Star Trek: Lower Decks season 4 didn’t check up on Boimler’s transporter clone, William, who was last seen joining Section 31.
Warning: SPOILERS for Star Trek: Lower Decks Season 4 Finale – “Old Friends, New Planets”
Summary
- Lt. Brad Boimler’s transporter clone, Lt. William Boimler, was absent from Lower Decks season 4, leaving his story unfinished.
- Lower Decks season 4 focused on other characters, such as Lt. Beckett Mariner and Lt. D’Vana Tendi, leaving little information about William Boimler.
- William Boimler’s last scene suggests he may join Section 31 and become an evil version of himself, potentially leading to future storylines in season 5 or other Star Trek projects.
The transporter clone of Lt. Brad Boimler (Jack Quaid) was noticeably absent from Star Trek: Lower Decks season 4. Bradward’s clone, Lt. William Boimler, was created in Lower Decks season 2, episode 2, “Kayshon, His Eyes Open,” while Boimler was stationed on the USS Titan under the command of Captain William Riker (Jonathan Frakes). Captain Riker knows all about transporter clones, as his clone, Thomas Riker was created by a transporter accident in Star Trek: The Next Generation and returned in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. Although William remains presumed dead by most of Starfleet, he was actually secretly recruited by the covert Starfleet Intelligence organization, Section 31.
In Star Trek: Lower Decks season 3, episode 8, “Crisis Point 2: Paradoxus,” then-Ensign Brad Boimler learned that his transporter clone had been killed by a gas leak. He spent the rest of the episode mourning his clone and questioning his own life’s purpose. Boimler’s fellow Lower Deckers helped him work through his grief, and he never learned that William’s death had been faked. The reveal that William joined Section 31 had the feeling of a cliffhanger that would be resolved later. The story of William Boimler remains unfinished, and Lower Decks season 4 ended with no new information about the missing transporter clone.
Brad’s Clone William Boimler Didn’t Appear In Star Trek: Lower Decks Season 4
Star Trek: Lower Decks season 4 emphasized Lt. Beckett Mariner (Tawny Newsome) by exploring her past and revealing the reason why she acted in a self-destructive fashion after her promotion to Lieutenant, junior grade. Between Mariner’s crisis and the nefarious plot of disgraced ex-Starfleet cadet Nick Locarno (Robert Duncan McNeill), Lower Decks season 4 had a lot going on. Boimler had memorable moments like leading his first away team mission and Mark Twaining with Lt. Sam Rutherford (Eugene Cordero), but the team behind Lower Decks didn’t follow up on season 3’s “death” and defection to Section 31 by William Boimler.
Lower Decks season 4 also heavily explored Lt. D’Vana Tendi (Noël Wells) and the Orion culture.
Boimler’s transporter clone joins a long list of Star Trek doppelgangers, only some of whom have any kind of significant storylines. Throughout its four seasons, Star Trek: Lower Decks has been dropping hints and bits of information about the main characters’ lives before the USS Cerritos. Considering the detail and often obscure references sprinkled throughout Lower Decks, the writers likely have a solid plan for the show’s future. His brief and somewhat ominous last scene is surely not the last we’ve seen of William Boimler.
What Is William Boimler’s Section 31 Future In Star Trek?
William Boimler’s last scene and the fact that William has joined Section 31 suggest that he may become an evil version of Boimler. Star Trek: Lower Decks loves playing with classic Trek tropes, and Star Trek does love an evil twin. Brad Boimler seems too enthusiastic and prone to over-sharing to be useful as a covert Section 31 agent, so William Boimler must have some significant differences. In his few appearances, he has already been shown to think differently and make different decisions than Brad. Lower Decks season 5 could shift the focus back to Brad Boimler and check in with his (potentially evil) transporter clone.
The Lower Decks crossover with Star Trek: Strange New Worlds set the precedent for the animated Lower Decks characters to appear in live-action Star Trek projects. This means that Jack Quaid could potentially reprise the role of William Boimler in the upcoming Star Trek: Section 31 movie, alongside Michelle Yeoh’s Emperor Philippa Georgiou. It would be fascinating (and undoubtedly fun) to see these two very different characters share screen time. Very little information has been revealed about the Section 31 movie, leaving the possibility for it to take place at any point in the Star Trek timeline, including at the same time as Star Trek: Lower Decks.
