Out of all the character deaths inStar Trek, there’s one that’s always made me go “WTF?” more than all the others. WhenStar Trekgets it right, killing off a beloved character is poignant and heartbreaking — after all, who among us hasn’t shed a tear at Spock’s (Leonard Nimoy) noble sacrifice at the end ofStar Trek II: The Wrath of Khan? ButStar Trekis also guilty of killing characters for pointless behind-the-scenes reasons, like Lieutenant Tasha Yar’s (Denise Crosby) death inStar Trek: The Next Generationor Lieutenant Commander Jadzia Dax’s (Terry Farrell) senseless murder inStar Trek: Deep Space Nine.
One of theworst series finales inStar Trekis that ofStar Trek: Enterprise, “These Are the Voyages,” which ended the 22nd-century adventures of Captain Jonathan Archer’s (Scott Bakula)NX-01 Enterprise crewin its fourth season. It’s framed as a Commander William Riker (Jonathan Frakes) holodeck adventure duringThe Next Generation, sothese aren’t even the real versions ofEnterprise’s characters.But I think the most mind-boggling part of theEnterprisefinale is the completely random death of Commander Trip Tucker (Connor Trinneer).
Trip Tucker’s Death Was The Most Pointless & Confusing In Star Trek
Star Trek Has Not Been Able To Recontextualize Trip’s Death
Trip Tucker’s deathhas to be the most confusing and pointless death in all ofStar Trekbecause it means nothing. Trip doesn’t die to sacrifice himself for a noble cause, or even to prove the might of a powerful enemy. No,Trip dies because he willingly causes a plasma explosion to keep alien intruders from getting hold of Shran (Jeffrey Combs) and his daughter, Talla (Jasmine Anthony). After the explosion, Trip’s body is carted off to sickbay. It’s a bizarre scene that plays out like it’s tacked on… especially because Shran and Talla aren’t even there.
Connor Trinneer returns as a pre-death Trip Tucker in the animated “anything but canon"very Short Treksepisode “Holograms All the Way Down,” whileStar Trek: Lower Deckshas often referenced Trip in dialogue, but he hasn’t actually been back for real.
Worst of all,Trip’s death remains unaddressed, because it happened inEnterprise’s series finale. Tasha Yar died inThe Next Generationseason 1, so there was plenty of time to rectify it, andTNGmade good on that by giving Tasha a fitting end in “Yesterday’s Enterprise.” Dax’s death has an impact onDS9season 7, with characters mourning; andDax lives on through Ezri Dax (Nicole de Boer). Even Lt. Commander Data’s (Brent Spiner)Star Trek: Nemesisdeath was recontextualized inStar Trek: Picard. But Trip Tucker hasn’t been so lucky.
Is It Possible That A Future Star Trek Series Could Resurrect Trip?
Commander Trip Tucker Might Not Really Be Dead
If modernStar Trekrevisits theEnterpriseera, it’s possible Trip Tucker could join the list ofStar Trekcharacters who have been resurrected.Trektech boasts plenty of ways to bring characters back to life — butthe key to Trip’s survival might be inStar Trek: Voyager, which used Borg nanoprobes to bring Neelix (Ethan Phillips) back.Enterprise’s Dr. Phlox (John Billingsley), known for collecting unconventional medical treatments, encounters nanoprobes inSEnterpriseseason 2, episode 23, “Regeneration.” A dose of nanoprobes might be all Trip needs to recover after a stint in Enterprise’s imaging chamber.
InStar Trek’s beta canon, Trip’s death was a ruse so he could join Section 31.Star Trekhas previously officially canonized beta canon facts, like Number One’s (Rebecca Romijn) name being Una Chin-Riley inStar Trek: Strange New Worlds.
But the best way to “resurrect” Trip Tucker would be to reveal that Trip never died at all. OneconvincingStar Trektheoryposits that the events ofEnterprise’s finale didn’t actually happen as portrayed, because “These Are the Voyages” was one of Riker’s holodeck programs. If that’s the case, Trip could be alive and well, like the version of Trip that lived a long, happy life with an alternate universe’s T’Pol (Jolene Blalock) inStar Trek: Lower Decks. Ironically, the very thing that made thisStar Trekfinale so reviled could also actually save the episode.
