10 Most Divisive Star Trek Moments

4. Sheer F**king Hubris

Star Trek Picard
CBS

Admiral Clancy's exclamation when Picard sits in her office, demanding to be reinstated to Starfleet (although deigning to accept the rank of Captain rather than Admiral), was one of the first truly divisive moments in Star Trek: Picard. The was the first time the f-bomb had been dropped around Jean-Luc, shocking audiences and letting us know early on that we were not in for another season of The Next Generation.

Star Trek: Picard, like Discovery before it, opened the door to a torrent of online criticism from some fans who felt that the tone and language simply had no place in Star Trek. While one may or may not agree with that, to discount this argument is to alienate a large portion of the fanbase.

On the other hand, Star Trek has always succeeded when it pushed boundaries. This, depicting an Admiral who has no time to be lectured by a man who feels he can walk in and dominate any room, is objectively a completely fair depiction of what would happen.

Picard left Starfleet by issuing and ultimatum, then attempted to re-enter the service by doing the exact same thing.

Perhaps Admiral Clancy had a point.

Contributor
Contributor

Seán is the host and head writer/presenter for TrekCulture, as well as a writer/presenter on WhoCulture and WhatCulture Horror. He has authored two novels, dozens of short stories, and hundreds of articles for WhatCulture. He holds a Master of Arts in Creative Writing from University College Dublin. As part of his work with TrekCulture, Seán has been invited to participate in collaborations with Roddenberry Entertainment, as well as contributing to several Star Trek community projects. An avid fan of Star Trek, Doctor Who, and the horror genre at large, Seán's expertise has helped develop these channels to the successes they are today. As host of the Ups & Downs series on TrekCulture, Seán has become internationally recognised for his positive yet critically informed approach to reviewing every episode of modern Star Trek, ensuring he is one of the go-to voices in the Trek community. Favourite Quote to describe himself: "I'm serious about what I do, just not always about the way that I do it"