‘Star Trek: Lower Decks’ Recap – ‘Crisis Point 2: Paradoxus’

Written by Shae Rufe

Caution: This article contains spoilers for Episode 308 of ‘Star Trek: Lower Decks’. To revisit the previous episode, click here.
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What is the meaning of life? It certainly isn’t cliff hangers because we can all agree those are the worst. Perhaps it is in sequels to beloved expositions. Such as ‘Crisis Point’. Only, instead of Mariner driving the show, it’s Boims’ turn. Things seem to be set up rather nicely. They’re fighting Romulans over a magical device that folds time, because Time Travel is a fun trope to explore. It’s all going well until Ransom calls Boimler away. When he returns, something’s off. He’s downtrodden and far from the chipper Ensign he was moments ago.

He deviates from the main plot of the story, leaving Rutherford and Tendi to handle that, while he explores an offshoot, searching for a new direction, something to help make life make sense. That’s when Mariner gets fed up and storms out, the two clearly in a fight. She goes off to have her eval with Ransom, only to find out that she’s surprisingly doing well. It’s there she finds out why Boimler is suddenly so angry and off. His clone William has died. She rushes back to the Holodeck to confront and comfort him.
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The movie is a mess, he’s not feeling himself and the struggle is really real. This is a first loss for him. But Mariner steps in and helps him finish his quest, which is to discover the meaning of life, and that leads them to meet a ‘God’ that should have all the answers at the end of his movie.

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But instead, Boims snaps and starts fighting the ‘God’ the computer made. In fairness, it was just spouting inspirational quotes that made no sense. Boims passes out and dreams that he’s on the Kirk Ranch, only he’s talking with Captain Sulu who teaches him that; loss is inevitable, and yet we cannot let it hold us back or define us. There are going to be people in life that we lose for various reasons. Death is always the hardest to accept, but it is a part of life. Which is very fitting, oddly. Death is our promise to life at birth and we often internalize that pain. It’s something we can’t let hold us back from living ourselves.

It’s a beautiful moment. Too bad for Boimler it ends with him waking up in sick bay. Maybe he was clinically dead for a time, but that’s not relevant. He’s okay now and feeling better. Tendi and Rutherford had a great time with the movie he wrote. Turns out, Tendi wants to be a Captain someday! She just needed a space where she could openly admit it. And Boims is processing the death of his clone William.

Too bad William isn’t actually dead. Sure, to Starfleet’s records he is. But really, he’s alive, and well, and now working for Section 31. I mean, they may be a secret, but those badges sure are neat!

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