Star Trek Never Really Dealt With Spock & Picard’s Greatest Tragedy

Star Trek never showed the full aftermath of one of the franchise's greatest tragedies that profoundly affected Ambassador Spock (Leonard Nimoy) and Admiral Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart). Although there have been several major disasters throughout Star Trek's vast timeline, few cataclysmic events were as devastating as the Romulan supernova that took place in 2387. Starfleet mounted a massive rescue effort upon learning of the supernova, but the rescue armada was mostly destroyed when rogue synths attacked the Utopia Planitia shipyards on Mars. Starfleet then called off the rescue effort and went on the defensive.

Introduced in Star Trek: The Original Series, the Romulans have long been enemies of the United Federation of Planets, and the devastating Romulan supernova altered the balance of power in Star Trek's galaxy. A disaster like this should have affected everyone in the Beta Quadrant, the Federation, and neighboring star systems, but the Romulan supernova has largely been treated as a backdrop for other stories. Star Trek has explored how the supernova affected individuals like Spock and Picard, but has not dealt with the ramifications it should have had on the rest of the galaxy.

Star Trek’s Romulan Supernova Sent Spock To The Alternate Kelvin Timeline

The Romulan Supernova Was The Catalyst For The Creation Of The Kelvin Timeline

The Romulan supernova was a central plot point of J.J. Abrams' 2009 Star Trek film, as it was the catalyst that led to the creation of the alternate Kelvin timeline. After Starfleet abandoned the Romulan evacuation efforts, Ambassador Spock hatched a plan to stop the supernova using red matter to create a black hole. Tragically, Spock was too late to save Romulus, although he did manage to prevent the supernova from expanding even further. A Romulan named Nero (Eric Bana) lost his wife and unborn child in the disaster and swore vengeance against the Federation and Spock.

As Spock piloted his ship, the Jellyfish, to stop the expanding supernova, Nero confronted him in his technologically advanced ship, the Narada. As a result of this confrontation, both ships were pulled into the black hole Spock's actions had created. Having gone through the black hole first, Nero arrived in the past first, in 2233, where he destroyed the USS Kelvin and inadvertently created the alternate Kelvin universe. Spock emerged from the black hole 25 years later, soon after which Nero forced Spock to watch the destruction of Vulcan.

Star Trek: Picard Has Shown How The Romulan Supernova Affected Jean-Luc

The Aftereffects Of The Romulan Supernova Led Jean-Luc Picard To Abandon Starfleet

Star Trek: Picard season 1 revealed that Admiral Jean-Luc Picard had led the evacuation efforts and intended to command the rescue armada meant to relocate around 900 million Romulans. After Starfleet halted the rescue efforts in the wake of the Attack on Mars, Picard resigned from Starfleet in protest, incorrectly assuming they would refuse his resignation. Flashbacks in Picard season 1 showed Jean-Luc interacting with Romulan refugees on the planet Vashti, which had been allocated as a Romulan Relocation Hub by the Federation. Picard befriended a young Romulan orphan boy named Elnor (Evan Evagora), but he abandoned Vashti and Elnor after resigning from Starfleet.

Star Trek: Picard season 1 revealed that the Romulan Free State emerged in the wake of the supernova, but did not dive into the details of this. The Romulan secret police known as the Tal Shiar served the Romulan Free State, but the Free State was on somewhat friendlier terms with the Federation than its predecessor had been. Still, how many Romulans survived the supernova remains unclear, and the entire storyline was dropped after Picard's first season. Even when Picard season 1 explored the ramifications of the Romulan supernova, it was mostly used to illustrate how Jean-Luc had become disillusioned with Starfleet.

Star Trek Hasn’t Dealt With What The Romulan Supernova Meant To The Galaxy

The Romulan Supernova Should Have Had A Massive Effect On Galactic Politics

While Star Trek: Picard explored how the Romulan supernova affected individuals like Jean-Luc Picard and Raffi Musiker (Michelle Hurd), Star Trek has not depicted the immediate aftermath of the disaster or explored its true effect on the galaxy as a whole. Throughout Star Trek: The Next Generation and Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, the Romulans were heavily involved in galactic politics, as well as being major enemies of the Federation. The destruction of their planet and most of their people should have had wide-sweeping ramifications across the galaxy during the last few decades of the 24th century and beyond.

Star Trek: Prodigy briefly touched upon the immediate aftermath of the Attack on Mars, but not the Romulan supernova.

Star Trek: Discovery revealed that the Vulcans and Romulans had reunified by the 32nd century, but did not explore what had happened since the late 24th century. The Vulcans and Romulans settled on Ni'Var (formerly Vulcan) by Discovery's 32nd century, but it remains unclear when this reunification took place. As Star Trek has since moved on to other stories, it's unlikely the franchise will revisit the Romulan supernova, despite the many lingering questions regarding the disaster and the ways it reverberated throughout the galaxy.