Star Trek: First Contact introduced the Borg Queen, whose brief relationship with Data might just be Star Trek’s strangest romance.
Summary
- Data’s romantic relationship with the Borg Queen in Star Trek: First Contact is considered strange and perverse, but it represents temptation and seduction.
- Star Trek: The Next Generation missed the opportunity to explore a real romance for Data, as his previous encounters were mostly played for awkward laughs and lacked genuine connection.
- Data’s romance with the Borg Queen in First Contact was his most provocative and unusual experience, allowing him to come close to physical existence and touch human skin.
The co-writer of Star Trek: First Contact knew the romance between Lt. Commander Data (Brent Spiner) and the Borg Queen (Alice Krige) was weird. For seven seasons of Star Trek: The Next Generation, Data strove to be more human like his fellow USS Enterprise-D crew mates. The android made friends and even gave romance a try, but his relationship with the Borg Queen was something else entirely. Although Data’s emotional journey took a few steps backward in the TNG films, Star Trek: First Contact did give him the chance to experience physical touch on human skin.
Data was never going to betray Captain Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) and the Enterprise crew in Star Trek: First Contact (though he did consider it for 0.68 seconds). But the android still found a certain fascination and temptation in what the Borg Queen was offering him. In the Star Trek oral history, The Fifty-Year Mission: The Next 25 Years by Mark A. Altman and Edward Gross, First Contact co-writer Brannon Braga speaks about Data’s unconventional romance with the Borg Queen. Read his full quote below:
Once we invented the Borg Queen, we realized that Data being seduced in some way by her would be very interesting. It is the most provocative and strangest experience he’s ever had, and he does come very close to physical existence thanks to the Borg. This is actually a romance. It’s a sick and perverted romance, but it’s perfect because it represents many things, including temptation, seduction, and romance, but all filled with Borg perversity.
Data’s 4 Star Trek Love Interests Explained
The android Lt. Commander Data had a surprising number of romantic encounters over the course of Star Trek: The Next Generation.
Star Trek Never Gave Data A Chance For A Real Romance
However, Data was “fully functional.”
Although Star Trek: The Next Generation gave Data a couple of opportunities for romance, the show never explored what a real relationship for Data would look like. In TNG season 4, episode 25, “In Theory,” Data tried dating, but the episode’s story doesn’t seem to understand Data as a character. When Lt. Jenna D’Sora (Michele Scarabelli) shows an interest in Data, his initial reaction is understandable, as he seeks advice from his friends. After that, though, “In Theory” falters, as Jenna doesn’t seem to know Data that well, and much of her behavior comes across as childish. Data, too, behaves out of character, turning what could have been a charming love story into a series of gags.
Data’s other two romances on Star Trek: The Next Generation fair a bit better, but not by much. In TNG season 1, Data’s brief encounter with Tasha Yar (Denise Crosby) is, again, mostly played for awkward laughs, and the genuine connection between the two only becomes apparent after Yar’s death. In TNG season 3, episode 2, “The Ensigns of Command,” an inhabitant of Tau Cygni V shows an interest in Data, but he claims to be unable to feel anything at all. This doesn’t quite ring true considering Data’s friendships and connections with the Enterprise crew. It’s a shame Star Trek never explored a genuine Data romance, especially considering most of the other main characters had multiple love interests throughout TNG. Still, Brannon Braga is right, that Star Trek: First Contact certainly contained Data’s strangest romance.
