12 Star Trek Characters Who Changed The Most
5. Troi
One of the most welcome returns to the franchise was Deanna Troi in Nepenthe. In that one episode, her growth and losses are evident in spades.
She is introduced back in Encounter at Farpoint and her initial few episodes were rough, to say the least. While her character was still finding her feet, she bounces from space psychic to agony aunt, never truly finding a niche in the series. It took several seasons for Troi to settle in to something other than, for want of a better description, an extra with lines.
Going into the middle of The Next Generation, we see a depth in her that hadn't been evident before. She takes command in Disaster, proving a strength that hadn't been seen before. She gets more and more involved in shipboard life, eventually securing a promotion to commander, in a move that feels both long overdue and well-earned.
She appears in several episodes of Star Trek Voyager, providing not just a nice link to the greater franchise but also as a bolster for Barclay as well. She also later appears in Enterprise, but the less said about that, the better.
She and Riker finally marry in Star Trek Nemesis, which again feels both overdue and earned. They embark on a new life aboard the USS Titan, though they retire in the years following this. They suffer tragedy with the loss of their son, but raise a beautiful daughter Kendra.
Troi is very much in charge of herself when Picard comes to visit, open to receiving him but unafraid to tell him when he's out of line. She is a very welcome return and here's hoping she will be back for season two.