Star Trek’s Boimler Clone Is Better Than Riker’s Doppelganger Ever Was

Warning: SPOILERS For Star Trek: Lower Decks' Series Finale - "The New Next Generation"

The transporter clone of Lt. Brad Boimler (Jack Quaid) in Star Trek: Lower Decks surpassed the clone of Star Trek: The Next Generation's Commander William Riker (Jonathan Frakes). Brad's clone, Captain William Boimler, was the result of a transporter accident in Lower Decks season 2, soon after Brad transferred to the USS Titan. While Brad returned to the USS Cerritos, William remained on the Titan. Before long, however, Section 31 faked William's death and recruited him to their shadowy Starfleet Intelligence organization. This was the last viewers saw of William until his return in Star Trek: Lower Decks season 5.

Lt. Thomas Riker was discovered in Star Trek: The Next Generation season 6, episode 24, "Second Chances," after the USS Enterprise-D visited Nervala IV. Thomas had been stranded on the planet for eight years after a transporter malfunction, and he and Commander Will Riker immediately clashed. Thomas decided to leave the Enterprise and joined the crew of the USS Gandhi. His Starfleet career was short-lived, however. Thomas' one appearance in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine revealed that he had defected to the rebel group known as the Maquis. He then stole the USS Defiant and was later sentenced to life imprisonment in a Cardassian labor camp.

Star Trek: Lower Decks’ Captain William Boimler Is Better Than Riker’s Clone Ever Was

William Boimler's Accomplishments Far Exceed Thomas Riker's

As seen in the penultimate episode of Star Trek: Lower Decks season 5, William Boimler's career has already exceeded that of Thomas Riker. After being recruited by Section 31, William quickly rose through the ranks to become a captain. He was then given command of the Defiant Class starship Anaximander and put in charge of a vital mission to investigate strange quantum fissures that had been popping up throughout the galaxy. With his crew of "interdimensional castaways," Boimler discovered the true culprit behind the creation of the rifts and ultimately helped save the multiverse.

Despite being involved with the notoriously shady Section 31, Captain Boimler genuinely cares about his crew and their mission. When Boimler discovered that an alternate universe Captain Lily Sloane (Alfre Woodard) had inadvertently been causing the rifts, he immediately realized that she and her crew were "just a different type of Federation." Unlike Thomas Riker, William still believed in Starfleet's mission, and he had complete faith in the USS Cerritos and its crew. In a short amount of time, William Boimler achieved far more than Thomas Riker ever did, up to and including, saving the entire multiverse.

William Boimler Became The Star Trek Captain Brad Boimler Is Still Waiting To Be

William Boimler Made It To The Captain's Chair Before Brad Boimler

William Boimler rose to the rank of Captain quickly, achieving something Brad Boimler has long been working toward. Bradward Boimler began Star Trek: Lower Decks as an ensign, and he has come a long way since his earliest days on the show. While Brad remains a lieutenant junior grade, he has become a much more skilled and confident officer. Until Brad received a message from William, he believed his transporter clone to be dead. Upon learning of William's survival, Brad was too preoccupied with the impending destruction of the universe to compare their career paths.

By the end of Star Trek: Lower Decks' series finale, Lt. Boimler seems genuinely happy with his place among the Cerritos crew. That is, until the newly promoted Captain Jack Ransom (Jerry O'Connell), decides to make both Lieutenants Boimler and Beckett Mariner (Tawny Newsome) provisional co-First Officers. Boimler is more worried about this competitive position messing up his friendship with Mariner than he is about becoming captain. Like many of Star Trek: Lower Decks' characters, Brad Boimler has found his home on the Cerritos and, by all accounts, seems poised to make a fantastic Starfleet captain one day.