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Largely forgotten moments from Star Trek that we'd like to see a conclusion to.
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00:00Star Trek has a habit of introducing some truly compelling plotlines that sadly end
00:05up getting forgotten about in order to move the main story along. Whether it's drama between the
00:11characters that gets immediately forgotten in the next episode, or discoveries that should have
00:16really altered life in the Federation, or even characters just being completely discarded,
00:22many of the entries on this list may well be resolved in future Trek shows.
00:27Given the number of references to Trek history and the return of old characters from shows like
00:33Lower Decks and Picard, though most, it's fair to say, will probably be left in obscurity.
00:39So with that in mind then, I'm Ellie with Trek Culture and here are the 10 Greatest
00:44Unspoken Star Trek Plot Points. Number 10 – The Fate of Paris and Janeway's Alien Children
00:51The infamous Voyager episode Threshold has a number of ridiculous, headache-inducing plot points,
00:59but perhaps the most outrageous comes at the end of the episode. Lieutenant Paris had just passed the
01:05warp 10 barrier using a new engine modification. Travelling at warp 10 is meant to be infinite
01:10velocity, a speed at which one would occupy every point in space simultaneously. However,
01:16his journey had the unfortunate side effect of mutating Paris into a half-human, half-lizard
01:22monster, apparently speeding up his evolution for some reason. Surprisingly, the scientific
01:27illiteracy of the episode isn't even the worst part. As Paris began to mutate, he kidnapped Janeway
01:33in a shuttlecraft and jumped to warp 10 again, this time mutating both him and Janeway. By the time
01:39Voyager found them on some alien planet, Paris and Janeway had turned completely into lizards and even
01:45mated. The crew found them as well as a number of baby-human-lizard hybrids and decided to take
01:50their captain and lieutenant back to reverse the process, but left the babies on the planet.
01:56Paris and Janeway's children were now left on some planet in the Delta Quadrant to fend for themselves
02:01and were never spoken about again, apart from the appearance of a similar lizard in the background
02:06of the Lower Decks episode Much Ado About Boimler. Number 9 – Guinan's History
02:12Guinan's history remained a shrouded mystery throughout Star Trek The Next Generation and
02:19the movie Star Trek Generations in which she appeared. We only know a few bits and pieces.
02:24We know that she belongs to a long-living alien species known as the Elorians, whose homeworld
02:29was destroyed by the Borg in the 23rd century. Guinan and her family were safe from this catastrophe due
02:35to being off-world. In fact, we see in the episode Times Arrow that Guinan was actually living on Earth
02:41as far back as the 19th century, far before first contact, hiding from her father. We also know that
02:48Guinan has some mysterious history with Q, who tells Picard that wherever she goes, trouble always follows.
02:55Q even claims that Guinan is not her real name and calls her an imp. We can only speculate on Guinan's
03:01history with Q, but surprisingly, Q almost seems somewhat afraid of her in the episode Q Who,
03:08which does make one wonder what could make such a supreme being afraid.
03:13Number 8 – The Equinox Crew Adapting to Life on Voyager
03:18One of the most interesting episodes of Voyager was Equinox, where the crew encounter another Starfleet
03:24vessel, the USS Equinox, that was pulled into the Delta Quadrant by the Caretaker just as they were.
03:29The Equinox was a much smaller ship than Voyager and thus suffered more from starvation and fatigue
03:34on their journey back to Earth. In order to survive, they decided to capture and drain alien lifeforms
03:40for power, causing Janeway to step in and correct things. In the ensuing battle, the Equinox was
03:45destroyed along with its captain, Captain Ransom, and most of the rest of the Equinox crew transported
03:51to Voyager to integrate into its crew. It would have been fascinating to see this hardened,
03:56traumatised crew integrate into life on Voyager after years of struggling to survive. Sadly though,
04:02after this episode, we don't get any sort of follow-up and are just left to assume that they
04:06integrated perfectly. But this is unfortunate though, because their struggle to adapt to normal
04:12life and their shame for exploiting aliens would have been some interesting themes to drive some
04:17drama on the ship. But this all seems to have happened off camera.
04:21Number 7. Picard's connection to the Borg Collective
04:25After being assimilated by the Borg in the Next Generation episode The Best of Both Worlds,
04:30Captain Picard was forever changed, even after having the cybernetic parts removed and his body healed.
04:37As we see multiple times in Star Trek VIII First Contact, Picard was sometimes able to hear faint
04:43whisperings of the Collective when he was near them. This was how he was able to target the correct
04:48spot on the Borg Cube to destroy it. The fear of intruding Borg voices was a terrifying reality
04:53that Picard had to live with every day. Picard barely got any time to cope with his trauma at
04:57the hands of the Borg, and shortly after rejoined the Enterprise D with most of his recovery happening
05:02off camera. In Star Trek Picard, we finally get to witness Jean-Luc moving past his fear of the Borg a bit,
05:09but it will surely always haunt him. Still, the idea that at any time Picard could be telepathically
05:15invaded by Borg voices is horrifying. But it is probably safe to assume that the Borg technology
05:21in his brain was completely removed after the events of the Star Trek Picard season 1 finale.
05:27Number 6. The Fight for Freedom for Sentient Artificial Intelligence
05:32The iconic Next Generation episode The Measure of a Man portrays a legal battle where data must prove that
05:39he, as a machine, is sentient and not merely the property of Starfleet. The writing in this episode
05:46is incredible, and both sides make some interesting points, but in the end data is victorious and given
05:52the right to free choice. Sadly, this was only done on an individual basis with data specifically in mind.
05:58In the Voyager episode Author Author, we see that discrimination against sentient artificial
06:03life forms is still very much prevalent when a holonovel publisher attempts to steal the
06:08holographic Doctor's story that he programmed and wrote on the grounds that it was not created by a
06:13person and thus no one can own it. Though the Doctor eventually wins his case, just as with data,
06:19the same cannot be said for all the EMH Mark I's, the same model as the Doctor, who were discontinued
06:25from their starships and forced to work in the mines, as we see in the end of the previously mentioned
06:30episode. One has to wonder how many AI life forms are being taken advantage of throughout the Federation.
06:38Number 5. Tuvok and Chakotay's Conflict
06:41One largely forgotten storyline from Voyager is Tuvok's betrayal of Chakotay. Prior to being lost
06:47in the Delta Quadrant with the Voyager crew, Chakotay, Bellana and the other former Marquis were
06:52serving aboard the Valjean, a Marquis raider that Voyager was pursuing for crimes against the
06:57Federation and the Cardassians. Many forget that Tuvok was aboard the Valjean for quite some time
07:02on an undercover infiltration mission to gather intelligence about the Marquis and eventually
07:07turn the Valjean crew over to Federation authorities. When Chakotay learned of this
07:12deception in the pilot episode Caretaker, he was initially frustrated, but quickly regained
07:17his composure when he learned how serious their situation was. The conflict of these two resolving
07:23their issues would have been interesting to see, but after the pilot Chakotay seems to have moved
07:28on entirely, perhaps content with the position that Janeway gave him as First Officer, a position that
07:34Tuvok expressed initial distaste for in the episode Twisted. Chakotay seemed satisfied with the fact
07:40that he was given the role over Tuvok, despite him being the obvious next in line. Still, it would
07:45have been nice to see these two resolve their past more on screen. Number 4. The Discovery of a Dyson Sphere
07:52In the Next Generation episode Relics, the crew of the Enterprise D encounters something truly
07:58breathtaking. An abandoned, or seemingly abandoned, Dyson Sphere. A Dyson Sphere is a theoretical
08:04megastructure sphere that would surround an entire star. The inside of the sphere would be liveable
08:09land just far enough away from the star to get perfect sunlight at all times, possibly allowing it
08:15to harness the entire energy output of the star. Starfleet, the Klingons, the Vulcans and even the Borg have
08:21never been able to create megastructures this massive. Whoever created the sphere was likely
08:27more powerful than any known empire in the galaxy, rivaled perhaps only by the queue. It's a shame that
08:33we never get to see any further research done on the Dyson Sphere. I mean, it's likely that Starfleet
08:38classified its existence so that they could keep its insanely powerful technologies for themselves,
08:44but audiences were left wondering, who created it? How many planets were consumed just for the
08:49materials and are there any other massive structures hidden throughout the galaxy?
08:54Number 3. The Fates of the Many Humans Brought from the Past
08:59Throughout the history of Star Trek, a large number of humans have been brought from the past to the
09:0423rd and 24th centuries. Of course, there was the infamous Khan, but less well known were the
09:09cryogenically frozen crew from the Next Generation episode The Neutral Zone. They were all frozen in the
09:15late 20th century because they had incurable diseases that they hoped could be cured in the future when
09:21they woke. Luckily for the three survivors, they were right. The three visitors from the past were
09:26all wealthy individuals who were very shocked to learn about how much Earth has changed since the
09:311900s. Unfortunately, at the end of the episode, the three of them left the Enterprise and we never saw
09:37them again. But it would have been nice to see how well they adjusted to life in the 24th century.
09:42The same goes for Gillian Taylor, the marine biologist who was brought to the 23rd century
09:47in Star Trek IV The Voyage Home. She hopped aboard a science vessel to catch up with all the information
09:52she missed in the past few centuries and immediately got to work helping Starfleet with its new whale
09:58operations. But again, we never get to see much of her reaction to Starfleet or the future in general.
10:04Number 2. Lieutenant O'Connor's Ascension
10:06In the Lower Decks episode Moist Vessel, Lieutenant O'Connor invites a few crewmates over to watch the
10:12conclusion of his spiritual ascension. According to O'Connor, through years of meditation and ritual,
10:19one can become a higher form of life and transcend the limitations of humanity.
10:24Tendi accidentally destroyed his sand mandala that was supposedly meant to lead to his ascension,
10:30causing him to spiral into depression before finally admitting to Tendi that his ascension was
10:35all fake, merely a way to make O'Connor stand out and seem interesting. Crazily though, this admission,
10:41coupled with the pride of saving Tendi from a ship-wide disaster, was apparently enough to
10:45conclude the rituals O'Connor was working on, and he began to ascend right before Tendi's eyes.
10:51Unfortunately for O'Connor, this wasn't a very pleasant experience. His skin was burning as he
10:56floated into the air and began glowing from his eyes, transforming into a being of pure energy.
11:02He cried out in pain, overwhelmed from the terror he felt from witnessing
11:07all of creation at once. Then, right as he was about to reveal the meaning of life, he disappeared.
11:12Despite spiritual ascension now being a proven fact, we never get to see the end result of it.
11:19Is O'Connor still out there, somewhere in the cosmos, watching over the crew?
11:23And what are the origins of this mysterious spirituality? And how did O'Connor come to learn of it?
11:29Number 1. The switch to cleaner warp travel
11:32In a parody of the harmful effects of fossil fuels, the Next Generation episode Force of Nature
11:39introduced us to a Hikaran scientist who proved definitively that warp travel was slowly damaging
11:45the fabric of space, and that if nothing was done, warp travel would soon become impossible.
11:50Although initially, in the episode, the Federation imposed strict speed limits in their space to no
11:55higher than warp 5 and less in emergency, Starfleet seems to have somehow engineered a solution to the
12:01problem since then. Considering that these laws were never enforced on screen, and we routinely saw
12:06Starfleet ships exceed warp 5 whenever they pleased in Deep Space Nine. Many fans theorised that Voyager's
12:12folding nacelles were made to be a more eco-friendly form of warp travel, but this was never confirmed
12:18in canon, only suggested in an unreleased Star Trek Voyager technical guide. Because this guide was
12:24never published, it cannot be included in canon. And Voyager seems to be the only ship equipped with
12:29this ability. But then we are left wondering what Starfleet did since Force of Nature to seemingly
12:35fix the problem. Did they merely just cover it up? Either way, these would make for some interesting plot lines.
12:43And that concludes our list. If you can think of any other examples, then do let us know in the comments below.
12:48And don't forget to like and subscribe and tap that notification bell. Also head over to Twitter and follow us there,
12:54and I can be found across various social medias just by searching Ellie Littlechild.
12:58I've been Ellie with Trek Culture. I hope you have a wonderful day, and remember to boldly go where no one has gone before.
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