Warning: SPOILERS for Star Trek: Lower Decks Season 4 Finale – "Old Friends, New Planets"
Summary
- Wesley Crusher's character is somewhat redeemed in the season 4 finale of Star Trek: Lower Decks, as it shows him raising concerns about a dangerous maneuver despite being ignored.
- The decision to bring back Nicholas Locarno but not Sito Jaxa in the finale was intentional, as resurrecting Sito would undermine the impact of her death and the character development of Lt. Beckett Mariner.
- Lower Decks offers fans the opportunity to see the characters of Sito, Locarno, and Nova Squadron before they made the fateful mistake that shaped their futures, while also emphasizing Wesley Crusher's knowledge of the right choice despite making the wrong one in "The First Duty."
Star Trek: Lower Decks season 4's finale flashes back to just before Wesley Crusher (Wil Wheaton) made his biggest mistake at Starfleet Academy in Star Trek: The Next Generation, and it offers a bit of redemption for Wes. The main story of Lower Decks' season 4 ender sees Lieutenant Beckett Mariner (Tawny Newsome) stop her disgraced former Starfleet Academy classmate, Nicholas Locarno (Robert Duncan McNeill), from threatening the United Federation of Planets with a stolen Ferengi Genesis Device. But "Old Friends, New Planets" starts with a cold open that flashes back to more idyllic times at Starfleet for everyone, including Wesley Crusher.
When Star Trek: The Next Generation started, Wesley Crusher was a boy genius who often intuited the solution to crises, irritating Captain Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) and the audience. But Picard did grow fond of Wesley, promoting young Crusher to Acting Ensign and sponsoring his application to Starfleet Academy. Unfortunately, Wesley didn't succeed at the Academy as Picard and his mother, Dr. Beverly Crusher (Gates McFadden) hoped. Wesley, a part of the elite group dubbed Nova Squadron, participated in covering up the tragic, accidental death of his classmate, Joshua Albert. After the group came clean, Nick Locarno took full blame and was expelled, while Wesley and the others had their academic year stricken.
Near the end of Star Trek: The Next Generation, Wesley left Starfleet entirely to pursue his true destiny as one of the Travelers.
