Even the Borg Fear These Aliens...

#startrek #voyager #biology

Species 8472 is one of the most intimidating alien species in Star Trek. First appearing in the spinoff series Voyager, Species 8472 (a.k.a. the Undine) inhabit a parallel dimension called Fluidic Space. Even the Borg fear their true power...so what exactly makes these aliens so threatening?

Join this channel to get access to perks:

Written, filmed, & edited by OrangeRiver
Assistant script editor: Subraxas

- Music in this video -

- Support -

- Social media -

And don't forget to subscribe!

- CHAPTERS -
00:00 Intro
01:25 Biology
04:44 Fluidic Space
09:56 Culture, History, & Tech
13:08 Summary
14:01 Outro

[OrangeRiver]

But the real question is, can they defeat Goku?

[Nocturne]

I think that the Undine are the "last man standing " after the death of their universe.
Think about it, when the stars die out sentient species would struggle to find ways to survive. Moreover, those that find a way to survive would be targeted by other desperate species. This would explain why the Undine are so powerful, they had to survive the end of the universe and every other species.
This also explains their moto, "the weak will perish. "

[versebuchanan]

I remember one of the novels clarifying that they were so gung-ho in their slug fest with the Borg, that their standard protocol was such that if anyone on their ships, at any time, issued a "Self destruct" order, the ship instantly blew with no countdown or take-backs.

That's pretty hardcore.

[MatthewCaunsfield]

The Undine, while an excellent foe, suffered from the same problems as the Romulans in TOS - they were too expensive! 😁

[youtubeviewer]

I like in Star Trek Online how the Undine are easier to spot in disguise than a Dominion changeling because Undine cannot resist talking about how weak they are and how much they are frightened of the mighty Undines.

[DannyHeywood]

Another question is why have they evolved to be Super-Apex Predators when there is no prey or competition around them? They should be like Birds on Islands where they haven't learned to fear anything.

[ThethManRules]

Borg: resistance is futile.

Undine: nah.

[ericzollman]

I love that you take the Sci-fi seriously. So few channels do that and that's a shame

[karlez]

My headcanon is as follows: Fluidic space is an living organism and 8472 are its immune system

[jamesdenecochea]

Back in the late-90's I made a huge "board game"(8'x4') for my kids. It featured several "squares" that said "SPECIES 8472... you've been eliminated from the game".

[Marchant]

Thanks to Voyager's thrust into the Delta Quadrant, the show added so much for Star Trek to unpack in an effort to expand its cannon. Videos like this help the unpacking process and, to me, are pretty interesting.

[kevenrdavenport]

Species 8472 episodes were solid. Another great thing about Voyager is how they took from what they learned doing TNG and were able to make elaborate on such interesting concepts.

[ryanjones]

First time I've ever seen a red shirt make it through an entire episode.
Well done 👏

[Dr_Mafia]

Something I just realized- the Undine are clearly not alone in fluidic space as they have a need for shields and weapons and it is unlikely they developed them just to fight the borg

[JoshSweetvale]

The Borg poked the beehive.
As for Fluidic space, isn't it symbiotic?
Mutualistic? They were a living immune system.

[ThatsGuy]

For decades, I interpreted them existing in "fluidic space" as them existing in a form of hyperspace (extradimensional space) where all matter is fluid, super-hot, and dense. Them entering "our space" via the gates make them "blow up" to many times their actual volume and actually have less mastery over their powers and form despite how well they adapt to our cold vacuum. To put in simple comic-book sci-fi logic, they exist in almost the quantum universe and were not aware of our universe until the Borg invaded them.

[KeytarArgonian]

I remember watching their first appearance when it aired as a kid, and seeing that many Borg cubes… FLEEING?! oh boy… it was absolutely terrifying.

[ironinquisitor]

I think the Voyager writers took inspiration from Babylon 5's Shadows. The Shadows look sort of similar and they also have organic tech with their ships.

[TighelanderII]

When I saw the Borg, they reminded me of the Posbis that I read in the pages of Perry Rhodan about 10 years earlier. They were as big a threat as the Borg are. They had shields that were like time machines; whatever hit them was sent to the past before it could reach the Posbi ship.

[patrickmccurry]

Not humanoid for Star Trek. But compared to how weird life can get on Earth let alone hypothetically, I'd still call them pretty darn humanoid looking. Love the channel as always though.