WARNING: Contains SPOILERS for Star Trek: Lower Decks, season 4, episode 9, "The Inner Fight."
Summary
- Star Trek: Lower Decks hints at the possibility of bringing back TNG's Sito Jaxa, raising the question of whether her death was as it appeared.
- Mariner's connection to TNG goes deeper when she is kidnapped by disgraced Starfleet cadet Nick Locarno, with whom Sito Jaxa was associated.
- Previous attempts were made to resurrect Sito Jaxa in Star Trek: The Next Generation and Deep Space Nine, but now Lower Decks could finally make it happen. #StarTrek
Star Trek: Lower Decks may have laid the groundwork for one of Star Trek: The Next Generation's most tragic characters to return from the dead. Mike McMahan's animated Star Trek comedy has always been inspired by his favourite TNG episode "Lower Decks", and the season 4 finale looks set to make those connections more pronounced in Star Trek continuity. During a surprise heart-to-heart with Klingon Warrior Ma'ah (Jon Curry), Lieutenant junior grade Beckett Mariner (Tawny Newsome) revealed that she was friends with one of TNG's original Lower Deckers, Ensign Sito Jaxa (Shannon Fill).
Mariner's links to Star Trek: The Next Generation go further than this when she is later kidnapped by TNG's disgraced Starfleet Academy dropout Nick Locarno (Robert Duncan McNeill). Locarno and Sito were part of Starfleet Academy's Nova Squadron, and conspired to cover up a fatal accident to protect their prospective careers. After Nick was drummed out of the Academy, Sito was determined to redeem herself in the eyes of Starfleet. Sito's quest for redemption ended tragically when she was apparently murdered by the Cardassians during a covert intelligence mission. However, the return of Nick Locarno, and Mariner's memories of Sito Jaxa could be an attempt to prepare the audience for her surprise resurrection.
