How Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Made Spock And Chapel's Big Moment Matter
This post contains spoilers from the latest episode of "Star Trek: Strange New Worlds."
This week's episode of "Star Trek: Strange New Worlds" took viewers on a real journey, and not just because it gave Spock (Ethan Peck) the chance to experience the full range of human expression for the first time. The hour started with the science officer on awkward terms with his good pal Nurse Chapel (Jess Bush), given the "quick, a distraction!"-style kiss the two shared last season and Spock's lingering feelings about Chapel. It ended in a totally different place, as Chapel began to come to terms with her maybe-kind-of feelings for Spock after talking to a customer service agent alien about them, and Spock was temporarily dumped by his fiance T'Pring (Gia Sandhu).
The pair met for a conversation that suddenly turned into a sweeping kiss, and I'll admit that, even as the stalwart Kirk-Spock shipper, I was impressed by how skillfully the show led viewers to this moment and made it feel fulfilling. /Film's Jacob Hall interviewed episode director Jordan Canning about all things "Charades," and Canning spoke about the work it took to get that romantic moment just right.
'I really wanted that kiss at the end to just feel epic'
When Hall asked the filmmaker how the team approached tackling a "ship" that's been around for more than half a century, Canning said it was the culmination of a whole season's worth of planning. "I will say right from season one, [there were] those little breadcrumbs that were dropped for Spock and Chapel," she shared, noting "the beautiful looks and tension and connection that Jess and Ethan have built with those two characters." The entire "Star Trek: Strange New Worlds" cast has buckets of chemistry, but Chapel and Spock are definitely two of the characters who immediately clicked on screen.
Canning said the new episode serves to fulfill "all of these amazing little breadcrumbs that they've laid along the way — and getting to finally culminate that and give it justice." Though she doesn't note which cinematic kisses she looked to in order to construct the scene, Canning says she definitely referred back to some classics. "I mean, I'm a real sucker," she told /Film. "I'm a sucker for romance and romantic comedies, and I really wanted that kiss at the end to just feel epic. I watched so many references." The filmmaker notes that she looked for "amazing kisses in other movies" and wanted to convey a sense that, at the end of the episode, "The world slows down and everybody gets to sort of enjoy it and watch these two people finally connect after all of this."
The couple has 'decades of canon' to deal with
It worked well, and the added fact that Spock gives into his feelings not when he's still human but after he's returned back to his typically repressed half-Vulcan self makes the whole thing even dreamier. Canning describes the moment as "a full 360" that she "just wanted to serve...up on a platter for everyone to watch and enjoy." And if you're fully anti-Kirk and Chapel (I personally think they're cute but have more messy queer best friends than soulmates vibes), don't worry, as it doesn't sound like "Star Trek: Strange New Worlds" has major plans to break from original series canon when it comes to Spock's love life. "Will they, won't they? Like you said, will they, won't they for years and years, decades and decades of canon," Canning reveals.
"Charades" is a fantastic, funny episode of this or any "Star Trek" show, and the kiss works because the cast and crew worked hard to make it feel right for the headspace both characters are in at the time. Plus, Peck and Bush sold the moment beautifully well. "I think that just the two of them, those two actors did that so much justice," Canning says. It's a truly lovely moment that I'm sure won't make reporting for work the next day awkward at all.
"Star Trek: Strange New Worlds" streams new episodes Thursdays on Paramount+.