The Pakleds, Star Trek: The Next Generation‘s dumbest aliens, have gone from being minor nuisances to more substantial antagonists in Star Trek: Lower Decks. The Pakleds only made one appearance in TNG, in the season 2 episode “Samaritan Snare,” however they clearly left a lasting impression on Lower Decks showrunner Mike McMahan. Since Lower Decks debuted in 2020, the Pakleds have made seven appearances in Star Trek‘s animated comedy series, even taking on big bad status in seasons 1 and 2.
The name “Pakled” is a pun, relating to their sheep-like minds; they are literally pack-led. Robert L. McCullough created the Pakleds because he wanted to subvert the standard sci-fi trope of smart and sophisticated aliens. Hilariously, the first appearance by the Pakleds in Star Trek: The Next Generation came in the very next episode after “Q Who”, which introduced the Borg Collective. The Pakleds could not be more different from the Borg in their impact upon both TNG and the wider Star Trek continuity.
Pakleds In Star Trek: The Next Generation Explained
The Pakleds were deceptive in their stupidity, because they were actually quite skilled at acquiring alien technologies. In Star Trek: The Next Generation season 2, episode 17, “Samaritan Snare”, they pretended to be a ship in distress, and lured Lt. Geordi La Forge (LeVar Burton) aboard to repair their “malfunctioning” systems. Having captured Geordi, the Pakleds refused to return the USS Enterprise-D’s engineer until acting Commander William T. Riker (Jonathan Frakes) transfered all the information stored on the ship’s systems. Riker concocted a ludicrous plan to “disarm” the Pakled ship with a “crimson force field,” a plan which Geordi was able to help him enact while captured by the aliens.
Having agreed to make the Pakleds strong, Geordi sabotaged the weapons systems so that they failed to fire when they turned them on the Enterprise. The ensuing light show put on by venting the Enterprise’s hydrogen exhaust was enough to immediate the Pakleds into returning Geordi before retreating. Much later, in the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode “Brothers”, it was revealed that a Pakled ship rescued Data’s evil brother Lore. As a result, the Pakleds were later considered as Lore’s villainous allies in TNG‘s season 6 finale, “Descent”, but the decision was made to replace them with the more impactful Borg.
Pakleds Returned In Star Trek: Lower Decks
The Pakleds were regularly seen in the background during Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, and were also considered as potential antagonists for the episode “One Little Ship.” They eventually made a substantial return in Star Trek: Lower Decks season 1, episode 10, “No Small Parts.” The episode revealed that Starfleet had underestimated one of the less-intelligent species they’d encountered, and the Pakleds had been able to build incredibly powerful Clumpships made from hybridized technology from more serious threats like the Klingons and Romulans. Captain Riker of the USS Titan helped the crew of the USS Cerritos fight off the Pakleds, himself no stranger to dealing with Star Trek: The Next Generation‘s dumb aliens.
Much later, a rogue group of Pakleds framed Captain Carol Freeman (Dawnn Lewis) for the destruction of Pakled Planet in the Star Trek: Lower Decks season 2 finale. Their conspiracy was uncovered by Star Trek: Voyager‘s Tuvok (Tim Russ) and Captain Morgan Bateson (Kelsey Grammer), leading to Freeman being exonerated. Blowing up their home world to convince the Federation to give them a new, mineral-rich planet instead was a substantial step up from their “Samaritan Snare” in Star Trek: The Next Generation. It’s clear that while they’re still not the most intelligent species in the galaxy, they can’t be faulted for their ambition.
All episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation and Star Trek: Lower Decks are available to watch on Paramount+.
Star Trek: The Next Generation
Star Trek: The Next Generation is the third installment in the sci-fi franchise and follows the adventures of Captain Jean-Luc Picard and the crew members of the USS Enterprise. Set around one hundred years after the original series, Picard and his crew travel through the galaxy in largely self-contained episodes exploring the crew dynamics and their own political discourse. The series also had several overarching plots that would develop over the course of the isolated episodes, with four films released in tandem with the series to further some of these story elements.
Star Trek Lower Decks
The animated comedy series Star Trek: Lower Decks follows the support crew on one of Starfleet’s least significant ships, the U.S.S. Cerritos, in 2380. Ensigns Mariner (Tawny Newsome), Boimler (Jack Quaid), Rutherford (Eugene Cordero), and Tendi (Noël Wells) have to keep up with their duties and their social lives often. At the same time, the ship is being rocked by a multitude of sci-fi anomalies.
