The first Orion character in Starfleet may not be who you think it is. Mike McMahan's animated Star Trek comedy, cast of Star Trek: Lower Decks is the first of any Star Trek show to feature an Orion character as a series regular.

Of course, it makes sense that it took a while for any Orion characters to Starfleet. In Star Trek: The Original Series, the Orions had a reputation for being slave traders, with their hottest commodity being their own women. Later when Star Trek: Lower Decks takes place, the Orions are still perceived as pirates and criminals, so Tendi is a rare example of her species in Starfleet, like Lt. Commander Worf (Michael Dorn) or Lt. Nog (Aron Eisenberg).

The First Orion In Starfleet Was Gaila In J.J. Abrams’ Star Trek Kelvin Timeline

Gaila Beat Tendi To Starfleet By 122 Years

The first of J.J. Abrams' Kelvin Timeline Star Trek movies, Star Trek (2009), includes an Orion Starfleet cadet named Gaila (Rachel Nichols) in 2258, 122 years before Tendi's 2380 arrival on the USS Cerritos in Star Trek: Lower Decks. We first meet Gaila in bed with James T. Kirk (Chris Pine) when her Starfleet Academy roommate, Nyota Uhura (Zoe Saldaña), comes back to their dorm early. Later, Gaila is present at Kirk's Kobayashi Maru hearing, and she's also one of the many Starfleet Academy cadets deployed to quickly assist with Vulcan's distress call.

Being Kirk's hookup also puts Gaila squarely in line with the idea that Orions are overly sexualized.

Gaila isn't on-screen for long, so there's not that much time to develop her as a character. Being Kirk's hookup also puts Gaila squarely in line with the idea that Orions are overly sexualized, especially since Jim isn't the first man that Gaila's brought back to her shared room with Uhura. But even with this minimal characterization, Gaila still counts as the first Orion in Starfleet—in the Kelvin Timeline, at least.

Lt. D’Vana Tendi Is The First Orion In Starfleet In Star Trek’s Prime Timeline

Lower Decks' Tendi Challenges Stereotypes About Orions

Star Trek: Lower Decks' Lieutenant D'Vana Tendi is still the first Orion in Starfleet in Star Trek's Prime Timeline. Tendi takes pride in her status as Starfleet's first Orion officer, though D'Vana also frequently downplays the culture she hails from because of the negative stereotypes associated with Orions. When Beckett Mariner (Tawny Newsome) casts Tendi in the role of a fierce, scantily-clad Orion pirate for a holodeck program in Star Trek: Lower Decks season 1, episode 9, "Crisis Point", Tendi calls Mariner out on her stereotyping, pointing out that "Some Orions haven't been pirates in over five years!"

One of Tendi's ancestors was in Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 2, episode 7, "Those Old Scientists", among Orion scientists who covered up their true purpose with the bluster of piracy, which was more socially acceptable.

It's a refreshing change of pace to see that Tendi is an Orion character in Star Trek who doesn't fall into the trap of being typecast as a sexy siren. While Tendi's bubbly personality does mesh with how Gaila was depicted in Star Trek (2009), Tendi's excitement is geared much more towards scientific discovery and forming new friendships. It's a sharp contrast to D'Vana's position as the Tendi family's Prime assassin, also known as the Mistress of the Winter Constellations.

How Tendi & Star Trek: Lower Decks Redefined The Orions

Star Trek: Lower Decks Showed The Orion Homeworld For The First Time

As a main character in Star Trek: Lower Decks, D'Vana Tendi gave us an insider's perspective on Orion culture, which redefined the Orions for the better. Orion women being lusty sex slaves in Star Trek: The Original Series was problematic, yet Star Trek: Enterprise's attempt to reform Orion women—making them a matriarchal society that controlled men with their pheromones—really wasn't much better. But every depiction of Orions was reconciled by Star Trek's first visit to the Orion homeworld in Star Trek: Lower Decks season 4, episode 4, "Something Borrowed, Something Green".

Tendi and Star Trek: Lower Decks show how Orion culture puts a slightly nefarious veneer over every aspect of society, but also made sure to show that Orions, like other Star Trek aliens, aren't a monolith. While D'Vana's sister D'Erika (Ariel Winter) and the rest of the Tendi family are predisposed towards lives of crime, D'Vana was brave enough to Starfleet instead. Ultimately, Tendi's Star Trek: Lower Decks character arc saw her blend her past as an Orion assassin with her Starfleet present, and pave the way for a future where more Orions feel free to Starfleet.