10 Most Annoying Unanswered Questions In Star Trek

4. Why Did Saavik Stay Behind?

This is an entry of two halves. For the first, we are presented with Robin Curtis's cameo in Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home. Saavik remains behind on Vulcan when Kirk, Spock, and the rest of the crew of the HMS Bounty depart for Earth. Why did she remain? She possibly felt no need to travel back with them as she bore no responsibility for their actions - a coldly logical decision, at least.

This seems at odds with how The Wrath Of Khan and The Search For Spock established Saavik's character. She seemed to at least assume the role that Rand or even Ilia seemed poised to fill before her. Suddenly, she leaves, and nothing more is said.

If, however, we open the floor to expanded canon, we do have an answer to this. She was pregnant with Spock's child, conceived on Genesis, as she guided him through Pon Farr. This was included in the shooting script but never made it to screen - until 2024. In OTOY's 765874 Unification, Saavik is present, as is Sorak - Spock's son. As it stands, this answer is like Project Phoenix - canon if you want it to be, yet just fringe enough to be ignored if you prefer.

What we would like is something more concrete. Saavik was an essential part of the Enterprise crew - why was she suddenly left behind?