Should Star Trek: Strange New Worlds bring romance to Captain Pike and Number One?

In the first pilot for Star Trek: The Original Series, "The Cage," Captain Christopher Pike, played by Jeffrey Hunter, helmed with Enterprise with his Number One played by Majel Barrett-Roddenberry. During Pike's time on Talos IV, he is being forced to choose a mate. His choices are Number One, Yeoman Colt or Vina. During that time, Pike learns that Number One has fantasies about him, and now that Star Trek: Strange New Worlds has brought both Captain Pike (Anson Mount) and Number One (Rebecca Romjin) back, Screenrant suggests that there might be a future romance between the two because of what was "teased" in The Original Series.

But one character having fantasies about the other isn't really teasing a romance. It's more like unrequited love or just simply fantasies because the pair worked so closely together. It's not odd for couples that never become couples to have fantasies about one another.

For the sake of Strange New Worlds, this is one relationship that I hope doesn't happen because with every relationship comes the possibility of a break-up. Pike relies on Number One to be his sounding board, even his conscience at times. Mixing that with love could prove catastrophic for their ability to continue working together if things were to go awry. Take a look at what happened between Spock [Ethan Peck] and Nurse Chapel [Jess Bush] once they admitted their feelings for one another. Their relationship didn't last longer than a minute, and there were hurt feelings. That wouldn't work very well for a captain and his second in command.

It's not that Romjin and Mount don't have any chemistry, but not every couple that has chemistry needs to be paired up. Sometimes, that connection is best left where it can serve the characters the best. For Pike and Number One, that is working as a team.

I would be very surprised if Strange New Worlds were to go down that path as Pike, like the other captains of Star Trek, is fully vested in protecting his ship and his crew. The way his character has been written, he wouldn't do anything to jeopardize that. And entering into a romantic relationship with his second in command, knowing there's no guarantee of happily ever after, would be a risky move.