Strange New Worlds Season 2 Is The 'Genesis' Of Kirk & Spock's Star Trek Bromance

This post contains mild spoilers to the season 2 premiere of "Star Trek: Strange New Worlds."

The first season finale of "Star Trek: Strange New Worlds" was almost perfect. It put a fresh spin on the classic "Trek" episode "Balance of Terror," introduced fans to an alternate universe version of James Kirk (Paul Wesley), let Captain Pike (Anson Mount) grapple with a major ethical dilemma, and reminded us that Spock (Ethan Peck) is, as we all knew, the most special guy in the universe. There was only one problem — the episode put Spock in the same room with Kirk, his future best friend and soulmate (platonic or otherwise), and in a mind-boggling move, barely let the two characters so much as look at each other.

A year later, and I'm finally done fuming about the bizarre non-meeting of the two characters with the strongest bond in all of Starfleet — just in time for the pair to apparently meet for real. In a roundtable discussion that /Film's Vanessa Armstrong attended, Peck and Wesley spoke about working together in season 2, and confirmed that their characters will finally cross paths in a more significant way. The pair also explained that the relationship we see in "Star Trek: Strange New Worlds" won't quite look like the one made famous by William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy, given that these characters are still several years away from the level of kinship they felt in the original series.

"Thus far, it's obviously the genesis — it's still the beginning of this friendship that we all know so well," Paul Wesley said. "But I think what's great is that they don't know what their friendship is going to be, yet. They really don't know what it is about one another that is alluring or intriguing." While trailers for the second season don't give much away about the pair's initial meeting, Ethan Peck admitted he'd be intrigued to see the two men butt heads at first. "I think I was most excited to explore the sort of adversarial component of the relationship, which maybe we will maybe we won't," he teased.

We might not know for certain whether or not Spock and Kirk will start out more frenemies than friends, but Wesley did confirm that the pair filmed scenes together — and that Kirk has some sort of interest in Spock from the get-go. "I wanted to portray a little bit of that hint of intrigue, but it's subconscious," Wesley said. "You don't really understand why Kirk is drawn to this guy and why he finds him compelling." 

Kirk isn't the only one who's intrigued: I can't wait to see where the pair's chemistry falls on the scale from "just work pals" to "there's so much going on here that the only reasonable response is to invent the concept of slash fiction.

Ethan Peck and Paul Wesley also spoke about what they appreciate most from their individual season 2 character journeys. Peck alluded to an important plot point that comes up in the season premiere, when Spock finds out he's more emotionally human than ever after accidentally tearing down his Vulcan mental barriers last season. It's a choice that already seems to be leading us towards a version of Spock we've never seen before — one who cries easily and feels deeply. "I love so much the earnestness that Spock brings to his journey," Peck said. "There's such a childlike vulnerability in the way that he explores himself and certain situations. Because he is so young as a human being, right?"

That's a great way to put it: Spock's Vulcan side has been in charge for so long, that when his human side comes out, it's as if he's a kid experiencing the highs and lows of life for the first time. "He's half-and-half and his human side is nascent and I think that makes for a lot of really great comedic opportunities as well," Peck added, "because he's always the odd man out, sort of the strange one in the room. And that's really fun to play." 

Paul Wesley also notes that this pre-Captain version of Kirk still feels young, too. "In many ways, I think Kirk is still boy, at least in the version that I have been playing," he said. "I'm not sure he understands how to be a captain yet." Wesley explained he ultimately wants to portray Kirk with "a deep confidence and an unwavering sense of who he is," but he notes that the character isn't "quite there yet." Wesley has also previously been clear that he doesn't want his own performance to mimic Shatner's in any way. When we meet him, Kirk will be a lieutenant who is still years away from manning the Enterprise.

While Wesley did portray Kirk in one episode last season, that was an alternate universe version of the character, so it's likely the version of him the Enterprise crew actually meets this season will be quite different. Hopefully, this time around he actually gives Spock the time of day.

"Star Trek: Strange New Worlds" streams new episodes on Thursdays on Paramount+.