Strange New Worlds' Celia Rose Gooding Talks About That Legendary Moment For Uhura, Spock, And Kirk
This post contains spoilers for the latest episode of "Star Trek: Strange New Worlds."
The word "legacy" gets bandied around a lot in conversations about "Star Trek: Strange New Worlds." The clever, funny, and lovable Paramount+ series has massive shoes to fill as the first "Star Trek" property (aside from J.J. Abrams films, which were set in a different timeline anyway) that aims to brush up against the storylines of Gene Roddenberry's original series. So far, the prequel series has done so admirably, enriching character backstories and putting a fun spin on lore we know and love without ever stooping to nostalgia-bait territory. If the entire "Star Trek" franchise legacy is on the table here, it's a challenge the show has not just risen to meet but made look easy.
This week, the series pulled off its most significant original series tie-in moment yet. After a not-yet-captain James Kirk (Paul Wesley) joined the Enterprise crew and helped Uhura (Celia Rose Gooding) work through the emotional fallout of some trippy space-sent messages, the pair sat down for drinks and relaxation at the Enterprise bar. The scene was already memorable, infused with warm energy and the goofiness of Kirk's fight with his brother Sam (Dan Jeannotte), but it got even better when a familiar voice cut in. "Sometimes he can be–" Kirk started to say, before a blue-clad arm reached across him to grab an empty drink glass. "Frustrating," Spock (Ethan Peck) finished, finishing his future best friend's sentences before they've even met.
A delightful meeting of the minds
Uhura formally introduces Kirk and Spock, and the men share a firm handshake. The episode ends with an utterly lovely shot of the three seated together, chatting at an intimately small table in the middle of a cool space bar. The camera pans away slowly, treasuring the moment even as we don't hear what they're saying. It's a moment when that capital-L Legacy looms large, but frankly, the series nails Kirk, Spock, and Uhura's first meeting. Gooding says the scene was a lot of fun to shoot, too. /Film's Vanessa Armstrong attended a round-table interview ahead of season 2's release, where Gooding was asked about shooting such an important moment for the franchise.
By the sound of things, Gooding shot at least some of episode 6 chronologically, meaning that before she got to chill with Wesley and Peck, she had to act out Uhura's traumatizing, doom-filled visions. "Just in episode 206, there's so much that Uhura goes through and processes and it's very intense," Gooding said. "So to have a moment at the end where we get to establish some pretty essential canon, it was such a light at the end of that tunnel," also noting that the scene was "something to get excited about."
The birth of a 'classic bromance-y dynamic'
Spock and Kirk fans will be happy to hear that Gooding also says the actors playing the pair already share pretty great chemistry. "Shooting that was so fun because I love working with Ethan, I love working with Paul," Gooding said, adding, "Them two together have such a classic bromance-y dynamic between the two of them. And so it's just fun watching them interact." As someone who was vocally annoyed by the total lack of Spirk in the show's alternate timeline-set season 1 finale, it's great to hear that the actors behind the dynamic duo are apparently already pretty dynamic, even though we've only gotten to see them together for one scene so far.
Gooding called the bar scene "essential Trek history," noting that "when the cameras come on [the actors] realize that we are now Kirk, Spock, and Uhura at our fancy little Enterprise space bar, having a talk about what we've all just experienced." Several "Star Trek: Strange New Worlds" castmates have gone on the record to talk about how surreal the whole experience of shooting the show has been, and Gooding is no exception. "To have even a part of that [history] ... it feels like a secret that I can't share, but everyone knows it's coming," she said. "It's one of those things you get so excited about because you know how much it means to people."
'You feel every day how important your impact is on the franchise'
Lest anyone complain that "Star Trek: Strange New Worlds" takes decades of Trek canon lightly, Gooding also explained how seriously she took the chance to pull off a moment like this one. "Working on a Trek show is always amazing," she noted, "but being a part of a Trek show that has such a heavy foot in canon and what is establishing the future of this franchise ... you feel every day how important your impact is on this franchise. Not only for this specific series but for the entire timeline." So far, "Strange New Worlds" has taken a smart and rather sparing approach to the "Star Trek" canon, adding in tons of character moments and plot points to love without subtracting anything from the show's original run.
With the meeting of Kirk, Spock, and Uhura, though, "Star Trek: Strange New Worlds" actively adds something great: an introduction that's light, sweet, and true to character for all involved, and one that's all but guaranteed to leave viewers with a smile on their faces.
"Star Trek: Strange New Worlds" streams new episodes on Thursdays on Paramount+.