Summary
For too long, Tom Paris (Robert Duncan McNeill) and B’Elanna Torres (Roxann Dawson) wereStar Trek’s only successful romance, but I’m glad that’s no longer the case. As a long-timeStar Trekfan, I’m well-versed in both the franchise’s older and newer shows and the differences between them. I began my obsession withStar Trek: The Original Seriesand quickly moved on toStar Trek: The Next Generation,Deep Space Nine, andVoyagerafter I had devouredTOS.What draws me toallStar TrekTV showsis the excellent characters and the relationships between them, whether that’s friendship or romance.
Although primarily a science fiction franchise,Star Trekis no stranger to romantic subplots. Captain Kirk (William Shatner) was notorious for his flings duringTOS’s run, butas the series got longer and more complex, more in-depth exploration of character relationships began to take place.EveryStar TrekTV show from the 1990sand early 2000s explored some epic romances during their run, from Will Riker (Jonathan Frakes) and Deanna Troi (Marina Sirtis) onTNGto Trip Tucker (Connor Trinneer) and T’Pol (Jolene Blalock) onEnterprise. However, aside fromVoyager, almost all these relationships had one thing in common.
The Complete Star Trek Timeline Explained
Star Trek’s timeline spans a thousand years of Starfleet and the United Federation of Planets, with alternate realities and time travel galore.
Voyager’s Tom And B’Elanna Used To Be The Only Star Trek Romance That Didn’t End Tragically
Except for Tom and B’Elanna,I can’t think of a singleStar Trekromance from the franchise’s classic era that wasn’t either unrequited or didn’t end tragically.DS9was the worst offender in this regard, with essentiallyall of DS9’s love stories and romancesdissolving in the series finale. However,TNGandEnterprisefell victim to it too. You may think that Riker and Troi would be another exception to this rule given how their relationship turned out later in the franchise, but duringTNG’s run itself, the couple were as on-again-off-again as any pairing in the series.
I love Tom and B’Elanna as a couple, but despite how satisfying their story arc was, it used to make me genuinely sad that they weren’t in better company withStar Trek’s other great romances.
AlthoughVoyagerdidn’t have success with other romances, Tom and B’Elanna were the only exceptions toStar Trek’s aversion to happy endings during this era. Their romance was chronicled very realistically and satisfactorily duringVoyager’s run, showing their evolution from being at odds with each other to realizing their feelings, and culminating in them getting married and having a baby byVoyager’s seventh season. I love Tom and B’Elanna as a couple, butdespite how satisfying their story arc was, it used to make me genuinely sad that they weren’t in better company withStar Trek’s other great romances.
Modern Star Trek Has Made Successful Romance More Important
Love is on full display in the recent Star Trek series
Luckily,the modernStar Trekera has put more emphasis on successful relationships in general, creating some wonderfully stable couples in recent projects. As I mentioned already, Riker and Troi are a great example of this, as thanks toStar Trek: Picard, the franchise has established that their relationship is stronger than ever, even after enduring the death of a child. Likewise,Star Trek: Discoveryhas given us several beautiful, stable romantic relationships, including Paul Stamets (Anthony Rapp) and Hugh Culber (Wilson Cruz),Michale Burham (Sonequa Martin-Green)and Cleveland Booker (David Ajala), and Saru (Doug Jones) and T’Rina (Tara Rosling).
It’s been interesting to seeStar Trek’s shift towards more fulfilling depictions of romance. My theory is that it may have something to do with newStar Trek’s more serialized form of storytelling versus olderTrek’s episodic style.In serialized stories, character and romantic arcs are more prioritized, leading to a complete picture of a character’s life and relationships. Episodic storytelling doesn’t allow for this, which leads to a lot more one-off storylines or certain aspects of a character getting dropped from episode to episode. Whatever the reason, I think the romantic changes have been nice to see.
