Star Trek: Discovery may not have been the first in the franchise to introduce fans to a more vulnerable Spock. In 2009, J. J. Abrams introduced Trekkies to a completely different version of their beloved franchise altogether with Star Trek. Zachary Quinto brought to life a version of Spock who’d become closed off because of the bullying he’d faced as a child. His peers and authority figures alike often pressured him lean into his Vulcan traits to make up for his human ones. Quinto’s performance gave fans insight into why he is the way he is, which they’d never seen before in such depth. In 2013’s Star Trek: Into Darkness, J. J. Abrams dives further into showing fans a Spock who can get angry and violent when he cares enough. However, aside from the odd fight with a space villain, Spock has remained a figure of stoicism — until now.
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The Spock of Star Trek: Discovery is, as some might say, a completely different animal. The character is portrayed by Ethan Peck, and introduced in season 2, episode 7, “Light and Shadows,” as the adoptive brother of Michael Burnham (Sonequa Martin-Green). In her article on startrek.com, Cindy Massre points out how “[the] vital lessons that Spock learns with the USS Discovery crew now seem like perfectly crafted Easter eggs from the writer’s room that inform who he will become.”
Massre goes on to speculate about Spock taking hard lessons he’d learned in Star Trek: Discovery and applying them in Star Trek: The Original Series when he and Captain Kirk encounter the lovely Edith Keeler (Joan Collins) in “The City on the Edge of Forever.” He’s seen the devastating effects of not following the rules of time-traveling hijinks, and he doesn’t want himself or his fellow crew to experience the same tragedy, so he saves them all by pushing Captain Kirk to make the right call – no matter how heartbreaking the results.
The episode “Light and Shadows” finds the crew of the USS Discovery on a mission to uncover more about something called the Red Angel, with Captain Christopher Pike (Anson Mount) at the helm. This being had been at the center of multiple time-altering phenomena occurring across the galaxy, with increasingly terrible effects on surrounding planets. Once Michael discovers Spock has been having visions of the Red Angel, she nervously sets out to find her long-lost brother, so she can gain more information from what he might know. She finds him disheveled and struggling emotionally at a mental health facility, thinking he’s suffering from delusions. It turns out he’s actually having visions of the Red Angel and the destruction it seems to be bringing to the universe. The two find themselves struggling to reconnect with each other while also working against the clock to get answers and possibly stop the end of the world as they know it.
Spock openly struggling with mental health issues is a big deal in the larger Star Trek franchise. Leonard Nimoy’s Spock only showed vulnerability when under the effects of a mind-altering substance or mind-bending space villain. Even Zachary Quinto’s Spock only showed his more emotional side when pushed by circumstances beyond his control. Ethan Peck’s portrayal, on the other hand, gives fans a Spock much more in tune with what he’s feeling. But of course, he’s still a little stiff and awkward, as is the Vulcan way. He’s just more likely to open up with those he’s closest to, and also more likely to build those relationships in the first place. Star Trek: Discovery takes the reserved Spock of generations past and asks, “What if he wasn’t afraid to open up a little?” For many fans, it’s a refreshing take on a familiar character, with ripple effects on how they understand him in other depictions.
That being said, not everyone was a fan of Peck’s portrayal in Star Trek: Discovery. Long-time Trekkies don’t like seeing his more vulnerable side. They prefer Nimoy’s stiff upper lip and lack of overt emotional connections. Shippers of Spirk feel like it delegitimizes their version of Spock who’s in love with Captain Kirk. From that perspective, Spock is a closeted gay, man being forced into heterosexuality by producers too scared to let him be his true self. Many others similarly see Peck’s Spock as an imposter. Their view of Spock has changed, but certainly not for the better.
Regardless, this Spock has made an impact, and he’s got Star Trek fans talking – for better or for worse. Only time will tell if Spock’s portrayal in Star Trek: Strange New Worlds will endear fans or make them even angrier.
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