Star Trek: First Contact introduced pivotal characters like the Borg Queen and Zephram Cochrane, but one character vanished after the film.
The most popular and successful Star Trek: The Next Generation film, Star Trek: First Contact introduced pivotal new characters to canon but one of them has since been forgotten. Directed by Jonathan Frakes, Star Trek: First Contact saw Captain Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) lead the USS Enterprise-E back in time to prevent the Borg from assimilating Earth in the past. First Contact featured the debut of the Borg Queen (Alice Krige) and depicted Dr. Zephram Cochrane (James Cromwell) launching humanity's first warp flight, which led to First Contact with the Vulcans.
Star Trek: First Contact is the origin story of Star Trek since meeting the Vulcans is what led to the creation of Starfleet and, ultimately, the United Federation of Planets. While the film's B-story was about Commander William Riker's (Jonathan Frakes) efforts to ensure that Zephram Cochrane's inaugural warp launch happened on time, Captain Picard was in the fight of his life as the Borg invaded the Enterprise in the A-story. Helping Picard as he faced the Borg was an unwitting ally from the 21st century, Lily Sloane (Alfre Woodard), who was the audience's (especially the non-Star Trek fans') POV character in the film.
Star Trek Forgot About First Contact’s Lily Sloane
Lily Sloane was an important character in Star Trek: First Contact who was forgotten by Star Trek after the film ended. In First Contact, Lily was a colleague of Zephram Cochrane's who helped him build the Phoenix, his warp-capable starship, from the shell of a nuclear missile. Lily lamented it took her six months to find enough titanium to build the Phoenix's four-meter cockpit after Captain Picard brought her aboard the Enterprise-E. Lily was by Picard's side when he battled the Borg, and she saw how his obsession with defeating the cyborgs turned Jean-Luc into "Captain Ahab." But Sloane was able to help Picard break his temporary madness, which allowed him to heroically defeat the Borg Queen with the help of Lt. Commander Data (Brent Spiner).
Lily and Picard's friendship was the heart of Star Trek: First Contact. Thanks to Alfre Woodard's performance, Lily was tough but vulnerable, clear-minded, and endearing. Sloane reacted as any normal person would if she suddenly found herself on a spaceship and stalked by cyborgs, and she was crucial in helping Picard find his humanity again before he fell off the deep end and became as ruthless and unfeeling as the Borg. Lily also had fun quips like when she told Picard, "It's my first ray gun" and "You broke their little ships." Star Trek: First Contact gently teased romantic chemistry between Jean-Luc and Lily but didn't pursue it. Lily was certainly unforgettable to anyone who saw Star Trek: First Contact, but she had no resulting impact on the franchise afterward.
What Happened To Lily Sloane After Star Trek: First Contact?
Whereas Zephram Cochrane reappeared in Star Trek: Enterprise, which is set almost 88 years after First Contact, Star Trek hasn't canonically revealed what happened to Lily Sloane. Lily was by Zephram's side at the conclusion of Star Trek: First Contact and she witnessed "Zee" make his historic First Contact with the newly-arrived Vulcans. Afterward, her name seems to have been lost to history, and there is no statue of her in Bozeman, Montana like there is of Dr. Cochrane. Curiously, the Phoenix had a 3-person cockpit - Commander Riker and Lt. Commander Geordi La Forge (LeVar Burton) were Cochrane's co-pilots - but since the Enterprise crewmen were time travelers, it's possible Lily Sloane is who history recorded as making the Phoenix's inaugural warp jump with Zephram on April 5, 2063.
In a way, Lily Sloane served a similar function as Dr. Gillian Taylor (Catherine Hicks) in Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home. Gillian made a personal connection with Captain James T. Kirk (William Shatner) but she doesn't appear in Star Trek again after The Voyage Home. Alfre Woodward getting cast in Star Trek: First Contact was a coup since she is a multi-time Emmy winner and an Academy Award nominee, but it's odd and unfortunate Star Trek hasn't further capitalized on Woodard's role in the franchise, or how important Lily Sloane was to the origin of Starfleet.
