Star Trek: 10 Character Reveals That Didn't Have To Go THAT Hard

8. Riker Covered Up A Lot Of Deaths

Star Trek The Next Generation The Pegasus Riker Pressman Worf
CBS Media Ventures

Everyone has a past, by the nature of time itself. Therefore it should come as no great surprise that there will be things we never knew about our favourite characters, even as the years pass by. The seventh season episode of The Next Generation The Pegasus revealed a whopped about William T.

With the arrival of his former commanding officer, there was a good chance for old war stories and commemorating lost souls. What the audience were not prepared for was how those souls were lost. The eponymous ship - the Pegasus - was presumed destroyed after a disaster, stemming from illegal operations on board.

Riker, having not only been first officer of the Enterprise-D for seven years, was also shown - by and large - to be a stickler for rules. There were exceptions to this but it was also very clear why Starfleet kept pulling out the captain's chair for him - he was dependable. He was good in a crisis. He was number one. 

To discover that not only was he covering up the nature of his colleagues' deaths, but also the illegality of Pressman's actions, was a blow to his character. It didn't hurt how we viewed him but it was certainly an unexpected aspect to a stalwart officer.

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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"