Strange New Worlds’ “Perfect” Kirk Kept Uhura From Hitting “Rock Bottom”, Says Star Trek Actress

Celia Rose Gooding says Paul Wesley’s Lieutenant James T. Kirk is the “perfect springboard” for Ensign Nyota Uhura’s growth in Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 2 and beyond. The canonical meeting between Uhura and Kirk, her future Starship Enterprise Captain, took place in Strange New Worlds season 2, episode 6, “Lost in Translation.” Kirk helped Uhura face her grief over the death of Lt. Hemmer (Bruce Horak), her mentor, and a friendship that would last for many decades was forged.

The cast of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds gathered for a Q&A to support the SAG-AFTRA Foundation where Celia Rose Gooding addressed Uhura’s evolution in Strange New Worlds season 2, and the crucial role Paul Wesley’s Kirk is played in keeping Uhura from “hitting rock bottom” as she grows into the Lieutenant Uhura played by Nichelle Nichols fas know from Star Trek: The Original Series. Read her quote and watch the video below:

Paul Wesley, our Kirk, he was such a perfect springboard. He was such a really just open player and somebody who really kept Uhura from really spiraling and hitting rock bottom. He was someone who was constantly keeping her intellectually activated. And that’s where my Uhura feels very safe in her cerebral place. That episode, and this moment in her relationship with Hemmer and her budding relationship with Kirk, it’s going to inform the rest of her journey. I am excited to see the parts of it that she may want to hide, or the parts of it that reveal themselves to her as she continues to grow into that version of Uhura that we know in the future.

Related

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 2 Ending & Cliffhanger Explained

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 2’s finale nailbiter brings back the fearsome Gorn and ends with Captain Pike facing an impossible choice.

Strange New Worlds Has Assembled Most Of Uhura’s Future Enterprise Crew

Only a couple of future Enterprise crew members are missing.

By the end of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 2, most of the future USS Enterprise crew commanded by Captain James T. Kirk (William Shatner) has found their way onto Captain Christopher Pike’s (Anson Mount) Enterprise. Uhura, Lt. Spock (Ethan Peck), and Nurse Christine Chapel (Jess Bush) will stay on the Enterprise when Kirk takes over in a few years. Lt. Montgomery Scott (Martin Quinn) made a surprise debut at the end of Strange New Worlds season 2, and Scotty is Kirk’s future Chief Engineer. Except for Scotty, who is brand new, everyone has become a close friend of the young Ensign Uhura.

The final two major Star Trek names from Kirk’s future Enterprise still to be introduced as their younger selves in Strange New Worlds are Dr. Leonard “Bones” McCoy (DeForest Kelley) and Hikaru Sulu (George Takei). It’s possible that one or both may pop up in Strange New Worlds season 3. Pavel Chekov (Walter Koenig) doesn’t join Star Trek: The Original Series until season 2, and he is very young in Strange New Worlds‘ time frame, but Chekov could appear as well. Meanwhile, the friendships Ensign Uhura is forging with Lt. Kirk and others in Star Trek: Strange New Worlds are evolving her character as the communications officer matures, grows in confidence, and continues to keep the Enterprise crew connected.

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds is available to stream on Paramount+.