Star Trek: Nemesis Had A Moment Even More Disturbing Than Spock's Mind Meld In Star Trek VI
Star Trek: Nemesis has a moment that is even more disturbing than one of the most uncomfortable scenes in Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country. Near the end of Star Trek VI, Lieutenant Valeris (Kim Cattrall) is revealed to be an on-board conspirator in the murder of Klingon Chancellor Gorkon (David Warner). Captain Spock (Leonard Nimoy) forces Valeris into a mind meld in order to confirm her guilt and retrieve the names of her co-conspirators. Spock is successful at obtaining the information, but not before Valeris pulls away and Spock asserts his control over her.
Most of the Star Trek: The Next Generation movies avoided uncomfortable moments like the one in Star Trek VI, but that changed with Star Trek: Nemesis. During one of Deanna Troi's (Marina Sirtis) romantic scenes with Commander William Riker (Jonathan Frakes), the image of Riker is replaced with that of Shinzon (Tom Hardy), as Shinzon and the Reman Viceroy (Ron Perlman) launch a joint psychic attack on Troi. Deanna calls out for Shinzon to stop, and pushes him away, but Shinzon continues, calling Deanna "Imzadi" like Riker did, and insisting that no one will ever know Troi the way Shinzon does.
Star Trek: Nemesis' Violation Of Troi Is Even Worse Than Spock In Star Trek VI
Deanna Troi Should Have Been A Hero Instead Of A Victim (Again)
However, Nemesis' psychic violation of Troi is worse than Spock's of Valeris in Star Trek VI. Spock's non-consensual mind meld is tough to watch, because Spock is supposed to be a hero, but it is an act of desperation meant to prevent a war. It's not easy for Spock to learn what Valeris knows. Meanwhile, Deanna's vulnerable, loving moment with Will, her new husband, is violated by an interloper who enjoys it — and it's not even the first time in Star Trek that Deanna Troi has been assaulted, psychically or sexually.
Spock did what had to be done, but Deanna Troi did not have to be psychically sexually assaulted for the plot of Nemesis to work. The scene in Nemesis is filmed with brutal realism that centers on Troi's pain. It only serves to establish how terrible Shinzon and the Viceroy are, after they've already demonstrated they're the villains. As a capable empath, Troi shouldn't actually need Shinzon's psychic link to find him. Nemesis giving Deanna this sensationalistic, unnecessary rape scene implies Troi is only allowed to be heroic in response to being a victim first.
Why Star Trek VI & Star Trek: Nemesis Included 2 Disturbing Scenes
Star Trek Movies' Non-Consensual Scenes Are Viewed Differently In Hindsight
Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country and Star Trek: Nemesis both included disturbing scenes as a way of pushing the Star Trek franchise further. The former already explores elements like Captain James Kirk's (William Shatner) racism towards Klingons, which ultimately humanizes the USS Enterprise-A captain. The moral question of whether Spock should perform a mind meld on Valeris isn't dragged out; Nimoy's performance says all it needs to. Nemesis pushed the action elements that had made the previous TNG outing Star Trek: First Contact a hit with fans — but Nemesis was a tonal failure.
Nicholas Meyer: "The scene where Spock is doing the Vulcan mind meld on Valeris to get information sort of looks like waterboarding to me, and doesn't make me very happy to see it."
Star Trek VI director Nicholas Meyer regretted Spock's mind meld scene, and compared it to "waterboarding". Given the opportunity for a do-over, Meyer would have approached it differently. There's no such regret on record from Nemesis screenwriter John Logan, director Stuart Baird, or producer Rick Berman. It's sadly unsurprising, given Berman's mistreatment of women in Star Trek. Marina Sirtis called Baird "an idiot" when asked about Nemesis at a UK convention. That lack of perspicacity from Star Trek: Nemesis' filmmakers is just another reason that its scene is the more disturbing one.
