William Shatner Star Trek V: The Final Frontier set up and ignored the secret pain of Commander Pavel Chekov (Walter Koenig). Star Trek V saw the starship Enterprise hijacked by Sybok (Lawrence Luckinbill), the Vulcan rogue and half-brother of Spock (Leonard Nimoy). Sybok converted most of the Enterprise crew in his mad quest to travel across the Great Barrier at the center of the galaxy to the legendary world of Sha Ka Ree in order to find God (George Murdock).
Chekov posed as the captain of the Enterprise while Captain James T. Kirk (William Shatner) led a landing party to Nimbus III and fell into a trap set by Sybok. The renegade Vulcan soon used his psychic abilities to take control of most of the USS Enterprise's crew.. Although Captain Kirk refused to submit to Sybok, the Vulcan heretic made Spock face the pain of his father, Ambassador Sarek (Jonathan Simpson), for rejecting him at birth. Leonard McCoy (DeForest Kelley) admitted his deepest regret for having sacrificed his father before finding a cure for his fatal disease.
What was Chekov's secret pain in Star Trek V
Chekov's meeting with Khan took place just 2 years earlier
When Sybok took command of the bridge of the starship Enterprise Star Trek V: The Final Frontier taunted Chekov facing Sybok. The mad Vulcan quickly converted Chekov into one of his followers. However, William Shatner Star Trek the film was cut before the audience could discover Chekov's secret pain. Neither Star Trek V reveal what Sybok learned about Chekov's inner torment. However, there is a logical answer to what Chekov's pain is, and it would be a relatively recent occurrence in the course of history. Star Trek'timeline.
Is it possible Chekov's secret pain was the traumatic events he suffered in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan when Khan Noonien Singh (Ricardo Montalban) tortured Pavel by placing a Ceti eel in his ear to take control of his mind. Chekov was reduced to Khan's puppet, and Pavel pulled a phaser on Admiral Kirk before he fought the eel, causing him debilitating agony. Star Trek V was released in 1989, seven years later Star Trek II, but in-universe, the two films are only two years apart. Chekov's injury at Khan's hands may still be fresh in his mind.
Chekov has other secret pains in Star Trek
Many traumatic events happened to Chekov on Star Trek
Khan placing a Ceti eel in Chekov's brain is arguably the most famous example of Pavel suffering extreme pain. Star Trek, but a series of traumatic events happened to poor Chekov in Star Trek: The Original Series. When Sybok investigated Chekov's subconscious, he may have discovered that Pavel lost his mind in the Terms of Service episodes “Day of the Dove” and “And The Children Shall Lead”. Chekov also went violently mad in “The Tholian Web.”
Chekov almost died in Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home.
Just a year after his Star Trek II torture at the hands of Khan, Chekov almost died in Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home. Pavel was captured by the US Navy aboard the aircraft carrier USS Enterprise and was seriously injured while trying to escape. Admiral Kirk, Dr. Gillian Taylor (Catherine Hicks) had to rescue Pavel from a San Francisco hospital or else Chekov may have died in the 20th century. There is much in Chekov's past that would constitute his secret pain that Star Trek V: The Final Frontier cut.