Star Trek Just Ended Its 1 Chance To Fix a 43 Year Old Plot Hole For Good

One of the strangest continuity quirks in Star Trek stemmed from a single line from one of the franchise’s most infamous villains, Khan Noonien Singh. In Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, the genetically augmented superhuman caused debate among fans as to his prior connection with Ensign Pavel Chekov. Ricardo Montalban’s fan-favorite villain recognizes Chekov immediately and ominously warns that he “never forgets a face.” While clearly meant as a reference to the events of the Original Series episode “Space Seed” – Khan’s introduction – Chekov wasn’t seen until Season 2, a year after Khan was exiled. The discrepancy has become one of the franchise’s longest-running nitpicks, and a plot hole that fans have long hoped would eventually be addressed.

With Star Trek: Strange New Worlds reintroducing much of the classic Enterprise crew and serving as a sort of bridge into the Original Series era of Captain Kirk, some hoped this series might be when we would finally see the Khan-Chekov problem solved for good. After all, the show could offer some sort of explanation for the pair’s connection. Perhaps they met on some sidelined adventure? But now, the show’s producers have confirmed that Chekov will not appear on Pike’s Enterprise at all — closing the door on what may have been Trek’s final chance to fix the plot hole once and for all.

Strange New Worlds Skips Chekov for Continuity

Showrunners Akiva Goldsman and Henry Alonso Myers reasoning is simple. Canon places Chekov’s birth in 2245, which means he would still be a teenager during the events of Strange New Worlds, too young even to be at the academy. That’s far too young to realistically serve aboard Pike’s Enterprise, particularly in a bridge role alongside seasoned officers like Spock, Uhura, and Number One, though it might be a nice dynamic to see how characters like Ortegas and Uhura respond to the ‘baby’ of the group.

From a continuity perspective, the decision makes sense. SNW has thrived by balancing its fan-service cameos with (mostly) sticking to canon, and shoe-horning Chekov into Pike’s era may have been a stretch too far. However, this also means the series has passed on perhaps the best opportunity to smooth over Khan’s curious memory lapse.

The assertion from Khan in Star Trek II, that he recognises Chekov, has led to countless fan theories over the years: Was Chekov already aboard, maybe serving on the lower decks but simply not seen on screen? Did he cross paths with Khan off the Enterprise? Or, more likely, was it simply a slip in continuity that the writers never corrected?

By introducing Chekov in Strange New Worlds — even in a background role as a cadet or junior officer — the series could have easily justified Khan’s recognition. A young Chekov quietly serving somewhere on the ship, unseen in earlier episodes, would have fit perfectly. After all, the J.J. Abrams Kelvin Timeline films flat-out ignored canon when it came to Chekov, asserting that he was a ‘Russian whiz kid’ serving on the Enterprise bridge at just 17 years old.

The show has already used retcons or small alterations to the canon to smooth over ‘gaps’ in the story, like showing us Kirk and Spock’s early friendship. It has also essentially rewritten canon for other characters, for example, bringing in Uhura, who didn’t appear in Pike’s TOS pilot episode “The Cage” and seemingly wasn’t serving aboard the Enterprise during Pike’s era either. One could argue that if Uhura can be retconned in, why not Chekov? But alas, the chance is gone.

Read Next

The Status of Every Star Trek TV Show: What’s Cancelled, What’s Renewed & What’s Next

There Is Still a Chance to Fix Chekov’s Plot Hole

While Strange New Worlds seemingly won’t touch Chekov, there is still one slim avenue left. Paramount has been expanding Trek canon through podcasts and tie-in media, including the new Star Trek: Khan — Ceti Alpha V scripted podcast. Written by Nicholas Meyer, the Podcast explores the years Khan and his followers spent in exile on barren Ceti Alpha V, before the events of Wrath of Khan. Theoretically, a project like this might be the perfect place to establish that Chekov served aboard the Enterprise in some lesser capacity before officially joining Kirk’s bridge crew, which would allow Khan’s recognition to make sense without altering SNW’s continuity.

Still, that solution would feel like a bit of a stretch. It would be asking fans to imagine Chekov was present yet never once appeared on-screen during Pike’s or early Kirk’s command. For many, that explanation may feel like putting a band-aid over a bullet hole rather than truly fixing the problem.

Ultimately, leaving Chekov out of SNW reinforces the series’ commitment to honouring established canon — even when doing so means letting some inconsistencies remain. It’s a reminder that Trek’s long history will always contain quirks and contradictions, many of which fans have come to embrace as part of the franchise’s charm.

Chekov’s absence also underscores SNW’s identity. The show has thrived by carving out space for new characters like La’an and Ortegas, rather than simply trying to assemble the entire TOS crew. While it may disappoint fans hoping for another TOS character appearance, it also keeps Pike’s era as its own unique story.

For now, the Khan-Chekov mystery remains unsolved — and perhaps it always will. Maybe that’s fitting. After all, Trek has always been about boldly going forward (apart from those rare occasions they rewrite the past.)

What do you think? Leave a comment below and join the conversation now in the ComicBook Forum.