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.
