Considering the outcome, is Star Trek: Strange New Worlds giving Chapel and Spock’s romance too much air time?

Nurse Chapel and Spock’s romance in Star Trek: Strange New Worlds is getting a lot of air time considering how it ends.

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds have not shied away from romance since its inception. Especially when it comes to the show’s two main leads, Anson Mount’s Christopher Pike and Ethan Peck’s Spock. Both characters have had a bulk of their storylines centered around romances and their struggles with said relationships.

Yet, despite Spock’s engagement to T’Pring, it’s been his relationship with Nurse Christine Chapel that has gotten the most air time. The duo had a bit of romantic banter in the original series, but it was never established to be anything more than that. In fact, it largely seemed to be a one-sided affair with Chapel having a thing for the Vulcan commander, and not being a wholly two-sided affair.

So its been rather jarring to see Spock and Chapel not just share how they both feel in Strange New Worlds, considering the rather coldness of the dynamic in the Original Series, but also see them physically act on those impulses. In fact, in one of the more recent episodes of Strange New Worlds, “Charades”, it’s implied that the two sleep together.

This is a rather surprising development, considering Spock rarely ever views Chapel as anything more than a shipmate in the original series.

So, is this relationship getting out of hand?

Strange New Worlds is setting itself up for failure with the Spock and Chapel relationship

The writing of the romance between Spock and Chapel is clearly a sign that the writing crew doesn’t care about the original series. What was meant to be a budding flirtation in the original series has become a full-blown affair now in Strange New Worlds.

Meaning, that to keep continuity in the Original Series, Spock will now be seen as a cold and heartless character for rejecting Chapel despite their budding relationship on Strange New Worlds. it doesn’t make much sense for these two to be in a relationship on Strange New Worlds considering the ramifications that will come from it in the original series.

There is a way to fix this, like possibly having Spcock and Chapel both forget their feelings for one another, but unless there’s a major twist where both characters forget their time together, any other outcome could make Spock look like a jerk in the original series.

So it’s imperative that the writers find a way to fix this without ruining Spock’s reputation.