The older Spock (Leonard Nimoy) travels to the Kelvin universe in J.J. Abram’s Star Trek (2009), inadvertently creating an opportunity to reconcile with his father, Ambassasor Sarek (Ben Cross). First introduced in Star Trek: The Original Series season 2, episode 10 “Journey to Babel,” Sarek’s (Mark Lenard) relationship with Spock was complex and distantly chaotic. Spock struggled with the half-Vulcan half-human duality of his identity for many years, finally finding acceptance in Starfleet. Though initially following Sarek’s examples, he ultimately decided against joining the Vulcan Expeditionary Group. In “Journey To Babel,” Spock’s mother, Amanda Greyson (Jane Wyatt), explained that this decision had led to an eighteen-year estrangement between them.
In Star Trek: Discovery, it’s later revealed that Sarek’s objection to Spock’s Starfleet career partly originated from the Vulcan Expeditionary Group’s rejection of Sarek’s adopted human daughter, Michael Burnham (Sonequa Martin-Green). Spock finds recognition and a level of comfort in himself in Starfleet that Sarek’s continuous push for Spock to embrace only his Vulcan nature had consistently denied him. In Star Trek: The Next Generation season 5, episode 7 “Unification, Part I,” the dying Sarek reveals to Captain Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) that a disagreement over the handling of the Federation-Cardassian border conflict had, years later, created another rift between them.
Spock & Sarek Could Have Reconciled In J.J. Abrams Star Trek Timeline
After arriving in the 23rd century Kelvin Timeline in Star Trek (2009), Ambassador Spock finds himself years into the past, at age 155. The alternate timeline counterparts of Prime Spock’s USS Enterprise crew are alive and young, and his father Sarek is among the survivors of Vulcan’s destruction at the hands of Nero (Eric Bana). Having lost his chance at reconciliation in the Prime Universe, with Sarek dying during Spock’s Vulcan-Romulan unification mission, and with the knowledge Spock gained of his father’s love in Star Trek: The Next Generation season 5, episode 8 “Unification, Part II” through a mind-meld with Captain Jean-Luc Picard Leonard Nimoy’s Spock Prime is presented with an opportunity to make peace with his father’s counterpart and finally reunite as father and son. However, it’s unclear if the elderly Spock ever took the opportunity to get to know Sarek in the Kelvin Timeline.
In the Prime universe, Sarek’s complex parenting approach blended good intention, poor instinct, and significant insufficiency relating to healthy logic/emotion balance. He consistently pushed Spock to be more Vulcan at the expense of Spock’s human side. There are differences when contrasted against Sarek’s approach to Kelvin-verse Spock (Zachary Quinto), as demonstrated in Star Trek (2009). When Quinto’s Spock tells Sarek that he is angry following the death of Amanda (Winona Ryder), Sarek confesses that he married her for love. He further tells Spock that he is glad for his half-human heritage, indirectly suggesting that any attempt made by Nimoy’s Spock at finding acceptance and commonality between them would be met with approval and warmth – the very things Spock had always strived for.
What Happened To Spock In J.J. Abrams’ Star Trek Timeline
Ambassador Spock’s arrival in the Kelvin universe followed an unsuccessful attempt to save Romulus when its star went supernova. The plan failed, and Spock emerged in the alternate universe where he was promptly captured by Nero. After Nero’s defeat, Prime Spock returned to Earth and attempted to convince the Kelvin-verse Spock to remain in Starfleet as First Officer to Captain James T. Kirk (Chris Pine) on the Starship Enterprise. Unable to return to his proper Prime timeline, Spock Prime was instrumental in establishing and developing a new Vulcan Colony. From his New Vulcan home, he again assisted the crew of the USS Enterprise in Star Trek Into Darkness.
Leonard Nimoy’s Spock Prime had an opportunity in J.J. Abrams’ Star Trek Kelvin-verse to make amends with his father’s counterpart, Sarek. With family and family traditions being a significant cause of many of the insecurities in his youth, it is appropriate that Spock had an opportunity to address this imbalance in his later years. Spock left the Prime universe in 2387 and died from natural causes in the Kelvin universe in 2263 at age 161. Spock left an exceptional legacy of humanity, accomplishment, Vulcan idealism, and peace that spans the breadth of (at least) two separate universes and into the centuries beyond.
