Fans of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds are in for some unique romantic twists for Spock in season 3!
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds has expertly threaded the needle of making a prequel to a classic TV show work. Set a decade before the original Star Trek, it's a great showcase for classic Trek storytelling as Christopher Pike commands the Enterprise.
The show has even pulled off the challenge of casting new actors in the roles of iconic characters such as Spock (Ethan Peck) and Christine Chapel (Jess Bush). As fans of the original series know, Chapel carried a torch for the Vulcan who, of course, couldn't answer her feelings. Strange New Worlds flips it around as Spock is drawn to Chapel and the pair kiss and share their feelings in the famous musical episode. That, despite how Spock was formally engaged to T'Pring (Gia Sandhu).
However, season 3 is going to bring up some big changes for Spock and add a couple of new points to this unique romance!
At the Tribeca Film Festival's premiere event for Strange New Worlds season 3, the cast and crew shared some dish on what to expect in terms of romances on board the Enterprise. That included Peck giving insight into how Spock's relationship with Chapel shapes him into the character played by Leonard Nimoy.
"We all have relationships that teach us about being human, but Spock especially does, and I think [Christine's] one of his great teachers about his humanness. I think it will be very important to take him to where he will be in the original series. The whole goal was to explore his humanness with this version, before he transforms or transitions to Nimoy's portrayal of the character, which I think you could argue is more computer-like, and he would say thank you… right?"
It's a unique perspective on how Spock and Chapel's seemingly doomed romance may be why Nimoy's Spock seems more closed off. It's an interesting dynamic that co-creator Akiva Goldsman agrees with.
"If you think about Spock as he carries through the motion pictures and as he carries through the end of [Star Trek: The Next Generation] we start to see that actually his whole life has been a struggle with identity, and how he sees himself and the sweet treachery of emotion. Ethan gets to do a lot more of that, and [Strange New Worlds] fills out the personality of Spock and his life's journey."
Of course, the first major hurdle for Spock and Christine is the season 2 cliffhanger that saw Christine among the crew members abducted by the Gorn while Spock and the rest of the Enterprise crew tried to save her.
Spoilers for the first two episodes of season 3 show Christine survives but will be heading to a medical fellowship. When she returns, it'll be with a new boyfriend, Roger Korby (Cillian O'Sullivan), who Star Trek fans know will become Christine's ex-fiancé.
This sudden shift in the romance may open the door for the flirtation between Spock and La'an Noonien-Singh (Christina Chong) to perhaps escalate into something more. Goldsman sums up that "we just realized that when you put a lot of hot people on a ship in outer space, s— happens."
So, on top of the usual action and drama, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 3 will boast some very steamy romantic turns that one wouldn't expect from Spock.
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 3 premieres July 17 on Paramount+.
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