What Happened To Spock’s 2 Star Trek Proteges?

Captain Spock (Leonard Nimoy) had two Vulcan proteges in the Star Trek movies, and here is what became of Lieutenant Saavik (Kirstie Alley, Robin Curtis) and Lieutenant Valeris (Kim Cattrall). In Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, Spock was promoted to Captain after he returned to Starfleet following the events of Star Trek: The Motion Picture. Spock became an instructor at Starfleet Academy, which is how he became a mentor to two promising young female Vulcan Starfleet Officers.

Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan introduced Lieutenant Saavik, who was the first female Vulcan Starfleet Officer seen in the franchise. Saavik was a cadet at Starfleet Academy who was stationed aboard the USS Enterprise on its training voyage. Ranked as a Lieutenant, Saavik was the Enterprise's navigator during the crisis where Khan Noonien Singh (Ricardo Montalban) stole the Genesis Device and sought revenge on Admiral James T. Kirk (William Shatner). Saavik returned in Star Trek III: The Search for Spock and Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home.

Lieutennat Valeris, Captain Spock's second Vulcan protégé, was introduced in Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country. Valeris served as helmsman of the USS Enterprise-A during the starship's mission to escort Klingon High Chancellor Gorkon (David Warner) to the peace confernce between the Klingon Empire and the United Federation of Planets. However, Valeris betrayed Spock and the Federation when she became part of a conspiracy to assassinate Gorkon and prevent peace.

Lt. Saavik Became Captain Of The USS Titan After The Star Trek Movies

Saavik's Last Canonical Appearance Was In Star Trek IV

After Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, Lieutenant Saavik was transferred from the Starship Enterprise to the USS Grissom. In Star Trek III: The Search for Spock, Saavik's mission was to survey the newly formed and unstable Genesis Planet with Admiral Kirk's son and Project Genesis' co-creator, David Marcus (Merritt Butrick). Saavik and David discovered the deceased Spock was resurrected by Genesis' life-giving energies, and they protected Spock from marauding Klingons.

Lieutenant Saavik helped Admiral Kirk and the crew of the USS Enterprise bring Spock back to Vulcan and reunite him with his katra, or Vulcan soul. Saavik then remained behind on Vulcan when Kirk, Spock, and their friends returned to Earth in Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home. However, ancillary backstory material for Star Trek: Picard season 3 revealed that Saavik became Captain of the USS Titan in the 2290s. Under Captain Saavik, the Titan even briefly served as the flagship of the Federation.

Lt. Valeris Was Imprisoned For Treason After Star Trek VI

Valeris Only Appeared In Star Trek VI

Lieutenant Valeris' fate isn't as positive as Lieutenant Saavik's in Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country. Despite Captain Spock's mentorship where he intended Valeris to replace him aboard the USS Enterprise, Valeris succumbed to her fears of a galaxy where the Federation and Klingons became allies. Valeris entered a conspiracy led by Klingon General Chang (Christopher Plummer) that included Starfleet's Admiral Cartwright (Brock Peters).

Aboard the Enterprise, Valeris helped engineer Chancellor Gorkon's assassination, and she worked to prevent Spock's investigation to uncover the truth, even murdering Gorkon's true murderers. However, Captain Kirk deduced Valeris' role as a conspirator and a mind meld by Spock revealed her co-conspirators. After the crew of the USS Enterprise and USS Excelsior saved the Khitomer Peace Conference and revealed the conspiracy, Valeris was taken into Federation custody.

Star Trek has not revealed what became of the former Lieutenant Valeris, but it can be assumed she was held in a Federation prison. Valeris has not reappeared canonically in Star Trek, and Spock never mentioned her again in his subsequent appearances in Star Trek: The Next Generation or J.J. Abrams' Star Trek (2009) and Star Trek Into Darkness.

Why Spock Had 2 Vulcan Proteges (Played By 3 Actresses)

Director Nicholas Meyer Cast The Original Saavik & Valeris

Lieutenant Saavik was recast in Star Trek III: The Search for Spock after producers could not meet Kirstie Alley's price to reprise the role. Instead, director Leonard Nimoy hired Robin Curtis to play Saavik in Star Trek III, and Curtis returned for a brief cameo in Star Trek IV. When it came time for Star Trek VI, director Nicholas Meyer originally intended for Saavik to become a traitor. However, Meyer wanted Kirstie Alley to reprise Saavik. Again, Star Trek VI couldn't afford Alley, and Meyer decided to create a new protégé for Spock instead.

Kim Cattrall had auditioned for the role of Lt. Saavik in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, and director Nicholas Meyer liked and remembered her. When Lt. Valeris was created to replace Saavik in Star Trek VI, Meyer was glad to cast Cattrall as Spock's treasonous protégé. As for Saavik, two different ideas that were not pursued were to make Saavik Admiral Kirk's love interest in Star Trek II, and for Saavik to become pregnant with Spock's baby after they shared pon farr in Star Trek III.

Will Spock's Vulcan Proteges Appear Again In Star Trek?

Strange New Worlds Could Introduce Young Saavik Or Valeris

There is a chance that younger versions of Saavik or Valeris could appear in Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, although not played by Robin Curtis or Kim Cattrall (Kirstie Alley passed away in 2022). Strange New Worlds is a prequel series set in the years before Star Trek: The Original Series. Lt. Saavik's first appearance in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan happens in 2285, about 25 years after Strange New Worlds season 3. Saavik could appear as a baby or a very young girl on Vulcan during the prequel.

Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country takes place in 2293, 33 years after Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 3. However, it's unclear how old Lt. Valeris is. It's possible that Valeris is older than she looks, like Subcommander T'Pol (Jolene Blalock) in Star Trek: Enterprise or Lieutenant T'Lyn (Gabrielle Ruiz) in Star Trek: Lower Decks. Like Saavik, a younger Valeris could appear in Star Trek: Strange New Worlds and encounter Lieutenant Spock (Ethan Peck), planting the seed for either female Vulcan to one day become Spock's protégé in Star Trek.