If James T. Kirk (Paul Wesley) learns about his future in Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 2, it could illuminate what Captain Kirk (William Shatner) says to Spock (Leonard Nimoy) and Dr. Leonard McCoy (DeForest Kelley) in Star Trek V: The Final Frontier. The young Lieutenant Kirk will join Strange New Worlds season 2 after Captain Christopher Pike (Anson Mount) teamed up with a version of Captain Kirk in an alternate future where the Star Trek: The Original Series episode, “Balance of Terror,” led to endless war with the Romulan Star Empire.
The driving factor of Captain Pike in Strange New Worlds is that he knows he is destined to be horribly disfigured by a delta ray accident in 2266, which will end his life as a starship captain. Pike learned of his immutable fate thanks to a vision from a Klingon time crystal in Star Trek: Discovery season 2. Since then, Chris has overcome his own fear and depression to lead the USS Enterprise on a new five-year mission of exploration. In Strange New Worlds season 1’s finale, Admiral Pike from an alternate timeline visited Captain Pike and used a Klingon time crystal to show him a future where his delta ray accident never happens, which changes the United Federation of Planets for the worse. Pike returned to his proper timeline and accepted his destiny must happen, but Chris also took interest in Lt. Kirk, who he believes could replace him as Captain of the Enterprise.
Since Strange New Worlds brought back Discovery‘s Klingon time crystals, it’s possible Lt. Kirk could interact with one in season 2 and see his future death. If that happens, it could shed light on why Captain Kirk told Spock and McCoy in Star Trek V, “I’ve always known I’ll die alone.” Kirk referred to how his death would happen because his best friends, Spock and Bones, won’t be with him. Eerily, Jim’s prophetic words came true (twice) in Star Trek Generations: Kirk was believed killed in action aboard the USS Enterprise-B in 2293, but he was really transported across space and time into the Nexus. In the 24th century, Kirk died for good when he helped Captain Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) stop Dr. Tolian Soran (Malcolm McDowell) from destroying the Veridian star. Although Picard was with him, Spock and McCoy were not, and Kirk sacrificed his life to save millions. But did Kirk have actual foreknowledge of his death beyond a feeling of how he would meet his end?
Kirk Knowing How He Dies Explains His Captain Style
Noting the younger Kirk’s bold, risk-taking style in Strange New Worlds season 1’s finale, Jim’s older brother, Lt. Sam Kirk (Dan Jeannotte), described him as “a pain in the a**,” Jim was already a maverick as he rose up the ranks of Starfleet, but a potential encounter with a time crystal could explain why Kirk prefers “rushing in where angels fear to tread.” James Kirk’s innate confidence in himself could be fueled, in part, by a foreknowledge that he won’t meet his demise until old age if this is the case. Of course, Captain Pike’s vision of his accident is incredibly detailed, and he knew the exact time and place of his accident as well as the names of the Cadets he saves. If Kirk sees his own death thanks to a Klingon time crystal, it doesn’t have to be so elaborate. Jim may simply gain an awareness that, in turn, enables why Kirk lives life to its fullest and takes so many chances (that pay off) as Captain of the Enterprise.
It may seem like creative overkill if Kirk learns how he dies just like Pike did, but Strange New Worlds is already known for taking chances with canon and filling in gaps to enhance what’s already known, such as the case of Spock’s (Ethan Peck) romance with T’Pring (Gia Sandhu), and Cadet Nyota Uhura’s (Celia Rose Gooding) backstory and reluctance to join Starfleet. There’s no indication that Lt. Kirk will see his future death in Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 2 but, if he does, it would potentially work just as well as it has for Captain Pike’s overall story, and it would finally explain why Captain Kirk said he knows he’d die alone in Star Trek V.
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 2 premieres in 2023 on Paramount+.
