How Different Star Trek: TNG Would Be If Tasha Yar Never Died Blows My Mind

Star Trek: The Next Generation would have been very different if Lt. Tasha Yar (Denise Crosby) had survived beyond the show's first season. As the security chief aboard the USS Enterprise-D under the command of Captain Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart), Tasha Yar was originally meant to be one of the show's main characters. However, even before her eventual death, the character was largely sidelined throughout TNG's first season. Additionally, the episodes that did feature Yar prominently (like the notoriously bad "Code of Honor") were not particularly strong entries.

Because she was so often relegated to the background, Denise Crosby chose to leave Star Trek: The Next Generation near the end of the show's first season. In "Skin of Evil," an oil-slick creature named Armus kills Yar, bringing her character to a rather anticlimactic ending. But it's curious to wonder what would have happened if Yar had still been around when TNG really hits its stride during the show's third season. Yar's survival would have drastically changed TNG, possibly resulting in a smaller role for Lt. Worf (Michael Dorn) and numerous other major and minor changes.

Tasha Yar & Data Could've Had A Full-Blown Star Trek: TNG Romance

Data's Possible Feelings For Yar Would've Been An Important Step On His Journey Toward Humanity

In Star Trek: The Next Generation season 1, episode 3, "The Naked Now," Tasha Yar has a romantic and intimate encounter with Lt. Commander Data (Brent Spiner). While this happens when the Enterprise crew members are under the influence of an intoxicating substance, it's still a meaningful moment for both characters. She later tells Data that the encounter "never happened," but Yar clearly felt something for the android. As seen in TNG season 2's "The Measure of a Man," the experience meant a lot to Data, and he always remembered Tasha fondly.

Whether or not Tasha Yar and Data ever became a true couple, it would have been nice to see how their relationship progressed. In TNG season 4, episode 25, "In Theory," Data tries dating a fellow Enterprise crew member named Jenna D'Sora (Michele Scarabelli). While this episode feels like a bit of a setback for Data as a character, it likely would have worked better with Tasha Yar. Data and Tasha already had a connection that an episode like "In Theory" could have explored, making the story more impactful. Plus, Tasha (and Data's potential feelings for her) could have helped Data on his quest to be more human.

Tasha Yar Surviving Would Have Changed Star Trek: TNG's "Yesterday's Enterprise"

Tasha Yar Briefly Returned In "Yesterday's Enterprise," Only To Be Killed Off Again

Although the original character never returned to Star Trek onscreen, Denise Crosby briefly returned as Yar in TNG's excellent "Yesterday's Enterprise," and later as Yar's half-Romulan daughter Sela. At the beginning of "Yesterday's Enterprise," the severely damaged USS Enterprise-C emerges from a rift in spacetime and encounters the Enterprise-D. In an instant, everything changes — the Enterprise-D becomes a warship involved in an ongoing conflict with the Klingons, and Tasha Yar is suddenly alive again and serving as the ship's weapons officer. Yar's appearance is the most shocking of these changes, and the episode largely revolves around her story.

As the Enterprise-D crew help repair the Enterprise-C, Tasha Yar develops a connection with the ship's helmsman Lt. Richard Castillo (Christopher McDonald). Having learned of her "senseless death" in Star Trek's Prime Timeline, Tasha decides to return to the past with Castillo and the Enterprise-C, saying that at least then, her death would "count for something." Yar was brought back partly because Denise Crosby had reportedly expressed a desire to return to the show. If Yar had been around the whole time, "Yesterday's Enterprise" would have been a completely different episode.

Tasha Yar Could Have Returned To Her Home World

Tasha & Her Sister Ishara Could Have Reunited

A couple of early Star Trek: The Next Generation episodes reveal hints about Tasha Yar's dark backstory. She and her sister, Ishara (Beth Toussaint), grew up in a failed Federation colony on Turkana IV, where they had a rough life after their parents were killed. The Enterprise-D visited Turkana IV in TNG season 4, episode 6, "Legacy," in which Ishara paid a visit to the ship. If Tasha had survived, she could have visited her homeworld and reunited with her sister, who viewed Tasha as a coward for abandoning their planet.

Throughout TNG's run, most of the show's main characters had episodes dedicated to them. Presumably, Tasha Yar would have gotten to be the star of some episodes if she had stuck around. These episodes could have offered more insight into her character, revealing more about her backstory and exploring her relationship with her sister. Ishara might have become a more prominent recurring character. Yar's episodes could have also put her fighting skills on full display, illustrating why she was chosen to be security chief on the flagship of the Federation.

Would Worf Have Become One Of Star Trek's Greatest Characters If Tasha Yar Stayed In TNG?

If Worf Never Became Security Chief, He Might've Played A Smaller Role

After Tasha Yar's death in Star Trek: The Next Generation season 1, Lt. Worf took over as Chief of Security on the Enterprise-D. From that point on, Worf played a larger role in the show, and many episodes explored the conflict between his Klingon roots and his Starfleet duties. The Klingons had been introduced back on Star Trek: The Original Series, but TNG updated and redefined the species for a new era. Had Yar stuck around, TNG may have dedicated fewer episodes to Klingon politics in favor of storylines involving Yar.

However, it's also possible that Worf would have become just as popular and that his popularity would have prompted TNG to explore more Klingon stories. In this case, Tasha's survival might have led to characters like Counselor Deanna Troi (Marina Sirtis) or Dr. Beverly Crusher (Gates McFadden) being featured even less. Tasha Yar had the potential to be one of Star Trek: The Next Generation's most interesting characters, but we'll unfortunately never know what her Star Trek story could have been if she'd stuck around.