Star Trek TNG’s Most Mysterious Villain Finally Explained

For this theory to make any sense, we’re going to need to briefly review two different episodes. The Star Trek: The Next Generation episode “Conspiracy” revealed that Starfleet was nearly taken over by some creepy parasites, and they were discovered and ultimately defeated by Picard and Riker. The episode ends with a cliffhanger, implying the parasites will eventually return, and while that sadly never happens, a later episode unexpectedly references them.

In “The Drumhead,” the dilithium chamber on the Enterprise explodes, and this is right around the time reports begin circulating that the Romulans have the schematics for the ship’s dilithium articulation frame. They fear a spy and quickly turn up a suspect in the form of J’Dan, a Klingon exchange officer.

All of this is set up for this Star Trek episode to introduce Admiral Satie, a legendary investigator who soon begins to worry that J’Dan may be part of a conspiracy with other unknown parties to sabotage the ship.

What most Star Trek fans remember about “The Drumhead” is how pigheaded Satie is: she continues investigating a possible conspiracy even after Geordi La Forge and Data discover that the original explosion was just an accident and not sabotage.

The episode ends with a memorable Picard speech where he quotes Satie’s father, causing her to freak out and label the captain some kind of traitor working with the Romulans. The outburst causes a visiting admiral to leave in disgust, and we are left mostly happy that Picard managed to talk himself out of a very different kind of danger than he normally faces.

However, this Star Trek: The Next Generation episode never really explained how such a decorated officer with a legendary history devolved into someone looking for a conspiracy around every corner. My theory about this is that it’s secretly explained in the captain’s log, where Picard explains that Satie is someone “whose investigation exposed the alien conspiracy against Starfleet Command three years ago.” That’s referring to the “Conspiracy” episode, but Satie’s character is not seen or heard about in that episode.

Furthermore, that episode implied that Picard and Riker almost singlehandedly discovered and foiled the alien conspiracy. It’s possible that tying Satie into that event is meant to be a soft retcon of that great episode. However, my theory is that she padded her resume by taking credit for Picard’s accomplishments, claiming, after the fact, to have played a major role in saving all of Starfleet.

If this wild Star Trek theory is true, how does that tie back to her conspiracy witch-hunt in “The Drumhead?” All we know about Satie’s background is that her father was a famous judge whose judgments were considered required reading at Starfleet Academy when Picard was a cadet, and she followed in his footsteps. Somehow, she eventually became a powerful rear admiral, one who the series finale confirms ordered Picard to take command of the Enterprise (notably the flagship of the entire fleet).

I believe this infamous Star Trek character gained more fame by taking credit for things she didn’t accomplish and getting credit for Picard’s accomplishments in “Conspiracy” may be one example of her doing so.

By the time of “The Drumhead,” she was already retired (presumably going out on the high note of saving Starfleet), but she was specifically brought out of retirement for one last investigation. That means this person whose biggest accomplishments were based on stealing credit from others had the chance to gin up a major conspiracy so her career could end on an even more explosive note.

There is no direct evidence for my Star Trek theory aside from her stealing Picard’s “Conspiracy” glory, but consider this: Satie went out of her way to discredit Picard and even tried to destroy his career by accusing him of traitorous collusion with the Romulans. He is one of the only people who could prove that Satie lied about her part in exposing that earlier alien conspiracy.

By destroying Picard in this highly public way, Satie could end her career with a bang while completely discrediting the one man who can prove she lied about her accomplishments.

At this point, I realize I probably sound like the ranting Satie herself, but for my latinum, this theory finally explains the motivation behind Star Trek’s most mysterious villain. Satie isn’t your typical crazy admiral, and her maniacal focus on finding a conspiracy where there is none makes perfect sense when you realize she’s trying to protect her fraudulent career. 

Unfortunately, she forgot the most important rule in Star Trek: The Next Generation: you come at the captain, you best not miss.