Writing Sela Better

[Al-1701]

With Chuck reuploading Redemption, I figured I would give my thoughts in how I would improve Sela's usage as well as her backstory considering how badly things ended for Tasha.

I would keep the basic idea that Tasha and a few others were captured and taken back to Romulus as prisoners. However, she found an allure to this world. After all, she grew up in a timeline where the Klingons were her enemy, and the crimes that were rampant throughout her childhood are rigorously prosecuted here. It's not Earth, but it has its charm to the warrior.

So, I would make her relationship with the Romulan in charge more mutual. She falls in love with him, gives up her Federation citizenship (it's not like she can go home anyway), and marries him.

Where things go wrong is with her husband. He is secretly a member of a fledgling unification movement wishing to normalize relations with the Vulcans and perhaps the Federation in general. However, his father is very much of the old guard and involved in plans of subverting the Federation.

When he suspects he is going to be found out, the husband tries to escape with Tasha and Sela, but Sela gives them away and they are captured. Sela's parents are killed, and her Grandfather take her under his wing. He raises her to embrace her Human and Romulan traits that makes her into a master tactician.

This is why she especially hates the unification movement. It just reminds her of her parents and how they threw their lives away for it.

I would have her the recurring face of the Romulans going forward. She is loyal to the Empire, but she gains a grudging respect for Picard and his crew. She might even work with them in an episode were their objects match. Maybe she even becomes the observer for the Defiant and its cloak on DS9 (and provide the role the relevance and familiarity for it to stick). It would make for an interesting interaction when Worf joins.

These are just some thoughts.

[McAvoy]

Honestly between her and Tomalok (spl), they were under used. Either or both of them could be the face of the Romulans for TNG. Could have easily had at least Sela in a couple of episodes of TNG. I am sure Denise Crosby would have been happy to show up for more episodes as Sela.

I would not have done a flashback scene of Tasha getting captured and everything that led up to Sela.

[Al-1701]

I wouldn't have done a flashback, just changed up the backstory a bit. And the initial explanation could be a lie told to her by her grandfather, that it was her mother who corrupted her father. Then, in Unification, she learns the truth from Spock. Following that, we have an episode where she has a crisis of faith when she finds herself on a mission that requires her to ally herself with the Enterprise.

In the end, she will always be loyal to the Empire.

[CharlesPhipps]

So, I would make her relationship with the Romulan in charge more mutual. She falls in love with him, gives up her Federation citizenship (it's not like she can go home anyway), and marries him.

Making Tasha Yar a sex slave to a monster is a horrifying end to her character but your argument is essentially, "I'll instead fall in love with the Nazi who captured us and murdered our friends voluntarily then join the Elf Nazis."

I mean, if we want to get rid of the sexual assault origins to her, you could instead have her be a clone or experiment.

Or hell, make it Tasha Yar herself, driven mad by Romulan MAD SCIENCE.

[clearspira]

So, I would make her relationship with the Romulan in charge more mutual. She falls in love with him, gives up her Federation citizenship (it's not like she can go home anyway), and marries him.

Making Tasha Yar a sex slave to a monster is a horrifying end to her character but your argument is essentially, "I'll instead fall in love with the Nazi who captured us and murdered our friends voluntarily then join the Elf Nazis."

I mean, if we want to get rid of the sexual assault origins to her, you could instead have her be a clone or experiment.

Or hell, make it Tasha Yar herself, driven mad by Romulan MAD SCIENCE.

I feel as if Star Trek at some point absolutely forgot that Tasha Yar was from a Mad Max planet ''dodging rape gangs''. Essentially the canon plot currently boils down to ''woman flees being a potential sex slave, gets rescued, spends the rest of her life fighting a brutal war and ends up as a sex slave.''

This is not the first time either. Remember the time they all contracted the Psi 2000 polywater infection and she spent her time having sex with guys and Data against her will? Yeah.

It was a grave misfortune that this character debuted under Roddenberry's season 1 of TNG - a character like this would have fitted in beautifully on DS9 if done correctly. Remember the episode with her sister that came AFTER Roddenberry left? That wasn't half bad. Those early writers just could not deal with such a heavy topic (or weren't allowed to). I also kind of wonder given some of the other things that happened under Roddenberry such as Janice Lester's misogyny, Troi's immaculate conception and the Ferengi having massive dongs whether he enjoyed the idea of a hot woman being chased by rape gangs even if he planned on doing nothing with it. I don't know that, that is just my opinion, i'm just saying that it kind of fits.

[Deledrius]

It was a grave misfortune that this character debuted under Roddenberry's season 1 of TNG - a character like this would have fitted in beautifully on DS9 if done correctly. Remember the episode with her sister that came AFTER Roddenberry left? That wasn't half bad.

Tasha really got a poor beginning, and unlike the rest, didn't stick around long enough to see what she would have become.

I also kind of wonder given some of the other things that happened under Roddenberry such as Janice Lester's misogyny

No way to know for sure, but I would note that Turnabout Intruder was made well after Roddenberry's influence on the show had been curtailed heavily, and while the episode was based on a story by him it wasn't written by him. Alas, I can't easily find anything talking about who shoulders the blame for that awful line (and I'm glad that later Trek has confirmed it as being the mad ravings of a jealous lunatic).

[Nobody700]

Really if they wanted to do anything with this... have Tasha Yar BE in the klingon/romulan commune, she had Sela with a Romulan soldier, and that Sela is someone trying to bring peace between Romulans and the Federation so while she's a Romulan soldier, she is actually an inside agent who is working with Spock secretly.

[McAvoy]

Tbh, Tasha was the only one that really got some sort of backstory. Riker and Troi had a thing at some point. Worf was just a Klingon Starfleet officer. Picard served with Crusher's husband. Riker is Riker and Troi is half human. Oh Geordi is blind.

None of these are backstories or some sort of foundation for the character. I mean a strong one.

Think about DS9 and Voyager. Each pilot episode for both we knew what was what with each character.

We did eventually get stories, tidbits etc added later on in later seasons of course. But Tasha was the only to me that actually had something.

[clearspira]

Tbh, Tasha was the only one that really got some sort of backstory. Riker and Troi had a found at some point. Worf was just a Klingon Stargleet officer. Picard served with Crusher's husband. Riker is Riker and Troi is half human. Oh Geordi is blind.

None of these are backstories or some sort of foundation for the character. I mean a strong one.

Think about DS9 and Voyager. Each pilot episode for both we knew what was what with each character.

We did eventually get stories, tidbits etc added later on in later seasons of course. But Tasha was the only to me that actually had something.

Season 1 of TNG is a masterclass of poor execution. Only DISCO season 1 comes close, and I will say in fairness to both of them, they were both having to reinvent the wheel somewhat. TNG was trying to reinvent a 60s TV show for an 80s TV audience and DISCO was trying to reinvent a 90s TV show made in the 00s that had been cancelled due to low ratings. They both sucked at it but still.

A ''modern'' Tasha would probably fit right in today and i'm not even saying that to be insulting for once. The rape victim would actually get some scenes exploring that, and in the episode ''Symbiosis'' she seems to imply that she was once a drug addict so there's that too. Although i'm also certain that PIC would take her up to 10,000% on all of those things and she would be a barely restrained ball of rage and emotions that hates all men and does rails in the bathroom.

[hammerofglass]

And that wouldn't work because they already have a barely restrained ball of rage and emotions doing rails in the bathroom.