10 Most Shocking Betrayals In Star Trek
Just because this is Star Trek, that doesn't mean that you don't need to watch your back.
A good betrayal comes after trust has been built. If a character is to betray someone, it should follow a period of at least friendliness between them. This list outlines the times when betrayal has rocked characters or audience to the core as it came from places of utter shock.
Sometimes the shock is faced by the audience. Characters that were so straight-laced sometimes reveal themselves to have either been working for another power all along, or have been coerced along the way to break ranks. The audience is left open mouthed by this act of mutiny. Other times, it is not the audience who are shocked but rather the other characters in that situation.
With the gift of the fourth wall, the audience often sees the motivations behind some decision that aren't revealed to the characters until later on. Sometimes, poor souls in the Star Trek universe are forced into situations outside of their control or given information that radically changes the way that they view the world around them. Their beliefs are rocked and as an audience, we follow them on their journey toward either salvation or doom.
Most often doom.
Sometimes, once all of the motivations and plots are put to one side, the entries on this list are just plain sad. Betrayal is never an upbeat occurrence, proven by the events here. What is the cost of a broken heart? Sometimes, the cost is not high enough.
10. Terrell And Checkov - The Wrath Of Khan
Poor Captain Terrell. His crime: being a captain in a film featuring James T. Kirk. He never stood a chance.
Discovered by Khan on Ceti Alpha V, Terrell and Checkov have the very unfortunate luck to be infected by the Ceti Eels and they become slaves to the will of their new master, Khan. The audience sees them participate in the duping of Carol Marcus, threatening to take Genesis.
Khan then attacks the Enterprise but they are conspicuously absent. After the battle, Kirk and crew arrive at Regula 1, discovering the two men in a storage locker. They are revived and the crew hear their tale. They are clearly shell-shocked but they are honest in their recollections, informing Kirk of the whereabouts of the Reliant's crew and the intentions of Khan. As any good Starfleet officer would, Kirk allows them to accompany him in his search for Marcus and Genesis.
Beaming down to the rock below, the sad twist becomes evident. The men had never been freed from Khan's control. They pull their phasers on the landing party, killing the unfortunate (and frankly, un-mourned) Jedda. They inform Khan of the party's location and he beams up Genesis. He then orders them to kill Kirk.
What follows is a quick but sad scene. Terrell overcomes his conditioning and rather than kill a fellow officer, turns the weapon on himself. Checkov holds out long enough for the bug to fall out of his ear. An ignoble end to another captain, but a lesson to all who would try and share centre stage with William Shatner.