It’s a bad time to belong to one of Star Trek‘s most iconic species. Since its inception in the 1960s, alien races have been integral to the Star Trek formula. It’s difficult to seek out new life and new civilizations if no new civilizations actually exist, but fortunately, each era of Star Trek has proved adept at debuting fascinating new planets and cultures.
Star Trek: The Original Series set the tone with Vulcans, Romulans, Klingons, Orions, and many more. Later shows would contribute their own iconic species, with highlights including the Borg, Betazoids, Bajorans, and even some beginning with other letters. Star Trek‘s modern era continues in that vein, with Star Trek: Discovery‘s Kelpiens and Prodigy‘s Brikar (there’s another one!) but since 2009, the franchise has been decimating species as quickly as it’s adding new ones.
Star Trek: Starfleet Academy Just Brought The Klingons To Near-Extinction
Klingons have been suspiciously quiet in Star Trek‘s recent releases, and especially during the 32nd century. Star Trek: Discovery‘s latter seasons made little mention of the galaxy’s most honorable warriors, leaving fans to ponder their fate after the Burn.
Star Trek: Starfleet Academy episode 4 provides a timely update, revealing that the Burn effectively destroyed the Klingon home world of Qo’noS. The Burn’s primary effect was turning dilithium inert, which ignited the Klingon planet’s reactors and resulted in a cataclysm that killed a huge number of inhabitants. By the era of Starfleet Academy, the remaining Klingons have become nomadic and disparate, with the remaining houses living in small camps and moving from place to place.
Starfleet Academy leaves no doubt that, as their numbers continue to dwindle and their strength continues to wane, the Klingons are facing extinction as a species. Indeed, Jay-Den Kraag is apparently the lone Klingon cadet currently enrolled in the academy.
This Isn’t The First Time Star Trek Has Decimated An Iconic Species
The destruction of Qo’noS is part of an ongoing pattern with Star Trek and its long-tenured alien species, with writers and producers apparently causing a Burn of their own.
It started shortly prior to Star Trek‘s 2009 reboot movie when a massive supernova destroyed Romulus, despite the best efforts of Ambassador Spock and Admiral Jean-Luc Picard. The Federation had initially planned to evacuate the planet before its destruction, but an attack secretly orchestrated by the Zhat Vash cabal put paid to that idea, leaving many still on Romulus when the supernova hit. The species would, of course, survive, but by the 32nd century, they are few enough in number to relocate onto Vulcan.
Speaking of Vulcans, they too felt the sharp end of Star Trek‘s axe. As a consequence of Romulus’ destruction, the vengeful Romulan Nero traveled back in time, to what is now known as the Kelvin timeline. There, he was responsible for a string of attacks on the Federation, including the total destruction of the Kelvin timeline’s planet Vulcan. A vast number of Vulcans died in that assault, Spock’s mother included, and the species was officially listed as endangered.
Alongside the Klingons, Vulcans, and Romulans, the fourth household-name Star Trek species would be the Borg, and not even they were safe. Back in Star Trek: Voyager, Admiral Janeway hit the Borg with a neurolytic pathogen as a means of defeating the Borg Queen and getting Voyager back into the Alpha Quadrant. It was later revealed by Star Trek: Picard that Janeway’s plan was more successful than even she realized, and the pathogen had essentially wiped out much of the Borg collective.
A single Borg cube with a single Borg Queen remained, but Jean-Luc Picard and his crew mopped up the remains in Star Trek: Picard‘s season 3 finale, blowing up the final cube and seemingly ending the Borg collective for good. There has been no sign of the pale cyborgs in Star Trek‘s 32nd century.
The Pros & Cons Of Star Trek Destroying Its Most Famous Species
The main advantage of Star Trek‘s campaign to wipe out its most recognizable alien species is that the survivors become a bigger deal. Romulus’ destruction created an anger so strong it fueled storylines for both the 2009 J.J. Abrams movie and the first season of Star Trek: Picard. And after Starfleet Academy, both Jay-Den Kraag and any future Klingons will feel all the more special because they’re among the last of their kind.
Likewise, if the Borg ever show up again, it’ll be a major Star Trek event because they were supposed to have been wiped out.
But there are two big disadvantages too. Most obviously, the trope risks getting repetitive. There are only so many times Star Trek can make an alien species almost extinct without diminishing narrative returns. Secondly, the rarer Vulcans, Romulans, Klingons, and Borg become, the smaller Star Trek‘s fictional galaxy begins to feel.
Part of Star Trek‘s appeal has always been its interplanetary society – the vast collection of cultures and species mingling and interacting. As major races like the Klingons become less prevalent and less powerful, that foundational element of Star Trek‘s DNA begins to slip.
- Created by
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Gene Roddenberry
- First Episode Air Date
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September 8, 1966
- Cast
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William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, George Takei, Nichelle Nichols, Deforest Kelley, James Doohan, Walter Koenig, Jonathan Frakes, Patrick Stewart, Michael Dorn, Marina Sirtis, Gates McFadden, Brent Spiner, LeVar Burton, Wil Wheaton, Avery Brooks, Nana Visitor, Rene Auberjonois, Alexander Siddig, Cirroc Lofton, Armin Shimerman, Colm Meaney, Terry Farrell, Kate Mulgrew, Robert Beltran, Roxann Dawson, Jeri Ryan, Robert Duncan McNeill, Robert Picardo, Ethan Phillips, Garrett Wang, Jolene Blalock, Connor Trinneer, Dominic Keating, Scott Bakula, Linda Park, John Billingsley, Anthony Montgomery, Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Simon Pegg, Zoe Saldana, Karl Urban, John Cho, Chris Hemsworth, Benedict Cumberbatch, Anton Yelchin, Idris Elba, Sonequa Martin-Green, Mary Wiseman, Doug Jones, Anthony Rapp, Wilson Cruz, Oyin Oladejo, Emily Coutts, Jess Bush, Christina Chong, Anson Mount, Ethan Peck, Rebecca Romijn, Michelle Yeoh
- TV Show(s)
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Star Trek: The Original Series, Star Trek: The Animated Series, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Star Trek: Voyager, Star Trek: Enterprise, Star Trek: Discovery, Star Trek: Short Treks, Star Trek: Picard, Star Trek Lower Decks, Star Trek: Prodigy, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, Star Trek: Starfleet Academy
