10 Greatest Redemption Stories In Star Trek

Leaving the deepest, deadliest of canals from Florida to Venezuela with plans to come back and go full Hitchhiker's Guide is a tough place to start a journey of redemption. As the project lead for the Xindi weapon, Degra was directly responsible for the deaths of seven million people on Earth, and that was just his prototype! After Captain Archer's quantum dated intervention, however, Degra not only sought out atonement, he essentially switched sides.

We've previously called the Sphere Builders 'irredeemable' of their villainy because, well, playground rules: they started it, and, as, if not more, importantly, they never gave up trying to kill all humans. It was also the Sphere Builders who manipulated Degra and fellow Xindi into thinking that Humanity was an existential threat. The Xindi pulled the trigger, but, no Sphere Builders, no need for the giant space gun in the first place.

Naturally, the murder of seven million can never be pardoned, but Degra did, at least, ask for some semblance of forgiveness once he'd learned the truth. More than that, he did everything in his power to prevent the use of the full-scale weapon, to ensure that there was no more (human) blood on his hands. In fact, Degra changed so much as a character that by the time he was on the unfortunate end of Dolim's blade in The Council, it was impossible not to feel sorry for him. In the end, Degra's risk and self-sacrifice helped save countless worlds, humanity, and the Xindi too.