#first Paul wesley kirk…

[male--wife]

sibling of the year

[spirkbitch]

the spock poll was so decisive (and correct) now i have to do it for all of them

[chiefnooniensingh]

I can't even begin to describe to you how much I adore SNW!Kirk

This is the first Kirk I really vibe with

[onwegolove]

star trek really is my newest brainrot because i woke up and the first coherent thought that came to me was my brain going like hey what if with all of the modern recasts they’re collecting in strange new worlds they’re planning to eventually remake the original series

[ichayalovesyou]

I am so GRATEFUL that there’s pretty much no Kirk Drift at all in the writing or in Paul Wesley’s version of Kirk! He’s just the right level of cocky and DEFINITELY the right level of kind! He’s so nice and respectful to Uhura, even tho she punches him within like, the first hour of meeting him. Also the offering to split a limited amount of REAL cookies lol 😭 and his weird sort of “it’s not a competition why u mad 😉” dynamic with Sam. Man, I’ve got NO notes!

[ham103me]

I’m currently watching Paul Wesley in History of Evil. Finally we’ll have an answer to the age old question, would Jim Kirk survive a horror movie without Bones or Spock to keep him in line?

Actually, let’s put it to a vote!

[anotheruserwithnoname]

Star Trek SNW finally settles decades-old canon issues (spoiler commentary for S02E03)

(Image credit: Startrek.com)

I say spoiler right in the headline, and I mean it. Read no further if you have yet to see Star Trek: Strange New World’s latest episode, Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow. (The image above is a publicity image and is also in the trailer, so it’s not really a spoiler.)

The TL;DR is: one single line of dialogue fixed nearly 30 years of canon issues. I am not exaggerating. More under the break. And this will be a long one:

To “cross the streams” a moment, it is undeniable canon (not shipping wishful thinking) that not only did the Eleventh Doctor in Doctor Who have feelings for Clara Oswald, he even considered her not his companion, but his girlfriend. That was made undeniable canon in a couple lines in “Deep Breath” when the Twelfth Doctor said “Clara, I’m not your boyfriend,” Clara replied, “I never thought you were.” and Twelve said “I never said it was your mistake.” That was in stark fact. One line of canon dialogue confirmed what many speculated and the show hinted at. This is separate from what came after, any retcons later writers did, and all that. 

Well, one line of dialogue from a guest character in last night’s episode of Strange New Worlds put into canon something I and many others have felt not only about SNW, but the current breed of Trek shows and indeed there were signs of this going back to both Star Trek DS9 and Star Trek Voyager in the 1990s.

The Romulan time agent, Sera, played by Adelaide Kane who some may remember from playing Mary Queen of Scots in Reign, states that the Eugenics war involving Khan was supposed to happen in 1992, but was delayed 30 years due to temporal wars and other interference from the future. (To be precise she’s likely referring to Khan’s birth since he was in his 30s or 40s by the 1990s, the time TOS established the Eugenics Wars took place; here he’s a kid - possibly even a Canadian kid!  The war itself is still some years away.)

That explains a lot. Why since DS9 the Eugenics Wars were redated to the mid-21st century. Why SNW’s pilot episode last year confirmed the Eugenics Wars were part of WW3, not a separate conflict.  Why the Voyager episode where they go back to Earth on 1996 featured no mention of the Eugenics Wars. Why Kirk and everyone else already knows the name Noonien-Singh (even if La’an hadn’t introduced herself by name to “Prime” Kirk at the end, he would have seen her testimony about being Khan’s descendant at Una’s trial. There is no way in this timeline that Kirk, Spock or anyone else would not recognize Khan’s name instantly when the events of Space Seed happen. Heck, even the fact the SNW Enterprise doesn’t match up with the 1960s designs that were also featured in TNG, DS9 and Star Trek: Enterprise. Or even stuff like people like Uhura knowing who T’Pring was years before they were supposedly first introduced to her in “Amok Time”. It even gives wiggle room for the fact this time-travel episode actually breaks canon with the time-travel-based episodes of Picard Season 2! (Laris would have known about Sera and stopped her, right? Sean at TrekCulture had a gripe about this in his Youtube review)

Sera basically admitted that because of people farting around with time and the temporal wars (recall that it was strongly implied in Enterprise that the Romulans were involved if not responsible for that) that the timeline has been changed. 

It can’t be denied anymore and it’s such a liberating thing. Now, SNW is free to truly tell reimagined stories (like the retelling of Balance of Terror last season, albeit that was another alternate timeline), to make T’Pring a vital character and build her, to accelerate the Spock-Chapel romance that was only hinted at in TOS. To truly let Paul Wesley develop his own version of Kirk, not to mention Ethan Peck’s Spock and whoever next plays McCoy (you know they will bring him in eventually and if SNW avoids the fate of Prodigy and lasts a few years, they’re going to have to start getting lined up for a new TOS-era series). Hell, the door is now open for Kirk and La’an to establish a “prime-era” romance - imagine a retelling of Space Seed with La’an in the picture (or at least Kirk remembering her).

This will be a hot take for some. But my rebuttal comes from Doctor Who: “Time can be rewritten.” Finally, nearly 30 years after what was thought to be an erroneous dating of the Eugenics Wars in a throwaway line in an episode of DS9 (I believe the producers even said it was a goof back then), and 22 years of people griping about how the prequel series were not lining up with what came before, either esthetically or storyline-wise (Enterprise, Discovery, SNW, and Picard S2 to a degree), we have a firm, canonical explanation. People will still gripe about politics, general quality, casting, whatever, of shows - that’s a separate argument - but at least in terms of canon, this has changed everything. In a good way.

I only wish they hadn’t killed off Sera. I got very strong Sela vibes from her (Sela/Sera? Coincidence?) and I would have liked to see her become a recurring nemesis. Then again, as I just said, time can be rewritten. 

[obi-wkenobi]

okay so I haven't been watching strange new worlds but the spirkie inside me is currently screaming because I adore that first meeting. understated? yes. and exactly how I imagine a friendship and bond that lasts decades and changes the galaxy would start. think I'm going to be binge watching the show over the next week. bravo snw, I'm now committed because of one thirty second scene involving a handshake and Paul Wesley perfectly encapsulating what I call James Tiberius Kirk's 'Spock gaze' i.e. nothing but utter affection and intrigue for his Vulcan

[anewstartrekfan]

So I rewatched the scene I didn’t like from lost in translation a few times and I need to give credit where it is due…

I have to give it to Paul Wesley. I didn’t pick up on it the first few times cuz I was too pissed Jim was talking about his past, but now I see he’s actually extremely uncomfortable during most of the scene. Like, first he’s clearly uncomfortable after she psycho analyzes him.

“And you’re the type who can’t look past someone in need.”

Kirk legit didn’t have a response to this he just stood their awkwardly.

Then, when she’s pressing him, asking simply “what?” he’s shocked. No one ever asks him because his confident facade is usually flawless or no one bothers to notice or care if he has something on his mind. They just think he’s the perfect guy at his job. I think because of this, Jim expected the conversation to just drop.

He also has to think about it, like either “what’s bothering me,” and, “do I share this?” And I bet he rationalized it was okay because it centered on why he helped Uhura despite barely knowing her, and that why is why he’s in Starfleet. It all connects back to the job which he cares about more than (almost) anything.

Next point for when La’an finishes his sentence, Jim has this confused, pained look on his face. He doesn’t understand why she gets him so well, or he doesn’t know if that’s how he felt at the time, like this is the first time he’s considered this out loud. But also he doesn’t want to continue talking about this, so he nods jumps into “and that’s why I chose this job.”

Also, the sentence she finishes is describing how Jim felt about a given situation. Which was also a good touch because it not only shows how much La’an understands him despite barely knowing this version of Jim, but it also keeps it in character for Jim because he would never talk about his personal feelings this openly. As I said before he just kinda nods and moves on.

I still think it’s ehhhhh that Jim shared any of this, I must stress that this is more than kirk ever admitted in the whole of tos. But at least it works on some levels.

[im-all-out-of-ideas]

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds s2 ep3

oh my god.

yeah this one was completely out of left field for me. i never expected that Wesley's Kirk would be good, nor any attempt at a Kirk romance to be any good, OR for nuTrek to do a good time travel story, OR that they could handle the Noonien-Singh legacy. somehow, by a fucking miracle, they jumped every single hurdle i had in my mind about this entire concept.

La'an was utterly brilliant. zero complaints. played to perfected by Christina Chong and the final moments in the episode were heartbreaking. no notes.

Kirk managed what Peck's Spock had done before him. it is a kirk of a different time, before his five-year mission, and in a different time from the character's debut, so it was always going to be different. but the heart of the man was there, the man who loves food, the man who seems to hold such a tragic veil just beneath the bravado, the man who while professional and competent, can be more than the rules and regulations he follows. it is a different Kirk, one not yet settled into confidence and command like shatner's, but he IS Kirk. Paul Wesley convinced me this time.

the time travel was handled well. it dived in without needing to linger on introducing this trope more than necessary, and the actual plot was as good as it needed to be. i did like Pelia being the Guinan to this Enterprise crew just like i predicted she would be. the romulan agent was also fine, but she was definitely more in service to the REAL purpose of the episode.

khan. oh, the tyrant we loved since Wrath and haven't gotten the bad feeling out of our mouths about since Into Darkness. it's rather unfortunate. if he weren't nearly so important to Earth's history in the Eugenics Wars, he would be an incredibly unwarranted legacy character. none of that applies here. this story was about La'an and her utterly abhorrent legacy, and how to come to terms with it. it was a story fit for Trek in the best way, and it was one only capable of being done by this team and this production. they proved the worth of making La'an a Noonien-Singh.

the matter of canon was absolutely how it should have been handled ever since Voyage Home and First Contact. time travel has been mucking up the details for a long time and i am and have been fine with this. they acknowledged the discrepancy and justified it all in a single line of dialogue. it frees all the other series up for following the newer canon with this new justification too.

all around excellent episode. just as the last was one for the history books of courtroom episodes, this one is fit to sit next to "City on the Edge of Forever" and "Past Tense".

[mai-komagata]

ok but when you think about it

So obviously in the real world of star trek in its various incarnations we have actual actors and actors age at normal rates (or in the case of SNW, cast at ridiculously old ages, like you want me to believe Paul Wesley is what ridiculous young age? you guys know he isn't literally a vampire?), so like Leonard Nimoy always looks the same age as William Shatner in the movies, but like, that is not how Vulcans work. Spock in The Wrath of Khan is younger than T'Lyn and T'pol in their respective series. He probably looks pretty much the same as he did when Kirk first met him. Kirk obviously will look older, and comments on how he is aging (like needs reading glasses and whatnot). But Spock isn't old at all. So married Spirk is even more hilarious when you realize old man Admiral Kirk has this hot young Vulcan as a husband until he disappears in Generations.

i mean it is possible Spock ages somewhere between a human and a Vulcan, though, so maybe not so ridiculously young looking the whole time. But it is still funny to imagine Admiral Kirk and his trophy husband.

[dgcatanisiri]

Among the "canon will have its say" elements about how the characters of SNW and their fates that I do kinda worry about is how Sam Kirk is going to end up leaving Starfleet. There's the possibility that whatever is happening to the captives on the Gorn vessel will be part of what has him decide to walk away from the fleet.

If that is where he's heading, I do hope that it gets to be an ongoing and processing arc, bare minimum something that acts as his character focus in season three, rather than just "that experience was too much, I'm out" through just the next season premiere and maybe its aftermath in the following episode.

Mostly because we haven't really had Sam get his development in, considering he's not main cast (and, y'know, we're still seeing Ortegas not being given her full due at this point, two seasons in - the downside of ten episode seasons). So if this ends up being the catalyst, I hope it's not a 'one and done' kind of thing, but something that weighs on him and leads to more time and focus.

After all, Sam Kirk occupies this strange place in canon - he's connected to the character many consider "the first" Star Trek captain, "appeared" in one episode (in quotes since he was already dead and just portrayed by Shatner with a mustache, so I don't know if I'd consider that an appearance properly), but before SNW came along, all we knew about him was that he was James Kirk's brother, had a wife and three kids (maybe? McCoy calls Jim Peter's only surviving family in Operation: Annihilate!, but the earlier What Are Little Girls Made Of? said that Sam had three sons, so minor muddle there), and that he dies on Deneva. That's really about all we knew for certain about him for fifty-five years, until he showed up for Strange New Worlds. Novels and comics and games had various tidbits thrown out there, but they were never considered 100% canon and could be contradicted without a care by canon.

So I would like to see more development of this character while we have him. Obviously, I don't want to short anyone else in the cast either, but there are plenty of ways to incorporate him with these other characters, to have him paired up with them and develop him alongside them.

And for the record, I don't think they'd go in the "one/two episodes and he's out" route next season anyway, considering that one) they haven't really used him that much after going out of their way to involve him in SNW (since that short appearance in O:A just spoke about him as a colonist on Deneva, no mention of him having a Starfleet career), and two) there did seem to be some seeds planted for an ongoing arc during Lost in Translation, of him trying to work through his issues about his father's expectations.

Also it gives a way for them to keep bringing Paul Wesley's James Kirk back in, which... I somehow doubt that they're done with James Kirk in SNW at this point.

[antimatterpod]

Anika and Liz find themselves stranded in 2023 Toronto, and over some Tim Hortons and poutine, catch up to discuss the Star Trek: Strange New Worlds episode “Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow”…

FIRST we are very angry and sad about the cancellation of Star Trek: Prodigy

SECOND, we were extremely nervous going into this episode, and then … we loved it? 

Introducing Paul Wesley’s Kirk via a set of AUs is really smart

Is this the best episode of Enterprise or the sequel to “Time and Again” we didn’t know we needed? Yes. Is it a problem that SNW keeps revisiting old stories? Yes. Did we love it regardless? Yes

Okay FINE we’re shipping La’an/Kirk BUT IN THIS TIMELINE ONLY

An actual Secret Romulan that we didn’t make up? A GIFT FOR US! (Also, again, aliens among humans, THERE’S A THEME)

The UNIT Dating Controversy of it all

It took three goes, but finally Khan Noonien Singh is played by a South Asian actor!

Anika calls it: we’re gonna see Brent Spiner in the finale

“Progress requires trauma” – does it, though? Does it really?

Are we the first Star Trek podcasters to talk about Pete Davidson?

[doublechocolate]

okay so personally, i think both Chris Pine and Paul Wesley did a great job as Jim Kirk. the only difference is that Pine's Jim took 10mins to convince me, while Wesley's Jim did take a while - both of which are on me, not on them.

essentially, they are are portraying two different types of Kirk. at the start of Star Trek AOS, particularly in Star Trek 2009, Jim is still a cadet and is put through a life and death situation where he has to earn everyone's trust. he gets thrown in the captain's seat with zero experience and no one is convinced he can get the job done until the end. this Jim lost his dad and still has that rebellious streak in him - something that Pine captured very well.

while in Strange New Worlds, the Jim we meet is already a First Officer on Farragut and has seemingly gone through the ranks. We get a Jim who genuinely wants to be friends with everyone, who hasn't lost his dad and had time to develop his skills outside of the Enterprise. Wesley's Kirk takes time to grow on you cause the first two times you meet him, he's supposed to be a different version of Jim. It's not until Lost in Translation that we see The Real Slim Shady Jim Kirk. And Wesley did well.

and in terms of his relationship with Spock and how they bonded;

AOS: the world is about the end and we have got to work together if we want to save our asses.

SNW: Sam's a dick, isn't he

[allisonreader]

Mmm, since I just excitedly explained my current love of Star Trek Strange New Worlds to @fictionadventurer and ever so vaguely @e-louise-bates in the notes of fictionadventurer's one post, I thought that I now need to further explain my thoughts about the season now that it’s wrapped up. (All of it will be below the cut, so if you don’t want spoilers before watching, wait until then. Though I don’t really go into explaining what each episode was about.) Otherwise my thoughts on some of the episodes of season two.

I am going to start off with the fact that I don’t actually remember much of season 1. Enough of it to keep track of what happened, but not enough to give details at all. (I will also note that for some reason Star Trek horror episodes don’t really freak me out, thankfully. The Strange New Worlds ones have been more gory than anything. Which isn’t pleasant and there are some intense moments, but it doesn’t really scare me. I know that can be different for other people as we all have generally different sensitivities from each other. Though generally I am fairly sensitive to horror but it does depend on the type of horror. Like I don’t know if Lockwood and co. Is considered horror in any way or just paranormal, either way I’ve avoided that and Stranger Things because I think both of those are closer to things that actually freak me out and I don’t need to try going to sleep scared/freaked out. Anyways back on topic to Star Trek.) I know I enjoyed season 1, but not nearly as much as season 2 this year. So season 2 is what I’m focusing on.

Episode 1 of season 2, I would say wasn’t the strongest. It was okay, but I don’t think that it was anything special to rave over. There were certain parts that were better than others during it. Overall this particular episode was lower on my list. I’d rewatch it, but it wouldn’t be the first one I would chose or even recommend. I might think differently after a rewatch of it, but I’m in no rush to do so.

Episode 2 on the other hand is a different story. (I’m too lazy to look up the episode names.) This one was one of the episodes that felt like pure unadulterated Trek. The ever a classic courtroom episode. Is it preachy and hinting towards certain political views today? Of course it is. But it was well done and engaging and there were moments where you could see exactly how the case was being brought forward to get the wanted conclusion right before it was fully finished. It is an episode that I would be most willing to watch again.

Episode 3. Context before I state anything about this episode. This was one of the TWO time travel related episodes this season, that being said, I’m a sucker for a time travel storyline. If you know me at all, then you know that I have a major soft spot for almost anything time travel. (Hence Tales Of A Frozen Sailor being time travel when I got team Tolkien in the inklings challenge…) So this episode already had a leg up for me. This episode has ended up being in my top three episodes of the season. Mainly because I love the dynamic of La'an and alternate timeline Kirk. I was about ready to burn canon for these two with the chemistry they had on screen. This episode also really started to sell me on Paul Wesley for Captain James T. Kirk in a way that hadn’t been quite as convincing in season 1. And Toronto actually got to play Toronto instead of *insert big American city here*, which was a nice change for once.

Episode 4…. I don’t actually remember exactly which episode this one was. Which meant it was good, but had nothing in particular to really stand out above the crowd. Okay, scratch that, it was the episode that I was thinking that it might be, which had the crew returning to a planet that they had visited previously. It was a very Star Trek-y episode, didn’t hate it, but wasn’t my favourite. But also wasn’t something to turn my nose up at either.

Episode 5, this one had a very classic Star Trek trope told in a slightly new way. 'Oh no one of our people (Spock in this case) has been in an accident (shuttlepod) and is not himself because part of what makes him him has been removed!' (Shocked face). All is figured out after much trouble has been gone through. (Also I both love and feel sorry for T'Pring's father. He’s so clearly enjoying himself, but his wife has higher expectations and he follows her lead in that regard.

Episode 6… I had to look at a blurb about this one because I was blanking out about it. If episode 3 is what finally sold me on Paul Wesley as Kirk, this episode cemented it. Especially since it showed friendships being started between a certain set of characters that were in the OG series. Also Kirk and Uhura were really sweet together and it showed how much respect the two have for each other. So while I didn’t remember this episode at first, it really was a good one, even if it isn’t in my top three.

Episode 7, finally. This was my most anticipated episode for the season. The crossover episode and not only that but time travel beloved. This episode had surprises and references galore AND the cast was actually allowed to ad lib in the episode. So some of the moments are absolutely priceless and well worth the wait. This is one of the other ones that makes it into my top three episodes. They also pay homage to Star Trek Enterprise, mentioning Archer, Travis Mayweather, and Hoshi. Which was wonderful for them to get some acknowledgment since most other Star Trek shows had come out before that one. It was only 40 minutes long, but they packed a lot of fun into that episode.

Episode 8. This is the only episode that I truly despised. It just wasn’t a good episode and if I wrote it, I would have chosen a different way to end it. I didn’t like the way it was put together. I didn’t like how dark of an episode it was thematically and it was the least Star Trek-y of all the episodes. I think the main issue was with the characters they chose to tell this particular story with, were the wrong ones. For how the story went, I don’t think it should have been Dr. M'Benga and Nurse Chapel. If they told it a bit differently and changed the one aspect at the end, then maybe it would have worked better. As it was, I think it was the wrong “moral” (using moral loosely) to choose. To go more into a spoiler-y direction, it would have fit better into Star Trek's original theme/premise better if instead of the Klingon being killed, differences and the past could have been put aside for them to work together or at least have come to some sort of understanding instead of what happened. It just left a sour taste in my mouth and wasn’t an episode that I appreciated in any form. It could have been much better done.

Episode 9. The musical episode. The mentioned episode that got me started on this full train of thought in the first place. And also the other episode that makes it into my top three. Because this really is such a fun episode and is the perfectly corny type of camp that you expect from Star Trek and is reminiscent of certain other events that break out among the ship in other shows. The very fact that everyone on board is perfectly aware of how odd of a situation that they’re in and is working together towards finding a solution. The songs are catchy and one of the best moments has to be the surprise and shock of how the Klingons end up singing. My dad had to pause the show until I could catch my breath from laughing so hard. It was also extremely emotional at times as well and further included lore from TOS and the movies. Honestly it’s got to be among the best Star Trek episodes just in general. It’s just *chef’s kiss.*

Episode 10, the last one of the season and it ends on a cliffhanger, unfortunately. On the good side, we get Scotty for the first time properly and he sounds just right. Looks on the other hand will take getting used to as the actor doesn’t really look like James Doohan, but that will come in time, because he does fit the part and I love him. It’s the seasons horror (gore) episode. I’m still not sure what to think about what they’re doing with the Goran… only time will tell with that one.

[thepolyamorouspolymath]

Is it me or did Paul Wesley absolutely play into the fantasies of 60s housewives when his Kirk met Spock the first time? Bc while Kirk flirts with everyone who crosses his path, he really looked at Ethan Peck like he wanted to climb him like a tree.