Star Trek: Strange New WorldsThe Season 1 finale introduced an entirely new version of Captain James T. Kirk, played by Paul Wesley. This is a very different version of the character, and it was a little odd to see a version of Kirk that didn’t have the classic Kirk personality that all fans are familiar with.
In the episode, titled “A Quality of Mercy”, Kirk crosses paths Mount AnsonCaptain Christopher Pike in an alternate timeline. In this timeline, Pike is still in command of the USS Enterprise during the events of the Star Trek episode “Balance of Terror”.
There is a reason behind this different version of the Kirk and Strange New Worlds showrunner Henry Alonso Myers explains in an interview with IGN, that this Kirk is based specifically on the Kirk seen in the original “Balance of Terror” episode:
“[That version] he’s a slightly more shrewd and serious Kirk. What I really love about his performance is that there is a kind of public figure that people think of as Kirk and that is not quite present except in the great, great, expansive moments of the original series. And he really tried to build around who the character was at the time. “
In a separate interview with Entertainment Weekly, Myers also talked about his Kirk, explaining that this version of Kirk doesn’t actually exist:
“In the Season 1 finale, he’s actually a Kirk we’ve never seen because he doesn’t really exist. He’s an alternate projected timeline of something. If Pike wasn’t dead and was still in command of the Enterprise, what would this world be? Of course, he doesn’t exist. It’s just in his mind. So he meets Kirk, and Kirk is not the captain of the Business. Kirk is the captain of the Farragut. Kirk never met Spock, he never met Uhura, he didn’t go through all the things the original Kirk went through. So, in a way, he allowed me to … I’m not going to say what I wanted, but it’s a broader interpretation, right? We are not attacking a regiment. So it was a bit liberating because I didn’t have that much pressure. I can’t talk too much about season 2, but it’s a bit more in line with a Kirk we know, but it’s pre-Business. The most important thing is, to answer your question, to maintain that feeling that Kirk has this incredible instinct that he relies on, which is somehow preternaturally accurate, a morality, courage, charm, humor. We don’t get to see much of that humor in the Season 1 finale because something very intense is going on. In the second season, we will explore Kirk a little more. “
I had a blast Strange new worlds! This was a great one Star Trek series, one of the best in recent years. What do you think of the show and what do you think of Kirk’s version of Wesley?
by Joey Paur
Source: Geek Tyrant
