The final film featuring the Star Trek: The Next Generation crew came out in 2002, and it didn't exactly send the beloved crew off in the same way that the iconic Star Trek VI managed to do for Kirk and his companions. Star Trek: Nemesis had all the elements necessary for a great film, but the mixture was a mess, and its box office numbers proved it.
As such, the TNG crew didn't sail off triumphantly into the sunset, as much as they quietly faded away. Not until the 2020 Picard series came out would audiences get to revisit what happened after the fact. Here's a list of things that make no sense whatsoever about Star Trek: Nemesis, the weakest of the TNG films.
Non-Ambassador Worf
Several elements of Nemesis don't add up, possibly due to the writer's believing that Trekkers might not understand the chronology of events leading up to it. Worf is one of the biggest head-scratchers in the film, since he returns to the Enterprise under weird circumstances, to say nothing of his position within Starfleet.
At the end of Deep Space Nine, Worf was made Federation Ambassador to the Klingon world of Qo'nos. In Nemesis, he looks like he's either rescinded that title and rejoined Starfleet, or he was thrown back into the film so casual audiences would better identify with his character. Chances are, it's the latter.
How Did Shinzon Get So Much Power?
The whole concept of Shinzon was a great idea marred by some characteristically bad writing decisions. He was originally designed by the Romulans as a doppelganger who could use his biological clone status to infiltrate Starfleet and act as a well-hidden spy. When the Romulan government changed hands, this plot was abandoned.
As such, Shinzon was sent to work as a slave in the dilithium mines of Remus before he was drafted along with the local populace to fight against the Dominion. From there, Shinzon amassed extreme power and influence simply by being a good front-line trooper. The intense hatred of Shinzon would make it very difficult, if not impossible for Romulan traitors to utilize him without a leash on, at best. Making him Praetor? That is callous foolishness of the highest order.
How Did Shinzon Acquire B-4?
B-4 is a cinematic MacGuffin designed to try and kill too many birds with a single stone. He first serves as a plot device for what would eventually become Data's sacrifice at the end of the film, but he also serves as a trojan horse for Shinzon's plans. In fact, much of the plot is predicated on it.
This makes no sense at all. First, Dr. Soong made absolutely no mention of a prototype B-4 android, nor did those close to him. Lore doubtlessly would have known all about B-4, yet he claims to have been created first. The character was constructed out of thin air to quickly rush the plot along, and it give Shinzon a convenient back door into the Enterprise's systems... even that doesn't work out properly.
Breaking The Prime Directive, And Then Some
When Picard, Worf, and Data touch down on the surface of Kolarus III to investigate the positronic signal emanating somewhere on the planet, they discover Data's long-lost "brother" B-4, a Soong prototype android. This puts them directly in harm's way when the local pre-warp civilization launches an attack on them.
They barely escape and manage to exit the planet, thinking nothing of what just transpired. In reality, Picard just broke the Prime Directive in an incredibly destructive way by exposing them to their presence and technology. Also, putting Picard directly in the path of harm would have threatened Shinzon's plan for survival. All in all, it was a bad plot point.
Nonchalant Starfleet
Picard is notified by Admiral Kathryn Janeway of some sort of internal political shakeup having occurred on Romulus. She knows a new Praetor has seized the throne in the wake of the Senate dissolution and sends Picard there to make initial contact with this new regime. Beyond that, Starfleet seems pretty chill about the whole thing.
In reality, such a maneuver would have put the entire Federation on extremely high alert. Ships would begin patrolling the edge of the Neutral Zone, and a coordinated effort would be established to deal with any and all situations. Instead, nobody in charge seems particularly freaked out by the single-biggest coup in the quadrant.
The Scimitar
Shinzon's insanely beefed-up Scimitar bird of prey was one of the best things about Nemesis. For the first time, the Enterprise was squaring off against a foe that dwarfed it in size and made it look like a high school junior. The Scimitar was loaded to the teeth with enough arms to pulverize a solar system, a perfect cloaking mechanism, and a Thelaron generator, to boot.
The question is, how on Earth was a ship of this magnitude constructed without anyone finding out? Shinzon stages a coup by allying himself with prominent Romulans to take out the Senate and claim the throne. That's not enough to hide a project of this scope and magnitude. Also, how did Shinzon and the Remans manage to make Thelaron research into a full-fledged reality when it was previously theoretical? A bunch of dilithium mining slaves and a human clone foot soldier managing such a feat of engineering strength seems awfully suspect.
Hairless Shinzon
When Shinzon first reveals himself, he is bald, which was probably done on purpose to link his character with Captain Picard and establish a genetic connection. That's all fine and dandy... except for the fact that it flies completely in the face of established Trek lore. Picard demonstrates this when he holds up a photo of himself during his academy days, revealing that he was bald at that point.
This stands in contradiction to Next Generation episodes which clearly show Picard with hair during his academy days. In fact, the season five episode "Violations" shows a flashback scene with Dr. Crusher recalling the fateful day Picard told her that her husband had died. In the scene, Picard had a full head of hair despite him being much older.
Troi's Assault
One of the more controversial writing decisions in Nemesis was the decision to have Counselor Deanna Troi sexually assaulted through a telepathic medium. It occurs when Shinzon takes a keen interest in Troi and uses his Viceroy to create a mental bond between the two. Troi is traumatized by the seemingly pointless act.
In reality, this was designed to allow Troi to reverse the bond in the third act and use it against Shinzon in order to fire on his cloaked ship. Otherwise, it makes absolutely no sense for Shinzon to distract himself with his own impulses, especially when he's so singularly-minded in his destruction of Earth.
Refusing To Put The Shields Up
When the Enterprise first arrives at Romulus, they are greeted by the menacing Scimitar, a hulking bird of prey with an eye-watering arsenal of weaponry, and multiple shield generators. Picard orders the shields to stay lowered as a diplomatic gesture of good faith, and this goes on for some time.
At one point though, it fails to make any sense. Picard learns that Shinzon is using Thalaron radiation to power the Scimitar, which is an act of belligerence right from the start. Second, Troi undergoes a psychic assault by Shinzon and his Viceroy. These two threats should have caused Picard to immediately raise shields and get out of there. Instead, he leaves them lowered and ends up allowing himself to be beamed off his own bridge, adding to his list of not-so-fine moments.
A Pointless Boarding Party
Speaking of beaming, the same plot hole pops up later on in the film when the Scimitar pursues the Enterprise and forces it to drop out of warp. What follows is a thorough beating as the Scimitar tries to wrestle the Enterprise into submission. When two Romulan warbirds join the battle and fight against Shinzon, the free-for-all results in them being knocked out of commission, leaving the Enterprise a sitting duck.
For some reason, Shinzon orders a boarding party to head on over to the Enterprise and apprehend Picard. Instead, he could have simply kept firing on the Enterprise until her shields fell and then beamed Picard off the bridge, as he had previously done. This would have drastically reduced the amount of time necessary to complete his full blood transfusion and save his own life.