Star Trek couple who rejected cultural divides to be together

Important takeaways

• Star Trek fosters endless diversity through cross-species romance.
• Gene Roddenberry used the franchise to comment on cultural issues.
• Star Trek couples show that love conquers all despite 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 to Star Trekthat words that expressed it became a mantra for the franchise and all it stood for. One of the many ways the franchise has expressed this infinite diversity in infinite combinations is through cross-species romances. Many relationships throughout the series began and thrived across cultural divides and across conflict lines.

Gene Roddenberry, Star Trek's creator, has often said 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. These began as a thinly veiled allegory for interracial relationships, showing beings falling in love despite their cultural differences or 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 generation-long war between two photonic species, the Cubes and the Spheres. Fixed Star Trek's Interspecies and cross-conflict lovers haven't always ended wars, they've shown Trekkies that love really does conquer all. Here are some Star Trek couples who rejected cultural divides and crossed conflict lines to be together.

T'Pol and Trip

Business

Fixed Star Trek: Enterprise aired decades after Star Trek: The Original Seriesit depicts the events of the first human space mission, nearly a century before Captain Kirk's five-year mission. Trekkies saw many interspecies romances before Sub-Commander T'Pol and Commander Charles “Trip” Tucker met. However, they were the first major human-alien couple in the Star Trek the timeline.

In the 21st century, when Business takes place, humans and Vulcans were allies, but they were not friends. The Vulcans strictly controlled human space exploration and looked down on humans as an inferior species. Although Vulcans are known for their flat affects, even their rigid emotional control could not hide their contempt for humans. And people disliked Vulcans just as much. They saw them as oppressive overseers, delaying their advancement through the galaxy.

In the midst of all this inter-species fighting, Sub-Commander T'Pol was assigned to work on the Enterprise NX-01, where Commander Tucker was the Chief Engineer. Although they disliked each other at first, they served together and risked their lives together. When they did, they followed a classic “enemy to lover” arc right into each other's beds.

Their romance explored the significant challenges faced by couples whose cultures are vastly different. The story is all too familiar to people who have fallen in love with someone from a distant land or a religion very different from their own. T'Pol faced the scorn of her parents when she rejected her arranged marriage, and Trip endured the ruthless judgment of the Vulcans who saw him as a second-class citizen.

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

Sarek and Amanda

The Original Series; Discovered

About half a century after T'Pol and Trip's romance, the most famous Vulcan-human romance began. Sarek met Amanda Grayson while serving as the Vulcan ambassador to Earth. The two fell in love and married while Sarek was on Earth, but shortly thereafter returned to Vulcan. Although they loved each other deeply, Sarek's expression of that love was limited by his Vulcan devotion to logic.

Being human on Vulcan was difficult for Amanda. She had to learn to hide her feelings and be content with the subtle expressions of love Sarek could give her. Amanda also faced constant criticism from the Vulcans, who despised her humanity and thought she was a poor match for Sarek, especially since he 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 held them together through it all. They raised two children together – their biological child, Spock, and their foster child, Michael Burnham.

Rome and Leeta

Deep Space Nine

Rom, a Ferengi living on Deep Space Nine, grew up 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 prohibited by law from owning their own property.

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

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

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

Fortunately, he made the right decision. Rom and Leeta married on Deep Space Nine during the Domino War, and their love for each other saw them through their separation during the war. After the war, Rom was named Grand Nagus, and he and Leeta moved to Ferenginar. Leeta helped implement feminist reforms on the Ferengin and eventually ruled alongside Rom.

Benjamin Sisko and Cassidy Yates

Deep Space Nine

Although Captain Benjamin Sisko and Kasidy Yates didn't have to deal with the obstacles to cross-species love, their love had to endure both different political and religious beliefs. Shortly after they began dating, Captain Sisko found out that Kasidy was smuggling supplies to the Maquis, a resistance cell opposed to Starfleet. Although he grew 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 was out of prison. They both decided that their mutual betrayal was not enough to stop their love, and they eventually married.

However, their relationship faced another major obstacle soon after. Being the emissary of the Bajoran Prophets, Sisko decided 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 their unborn child, and Kasidy promised to wait for him. As they parted, it seemed their love would endure yet another unfathomable challenge. But fans will never know for sure, as Sisko's story ended there.

These pairs showed Star Trek fans who love can spark, capture and keep burning through all sorts of challenges and despite all kinds of odds. And that's one of the many reasons why the franchise means so much to its fans and the world.