Lt. Saavik’s pregnancy would have been good for Star Trek

At the beginning of Star Trek: A Voyage Home, Lt. Saavik chose to remain on Vulcan while the rest of the Enterprise crew headed off in a Klingon ship, expecting to return to Earth. She only has a brief part in the movie and, after that, she isn’t heard from or seen onscreen again. This was after the major role she played in The Search for Spock, which included helping a young Spock go through pon farr, which is the Vulcan mating ritual and could have led to his death otherwise. Originally, she was supposed to have become pregnant as a result and that was why she was staying on Vulcan. However, producers nixed the idea of the pregnancy and moved forward with the changed script.

After the script was changed, there wasn’t a place for Lt. Saavik. It’s disappointing that the producers didn’t follow through with the pregnancy as it would have been interesting to see Spock as a father and how he might have differed from his own. Additionally, making Spock a father would have added another level of emotion to Captain Kirk’s scenes as he had just lost a son. To see one of his best friends go through the joys of fatherhood would have been bittersweet and emotionally impactful.

Beyond that, Spock’s child could have had a future with Starfleet all his/her own and added to the Star Trek canon. So it’s unfortunate that the producers decided to go another way for Lt. Saavik’s character which was, essentially, leaving her behind after she saved Spock from horrible agony. It does make me wonder if Spock even realized what had transpired between the two of them. Had he known, would he have married her? Imagine Spock as a married man. Even if we didn’t get to see his marital life, marriage would have changed Spock, but even more so would have fatherhood.

Seeing the world through his child’s eyes would have had an impact on him, an impact which we could have seen on the screen. HIs discussions with Kirk and Bones might have been a bit different, and he would have possibly made different choices, always keeping his child in mind. So many good things could have come out of Lt. Saavik’s pregnancy, changes that could have had major impacts to Star Trek. It would have given us another generation of Spock, a Vulcan who shaped the entire franchise.