Space is a romantic setting, filled with sweeping vistas of stars, galaxies, and exotic planets, so it’s natural that a show that takes place in this environment would have some compelling love stories.Star Trekhas been around for decades, and in that time several famous couples have appeared on both the small and big screen as part of the franchise’s ongoing story.
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Like many adventures in space, not all of these love stories end well, but every single one is helplessly romantic in its own unique way.Star Trekisn’t just about exploration and discovery on a galactic level, it’s also about mapping out the universe of the human heart.
7James Kirk & Lenore Karidian (ToS)
James Kirk had a reputation for fleeting romances,but this is one of the few that stands out. In the episode “The Conscience Of The King” Kirk is pursuing a criminal who has hidden his identity and lives as a Shakespearean actor named Anton Karidian, and Lenore is his daughter.
Sparks fly between the Captain and Lenore, and the Captain is smitten, but the romance is doomed. Not only does Lenore resent Kirk for using her to get close to her father, the mass murder suspect, but it also turns out she’s the real-life Lady Macbeth. Deeply romantic, but also tragic like the Bard would write.
6Lieutenant Ilia & Captain Decker (Star Trek: The Motion Picture)
Star Trek: The Motion Picturedidn’t get a lot of positive attention when it was released, but the movie has stood the test of time, partly because of the romance that anchors the plot. Ilia and Decker had a past, but the viewer never finds out the finer details except what they can discern from the couple’s interactions.
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It seems that Ilia and Decker never really got the chance they deserved, and that’s what makes their story so deeply romantic and tragic at the same time. The ending of this movie is never really explained, as the concept of humans and machines becoming one was a new concept, but decades later shows likeEvangelionandGhost In The Shellwould ask the same questions.
5Spock & Droxine (ToS)
For those that prefer a more intellectual and verbose romance, there was the intense flirtation between Spock and Droxine in “The Cloud Minders.” This wasone of the classic episodesthat took on a civil rights dilemma, with the highborn folks like Droxine living above in luxury and the Troglytes digging in the mines below.
Spock narrates part of the story, explaining the social tensions between the two groups along with professing his affection for Droxine, and his Vulcan Stoicism can’t hide his attraction to her. Droxine is equally smitten, and the two of them have an intense Victorian-style romance.
4Hugh Culber & Paul Stamets (Discovery)
Ask anyone what madeDiscoverygreat, and they might mentionthe characters of Hugh and Paul, who were awesome in their own right but also the show’s power couple when they were together. Hugh Culber was cast in the role of the ship’s doctor, and his quiet wisdom also made him the friend and confidante of the whole crew.
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Hugh’s gentleness was a foil to the fiery personality of his partner Paul Stamets, the engineer who discovered the secret of spore drive travel. In what could be one of the most romantic stories in all ofStar Trekhistory, Paul traverses the veritable universe of mycelium to resurrect Hugh after he is killed by one of his patients.
3Deanna Troi & William Riker (TNG)
Ilia and Decker worked so well on screen that they inspired another couple for a future series, Deanna Troi and William Riker. Their love transcended the adventures of the Enterprise, and plenty of times the story ofThe Next Generationwas also the story of their romance.
Troi and Riker are one of the few couples that were able to get married, have a family, and grow old together, which is one of the most romantic things that can happen to anyone. The lastTNGmovie starts with their weddingand they reappear in the second seasonofStar Trek: Picard.
2Christopher Pike & Vina (ToS)
It’s a romance that blossomed not from one but two tragedies; the loss of a scientific expedition of which Vina was the only disfigured survivor and the gamma-ray accident years later that would scar Pike and make him an invalid. Pike hadto leave Vina on Talos IVbecause she was too frail to leave, but years later when he returned in a wheelchair, she was waiting for him.
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There’s something to be said for a couple that has been through a lot together, and it’s heartwarming to think that Pike kept Vina in his heart all those years. Pike later returned to Talos IV to live the rest of his days with Vina.
1Leonard McCoy And Natira of Yonada (ToS)
One of the secrets ofStar Trekthat only hardcore fans know is that McCoy was the real ladies' man the whole time, his charm outshining any of his shipmates, including Kirk. In the episode “For the World Is Hollow and I Have Touched the Sky” McCoy learns he has a terminal illness, and despite the tragic discovery, forms a bond with a woman named Yonada, who is also facing a ticking clock.
McCoy not only sincerely loves Yonada, but also is willing to risk his life to save her and her people. Yonada, on the other hand, loves McCoy enough to believe him when he tries to tell her that her world is actually a ship hurtling towards a planet on a crash course. Their mutual love saves both their lives, and it’s a dropped thread that should have been picked up another time.
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