The original pilot of Star Trek: The Original Series began an unfortunate Star Trek trope that took the franchise more than 50 years to fix. Before Captain James T. Kirk (William Shatner) took over as commander of the USS Enterprise, Captain Christoper Pike (Jeffrey Hunter) was in command of the iconic ship. In "The Cage," Pike and his crew traveled to Talos IV, where they encountered an incredibly advanced race of aliens who could manipulate thought. The Talosians tried to convince Pike to stay, tempting him with an attractive woman.
For her part, Vina (Susan Oliver) did begin to develop feelings for Pike, and he for her, despite the interference from the Talosians. As the Talosians, Star Trek's first villains, tried to determine what kind of woman Pike wanted, they presented Vina to him in several different guises, creating realistic illusions that felt real to Pike. In the first scenario, Vina was a Rigellian princess who needed rescuing from barbarians. In the second, she was a simple farm girl from Earth, and in the last, she was a green-skinned Orion slave girl who danced seductively for Pike. It's this latter disguise that created a recurring problem for Star Trek.
Star Trek's "The Cage" Established The "Orion Slave Girl" Trope
This Particular Trope Should've Remains On The Cutting Room Floor
The depiction of Vina as an Orion slave girl is problematic for several reasons, and illustrates one of the most outdated aspects of Star Trek: The Original Series. While TOS was progressive in many ways, the casual sexism sprinkled throughout the show places it firmly in the 1960s. The Orion slave girl unfortunately became a bit of a trope and subsequent depictions of Orions did not fare much better. Another Orion woman named Marta (Yvonne Craig) makes an appearance in TOS season 3, episode 16, "Whom Gods Destroy" as a patient in a mental institution.
While there is nothing wrong with a woman who owns her sexuality, making these Orion women slaves or prisoners takes away any agency they may have had.
Like Vina as an Orion, Marta wears very little clothing, dances seductively, and tries to seduce the men around her. While there is nothing wrong with a woman who owns her sexuality, making these Orion women slaves or prisoners takes away any agency they may have had. The Orions received very little development as a species on TOS, and they became most known for their dancing green slave women. In "The Cage," Captain Pike falls for Vina as herself, but even he is tempted by her Orion dance, which is not a great look for the Enterprise captain.
It Wasn't Until Lower Decks That Star Trek Finally Fixed Its Orion Portrayal
Lt. Tendi Redeems Star Trek's Orions
Although Star Trek: Enterprise tried to update the Orions for a modern audience, their version of the alien society was only marginally better than what was depicted in Star Trek: The Original Series. It was not until Star Trek: Lower Decks that the franchise finally introduced three-dimensional Orion characters who were more than pirates and slavers. With her infectious enthusiasm for Starfleet and scientific discovery, Lt. D'Vana Tendi (Noël Wells) is a breath of fresh air among the crew of the USS Cerritos. She defies her past as an Orion pirate, even as she sometimes uses the skills it taught her.
As one of the few Orions in Starfleet, Tendi has fought to change the perceptions many have of her species and her stories on Lower Decks have singlehandedly redefined the Orions. Tendi's relationship with her sister, D'Erika (Ariel Winter), in particular, is one of Star Trek's strongest sibling relationships, despite only being featured in a few scenes. Star Trek: Lower Decks leans into the hilarity of the Cerritos crew's antics, but the show has helped bring Trek canon into the modern era and it can be serious and heartwarming when it wants to be.
