In history class he saw a photo of Khan who took over the world in the '90s. He'd heard something about him being frozen, revived, and then banished to a planet, so even though he wasn't on the Enterprise during Space Seed, he put 2 and 2 together and realized whom it was.
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And all this time I thought he recognized him because of his chest hair.
shareThe “faux pas” isn’t Chekov recognizing Khan... it’s Khan recognizing Chekov.
“You... I don’t know you.
But YOU. I never forget a face. Mr. Chekov, isn’t it?”
If Chekov was not on the Enterprise, there’s no way Khan would have recognized Chekov at all.
Of course, fans have come up with perfectly reasonable explanations since, but this is the continuity error most folks point out.
He read the Enterprise manuals which had all the members of Star Fleet, even ones like Chekov who were not yet on the ship. Also he liked Three Sisters as well as Paradise Lost.
shareYears ago on the convention circuit, Walter Koenig had his own explanation that Khan was waiting to use a small restroom and Chekov (who hadn't been on TV yet) was in there for too long, leaving Khan waiting to use the restroom. They exchanged words briefly when Chekov finally got out.
shareOk, but then how did Khan remember Chekov?
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Khan, being very thorough in the Enterprise tech manuals, also was thorough in looking through the crew manifest to see who he would be fighting, particularly the bridge officers.
We didn't see Khan meet Chekov but it doesn't mean it didn't happen off screen. Though Chekov wasn't part of the regular bridge crew at that time doesn't mean he wasn't working elsewhere on the ship.
We also don't see anyone go to the toilet on Star Trek, but that doesn't mean people in the 23rd century don't need to go to the toilet.
Who am I kidding...they fucked up didn't they?
There's no explanation. They simply messed up when they wrote it.
shareOr, he simply spoke to the crew about what happened (Space Seed) and looked at some images of Khan.
Then years later, met him.
Or, Chekov was part of the crew during Space Seed but was not a bridge officer for some reason.
Chekov was there, but he didn't appear on-screen because he hadn't been promoted yet.
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