Captain Christopher Pike had two instances in Star Trek where he wanted to quit being Captain of the USS Enterprise. Pike was originally portrayed by Jeffrey Hunter in Star Trek's original, rejected pilot, "The Cage." Sean Kenney portrayed a grievously injured Fleet Captain Pike in Star Trek: The Original Series' "The Menagerie." Over 50 years later, Captain Pike returned to Star Trek canon when he was played by Anson Mount in Star Trek: Discovery season 2. Mount's popularity led to his receiving his own spinoff about Captain Pike's voyages aboard the Starship Enterprise in Star Trek: Strange New Worlds.
Star Trek's "The Cage" was overhauled to become Star Trek: The Original Series, with Jeffrey Hunter's Captain Pike replaced by a brand-new leading man, William Shatner's Captain James T. Kirk. However, "The Cage" established much of the basic foundation of Star Trek, where the Captain of the Enterprise was in command of 200 crewmen on a five-year mission of exploration. Captain Pike set the template for Captain Kirk and every other Star Trek Captain to come over the next six decades. However, Pike is also fascinating because he embodies the toll a life in Starfleet exploring strange new worlds takes on the Captain of the Enterprise.
Why Pike Wanted To Quit Being Captain Of The Enterprise Twice
Captain Pike couldn't walk away from Starfleet
Within minutes of introducing Captain Christopher Pike, Star Trek's "The Cage" established that Pike is weary and sorrowful. Two weeks before "The Cage," Pike led a fateful landing party mission on Rigel VII that erupted into violence, with members of the Starship Enterprise crew killed or injured, including Mr. Spock (Leonard Nimoy). In the privacy of his quarters, Pike confessed to Dr. Phillip Boyce (John Hoyt), "You bet I'm tired" of the responsibilities of being Captain and having to decide "who lives... and who dies." Pike didn't quit the Enterprise after the events of "The Cage" on Talos IV, but his vulnerabilities were on full display upon audiences meeting the Starfleet hero.
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds' series premiere reintroduced Captain Pike but, like in "The Cage," Chris was also on the verge of walking away from the USS Enterprise. In Star Trek: Discovery season 2, Pike learned his tragic destiny is to be horribly disfigured by delta rays while rescuing Starfleet cadets. Chris will spend the remainder of his life immobilized in a wheelchair. In Strange New Worlds' premiere, Pike mourned his future during a leave of absence that he considered making permanent. However, Pike was lured back onto the Enterprise's bridge to rescue his Number One, Lt. Commander Una Chin-Riley (Rebecca Romijn), and Chris stayed as Captain of the Enterprise.
Anson Mount Solved Star Trek's Original Captain Pike Problem
Mount's Pike improves on Jeffrey Hunter's
NBC rejected Star Trek's "The Cage" for being "too cerebral" and for not being the action-packed "Wagon Train to the stars" that Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry promised. Another issue the network had was Captain Pike himself. Jeffrey Hunter's portrayal of Pike wasn't the dynamic leading man NBC wanted for Roddenberry's outer space adventure series. Replacing Pike with the more cocksure and charismatic William Shatner as Captain Kirk was a prime reason why Star Trek: The Original Series got a green light from NBC.
Mount had the leeway to successfully reinvent Pike.
Anson Mount was well-aware of what Jeffrey Hunter established as Captain Pike, but with over fifty years between "The Cage" and his version of Pike in Star Trek: Discovery, and later Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, Mount had the leeway to successfully reinvent Pike. Anson's Captain Pike retains Hunter's thoughtful and introspective nature, but Mount injects a greater compassion, authority, charm, and approachability. Pike is bright, diplomatic, suitably commanding, but also generous with his crew. It's hard to imagine Hunter's Pike cooking meals for his Enterprise crew the way Mount does, while still being a man of action when called for.
Captain Pike Finally Leaves The Enterprise Because Of His Tragic Destiny
Will Strange New Worlds show Kirk taking over the Starship Enterprise?
Captain Pike knows that his destiny is to end up in a wheelchair, and he will inevitably no longer be Captain of the Enterprise. This knowledge is what fuels Pike's desire to remain in the Enterprise's center seat for as long as he can. However, one of the traits that makes Pike so compelling and relatable is his humanity. Chris struggles with his fate and his chosen role as the leader of 200 Starfleet officers exploring the galaxy. Admirably, in Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, Pike tries to have it all, including have a romantic relationship with Captain Marie Batel (Melanie Scrofano), and Chris deserves as much happiness as he can get.
Captain Pike's Starfleet career is doomed, and there is a ticking clock on his role as Captain of the Enterprise. Whether or not Star Trek: Strange New Worlds will eventually depict Lt. James T. Kirk (Paul Wesley) taking over for Pike as Captain of the Enterprise is one of the series' biggest questions in terms of Star Trek canon. But for Captain Pike, there is now no walking away from the Enterprise until the day comes when Chris' destiny finally catches up with him.
