Summary
- Tawny Newsome reveals how long she knew that Lt. Beckett Mariner was friends with Ensign Sito Jaxa.
- Mariner idolized Sito, who died in the line of duty in TNG season 7. This connection deeply affected Mariner's behavior and motivations.
- Mariner's breakthrough in Lower Decks season 4 shows her risking her life to stop Sito's teammate, Nicholas Locarno, and reveals her innate heroism and character development.
Star Trek: Lower Decks season 4 revealed Lieutenant Beckett Mariner's connection to Star Trek: The Next Generation and Tawny Newsome reveals when she learned about Beckett's backstory and friendship with Ensign Sito Jaxa (Shannon Fill). Mariner is intimately linked to the TNG episodes "The First Duty" and "Lower Decks," the inspiration for Star Trek: Lower Decks. When Beckett attended Starfleet Academy in 2368, she was friends with the ill-fated Nova Squadron, and Mariner idolized Sito Jaxa, who died in the line of duty in Star Trek: The Next Generation season 7.
Tawny Newsome exclusively told Screen Rant when she learned about Mariner's connection to Star Trek: The Next Generation's Ensign Sito from Star Trek: Lower Decks showrunner Mike McMahan. Tawny actually knew about Mariner's backstory before Lower Decks season 4, and the TNG links made her "nerd heart swell." Check out her quote below:
I think Mike [McMahan] told me that that was his long game plan way back in… probably when season 2 was airing and they were writing season 3. He was like, "I know what I'm going to do. I'm going to tie this all back to the "Lower Decks" episode of TNG." And I was like, "Oh my God, that's so smart." I did not know about the Locarno of it. I think I learned that when I read the season 4 scripts and saw how he did it. But I, as a fan, love anytime he ties Mariner into these iconic moments and episodes throughout canon. So seeing Mariner in the preamble to "The First Duty," the fact that Mariner is in the scene where canonically, that's the first time we see or meet Josh, the freaking guy who died! That stuff makes my nerd heart just swell. I'm like "Oh my god, she was there the first time we see Josh!"
