Speaking to Variety at San Diego Comic-Con alongside their Star Trek: Strange New Worlds cast mates Rebecca Romijn, Jess Bush, and Paul Wesley, along with executive producers Akiva Goldsman and Henry Alonso Myers, Ethan Peck and Christina Chong related their mutual shock upon learning Spock and La'an's friendship would turn romantic.
Christina Chong understandably expected La'an's attraction to Paul Wesley's Lt. James T. Kirk would evolve, while Peck explained why Spock and La'an "makes a lot of sense on some level." Read their quotes and watch the video below:
Christina Chong: I was shocked. What, they’re putting the La’an and Spock together? Because I, obviously, thought [La’an and Kirk] would continue… But it was perfect, because especially with all the dancing that we do throughout. And you haven’t seen it all yet. With all the dancing we do, he’s the perfect dance partner, Ethan. Because he’s so strong, and I trust him as a castmate. So all of that was incredible to learn new Latin routines, and styles, and ballroom. We did waltz.
Ethan Peck: And it makes a lot of sense on some level, because they’re both sort of the most restrained. And they’re hiding a lot of shame and inner turmoil. So on paper, it kind of makes a lot of sense. But it was still such a shock, yeah.
Why Spock & La'an Make Sense As A Couple In Star Trek: Strange New Worlds
Lieutenant Kirk Isn't La'an's Kirk
As Ethan Peck related, Spock and La'an Noonien-Singh as a couple is logical. Both La'an and Spock feel isolated from others and harbor secret trauma and shame. Spock always feels torn between his Vulcan and human sides, while La'an harbors guilt as a descendant of the evil Khan Noonien Singh (Ricardo Montalban).
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds fans shared Christina Chong's expectations that La'an and James Kirk would find a way around the fact that Jim has a pregnant girlfriend, Carol Marcus. However, the Kirk La'an fell in love with in Strange New Worlds season 2 was from an alternate reality, and it makes sense for the series not to pursue a second La'an love story with another Kirk.
Spock's turbulent relationship with Nurse Christine Chapel (Jess Bush) is now over, and Christine has moved on with Dr. Roger Korby (Cillian O'Sullivan), who seems a better match for Chapel than the Vulcan. Still, it's fair to say La'an and Spock becoming a couple was not on anyone's bingo cards before Strange New Worlds' creative team paired them romantically.
Our Take On La'an & Spock As A Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Couple
This Does Complicate Things For When Kirk & Spock Meet Khan
The physical attraction between Spock and La'an during their dancing sequences is palpable in Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 3. In La'an, Spock finds a partner more self-assured than Nurse Chapel, while Spock's inner strength makes him more solid and trustworthy than perhaps Jim Kirk would be for La'an. They certainly understand each other.
However, La'an now having a romantic tryst with both the future Captain Kirk and Mr. Spock complicates when the USS Enterprise's lead duo encounter Khan in Star Trek: The Original Series. Neither Kirk nor Spock ever mention La'an's name to her ancestor, although perhaps, in context, Kirk and Spock chose to protect La'an.
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds' co-showrunners Akiva Goldsman and Henry Alonso Myers know how the series and characters' arcs will end in season 5, so they get the benefit of the doubt about where Spock and La'an's romance is heading. And, as Admiral Kirk would say in the future, Spock and La'an as a couple has the benefit of having never been tried.
