There Are Two Moments of ‘Strange New Worlds’ I Can’t Stop Thinking About
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds’ second season has come and gone, and it has left me constantly thinking about the latest in the Star Trek shows on Paramount+. What works best about Strange New Worlds as a series is seeing a mix of characters we know and love interacting with characters we’re meeting for the first time. Unfortunately, the two moments I cannot stop thinking about include two characters from the original series interacting with or talking about other characters from the original series. Why? Well, because it is chaotic.
I am unapologetically shipping James T. Kirk and La’an Noonien-Singh, as well as Spock and Nurse Christine Chapel. Do I know what the future holds with both of these ships? Yes, I have the knowledge to know that this is not a logical exploration in shipping for myself, but alas, nothing can stop me. If anyone has any fan videos of Kirk/La’an or Spock/Christine, just let me know because I will watch them on repeat, especially if anyone makes me a video for Spock and Christine set to “Lips of an Angel” by Hinder. I’m obsessed.
It has, in turn, made it so that I cannot stop thinking about two very specific moments in the series: one in the episode titled “Charades” where Spock is turned into a fully human version of himself, and the other in “Subspace Rhapsody,” when the crew of the Enterprise is overtaken by the need to sing show tunes to express their emotions. There are moments from both Spock (Ethan Peck) and Kirk (Paul Wesley) that really stand out to me and have , unfortunately, consumed my every waking thought.
Human Spock does more than most regular men
Spock is famous for repressing his emotions thanks to his Vulcan side. That has, in turn, left many shocked by the moments we do have with Spock where you can understand what he’s feeling and why he feels that way. What happens when you take the Vulcan out of the half-Vulcan? Well, you get a sea of emotions that include loving bacon. “Charades” had Peck’s Spock trying to meet T’Pring’s family in this fully human state, and they already didn’t like him because he was half human.
The episode wasn’t just great because Peck nailed the unhinged feelings of experiencing emotions for the first time but because of how Spock talks to Christine (Jess Bush) in the episode. He spends a lot of time in season 2 flirting with Nurse Chapel. Whether Spock realizes that’s what he is doing is another question, but in this episode in particular, when he’s a human man, he goes up and asks Christine how she’s doing.
Now, if you’re a woman in 2023, you know that a man very sweetly asking how you are, in a concerned voice, is sadly a rare occurrence. So when Spock does this when he is human? Amazing. It’s made even better when he’s back to his normal self and still continues to check in on Christine. Sure, it is because he has feelings for her, but it is also a testament to who Spock is. We, as human women, can’t get men to care, but this man who does not show his emotions often manages to check in on the girl he likes? Me and quite literally who?!
As for Kirk and La’an …
Carol Marcus strikes again
If you are a fan of Jim Kirk, you might not love Carol Marcus, not because she took the ladies’ man off the market but more because of the emotional toil she placed on him. In Strange New Worlds, she tanked my new favorite ship, so I really don’t like her right now. Carol Marcus is the mother of Kirk’s son David in Wrath of Khan, and in the Kelvin-verse, well, they don’t really have a relationship, so I love that for James.
It’s not that I don’t like Carol because she’s not La’an; it’s that I just don’t like Carol Marcus because she refuses to let Jim Kirk have a choice in knowing his son, and he’s too good of a man to not do what she asks of him. So, when Jim Kirk rolls up to La’an as she’s telling him that she has feelings for him and he says to her that he’s essentially in a situationship with Carol, who is pregnant? Seeing that made me want to throw something at the television.
Now, unfortunately, I have not stopped thinking about Jim Kirk just casually dropping that he is in an on-off relationship with Carol to a woman confessing her love for him. I can’t! Anyway, I just hope that in season 3 La’an gets a cute boy to make Jim jealous, and then Carol dumps him and they can have a moment of happiness. If not for Jim and La’an, then just for me.
(featured image: Michael Gibson/Paramount+)
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