Star Trek couples who rejected cultural divides to be together

Key recommendations

• Star Trek promotes infinite diversity through interspecies love.
• Gene Roddenberry used the franchise to comment on cultural issues.
• Star Trek couples show that love conquers all, despite the challenges.

From the beginning, the goal of Star Trek was to show people that the future could be a better place if everyone embraced the Vulcan philosophy: “Infinite diversity in infinite combinations.” Philosophy is so important Star Trekthe words that express it became a mantra for the franchise and everything it stood for. One of the many ways the franchise has expressed this infinite diversity in infinite combinations is through interspecies romances. Many relationships throughout the series began and thrived across cultural divides and across conflict lines.

Gene Roddenberry, Star Trek creator, often stated that he used science fiction as a way to comment on 1960s culture in a way that traditional dramas could not due to government censorship. So it makes sense that many of the relationships he portrayed on screen involved different species. They began as a thinly veiled allegory for interracial relationships, showing beings who fell in love despite their cultural differences or the conflicts between their societies. This theme continued in the Trek shows created after his death.

In the latest episode of Star Trek: Lower Decks“Gods and Angles”, an interspecies love story literally ended a generational war between two photonic species, the Cubes and the Spheres. Although Star Trek Cross-species lovers and conflicts didn't always end wars, they showed Trekkies that love truly does conquer all. Here are some Star Trek couples who rejected cultural divisions and crossed conflict lines to be together.

T'Pol and Trip

Enterprise

Although Star Trek: Enterprise aired after decades Star Trek: The Original Seriesdescribes the events of the first human mission into deep space, nearly a century before Captain Kirk's five-year mission. Trekkies have seen many interspecies romances before Sub-Commander T'Pol and Commander Charles “Trip” Tucker meet. However, they were the first major human-alien couple from Star Trek timeline.

In the 2100s, when Enterprise takes place, humans and Vulcans were allies, but not friends. The Vulcans tightly controlled humanity's space exploration and looked down on humans as an inferior species. Although Vulcans are famous for their flat affects, even their rigid emotional control could not hide their contempt for humans. And humans dislike Vulcans just as much. They saw them as oppressive overseers who slowed their progress through the galaxy.

In the midst of this inter-species struggle, Sub-Commander T'Pol was assigned to work on the Enterprise NX-01, where Commander Tucker was the Chief Engineer. Although they did not like each other at first, they served together and risked their lives together. While doing so, they followed a classic “enemy to lovers” arc right in each other's beds.

Their romance explored the significant challenges faced by couples whose cultures are very different from each other. The story is all too familiar to people who have fallen in love with someone from a distant land or a religion far different from their own. T'Pol had to deal with her parents' disdain while she rejected her arranged marriage, and Trip had to endure the merciless judgment of the Vulcans who viewed him as a second-class citizen.

Despite all this, their love grew and prospered. However, it ended in tragedy after the loss of their genetically modified child. They never had a chance to rekindle it, as Trip sacrificed himself to save the crew of the Enterprise NX-01.

Sarek and Amanda

The Original Series; Discovery

About half a century after T'Pol and Trip's romance, the most famous Vulcan love story began. Sarek met Amanda Grayson when he was Vulcan's ambassador to Earth. The two fell in love and married while Sarek was on Earth, but soon returned to Vulcan. Although they loved each other deeply, Sarek's expression of this love was limited by his Vulcan dedication to logic.

Being a human on Vulcan was difficult for Amanda. She had to learn to hide her emotions and be content with the subtle expressions of love that Sarek could give her. Amanda also faced constant criticism from the Vulcans, who despised her humanity and felt that she was a poor match for Sarek, especially since she held such a high status on his home planet. Having a human wife was also difficult for Sarek. He faced constant judgment for choosing a human wife and was often mocked for being “too human”, a serious insult in Vulcan society.

Although the disapproval of their marriage often put a strain on their relationship, Sarek and Amanda's enduring love kept them together through it all. They raised two children together – their biological child, Spock, and their adopted child, Michael Burnham.

Rom and Leeta

Deep Space Nine

Rom, a Ferengi living on Deep Space Nine, was raised with his brother on Ferenginar, where women were considered little more than the property of their husbands. Respectable Ferengi women never wore clothes, served their male partners and children to the point of even chewing food for them, and were legally prohibited from owning their own property.

Leeta, a Bajoran woman who worked as a Dabo girl on Deep Space Nine, was the epitome of independence. She worked to take care of herself, dated whoever she wanted, and never took orders from anyone other than her boss, Rom's brother Quark. And even those orders she eagerly took.

Their unlikely romance blossomed when Rom, who also worked for his brother, decided to start a union and Leeta joined. He waited for Rom to ask her out for months, but he didn't work up the courage until she had almost left Deep Space Nine.

When he asked her out, their passion grew exponentially, but they soon found it difficult to manage their cultural differences. Although Rom was not as committed to Ferengi culture as most of his kin, he still expected Leeta to behave like a proper and submissive Ferengi woman. When she refused, Rom had to decide if he loved her enough to reject her cultural expectations.

Fortunately, he made the right decision. Rom and Leeta were married on Deep Space Nine during the Dominon War, and their love for each other was challenged by their separation during the war. After the war, Rom was appointed Grand Nagus, and he and Leeta moved to Ferenginar. Leeta helped implement feminist reforms on the Ferenginar and eventually ruled alongside Rom.

Benjamin Sisko and Cassidy Yates

Deep Space Nine

Although Captain Benjamin Sisko and Kasidy Yates did not have to face the obstacles of cross-species love, their love had to endure both different political and religious beliefs. Shortly after they began dating, Captain Sisko learned that Kasidy was smuggling supplies to the Maquis, a resistance cell opposed to Starfleet. Although he was beginning to love Kasidy, Sisko had to turn her in, and she went to prison.

While that would have ended most relationships, Sisko and Kassidy rekindled their relationship once she got out of prison. They both decided that their mutual betrayals were not enough to stop their love and eventually got married.

However, their relationship faced another major obstacle soon after. Sisko, who was the emissary of the Bajoran Prophets, decided that it was his destiny to join the Prophets in the wormhole that led to the Gamma Quadrant. He promised Kasidy that he would return to help her raise her unborn child, and Kasidy promised to wait for him. When they left each other, it seemed that their love would endure yet another unfathomable challenge. But fans will never know for sure, because Sisko's story ended there.

These couples showed Star Trek the fans they love can stir, catch and keep burning through all kinds of challenges and despite all kinds of differences. And that's one of the many reasons why the franchise means so much to its fans and the world.