Most Disheartening Crew Losses on 'Star Trek'
In the vast expanse of the Star Trek universe, the lives of ensigns often serve as poignant reminders of the perils faced by those who venture into the unknown. Here are some of the most gruesome and notable deaths of ensigns in the series, focusing primarily on Star Trek: The Original Series and Strange New Worlds.
In the episode "Obsession" of Star Trek: The Original Series, Ensigns Rizzo and Garrovick met a grisly end. A gaseous creature drained hemoglobin from its victims, and both ensigns hesitated to fire as ordered. Rizzo was the lone survivor of the first attack but later succumbed to his injuries in sickbay. Garrovick was relieved of duty for his hesitation, but his fate was sealed as he died in subsequent attacks.
In Strange New Worlds, Hemmer, the chief engineer and mentor figure, was intended by the writers to die in season 1 to raise the stakes. His death was impactful and traumatic, especially for Ensign Nyota Uhura, whom he mentored. The show's creators likened his role to Obi-Wan Kenobi in Star Wars, with a mentor's sacrifice.
Other ensigns, such as Dana Gamble and Beto Ortegas, appear in Strange New Worlds, but they did not meet gruesome deaths in the sources. Beto Ortegas was involved in tense storylines but managed to survive.
A notable death from Star Trek: The Next Generation was that of Ensign Sito Jaxa, who was killed during a covert mission. From Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Jetal was killed during a battle with the Jem'Hadar. An unnamed ensign from Star Trek: Voyager had his entire face burned off due to exposure to subnucleonic radiation.
In Star Trek: Discovery, Connor died during the Battle of the Binary Stars in the premiere, suffering a hull breach in the brig while in a delirious state. Ensign Cortez was sucked out into a subspace rift the ship was exploring, into a void of nothingness.
In Deep Space Nine, Hogan was eaten by a giant eel creature on a hostile planet. Ensign Middleton was eradicated from time and space entirely by a transdimensional creature called a Loom in the Prodigy episode "The Devourer of All Things, Part II."
The original Star Trek series did not kill off many ensigns, instead preferring to kill off crewmen. Mr. O'Herlihy, an ensign in the original series, was vaporized by a Gorn disruptor. Niko, a Harvongian shape-changer, devoured his girlfriend Angie after transforming into his true form on the USS Quito.
In the Enterprise episode "Daedalus," Burrows was killed after touching a spatial distortion, which caused cellular disruption and left his face hideously warped upon death. Gamble was instantly killed and then possessed by a hostile spirit called a Vezda, leading to his corpse being used to sabotage the ship.
Alvarado was eradicated from existence when his biological pattern was purged from a transporter's systems due to a power disruption during the Klingon-Federation war.
While these are the main known examples of gruesome deaths of ensigns from canon, other Star Trek series may have had ensigns die in various ways. However, detailed information on gruesome deaths specifically of ensigns was not found beyond these cases.
Gizmodo and io9 often discuss the future of television and movies-and-tv entertainment, highlighting the grisly deaths of ensigns in Star Trek series as poignant examples. In Star Trek: The Original Series, Ensigns Rizzo and Garrovic met their end in the "Obsession" episode, while in Strange New Worlds, Hemmer, the chief engineer, died tragically, leaving a lasting impact on his mentee, Ensign Nyota Uhura.
In the realm of technology, fans can immerse themselves in the Star Trek universe through various streaming platforms, revisiting these gruesome deaths and exploring the rich tapestry of entertainment that Star Trek provides.
As we venture into the future, we can expect to see more gruesome deaths of ensigns in upcoming Star Trek series, adding to the intrigue and excitement of the franchise's exploration of the unknown realms of entertainment.
