It’s one thing to enjoy a show, movie, or book on the surface level and learn everything to know about it. However, extra-dedicated fans dig deeper to find the dark, fascinating, or ridiculous truths that even creators never considered.
This is where fan theories come from. With 50 years and counting of Star Trek projects, we have no shortage of enthusiasts discovering, speculating, and defending their interpretations of the sci-fi series.
Some of these theories are fun but ridiculous. One claims that the original series from the ’60s is, itself, a TV show within the larger universe about an accident-prone Starfleet crew. This is a tough argument to make, especially since the crew on Star Trek: The Next Generation met several of these “fictional” characters.
Other theories are circumstantial and, while plausible, take some mental parkour to sell themselves. However, some Star Trek fan theories are so plausible, likely, and evidence-based that we actually wonder why the show and movie creators never addressed them.
These takes are so good that we’ll have trouble watching the series the same way again. Also, rather than ruining the franchise, they often enhance it.
With that said, here are the 15 Star Trek Fan Theories That Make Too Much Sense.
The Borg don’t want to destroy humanity
One of the most enduring fan theories in Star Trek fandom is that cyberzombie Borg were the race of “living machines” that transformed the NASA Voyager 6 probe into Star Trek I villain V’ger. The Shatnerverse novel The Return uses this interpretation too. However, we’re not talking about that one.
This more interesting take on the Borg believes that the antagonist species could destroy the Federation any time that it wanted. It’s thus not the heroes’ pluck and creativity that keeps saving the day. Instead, it’s because the Borg are losing on purpose.
Every time the Federation encounters the Borg, it starts building crazy new gadgets in order to fight them. However, this theory says that this is the plan.
The Borg are “farming” the Federation for tech and leaving the people alone as long as they keep producing.
That wasn’t the real Khan in Into Darkness
Some Star Trek fans have a lot of problems with Into Darkness, the second entry in the rebooted “Kelvinverse.” The main issues are that it’s loud, dumb, and makes no sense. However, the casting of the bad guy is also pretty awful.
It isn’t the actor’s fault, though– Benedict Cumberbatch is always good and often delightful. It’s just a little hard to accept him as Khan Noonien Singh, a role that Ricardo Montalbén originated on the original series.
While Cumberbatch is extremely talented, unlike Montalban, he is not Mexican. We’re glad the makeup department didn’t try anything drastic, but still.
Fans found a way around this with a theory that believes that this “Khan” is just one of the real one’s followers who lied about his identity either to protect his leader or to keep himself out of stasis. Either works, as long as Cumberbatch and Montalbán aren’t the same guy.
The transporter takes the life of everyone who uses it
The principle behind Star Trek’s iconic transporters is that they convert a subject’s constituent matter into energy, beam that energy to its destination, and then reassemble it in its original form.
It sounds equally amazing and terrifying when you think about it, and famously transport-phobic Drs. McCoy and Pulaski would be right there with you.
They’re worried about not showing up with all of their atoms in the right spots. However, some internet theorists think it’s much worse than that. They argue that the person who arrives is just a copy of the on who left, and believe that the transportation process actually destroyed the original.
Things get pretty existential here, but the theory states that people who transport can’t tell the difference because they’re such a good copy. However, the original is definitely dead because that’s the only way to turn them into energy.
Trelane is a Q
This theory has been around since Q debuted in the Next Generation premiere. It supposes that the superpowered being in the Original Series episode “The Squire of Gothos” was a member of the omnipotent race with a penchant of tormenting Enterprise crews.
Evidence include’s Trelane’s ability to manipulate matter, his general childishness, and the fact that he, like Q, places the crew on trial. However, the argument falters a bit when Kirk discovers that his opponent’s abilities come at least in part from a machine. So it’s not a perfect theory, but it’s a popular and logical one.
The non-canon novel Q-Squared by Peter David even confirms it. It says that Trelane is an “adolescent” Q, and in a bit of teenage rebellion, he splits continuity into three tracks and almost destroys the multiverse.
The Prophets are super-evolved Bajorans
The weird, cryptic beings that live inside the wormhole near Bajor on Deep Space Nine could be anything. We don’t even know what they look like because they always appear to Captain Sisko as people he knows.
It’s easy to just say that they’re a weird species or even gods, which is what the show says. However, that’s not enough for some fans.
They take the Prophets’ repeated statement that they are “of Bajor” literally. This theory says that these beings are the evolutionary future of the planet’s inhabitants. This is where it gets kind of complicated.
The idea is that far-future Bajorans became so advanced that they exist independently of time. So they went back, almost instinctively, in order to protect their former home without ever quite knowing why.
The show is also intentionally vague about their true nature, so this is as good an explanation as any.
First Contact changed starship design
One of the things that sticks out when you’re watching Enterprise is that the design of that series’ early starship looks almost too fancy. Aesthetically, at least, it looks more advanced than the craft from the original series.
The real reason for this, obviously, is that special effects improved in the 35 years between Kirk’s adventures and Archer’s. However, that’s not enough for some fans.
They say that the brief look that warp drive inventor Zefram Cochrane gets of the time-displaced Enterprise-E in Star Trek: First Contact was enough to influence his future designs.
This is why Jonathan Archer’s Enterprise looks more like Picard’s ship than Kirk’s. It doesn’t explain why Kirk’s ship still looks the way it does, though. However, we still like the idea.
Star Trek V takes place in the Nexus
Fans don’t need much reason to discount the events of Star Trek V: The Final Frontier, which remains as one of the least liked installments. However, this theory helps it fit into the franchise a little better, even if it is a cheat.
The argument is that all of Final Frontier’s weird, bizarre events are a fantasy that Kirk creates when he enters the Nexus during Generations. Never mind that the movie that this hypothesis uses as evidence came out five years after the one it’s trying to explain– time has no meaning in the Nexus.
Fans who support this claim point out that characters don’t behave consistently, Uhura does a fan dance for no reason, and the Enterprise doesn’t even have the right number of decks. Also, the line “Life is but a dream” in the campfire singalong of “Row Row Row Your Boat” further confirms everything.
B-4 is the real Data
Nemesis, the final movie from the Next Generation crew, uses unsubtle duality as a theme. The batlike Remans are the even dark reflection of the Romulans (who are, themselves, the evil versions of Vulcans).
The villain, Shinzon, is a warped clone of Picard and B-4, an android that the Enterprise crew finds in the desert, is a copy of Data with questionable motivations.
However, Data already had an evil twin: his “brother” Lore. However, some fans think that he’s been around longer than we think.
This theory says that the end of Next Generation’s seventh-season opener, “Descent, Part II,” didn’t go the way it looked. Instead of Data defeating Lore, it was the other way around.
Lore went back to the Enterprise, and the Federation dismantled Data. Lore redeems himself when he dies at the end of Nemesis, and Data returns with his memories intact.
The most iconic Star Trek moment was overacting
The idea that William Shatner is playing it up when he delivers his famous “KHAAAN!” in Star Trek II is nothing new. It’s pretty obvious. However, this fan theory suggests, convincingly, that this was intentional.
Kirk already knew that his ship wasn’t as damaged as his enemy believed and that he and Spock had already worked out a rendezvous plan.
This means that his desperation and anger could have just been a show to keep Khan off guard while he waited. It also probably kept the villain from looking too hard for the Enterprise, which was just hiding on the other side of the planet.
Regardless, Kirk had plenty to be genuinely mad about just then– a dangerous criminal was getting away with a doomsday weapon and a starship. However, it’s still one of the best moments in the franchise no matter what was behind it.
Garak is a Section 31 operative
Deep Space Nine’s Garak is, on the surface, a simple, Cardassian tailor who owns a shop on the space station. Later seasons reveal that he’s a former (if not current) spy who still has contacts deep in the Cardassian government.
The problem here, according to fans, is that even if the Federation didn’t know that Garak was a spy, it would still be pretty wary of keeping him on their station. Any chance you might have against an agent of Space Nazis in the middle of an already tense political situation is probably not worth the risk.
Unless, that is, he already works for them. This theory casts Garak as a double agent who reports Cardassian activities to the shadowy Federation intelligence group Section 31. He stays on the station after the hand-over because he still has plenty of work to do.
Worf and Dr. Crusher were the only ones not cheating at poker
This one’s pretty cynical, but since people don’t use money in the 24th century, the only real harm is to the victim’s pride.
The senior crew’s poker game is a recurring event on The Next Generation. The regular players are Riker, Data, Geordi, Worf, Troi, and Dr. Crusher. They’ve had a few guests over the years, but generally the main lineup stays the same. This theory believes that most of them are cheating.
Counselor Troi is an empath who can detect people’s emotions. Data can easily count cards. Geordi’s VISOR can pick up light wavelengths that make cards transparent or use infrared to see changes in his opponents’ body temperature to detect bluffs. Finally, Riker just hates losing, so we wouldn’t put cheating at a largely ceremonial game past him.
However, most of the players can’t control the things that allow them to cheat, so it isn’t even their fault.
Enterprise’s Future Guy was Archer
Here is the rare fan theory that a show’s creators have more or less confirmed, but they never got around to actually making canon.
A mysterious villain on Enterprise, whom the show officially credited as “Humanoid Figure,” is a guy from the distant future who sends contemporary agents on missions to mess up history and change the course of time. This was the Temporal Cold War, which has a dumb name but is still a nice idea.
Considering all of the intentional mystery surrounding “Future Guy,” as the fans often refer to him, it only makes sense that he’s a known character. Many fans (and the creators) decided he was a future version of Jonathan Archer, which is the most interesting take. However, we’ll never know for sure.
Q wasn’t just teaching Picard a lesson
This theory requires you to assume some benevolence from Q. Though he’s usually just a jerk, once you get past that, this makes an odd bit of sense.
Next Generation episode “Q-Who?” has the petulant god-being snapping the Enterprise to the far reaches of the galaxy to show Picard how dangerous space is.
They make first contact with the Borg, who immediately take the lives of 18 crew members and almost blow the rest up. Q comes in at the last second to make his point and send everyone back where they started.
The Borg had already been checking out Federation space. Therefore this theory states that Q intentionally showed Picard what was coming so that the Federation would have a chance to get ready.
It’s not clear why he’d give them the heads-up when the Borg had already destroyed countless other civilizations, but Q is complicated.
Picard is Wesley’s father
Officially, Wesley Crusher’s father is Jack Crusher, who passed away on an away mission under Picard’s command. However, some fans aren’t sure about this.
Their main evidence is Picard’s complicated relationship with the boy, which is simultaneously a father-son dynamic and one based on deep regret and shame.
Sure, this could just be because Picard feels bad about being responsible for the death of the kid’s father. However, what if it was also because that happened after the captain had an affair with his best friend’s wife and accidentally had a baby?
Wesley’s actual parentage is fairly incidental to these relationships since the motivations are similar either way. However, the internet never saw a situation it didn’t want to add drama to, so now we have this theory… and it’s actually pretty plausible.
All of Star Trek is Benny Russell’s creation
Benny Russell is a sci-fi writer living in 1950s New York whose identity Captain Sisko takes on during a vision from the Prophets in the Deep Space Nine episode “Far Beyond the Stars.”
Russell fights racism in order to convince his publisher to run his story about a black space captain on a future space station. He doesn’t succeed, but the implications are huge.
In his second appearance, in “Shadows and Symbols”, he’s seen in a mental institution still writing, albeit on the walls of his cell. Meanwhile, the real captain has found a powerful Prophet artifact but inexplicably can’t open it.
Eventually, he does, but only once Benny writes so in his story. This moment suggests that events in Deep Space Nine only happen when Benny conceives of them. Also, if this is true of Deep Space Nine, it’s probably true of all of them.
What are your favorite Star Trek fan theories? Do you know of any others that make a lot of sense? Let us know in the comments!
