#an analysis of kirk and spock

[commander-quack-to-the-bridge]

My mother and I were watching Star Trek Into Darkness tonight (I'm not feeling well and we love to watch these movies together)

Well we got through the first scene, when Spock is in the volcano and Kirk asks Bones, "If I was there and Spock was here, what would he do?" And Bones replies, "He'd let you die."

Just... I have to say, I know there are a lot of points in that movie that revolve around the sentiment of Spock following the rules and regulations and protocols of Starfleet without hesitation. But there's something in Kirk's eyes when Bones says that, this flash like how can you possibly believe that?

I just know Kirk never fully believed that. He can't. I feel like a big part of the foundation of their friendship in the Kelvin timeline is rooted in Spock's human-side. Kirk knows it's there, just beneath the surface, well controlled but still there

Kirk hears Bones. Understands his concerns even. But doesn't believe them.

Thank you for coming to my strep throat induced TED talk.

[tprings-hair]

I'm going to say something about the new unification short film that I haven't seen anyone here say yet.

I love the handholding scene. massively impactful. I love the echo of "this simple feeling" from the motion picture and the genesis reference and the idea that spock did not die alone or among strangers. it's just so satisfying after all this time to know that even shatner knew it was wrong and needed to be approached with more compassion for nimoy and the fans who loved these characters and knew they should be together at the end, whatever that looked like.

but you know what really got me?

this minute or so. kirk confronting his old selves. because that's obviously original series kirk right there in the gold uniform.

and the other? THAT'S HIM!!

(I'm linking it this way because you apparently can't add more than one video to a post and I need it here for demonstration.)

so we have present kirk walking down a dark hallway. at the end is spock, but at the end is also spock's death. how can he step forward and face that? what happened to the way he used to think about death?

yellow shirt is TOS kirk, who had always found a way around the problem and never (if the movies are to be believed) had to face death straight on. he's looking forward with confidence. there's no way spock is dying. there's a way out of this somehow, if only he can find it.

TOS kirk looks back the way he came, because he believes he can go back. he can always go back. the series always resets to the same characters who can be depended on to take similar actions, because that's what a serial is, and that's who he is. things have taken their toll on him, but he knows he can take the hit and keep moving.

but he stops when he's faces with WOK kirk. the one in the red dress uniform, who has lost spock and knows what it is to live without him. who has faced death in a way he had never had to before, because the constraints of the series never allowed it. he has been changed because of it.

TOS kirk sees that, and does that sort of posturing that he always does in front of someone who's threatening him. but WOK kirk isn't threatening him. he's just living through something TOS kirk hasn't had to face yet. it's him staring his past self in the face and telling him, kindly and firmly, you know nothing about how it will feel. you will never be the same without him.

and TOS kirk looks back again, and there's a present kirk, wearing his generations uniform. this is kirk having turned that grief to a desperate search for the most important person in his life, and emerged with spock by his side. he's not the same, but he's made it through. of course TOS kirk would look to that.

and as our kirk looks at these people he used to be, they vanish in front of him. he remembers the way he used to think about losing spock. the fear, the grief, the hope. there's no hope left. when he reaches the end, spock will be there, and it will be their last time together.

but he puts the pin back on, and reminds himself of his duty not just to a fellow officer, but to a friend, to the most important person in his life, and to himself. spock should not be alone, and he never got to say goodbye properly before. doing it now is the least he can do.

that's his ultimate responsibility in that moment: being there for spock. that's been his ultimate responsibility from the beginning. and this is shatner acknowledging that they deserved an ending that fit that truth.

[zenosanalytic]

You can really tell how transgressive TOS Kirk and Spock's relationship is from the reflexive need of contemporary "remakes" to inject antagonism into it.

That friction and contention just flat-out isn't there in the original. Jim and Spock are just always listening to one another, and trying to understand each other(often succeeding), and admiring one another, and that makes SO MANY straight men deeply, Deeply Nervous.

[self-made-purgatories]

This is what I love so much about Spock's line:

"Did you enjoy it, Captain?"

in this Spirk conversation in Shore Leave.

Kirk spends a ridiculous amount of time time chasing down and fighting (what turns out to be a fictional representation of) his old rival Finnegan. The two of them beat the everloving shit out of each other while Spock ostensibly watches; that is, he watches Kirk run off to fight Finnegan, and then he reappears quite suddenly as soon as Kirk knocks Finnegan out. Kirk seems slightly embarrassed when he realizes Spock must have been paying attention the whole time.

Spock doesn't judge Kirk; he approaches him with curiosity. He doesn't try to stop him at any point during the fight, even though Kirk is getting injured and Spock's first instinct is always to protect Kirk from harm. In fact, Spock understands that the fight is cathartic for Kirk even before Kirk does, and he actually helps Kirk understand that by asking him, "Did you enjoy it?"

SPOCK: Did you enjoy it, Captain? KIRK: Yes, I enjoyed it. After all these years (Realization dawns.) I did enjoy it. (Spock nods.) The one thing I wanted to do after all these years was to beat the tar out of Finnegan. SPOCK: Which supports a theory I've been formulating.

Remember, earlier in the episode, Spock sassily tricks Kirk into admitting that he needs to take a break, and then actually even almost-smiles a little bit when he tells him to go enjoy himself.

This whole fight scene between Kirk and Finnegan seems kind of silly on the surface, but it's actually very important. On a planet where your foremost thoughts come true, Kirk's first thought is that he wants to inflict pain on the past and receive pain in return. He is racked with survivor guilt from trauma that stretches all the way from Tarsus IV and the Farragut to all the crewmembers who have died under his responsibility, including his beloved Bones who was killed (surprise! not really! but he doesn't know that) in the prior scene. His deepest wishes are:

1. to finally win at something that always seemed unwinnable (he can't save all those people, but he can beat the shit out of and knock out an old bully)

2. to earn redemption somehow (getting beaten physically as a type of penance)

3. and to feel something else besides the unimaginable soul pain he is feeling (his injuries give him a different kind of pain to feel: the physical kind).

Yes, Spock's "Did you enjoy it?" sounds kinda sexual and so we laugh, but he truly sees Kirk, he understands, he watches over him while he works through some of his shit in his own way, and he is actually saying exactly this:

"Did you enjoy the pain? Was it good pain? Was the catharsis satisfying?"

"Did you get what you needed from that? How is your healing going? Are you going to be okay?"

"I see you. I understand you. I love you."

It's not sexual, but it is very intimate.

(original post, video)

[sad-trekkie-life]

TW: SA.

Addition to the discourse of Kirk being a victim of SA and how it reflects in his behavior.

During watching Plato’s Stepchildren (s3e10) there’s one of very uncomfortable scenes where Spock, Chapel, Kirk & Uhura are forced to kiss. And I’ve noticed a very interesting detail of the difference in behavior between two “couples”.

Chapel expresses how she is ashamed and I would say scared would be a right term. Spock isn’t trying to comfort her, he himself is struggling. He thinks he failed her. They both are ashamed, disgusted, uncomfortable and visibly hurt and they try to fight even during the kiss, which makes it a very tough watch.

But then we see a dialogue between Uhura and Kirk.

Kirk, unlike Spock, is able to comfort Uhura, by asking “not to think of them”, because “they want [us to feel frightened]”. And he is succeeded. Uhura starts thinking about something else, something comforting — about him as well (as she has to kiss him), because she is now in a very vulnerable, traumatic position, she is trying to associate Kirk with safety despite him on this moment not being safe for her. So when they have to act, they don’t try to fight. When kiss happens they are more relaxed then Spock & Chapel, not trying to break the kiss. And Kirk is just staring, not at her, but on their sadists, with eyes full of anger and hatred.

What he advices to Uhura is something what many SA victims would experience, when they are in the similar position. Not thinking of what is happening. Not focusing on what exactly is happening. Not thinking of their bodies and the body of the other. Not showing their fear, or even shame. It’s because, unlike Spock, Kirk has an experience. He uses his body many times during the show to escape, to save his ship, his people or himself.

Kirk’s pretty rightful advice, I would say, proves, that the fact that he is a SA victim was the writers’ intention once again and it aligns with his behavior in other episodes where he has to use his body. Not thinking, thinking of comfort, not showing true emotions are his coping mechanisms.

He’s not a manslut. He’s a victim.

[wwillywonka]

rewatching where no man has gone before and it's wild how different spock's characterisation is in this versus the rest of the series. like i know logically (haha) that the episode was so early that the show and nimoy didn't really have a grasp on the character yet (made evident by the "one of my ancestors married a human woman" line), but it also strikes me that this is technically kirk's first episode in timeline (production) order, meaning jim and spock have barely started to get to know each other. it's obvious from the chess game that they're already very close and likely have been joined at the hip since their very first meeting, so i like to think that spock is almost, ya know, giddy at this point, adjusting to the comforting warmth and joy and security he feels just by being around jim all the time because it's all so new, because he's never had anything like this before. spock likes jim so much and so immediately and wants to get to know him better and feels safe enough around him to let jim get to know him better, too. the interaction at the end, "i felt for him, too" and "there might be some hope for you yet, mr. spock." followed by a very not-subtle, fond smile from our dear vulcan first officer, just stands out so much against the rest of the series. young spock and his brand new blossoming crush for his captain and he hasn't gotten to the point where he's afraid of those feelings yet, just basking in how nice it feels to have a proper friend. so damn cute. it fills me with butterflies.

[discoonthegrass]

I know we love to talk about the exceptionally romantic moments of TOS Season 1, like “Dig it in there, Mr. Spock” from Shore Leave, “you almost make me believe in luck” from A Taste of Armageddon, or “at his side, like you’ve always been there” from City on the Edge of Forever, but can we also show some love for:

“I speak from pure logic… human beings have characteristics, it is impossible for Captain Kirk to act out of panic or malice. It is not his nature.” from Court Martial (Later, Spock even compares his faith in Jim to gravity itself!)

“I’m surprised to see you alive, but pleased.” from Space Seed (Spock in S1 barely admitted to having any emotion, so to admit he felt pleasure is crazy)

“In all my years of service, this is the most painful.” said by Jim during The Menagerie when discussing Spock’s apparent betrayal (keep in mind that this man has already had to order the death of one of his best friends, and has also felt personally responsible for several crew members deaths. Yet somehow Spock betraying him hurts more than all of this.)

Spock grabbing Jim’s hand in Tomorrow is Yesterday while asking concernedly if he finds it painful (I’m sure your famous massages will make it better Spock…)

The point is, all the way back in S1 the seeds of the K/S relationship were being sowed….only for Amok Time to propel the ship into the mainstream once and for all.

[why-lamp]

i'm finally getting around to reading Killing Time by Della Van Hise.

you know, the Star Trek book that was so gay that it was recalled and reprinted with over 50 changes.

I got my hands on a first edition copy from Thriftbooks and decided to use a sticky tab every time something "spirk" happened

I'm only halfway through.

update its very fucking gay

[anghraine]

I know it's well-understood at this point that Kirk/Spock is much more of a nerd4nerd ship than a nerd/jock thing, but it's just been kind of percolating around my mind that both of them aren't just space nerds but space nerds who were personally bullied.

Like, 18-year-old Kirk was targeted by an older bully who combines "total asshole" with "the most grating man in existence":

MCCOY: Well, yeah, I'm beginning to feel a little bit picked-on, if that's what you mean. KIRK: I know the feeling very well. I had it at the Academy. An upperclassman there. One practical joke after another, and always on me. My own personal devil. A guy by the name of Finnegan. MCCOY: And you being the very serious young— KIRK: Serious? I'll make a confession, Bones. I was absolutely grim, which delighted Finnegan no end.

This was five years after Kirk survived a genocide, btw, and likely well before his stint as an Academy instructor known to be strict and demanding (which is the period the "stack of books with legs" description of him comes from). By the time he's 33, fifteen years after all this, it turns out one of his deepest fantasies is just beating the shit out of his bully, but only if he can do it According To The Rules (the replica of Finnegan sneers, "Always fight fair, don't you? True officer and gentleman, you").

Spock, meanwhile, is viciously targeted by his Vulcan peers for being biracial from at least age 5; he's described as being tormented by other boys by that age, and "at home nowhere except Starfleet." I think he'd have been 18 or 19 when he left for Starfleet and it's... the least bad of his options, but he seems to have spent his entire career among humans and being persistently subjected to raw racism and profound disrespect for his culture at every turn.

Like, their histories of being metaphorically shoved into lockers are not identical or anything, but I think it's interesting that they both have them.

[ichayalovesyou]

Why Do Old-School TV Duos Have SUCH MLM Vibes?!

I think there’s something very specific about the formula and writing style of non-serialized/semi-serialized shows from the 60s to 80s that featured two grown men going on wacky dangerous adventures that makes my gay little literary analysis brain go absolutely off the wall bonkers. I’m trying to figure out why!

I’m writing this on my Trek blog because I don’t think this pattern in people actually shipping these types of relationships the way they do if fandom as we know it wasn’t born via TOS in syndication. That being said! I also think it has to do with the way these shows are designed that makes myself and others OBSESSED with a specific character dynamic that feels (to me) damn near impossible to replicate in modern television. In a way that’s more than just fandom, it’s in the way TV like this was written at the time!

Further explanation under the cut!

🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍🌈

I think what it usually boils down to is this. There’s a charming protagonist whom without the series could not operate, frequently top billed or the title character! (See: Wild Wild West, Starsky & Hutch) BUT he doesn’t have anyone to play off of! So what do they do pretty much every single time? Give Mr. Idealized Vision of Time-Period Masculinity For Genre a second guy to rhyme with!

See but the other guy has to play opposite but parallel to our hypermasculine protagonist. So what frequently ends up happening is that in order to play off our “normal” guy, even though he’s also a white dude, is that he’s still somehow Other.

They’re always perfect for each other, and they always get into scenarios that would be written, shot and interpreted by conventional audiences as romantic IF either one of those characters were a woman! Especially at the time these shows were made in.

If the one is aggressive, the other is gentle. If the protagonist is violent, his counterpart is intellectual. If the one is stoic, the other is emotional. Which (while one size def doesn’t fit all) usually makes the second guy come off as much more queer-coded (and sometimes other minorities like neurodivergent/disabled etc) than the other because of the traits associated with masculinity vs gayness at the time! Our prime examples in these gifs are Spock, Hutch, Artemus, and also *BJ!

*(M*A*S*H is a bit of a unique case since the show flirts with queerness more openly in ways that people more into the series have explained better than me but I think it still fits the formula I’m discussing.)

Here’s the thing though right? We’ve got two best friends, and the show NEVER really feels right if one of them is missing unless the focus of the story is how A & B operate without each other while trying to find the other one. They stick with and rescue each other unfailingly in scenarios that might destroy a regular friendship.

Hell, there’s often stuff that would emotionally/physically destroy a regular person/character in modern media. But because it’s not serialized they always seem to pull through seemingly through the power of friendship alone or dealing with it off-screen! Emotional consequences? Yuck! (Unless it’s M*A*S*H or Starsky & Hutch, like I said, not monolithic)

Here’s the thing that some people might say throws a wrench into the interpretation I’m discussing. What about the absolutely non-stop parade of conventionally attractive women the main protagonist (and less frequently the supporting man) goes through?

I would reply: how many of those female characters actually emotionally impact our protagonists as characters long term?

The answer is of course, because it’s NOT serialized, almost none! Kirk can watch Edith Keeler get killed by a car accident and still be making eyes at Spock the next episode. Hawkeye can have a “life changing” romance with a Vietnamese humanitarian woman, then share a blanket with BJ next episode like she never existed!

The Doylist explanation of course is not just the fact it wasn’t serialized but also just, constant, blatant 20th century sexism. Which SUCKS!!! As well as not wanting a long term love interest to throw off the character dynamic of our duderagonists. It’s the 20th century tv equivalent of bros before hoes.

However the Watsonian explanation always seems to result in no love interest EVER being more important than what the two protagonists have no matter whether you think they’re queer or not. No attractive woman could make our reputed babe-hound protagonist abandon his buddy. There’s no earnest romance our more queer-coded supporting man doesn’t end (or get ended for him) often for the protagonist’s sake.

Now some of these women are incredibly well written and straight up GOOD matches for our guys. So why wouldn’t they get involved in something long term UNLESS!! They were in love with each other the WHOLE time?

What if protagonist (frequently the babe hound) doesnt know he’s queer, or knows but doesn’t know he’s in love with his bestie, or any number of similar fruity explanations? The supporting man also runs into this explanation but people tend to believe he’s already aware that he’s queer but either also doesn’t know he’s in love or is keeping it to himself because time-period homophobia and/or thinking (probably not unreasonably) that babe hound is straight?

Between the inherent closeness of being narrative foils. The regularly scheduled life or death drama creating sometimes insanely romantic (in the narrative if not a literal sense) drama between the two. The revolving door of weekly women they never seem to get attached to enough to leave one another. The non-serialized nature resulting in sparse personal information/history about the protagonists as a result.

I think between the very NATURE of the way tv shows were written at the time. Plus the way fandom was shaped by a dynamic that has rippled through how media works and is interpreted by fans for decades upon decades. It’s not hard to imagine getting really emotionally invested in the possibility of the protagonists being in love is a fantastic way to enjoy the media!

In conclusion, it’s really fun and easy to go “these bitches gay! Good for them good for them!”

[babybluebae-933]

I haven’t heard a word you’ve said, and… I’ll get you to Vulcan somehow.

One day I will write an entire essay about this moment but for now this is all I have in me.

This is the kindest thing Kirk could have said to Spock in this moment, and it shows how well Kirk knows him. He doesn’t try to convince him that he shouldn’t be embarrassed about it (well he does at first, Vulcans are not the birds and the bees captain) he doesn’t try to convince him to be logical about it. Being embarrassed is SO illogical and Spock fucking knows that and reminding him of that fact would only make it worse.

He literally begs to be locked away, he begs Kirk to basically take him out back and put him out of his misery old yeller style. SPARE him the indignity of explaining himself to anyone or being subjected to the will of his own deep dark desires and motives. Kirk orders him to explain and Spock says no that some things transcend even the discipline of the service (then Kirks like ok what if I pinky promise I won’t tell and Spocks like ok fine, which is also so cute but a whole other thing) either way it’s obvious he would literally rather die than tell anyone what’s going on, and he’s actively trying to run away from it.

I thought I would be spared the indignity… but the ancient drives are too strong, eventually it catches up.

This is why Kirk is so special, and this is why he understands Spock better than anyone else. Humans have pride, humans have ego. Spock decided to live the Vulcan way and swear off all that stuff but it’s still inside him. We can assume one of two things, either he truly never has any emotions, or he has them but won’t show them. And God damn if being that fucking stubborn isn’t the most human thing about him. I can’t remember which episode it is but some other time when a red shirt is laying into him for being so cold and insensitive Bones gets defensive, and Spock says it’s okay doctor-

Sometimes they forget I’m half human too.

You can be half human, but you can’t be half Vulcan, you can’t be “half” emotionless. He would be ashamed to let the mask slip, and he’s ashamed that he would feel shame for this. For showing his human nature. What do they expect from him? To show his feelings would be humiliating, hiding them gets him ridiculed, they bully him for it, yet no one ever treats him as if he could have any feelings about the matter at hand, whatever it may be.

When Spock is insisting that he never feels such trivial emotions as anger or annoyance or fear he is convincing himself as much as anyone else, that is his comfort. It’s true as long as he and everyone else believes it. It’s his comfort and everyone else’s in some cases; if all else fails we can at least count on Spock being cold and logical.

It’s no use to convince him that he shouldn’t be embarrassed because

Spock knows that already. Biology and nature are factual and neutral

Spock knows that being embarrassed is totally illogical

He also knows that being embarrassed especially about something that IS so natural and normal is super-duper un-Vulcan like

The human side of him is what makes him defend his emotionality (non-emotionality?) with such fervor. Motherfucker is so stubborn and so prideful, so Vulcan, but distinctly human.

To assure Spock “aw it’s okay buddy don’t be embarrassed it happens to everyone!” would be a triple knife; acting like he doesn’t know that the facts of life are neutral, unavoidable, and imminent. Acknowledging that he is embarrassed which is so non-Vulcan. AND telling him how being embarrassed especially about this particular instance is extra illogical.

Kirk gets all that, he knows Spock gets all that, and he sees him for who he really is, not the human side or the Vulcan side, just Spock. So, he gives him a very specific brand of mercy, “None of this ever happened, I saw nothing. But now I at least know enough to help you.”

(If we want to take this further I could also remind you of the Edith Keeler conversation when Kirk basically tells her that “let me help” means more than “I love you”.)

I just love this moment so much and I love them.

[startrek-eridani]

Series analysis: How David Marcus came back to life and came to be a part of Saavik's crew in Star Trek Eridani?

When the showrunners announced that David Marcus was going to be a part of this show, fans were perplexed, but his survival, or rather revival, was hinted at through many episode’s plots, and even clarified in a later comic. 

This slight retcon of The Search for Spock's ending and (And even a bit of The Undiscovered Country) still fits very well into the Star Trek continuity, even if because of it, certain fans decide to see Eridani as its own alternate universe, independent from the TOS timeline. 

But what really happened then, for David Marcus to be Capt. Saavik's science officer? This post aims to be a lore synthesis of that!

In the comic STAR TREK: Genesis "Life from lifelessness", the storyline pitched by show creators in pre-production is brought to the public’s eyes in a clear chronology for the first time. 

In this retcon, after David is stabbed in the upper chest by the Klingon, Saavik still has the communicator held up to her face and intones "Admiral, David is dead", conserving the following scene of Kirk's devastation on the bridge. 

Then the comic diverges, with Saavik eyeing David's still form, and facing the Klingons remaining on the surface. She asks that since David has died with the honours of combat, that she may be allowed to bestow upon him the honours of her people, meaning to share a meld with him as his body is near its end, as Sarek had told Kirk about at the beginning of the movie. They allow it, somewhat reluctantly, but Klingons can't exactly refuse this honour to a fallen warrior, no matter how poor of a warrior he was. 

Saavik stands and walks over to David's still body, melding them. In the meld-space, David gasps awake, and he and Saavik share a conversation, in which she explains that he is dying. His mind takes notice of the physical pain he is in, and he then grows very afraid, as would any person facing their impending doom. He begs Saavik to not let him go, and she obliges, the mental manifestation of her body holding David into a hug as she tries to reassure him, telling him that she is there. 

Saavik being a mildly experienced telepath and David's psyche being aptly terrified, they inadvertently form a psychic bond, which is the kai-telsu, or sibling bond mentioned in Star Trek Eridani S2 Ep. 10. This bond's creation, while also knocking Saavik out of the meld, interlinks hers and David's katra, their living spirit, and while David briefly flatlined and experienced cerebral death during the meld, this connection not only prevents his "spirit" or "soul" from passing, but also allow his mind to re-enter his body after the end of the meld, thus saving his life. His body, while still badly damaged, then begins to undergo the Genesis effect. 

When interviewed by Marvel's Starburst magazine in their No. 91 issue, one of the show's creator said that "If bacteria can grow into bugs and creatures, and if Spock's baby, toddler and later child-aged body can be made to survive alone and without food, Genesis can start to heal David." When asked if it was a case of Deus Ex Machina, she replied "What does God need with a machine? We have Genesis right at our fingertips!" 

David is then stabilized by the beginning of his healing, and Saavik attempts to start a healing trance for him. She stays by his and young Spock's body's side until Kirk and the crew arrive, to the Admiral's shock, when Saavik says that David gave his life to save them, but that she tried her best to restore it. 

While Genesis's protomater instability increases, causing Spock's body to experience its last surge of aging, David's own body is affected as well, with a rapid regeneration of some of his nerves and muscular structures, growing and collapsing in quick succession. 

- This event leaves him with long term consequences, some of his symptoms being similar to epilepsy, migraines as well as issues with mobility, mostly when standing up for extended periods. In many episodes of Eridani, we see accommodations for David, namely a more structured chair at the science station on the Bridge, as well as orthotics braces he wears on away missions as a preventive measure to pain and mobility issues. 

David is beamed aboard the Klingon Bird-Of-Prey, as Saavik was holding his unconscious body. Away from Genesis' surge, Dr. McCoy is able to begin surgery on him and truly stabilize his body until they could get to Vulcan. McCoy also questions Saavik's method to keep his mind into his body beyond cerebral death until the regeneration could kickstart, at which she confesses at having botched the meld, accidentally bonding his katra to hers, which she at first perceives as a grave transgression. David never holds it against her.

On Vulcan, David remains unconscious for a long time while being treated by Vulcan doctors, Dr. McCoy and mind-healers, who later found out that his kai-telsu bond to Saavik could not be removed, lest David suffer grave psychological consequences. David's still fragile state is a great part of the reason why Saavik remained on Vulcan during the event of The Voyage Home, as she is scared that the distance could potentially send her friend into shock with such a young bond. 

S1 Ep. 10 "Under thy skin" explores early on David's disability, as when he is bodyswaped with First Officer Kyral, he experienced an abled body for the first time in years and spoke of the whiplash of it. 

David's resurrection is also touched upon in S1 Ep. 17 of Star Trek Eridani "Does the abyss stare back?", in which a mission to a planet of people worshipping death causes him to be captured as an heretic who cheated his own demise. It also causes him to reflect upon his action with Genesis again, and think about his human mortality once more. 

In S1 Finale "By star benign" it is also stated that Saavik has had to argue with Starfleet Academy regarding David's admission in their field science program so that he could join the fleet, namely for his scientific fraud on Genesis, but mostly because most of the Admiralty believed his disability to be too great of a liability on a spaceship. 

On another note, while David's resurrection wasn't planned at the time of making The Undiscovered Country, to be fair, Kirk was still truthful in his assessment, Klingons killed his son. And while he was brought back, he still underwent extensive trauma, as well as difficult medical experiences and disabilities that followed him for the rest of his life. 

In a later interview, show creator Pauline Birchwood spoke about how David's disability, while opening an amazing opportunity for representation in the franchise, was also a way to avoid undermining Nimoy's direction with David's death in The Search For Spock, in which the young scientist's demise takes root in a very classic tragedy of reaping what you sow, and in David's case, it's his scientific hubris and impatience causing death and destruction, including his own. And now, through Eridani, a rebirth, life from lifelessness.

[spockandstars]

I was thinking about how Spock is intentionally paralleled with Sydney Carton from A Tale of Two Cities in The Wrath of Khan, and now I am unwell!

At the beginning of the movie, Spock famously gives Kirk A Tale of Two Cities as a birthday present. This book was specifically included for its themes of sacrifice and resurrection, which obviously mirror Spock’s decision to give up his life to save the crew. Notably, Kirk’s final lines reference the famous closing of the novel.

Kirk: It is a far, far better thing I do than I have ever done before... a far better resting in place I go to than I have ever known...

Carol: is that a poem?

Kirk: Something Spock was trying to tell me. On my birthday.

So what’s the importance of this line? The famous “far better thing” quote is from the book’s ending when Carton has just sacrificed himself for his beloved Lucie, giving himself up to be executed in place of her husband so that she may find happiness. (Live long and prosper, anyone?)

Interestingly, both Spock and Carton are emotionally repressed characters, and anguish over the depth of their love for the people who uniquely see them for who they are — in this case, Jim and Lucie. While I’d argue that Spock is more at peace with himself and his feelings for Jim after the events of the first movie, the point still stands that Jim is the one to truly understand him in a world that labels him as a cold and calculating being.

I believe that this is what Kirk’s line calling Spock’s soul “the most human I have ever encountered,” is supposed to represent. (Even though I agree with the criticism that it could have been worded better!) Similarly, Lucie is the one to recognize Carton’s inner nature in spite of his aloof facade, begging “I would ask you to believe that [Carton] has a heart he very, very seldom reveals, and that there are deep wounds in it.” (Book 2, Chapter 20.)

When Carton finally admits his love to Lucie, it’s hard not to see the resemblance to Spock’s dilemma in the first movie. You know, that time when Spock, in his heartbreak over something related to Jim (that were not given an explanation for), cries out “Jim! Good-bye my . . . my t’hy’la. This is the last time I will permit myself to think of you or even your name again!” before attempting to purge himself of all feelings in an ancient ritual, and failing because the Vulcan priestess can totally sense that he’s still thinking about Kirk. (Yup, that totally straight time!)

Well, Carton is in a similarly agonizing predicament, because he can’t get his feelings for Lucie to go away. He tells her, “I break down before the knowledge of what I want to say to you” and “I have had the weakness, and have still the weakness, to wish you to know with what a sudden mastery you kindled me, heap of ashes that I am, into fire—a fire, however, inseparable in its nature from myself, quickening nothing, lighting nothing, doing no service, idly burning away.” (Book 2, Chapter 13)

He also expresses that he could never separate his love for her from himself, saying that “Within myself, I shall always be, towards you, what I am now.” (Book 2, Chapter 13) Yeah, I know the fact this mirrors Spock’s famous “I have been and always shall be yours” is probably a coincidence, but I’ll be damned if I don’t mention it.

Finally, Carton expresses his love for her in his willingness to sacrifice himself for her sake: “For you, and for any dear to you, I would do anything. If my career were of that better kind that there was any opportunity or capacity of sacrifice in it, I would embrace any sacrifice for you and for those dear to you… there is a man who would give his life, to keep a life you love beside you!” (Book 2, Chapter 13.) Of course, Carton’s story ends when he sacrifices himself for her, fulfilling this promise. Hmm, now who else does that sound like?

This is definitely not a perfect parallel: Spock doesn’t start out as a lazy alcoholic, although there is an argument to be made that Carton’s low self-worth reflects Spock’s before he went on his conversion therapy fueled journey of self discovery. Additionally, I wouldn’t say that Spock’s love for Kirk is unrequited like Carton’s for Lucie, (as evidenced by many things, but I’ll primarily point to the events of The Motion Picture and The Search for Spock), but you could potentially cast Carol in the role of Darnay, Lucie’s husband.

The most important thing to glean from this is that Spock was very deliberately set up to be the Carton figure, which is interesting given that Carton’s actions are driven by his willingness to do anything to see his beloved be happy and prosper.

[self-made-purgatories]

Canonically, Spock is drawn to small fuzzy creatures.

Jim is a Short King / small guy (in comparison to long tall Spock and his Vulcan bone density anyway).

Spock was in control of his emotionsTM about Jim until Jim grew out his chest and arm hair. Spock notices the change in Jim's body hair and before he knows it he finds himself doing Vulcan hand stuff sloppy style with fuzzy Jim right in front of Chapel and McCoy's salads in the sickbay

Coincidence? I think not.

[sad-trekkie-life]

Recently I watched Elaan of Troiyus, and here are my thoughts/analysis.

For me this episode was uncomfortable & tragic. The spanking comment from Kirk felt very out of character from him, since he’s always gentle and respectful towards women, and hearing him spanking a woman was very weird & annoying.

But I didn’t have an issue with his first outburst, because he treated her actually as a soldier. And he explicitly said he views her as a soldier.

Kirk shows also the same attitude towards male Troiyan Petri, calling out his unprofessional behavior, saying he’s as bad as she is. So, it is clear that Kirk hates both of their attitudes and their lack of discipline. He doesn’t take anyone’s side, he’s “just doing his job”, and it’s natural from him to expect the same from both of them. So, the show clearly states that both Elaan and Petri are in the wrong.

Kirk says “since you’re a soldier and I’m a soldier and we all here have some orders you’ll respect the orders as much as I do”. Simply put “Nothing personal, just business”. So I (initially) did not understand why the creators didn’t follow this attitude throughout. But bear with me.

Same goes with Kirk hitting her. Well, she hit him first, and he kinda had a right to, but again I felt uncomfortable. BUT.

In my opinion it could be the intention that the episode is uncomfortable. Because it was clearly Kirk-the-soldier acting out, and not Kirk-the-lover. He is never abusive. He feels nothing for her. As I said once the show is philosophical, and it raises moral questions, and characters often make wrong/morally gray decisions, and there’s almost always an opposite or alternative view presented. And in my opinion the creators showed clearly how wrong the whole situation is.

It is about lack of autonomy. And I think it’s also a critique of women treatment.

The whole episode is clearly made as a tragedy. By what Elaan went through — learning to do what’s right for everyone else BUT her is what Kirk does daily. He can not form relationships, he is often forced to do things he doesn’t like. Including using his body to safe himself and others. He always needs to put his duties first. It is also reflected in Naked Time. We can hear what Kirk actually wishes for. He wants to have a stable romantic relationship. But every time duty, responsibility and circumstances do not allow him to. He lost Edith to save others, he almost lost McCoy twice in that season before the EoT episode, all because he’s a captain of a war space ship.

Elaan is controlling him after he touched her tears. Before this the whole society was trying to control her. So actually Kirk realizes how she feels. And his treatment of her changes, he no longer raises her voice. You could say that it’s because he’s in love, but we know that he isn’t affected with her tears as others might, and could let go of her, because again, “duty & responsibility”.

Another (sexist) Kirk’s comment “only Vulcan women are logical” I think is meant as being wrong. Because throughout the show Kirk also calls himself and other humans in general as illogical, and we can also see a disapproval on Spock’s face. And we see how Uhura behaves, and how she’s on Kirk’s side and to my knowledge, Kirk never called her illogical.

Also, we can see near the end of the episode, that Elaan is actually aware of western manners, and that she behaved in that way to protect herself, but unfortunately has to come to terms, that she���s not the only one who is trapped. She was the logical one all along. “That's all you men of other worlds can speak of. Duty and responsibility”. She also wants to die. Not by Kirk’s side as she states, and as Daniel Bernardi suggests but because of the whole situation she’s forced into. She only wears the gifts when she thinks she’s going to die and goes to the bridge because she doesn’t care about her safety. She wears Troiyan dress to make amends with Troiyus before death, but being there on the bridge is again showcasing how broken she is.

Kirk was “just doing his job”. And when she saw that even her “magic” can’t go through “duty & responsibility” she started to follow her orders. Just doing her job.

I do disagree with Daniel Bernardi that she turned submissive and that was her desire. Kirk tries to dominate her, as a superior officer but in fact she dominates him with her tears. He tries to overpower her. But she instead overpowers him in a femme fatale fashion and gives Kirk taste of his own medicine. She clearly doesn’t love him, she just wants to escape. The same thing Kirk was doing dozens of times, right?

She gave up. And she’s not the only one who gave up. Kirk is a soldier to the bone. He learned long ago to not put his wishes above his duty.

Also, according to the producer the intention of the episode was to appeal to female audience. And Elaan is actually a deep, complicated character, with the desires and motivations every woman would understand. In the episode “Gamesters of Trickelston” written by a woman Uhura is able to protect herself from rape. And my discourse of Kirk being a SA victim you can find in my previous posts. So creators knew what they were doing, by showing the women struggles.

So in the end NO ONE is happy. TOS was never scared of (implied) tragic endings.

And if you view the episode knowing that literally NO ONE is RIGHT in that situation, that it’s about circumstances which are above our will, and view it as a critique on how women are treated, the episode appears much more emphatic then I initially thought.

I also think Elaan wil be fine. She already showed that she’s able to manipulate men, so I think she’ll cry to her fiancée and will stay a dominant queen she is.

[wwillywonka]

i always thought the forced mind meld scene in undiscovered country was out of place and, more importantly, wildly out of character for spock. i think that's the general consensus from the fandom as well, but i also feel like not a lot of people have actually seen this movie or thought deeply about it considering the lack of analysis i've been able to find on it. but the more i think about it, the more it makes so much sense that spock would do something that extreme all in the name of protecting not only jim and the enterprise crew but starfleet as well. jim even says it to him later in the film, "we're both extremists," and spock wonders if they're so used to falling into roles and routines around each other that they've lost the ability to combat something completely different and unique that might come along to challenge them. it is this predictably that valeris was able to use to manipulate him, to get him to trust her, to get him to help her rise in rank in starfleet. because he saw her as everything he could never be: a full vulcan, completely and totally logical and dedicated to her work, without emotional attachment. of course he doesn't regret his friendships with the enterprise crew but still, there is a small part of him that will forever want to be more vulcan. we know that from unification. how long did spock know valeris? all the way back to her first academy days? how long was she his student, his favorite student? how much time and effort did he put into helping her, all the while blind to her ulterior motives? how the hell is he supposed to trust his own judgement now?

she's destroyed the sanctity of starfleet, the place spock escaped to as a teenager to find inner peace and purpose, the place that has given him a home and friends and people who trust him, who would follow him into anything if he asked.

and now he's become a danger to the enterprise crew. he's become a danger to jim and leonard.

and so, the forced mind meld scene comes not from anger towards valeris alone but a deep anger towards himself. and in his anger and his shame at being angry in the first place and his shame for feeling that shame, of course he would do anything to protect his friends, even if it means violating and sullying the most important ritual in vulcan culture.

it's still horrible, he still shouldn't have done it. but it makes so much sense in the wider context of his character and thus makes for a strong and effective plot choice.