Lower Decks: Brad Boimler's deference to Starfleet regulations may be his own undoing

Star Trek depicts a future where people truly can succeed through skill and hard work. It doesn't matter where you come from or who you know. If you're good at your job, you will be recognized for that. But that leads to a few questions: What constitutes being "good at your job", and in light of that, is Lower Decks' Brad Boimler good at his job?

Bradward "Brad" Boimler is the first character we hear in the first episode of Star Trek: Lower Decks. He is only an ensign, but he is pretending to record a captain's log. This establishes right off the bat that Boimler has dreams and aspirations to rise through the ranks of Starfleet and captain his own ship. We are then introduced to his relationship with Beckett Mariner.

To say that Boimler is more disciplined than Mariner is an understatement. He is neurotic about following rules, he is fastidious about his appearance, and he is always willing to kiss-up and defer to senior officers. While Mariner might yearn for freedom and autonomy, Boimler thrives in structure and clear expectations.

In effect, Mariner and Boimler—who are the two primary protagonists of Lower Decks—are examples of two different ways of dealing with insecurities. Mariner rebels against authority (and avoids promotion) because she doesn't trust these structures to give her a fulfilling life. By contrast, Boimler doesn't seem to trust his own ability to cultivate a fulfilling life, and thus defers to rules and authority.

In some ways, this tendency for Boimler makes him a perfect lower decker, because he's willing to just take work and do it. In the episode "Temporal Edict," Boimler embraces the stricter task schedule that has run his crewmates ragged, and even requests more work to fill his time. Boimler does not take his free time as an opportunity to pursue other interests or work on personal projects.

Boimler's attitude is that being so dedicated to his job is his path to the captain's chair. The problem, though, is that Starfleet captains are regularly shown as self-motivated individuals capable of independent, critical thought. They do not simply follow orders, and they have interests beyond Starfleet that inform how they make decisions.

Captain Picard reading old books or Captain Sisko watching and playing baseball are not just goofy quirks (though Lower Decks would undoubtedly portray them as such). They are facets that reveal their characters. Picard is thoughtful and articulate. Sisko is patient and observant. These are things that could reasonably be thought to flow out of their respective interests.

Brad Boimler, by contrast, is basically a fan of Starfleet. He's extremely intelligent and talented, but his passion for Starfleet and Starfleet alone actually makes his presence in Starfleet rather recursive. Boimler is more likely to ask for orders than to reflect on what he would do in a situation. As a result, he doesn't demonstrate the critical thinking and creative problem solving that Star Trek captains do.

Of course, Brad Boimler—like the other characters in Lower Decks—is a cartoon character, so his personality traits are exaggerated for the sake of comedy. Even so, he has a lot of development and learning to do beyond Starfleet regulations before he's ready to captain his own ship, I think. My hope is that Season 5 offers the now-Lieutenant (Junior Grade) Boimler this chance to grow.