The Sprawling History Of Star Trek's Ro Laren Gets A Little Complicated
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In the fifth season of "Star Trek: The Next Generation," the showrunners introduced a new regular character named Ensign Ro Laren. Ro (an excellent Michelle Forbes) was a Bajoran, a species whose planet has been militarily occupied by the wicked Cardassians for generations. Bajorans had long since turned to rebellious terrorism to fight back. Since neither world was a member of the Federation, no Starfleet vessels interfered. When the Enterprise was assigned to find a Bajoran terrorist named Orta (Jeffrey Hayegna), Ensign Ro was assigned to assist.
Immediately, Ro was a fascinating character. She belonged to Starfleet but hated authority, often defying Captain Picard (Patrick Stewart) and expressing open annoyance with his orders. She possessed a great deal of agency, upsetting the traditional Starfleet chain of command. She also was, it is eventually revealed, on a secret mission from an admiral above Picard's head. In a mannered, propriety-driven world like "Star Trek," a willful free agent stands as a challenge to everyone's most basic ideals. Ro Laren points out that Starfleet isn't always a rosy, functional organization, and that immoral war acts can still happen with Starfleet in the world. The relationship between Ro and Picard is one of the more fascinating in the series.
At the end of her debut episode — called, fittingly enough, "Ensign Ro" (October 7, 1991) — she was able to provide aid to Orta and his team of terrorists, knowing that Starfleet was being used as a pawn in a larger game. The Cardassians, it seems, needed help in tracking down someone they defined as a war criminal and kind of hoodwinked Starfleet into helping. Ro went out of bounds on several occasions but ultimately learned to trust Picard. That didn't mean, however, that they liked each other.
Principles
The best characters on "Star Trek" are those with clearly delineated principles. If they have a definite moral stance, then they will always have something to be passionate about, something to fight for. It doesn't matter if the character's principles match the audience's — Quark on "Deep Space Nine," for instance, is soulfully devoted to money and wealth — it merely matters that we understand what they want in any given scene.
Ro Laren is devoted to justice. She is unafraid to speak her mind and lets everyone know when she's pissed off (which is often). When she grants someone else her trust, you know it was well-earned. Picard learns to trust her and she begrudgingly accepts Picard as her commanding officer. In return, she is allowed to wear her earring while on duty. Chained earrings are a religious symbol in Bajoran society. Michael Piller, the character's creator, claimed in a magazine interview to have loved writing for Ro, stating that he liked someone who doesn't get along with others well.
In the episode "Disaster" (October 21, 1991), Ro found herself trapped on the bridge with only Counselor Troi (Marina Sirtis) as her commanding officer. Troi was unable to rein in Ro's anger, and the situation gave both characters a chance to test the limits of command. Most of Ro's episodes were crisis episodes, and she was often depicted in dangerous, unusual situations. In "Conundrum," her memory was erased along with the rest of the crew, and she and Riker (Jonathan Frakes) had a brief affair. In "Rascals," she was transformed into a child. Ro and Guinan (Whoopi Goldberg) developed a strangely warm relationship.
But Ro would never find comfort with Starfleet.
The perfection of Starfleet
Ro's final episode of "Next Generation" was "Preemptive Strike" (May 16, 1994). In that episode, the newly promoted Lieutenant Ro returns to the Enterprise after going through Starfleet tactical training back on Earth. Ro is assigned a dangerous mission: She must infiltrate a group of Federation separatists called the Maquis. The Cardassians, in exchange for ending their violent occupation of multiple worlds (including Bajor), were given a number of Federation colonies. The Federation colonists were ordered to move, but many of them resented the exchange and the fact that the Federation gave concessions to a wicked species like the Cardassians. The Maquis were formed as a rebellion force, fighting to keep their homes, despite Federation orders. They were enemies to the Federation and to Cardassia.
In infiltrating the Maquis, Ro found that they really had been given a raw deal. She steals medical supplies from the Enterprise and gives them to the Maquis leader, Macias (John Franklyn-Robbins). Picard has been ordered to flush out the Maquis and bring them to heel. The Maquis, meanwhile, have intel on a Cardassian weapon they aim to stop. Because of the diplomatic fineries of the Federation, none of these three sides are communicating. Ro feels she has no choice: She has to betray Picard and help the Maquis. Her last act on the series is to reveal the Enterprise's plans to the Maquis, allowing them to escape. She holds a phaser on Riker and asks that he convey an apology back to Picard. Picard, upon hearing about Ro's betrayal, is heartbroken.
Picard had felt he was "reaching" Ro, turning her into a good Starfleet officer. Ro, meanwhile, hated being "tamed." She was going to follow her principles.
Ro's return
Many Trekkies love Ro Laren, and it's easy to see why. She is the clearest sign that even the most stringently composed utopias will still have malcontents. The Federation is not perfect, as it is ill-equipped to deal with citizens who refuse to toe the company line. Starfleet stands for a pretty noble ethic, but it also is so beholden to formalism and the chain of command that it becomes stymied. Ro is a woman of action who would rather seek solutions than permission, and ethics rather than meaningless notions of loyalty. Picard felt betrayed, but the audience understands everything Ro did.
The character returned in an episode of "Star Trek: Picard" called "Imposters" (March 16, 2023). The last Picard had seen of Ro was when she betrayed him and ran off with the Maquis. He was startled, then, to see her back in a Starfleet uniform 40 years later, bearing the rank of Commander, and in charge of a Federation security force. The first conversation Picard had with Ro upon being reunited was bitter, angry, hurt. Picard saw Ro as one of his great failures, as he was unable to "snap her into shape." Ro, true to her character, shoots back that Picard didn't bother really understanding her. She no longer has to explain herself to him. "Picard" was best when it pointed out Picard's character flaws, and his inability to "reach" all of his officers was one of them.
In "Imposters," Ro ended up sacrificing her life so that Picard could flee a Byzantine Changeling conspiracy and save the day. Ro, however principled, wouldn't necessarily do that, though. In my headcanon, she somehow escaped destruction and continued to fight the good fight on whatever front was most deserving.