SPOILERS AHEAD FOR "STAR TREK: PICARD!!
One of the most classic tropes in "Star Trek" is the "alternate future," where our heroes get a taste of what their lives could be like down the road. The hero witnessing this future often takes actions that change it, supposedly for the better.
Or do they?
As I sift through the alternate futures that never came to be, many of them were "bad" futures...but only for certain characters. After these alternate futures were changed, the real timeline that ends up playing out looks considerably worse, in many ways at least.
Examples:
TNG: "All Good Things"
The "Bad" future: Everyone has a long and prestigious career, except Deanna Troi who died young. Worf and Riker live relatively good lives, but have regret-angst over cock-blocking each other for Troi. Data is alive and thriving decades in the future, with a mansion, a maid and a pipe.
After Picard returns to the "present," he gives his friends some advice, that butterfly-effects the above future out of existence. The result:
New Timeine: Data goes boom at a relatively young age (for an android at least). Romulus goes boom a couple decades later; the Mars Massacre happens, indirectly leading to the death of Troi and Riker's son; prejudice against AIs goes rampant; Stafleet abandons its ideals; Picard resigns, and accidently ruins his friend Raffi's career.
DS9: "The Visitor"
The "Bad" Future: Captain Sisko gets trapped within a negative space-wedgie, that allows him visitation rights only every other decade or so; Mini-Sisko grows up to be a popular author, but is depressed and unmarried. There is no indication that the Dominion War has happened, and Jadzia is still alive and well. Naturally, Jake and his dad take actions to change this timeline.
The New Future: Ben Sisko STILL gets sucked up into a negative space-wedgie and separated from Jake, albeit for religious purposes this time. Jadzia dies young, Ezri is unwillingly forced into a bad joining. Oh, and the Dominion War kills a frak-ton of people.
Voyager: "Before and After"
The Bad Future: Voyager's still lost after 9 years, and most of the best characters have either died young or are still Borg drones. Miral Paris is never born, and the Borg are presumably still at large. To say nothing of those Klingons without their Kuva'magh, or those poor schmucks in Unimatrix Zero. Oh, and someone made the hedgehog in Chief of Security. (Shudder.)
But Kes has a nice life aboard Voyager, earning the title of doctor, and having a (creepy) family, and Harry got a promotion and a (creepy) relationship that actually lasted. And then, in a rare instance, Kes does something that actually makes me really like her, and warns Janeway about the Krenim, saving her and B'Elanna, at the cost of Kes's own daughter and grandson.
New Timeline: Considerably better for most everyone else, except Kes. No wonder she was so bitter in "Fury." Harry is also still an ensign. All in all, this may not even belong on the list, as it seems Kes actually did make the timeline better on the whole; but it's a glaring irony that she made it better for everyone except herself (and her erased daughter and grandkid).
Voyager: "Shattered"
"Bad Future:" Voyager's still (seemingly) lost after several decades, and Chakotay and Janeway are both dead. But Icheb's a command officer, and alive and well. Chak cleans up this temporal clusterf**k, resulting in this future never happening.
New Future: Not good for Icheb. 8(
Voyager: "Endgame"
"Bad" Future: Okay, as a Seven of Nine fan, her fate really does hit me hard here. But one friend dying young, one other going crazy, and the third living to a pretty regular old age, and only 22 others out of a crew of 145 croaking in 16 years...doesn't seem that bad. Bar Tuvok, Seven and the Chuck, all the other main characters seem to be doing well; the Doctor's got a trophy bride, Tom and B'Elanna are still married, Miral seems alright, Tom's a holonovelist, Naomi has a daughter, and the Dweeb finally made captain.
New Future: Seven is alive but depressed, after the grizzly death of Icheb. And while we don't for a fact know if Data, Hugh and Bruce Maddox would've been any better off in the above timeline, they definitely weren't in this one. No word yet on whether Harry Kim is still an ensign.
On the other hand, the Borg Collective is mostly defeated. So maybe this example doesn't belong on this list after all...
In Conclusion:
While we only saw bits and pieces of these alternate timelines, what we're shown onscreen makes it look like our heroes have made things a lot worse.
There was no Mars Massacre, exploding Romulus, exploding Data, or murdered Hugh before Picard altered the course of the future. There was apparently no Dominion War without Benjamin Sisko. And Icheb, at the very least, was far better off when Voyager stayed lost.
Thoughts?
One of the most classic tropes in "Star Trek" is the "alternate future," where our heroes get a taste of what their lives could be like down the road. The hero witnessing this future often takes actions that change it, supposedly for the better.
Or do they?
As I sift through the alternate futures that never came to be, many of them were "bad" futures...but only for certain characters. After these alternate futures were changed, the real timeline that ends up playing out looks considerably worse, in many ways at least.
Examples:
TNG: "All Good Things"
The "Bad" future: Everyone has a long and prestigious career, except Deanna Troi who died young. Worf and Riker live relatively good lives, but have regret-angst over cock-blocking each other for Troi. Data is alive and thriving decades in the future, with a mansion, a maid and a pipe.
After Picard returns to the "present," he gives his friends some advice, that butterfly-effects the above future out of existence. The result:
New Timeine: Data goes boom at a relatively young age (for an android at least). Romulus goes boom a couple decades later; the Mars Massacre happens, indirectly leading to the death of Troi and Riker's son; prejudice against AIs goes rampant; Stafleet abandons its ideals; Picard resigns, and accidently ruins his friend Raffi's career.
DS9: "The Visitor"
The "Bad" Future: Captain Sisko gets trapped within a negative space-wedgie, that allows him visitation rights only every other decade or so; Mini-Sisko grows up to be a popular author, but is depressed and unmarried. There is no indication that the Dominion War has happened, and Jadzia is still alive and well. Naturally, Jake and his dad take actions to change this timeline.
The New Future: Ben Sisko STILL gets sucked up into a negative space-wedgie and separated from Jake, albeit for religious purposes this time. Jadzia dies young, Ezri is unwillingly forced into a bad joining. Oh, and the Dominion War kills a frak-ton of people.
Voyager: "Before and After"
The Bad Future: Voyager's still lost after 9 years, and most of the best characters have either died young or are still Borg drones. Miral Paris is never born, and the Borg are presumably still at large. To say nothing of those Klingons without their Kuva'magh, or those poor schmucks in Unimatrix Zero. Oh, and someone made the hedgehog in Chief of Security. (Shudder.)
But Kes has a nice life aboard Voyager, earning the title of doctor, and having a (creepy) family, and Harry got a promotion and a (creepy) relationship that actually lasted. And then, in a rare instance, Kes does something that actually makes me really like her, and warns Janeway about the Krenim, saving her and B'Elanna, at the cost of Kes's own daughter and grandson.
New Timeline: Considerably better for most everyone else, except Kes. No wonder she was so bitter in "Fury." Harry is also still an ensign. All in all, this may not even belong on the list, as it seems Kes actually did make the timeline better on the whole; but it's a glaring irony that she made it better for everyone except herself (and her erased daughter and grandkid).
Voyager: "Shattered"
"Bad Future:" Voyager's still (seemingly) lost after several decades, and Chakotay and Janeway are both dead. But Icheb's a command officer, and alive and well. Chak cleans up this temporal clusterf**k, resulting in this future never happening.
New Future: Not good for Icheb. 8(
Voyager: "Endgame"
"Bad" Future: Okay, as a Seven of Nine fan, her fate really does hit me hard here. But one friend dying young, one other going crazy, and the third living to a pretty regular old age, and only 22 others out of a crew of 145 croaking in 16 years...doesn't seem that bad. Bar Tuvok, Seven and the Chuck, all the other main characters seem to be doing well; the Doctor's got a trophy bride, Tom and B'Elanna are still married, Miral seems alright, Tom's a holonovelist, Naomi has a daughter, and the Dweeb finally made captain.
New Future: Seven is alive but depressed, after the grizzly death of Icheb. And while we don't for a fact know if Data, Hugh and Bruce Maddox would've been any better off in the above timeline, they definitely weren't in this one. No word yet on whether Harry Kim is still an ensign.
On the other hand, the Borg Collective is mostly defeated. So maybe this example doesn't belong on this list after all...
In Conclusion:
While we only saw bits and pieces of these alternate timelines, what we're shown onscreen makes it look like our heroes have made things a lot worse.
There was no Mars Massacre, exploding Romulus, exploding Data, or murdered Hugh before Picard altered the course of the future. There was apparently no Dominion War without Benjamin Sisko. And Icheb, at the very least, was far better off when Voyager stayed lost.
Thoughts?
