Strange New Worlds Provides The Least Likely Origin Story Imaginable For Star Trek's Most Important Relationship

Hallucination, be gone! This article contains spoilers for "Star Trek: Strange New Worlds" Season 4, Episode 3, "Human Best Friend."

Did we just see the beginning of a beautiful "Star Trek" friendship? "Strange New Worlds" just keeps on keeping on throughout its fourth season, jumping genres like nobody's business and further weaving together aspects of franchise lore while it does so — from repeating references to the mysterious Division 12 to messing with time travel rules to integrating Paul Wesley's James T. Kirk into the action. That last part is one of the Paramount+ show's more successful additions, even though the fabled Starfleet captain isn't canonically meant to serve on the USS Enterprise at this point in the timeline. Instead, co-showrunners Akiva Goldsman and Henry Alonso Myers have found creative ways to have him cross paths with our crew ... which he'll eventually come to command during the events of "The Original Series."

No installment of "Strange New Worlds" features Kirk with more humor and silliness than in the third episode of Season 4. For most of the hour, we're trapped with the buddy-comedy duo of Lieutenant Erica Ortegas (Melissa Navia) and Montgomery Scott (Martin Quinn) in a special "Star Trek" twist on "The Hangover," as they enjoy some well-deserved shore leave on a planet known for its alcohol-like atmospheric effects on unsuspecting vacationers. Scotty and Ortegas' occasional run-ins with the rest of their inebriated crewmembers only lead to more hijinks, though none more welcome than one subplot in particular.

Spock spends much of the episode bonding with Kirk, convinced the latter is only a hallucination in his mind. The final reveal that Kirk was actually there all along isn't just meant as a punchline, however. It turns this into the unlikely origin story we've been waiting for all along.

One of the most important friendships in all of science fiction deserves an equally epic backstory, no? "Strange New Worlds" happens to agree ... in a manner of speaking, at least. The prequel series has earned a reputation for playing fast and loose with the canon of "Star Trek" over the years, though always in a way that wears its love for the franchise on its sleeve. The decision to fast-track the Spock and Kirk bromance could easily be read as shameless fan service, and it certainly is. But can't two things be true at once? Taking the trappings of a stoner comedy and applying it to "Trek" is as indulgent as it gets, but it also provides a neat opportunity to explore something meaningful — like kick-starting (Kirk-starting?) the beginnings of a friendship for the ages.

Naturally, "Strange New Worlds" does so in a way that only it can get away with: by having an inebriated Spock think that he's imagining an extended playdate with Kirk. ("I am quite incapacitated," Ethan Peck delivers in his most amusing deadpan monotone yet.) They play chess and other board games, share manful hugs in emotionally vulnerable moments, and otherwise live it up as only these two misfits could.

But amid all the hijinks, this premise allows for a clever twist. By assuming that Kirk is merely a manifestation of his own desire to reach out and connect with someone, he opens up and shares everything at the core of his being. No beating around the bush, no abiding by strict Starfleet protocol as concerns two high-ranking officers. Instead, "Strange New Worlds" gives both characters an excuse to let loose — to hilarious and heartwarming results.

With all that said, future episodes of "Strange New Worlds" will dictate just how good a decision this was (or not). The easiest and most disappointing route would be for the rest of Season 4 to just ignore this development, either by keeping Kirk away from the action for a spell or simply not acknowledging his and Spock's newfound comradery the next time they bump shoulders. The tougher and more rewarding approach would be one that actually honors this otherwise irreverent misadventure, using it as a real springboard to explore how differently Kirk and Spock interact from now on.

Can "Strange New Worlds" avoid the same mistake that director J.J. Abrams made with his "Star Trek" films? As much as the 2009 quasi-reboot and 2013's "Star Trek Into Darkness" must be credited for reigniting interest in the franchise on the big screen, they never quite managed to nail that Kirk/Spock dynamic in a way that made sense. The pair spend the vast majority of the first film hating each other's guts, and then turn around and repeat much of the same arc in "Into Darkness" as well — a conceit that leads to some fun and bristly chemistry between actors Chris Pine and Zachary Quinto, but otherwise fails to sell the depths of Spock and Kirk's relationship. ("Star Trek Beyond," by contrast, pulls this off much more effectively.)

We're not expecting "Strange New Worlds" to become the Kirk & Spock Power Hour, but at least we're off to a great start. There should be just enough runway to further establish how much they'll come to care for one another — hopefully, with less slapping.

New episodes of "Strange New Worlds" premiere on Paramount+ every Thursday.