Star Trek III Does An Awful Thing To Spock No One Ever Talks About
We have to talk about Star Trek III. You know, the one where Spock’s dead body lands on the Genesis planet and is reborn without a consciousness? Yeah, that one. I feel like everyone forgets Star Trek III is also the movie where an adult Starfleet officer has unprotected sex with a catatonic teenage Spock.
A Medical Emergency
Now, to be fair, the Starfleet officer in question, Lt. Saavik, a fellow Vulcan, does what she does for a reason. But even with a legitimate excuse, the situation feels creepy.
Did I mention that Star Trek III’s Saavik was technically Spock’s much younger student before he died? Yeah, buckle up because we’re about to get into Jerry Springer territory.
Spock having sex with an apprentice is already problematic. Spock having sex with an apprentice when he’s now magically younger than her and has no cognitive functions?
There’s no precedence for that in the real world. Congratulations, Star Trek III, you created a uniquely messed up situation for not-quite-legal Spock. I hope you’re happy with yourself.
So, how does Star Trek III justify the problematic affair between Spock and Saavick? The movie makes it a medical emergency. More specifically, a Vulcan-related medical emergency.
Pon Farr
Hardcore Trekkies will recognize the concept of pon farr, but for those that don’t, it’s an intense biological imperative Vulcans feel every seven years to mate. Star Trek III essentially puts young Spock in a position with only two choices: mate or die. Under those circumstances, can we really blame Saavik? Err…
Look, first of all, pon farr is like a randy teenager’s dream come true. Do you know how many adolescent boys already try to guilt their partners into hanky panky using pain down below as an excuse?
Saavik is just trying to ease Spock’s suffering when she has her way with him in Star Trek III.
On the other hand, as I’ve previously stated, Spock’s mind was gone—literally. Before dying at the end of Star Trek II, Spock transferred his consciousness to Dr. McCoy. As a result, the reborn Spock in Star Trek III is the equivalent of a coma patient.
If, instead, a woman in her late ’20s went to a hospital and jumped on top of a teenager with limited brain function to “save his life,” would we as a society be as accepting of it?
Never Discussed
The answer is no. Yet I never hear anyone discuss the incident in Star Trek III. That may be because most viewers never actually realize that a newly re-virginized Spock is getting deflowered by an older woman.
Given that Star Trek III is a PG joint, Saavik and Spock don’t have a gratuitous sex scene or anything. We get Saavik mentioning pon farr and then “helping” Spock through it, starting with a mind meld. Later we get a post-coital scene where Spock looks like he could absolutely murder a cigarette if he had one.
No Pregnancy For Saavik
In other words, the movie doesn’t actually show anything, but it heavily implies it. Spock’s little bone-sesh with Saavik in Star Trek III was even supposed to tie into the next film.
Leonard Nimoy axed a subplot in Star Trek IV in which a pregnant Saavik is shown carrying Spock’s baby. See, even Leonard Nimoy thought Spock’s relationship with Saavik was weird.
Less Innocent Than We Thought
I sincerely hope I didn’t ruin anyone’s favorite Star Trek movie for them with this perspective. There are just so many factors to this scenario that I honestly can’t believe people don’t discuss it more.
Star Trek III may be an underrated gem when it comes to the original Star Trek films, but thanks to Spock and Saavik’s little tryst, it also features one of the most questionable scenes in the series.
The more you think about it in the proper context, the harder it is to see the movie as the innocent space opera the creators intended it to be.
