Thoughts on Coincidence in Star Trek XI
Okay, so, I know a lot of people have been complaining since the movie came out that it's too full of coincidences - how it's a bit ridiculous that everyone ends up together where they should be at the end of the movie. But! I have an explanation! A Star Trek canon explanation!
There's an episode of the original series where Spock and Kirk get thrown back in time - "The City on the Edge of Forever." (If you're a slash fan and haven't seen this episode, I would recommend it - I find it to be one of the slashier ones.) In the course of events, they alter the flow of history. What they find, however, is that time is not easily diverted - events begin to arrange themselves in an attempt to compensate for the flaw, to bring things back into their natural course.
So you see, according to Star Trek canon, when a time stream is altered, the universe alters subsequent events in an attempt to bring time back into its proper flow. This implies an idea of a sort of "destiny" - although things can be altered in the short term, over the long term they will always tend back towards the same path. Not sure I entirely agree with the sentiment, but it is established in the canon. So there you have it. The coincidences are the result of the universe compensating for the change in its timeline.
Boo. Yah. Nerd-freaking-tastic.
There's an episode of the original series where Spock and Kirk get thrown back in time - "The City on the Edge of Forever." (If you're a slash fan and haven't seen this episode, I would recommend it - I find it to be one of the slashier ones.) In the course of events, they alter the flow of history. What they find, however, is that time is not easily diverted - events begin to arrange themselves in an attempt to compensate for the flaw, to bring things back into their natural course.
So you see, according to Star Trek canon, when a time stream is altered, the universe alters subsequent events in an attempt to bring time back into its proper flow. This implies an idea of a sort of "destiny" - although things can be altered in the short term, over the long term they will always tend back towards the same path. Not sure I entirely agree with the sentiment, but it is established in the canon. So there you have it. The coincidences are the result of the universe compensating for the change in its timeline.
Boo. Yah. Nerd-freaking-tastic.