Starfleet parents who would have been in danger from a very real Borg threat. Mariner lost Sito, then graduated from Starfleet Academy right before being thrust into the Dominion War —on Deep Space Nine, no less. Realistically, these are huge, traumatic events that Mariner didn't expect to deal with as a Starfleet officer, so Mariner belligerently sabotages her own life to keep herself from growing and advancing, with Fight and Freeze trauma responses.

Year Mariner's Life Events Star Trek Historical Events Late 2340s Beckett Mariner born (likely) 2367 Wolf 359 2368–2371 Attends Starfleet Academy 2372–2375 Serves on Deep Space Nine (at some point) Dominion War 2376–2378 Serves on USS Quito USS Voyager returns (2378) 2379–2381 Serves on USS Cerritos Star Trek: Nemesis (2379)

Mariner's Journey is Humanity's Star Trek Journey

Beckett Mariner is Screwed Up, But That's Okay

Close

Beckett Mariner's character arc in Star Trek: Lower Decks echoes humanity's journey in Star Trek. Humans in Star Trek nearly annihilated themselves before we helped form the United Federation of Planets. Connection and cooperation helped to dig humanity out of the pit we threw ourselves into in Star Trek's history, and it's no different for Mariner. Mariner's friends and family all believe in Beckett, even when she can't. Commander Jack Ransom (Jerry O'Connell) sees Mariner's true potential, so Ransom won't let Mariner demote herself through self-sabotage. Mariner doesn't have to believe she's worthy of friendship, love, and success in order to actually deserve those things.

I'm a former "gifted kid" diagnosed with ADHD as an adult, so Beckett Mariner's elusive potential and ADHD-coding matters to me. Mariner's self-sabotage, impostor syndrome, and fear of intimacy might as well be my own. Like Mariner, I've hidden behind a facade of bravado and ever-shifting hyperfocus. Mariner's self-acceptance and growth towards enlightenment isn't automatic or easy, and Beckett Mariner's arc in Star Trek: Lower Decks shows how even those of us who beat ourselves up over perceived shortcomings are capable of amazing things when we drop our masks and embrace who we are, instead of who we think we're supposed to be.