I was today years old when I realized who Kirk’s best friend in Star Trek: Strange New Worlds was (& it wasn’t Spock)

I always figured James T. Kirk's most intimate connection in Star Trek would be with Spock, regardless of the timeline. It's almost instinctual to the DNA of the franchise. But I was today years old when I realized James Kirk's best buddy on Strange New Worlds wasn't Spock. I thought I knew the character's emotional blueprint, but this show flipped my world.

Contrary to my expectations, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds has painted a different portrait. Kirk's most emotionally resonant relationship isn't with Spock yet; it's with La'an Noonien-Singh. What started as a surprising coalition of partners in the alternate timeline episode "Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow" grew into something much richer. And now I can't help but see the gravity of that connection, even if Prime Kirk never does.

Kirk and La'an have a connection in Star Trek that Spock hasn't reached yet

In Strange New Worlds, the Kirk-Spock friendship—the legendary one fans know from The Original Series—hasn’t happened yet. They’re colleagues. Professional. Respectful. But there’s no strong emotional connection between them at this stage. That emotional space is unexpectedly filled by La’an. Their dynamic in the alternate timeline isn’t just romantic—it’s raw, honest, and profoundly personal. La’an opens up in a way we’ve rarely seen, and Kirk becomes a source of comfort and understanding.

Once the timeline is reset, Kirk doesn't remember anything. La'an doesn't, however. And that's where the depth of their relationship exists—quietly, inside her. The emotional cost is evident. She's left holding a bond that was everything, now only in her memory. It's not a narrative sidetrack—it's a huge step forward in her character's arc.

The writers of Star Trek aren't rewriting history—they're enriching it

This new relationship does not counter the future friendship between Kirk and Spock. Rather, it makes us see more of who Kirk was before becoming the captain we all love. The Strange New Worlds writers are mindful not to overwrite canon. Kirk and La'an's relationship is permitted to occur in this earlier chapter of his life, yet with the possibility of his classic friendship with Spock still to develop later on.

Christina Chong, the actress who plays La'an, has even said that this bond is one of the most complex and emotionally deep relationships on the show. It's not to be compared to Kirk and Spock—it just provides us with more layers to delve into before that aspect of the story is revealed.

Not a romance in the prime timeline—but it still matters

Kirk that La'an becomes attached to isn't from the Prime timeline. He's from another alternate future where their relationship had room to develop into something more. On the present timeline, circumstances—such as Kirk already having a relationship with Carol Marcus—mean romance is out of the question. But the emotional aftertaste of that experience still shows in La'an's reality.

It's not about establishing a romantic arc at this point. It's about how profoundly people can touch us, even if they are not destined to remain. And in Star Trek, where time travel, memory, and alternate futures tend to make everything complicated, that sort of connection is particularly resonant.

The emotional center of Kirk's early history resides with La'an

Currently, Strange New Worlds is offering a portrayal of Kirk who is still in discovery mode. He's not the fully developed Enterprise captain we're introduced to during TOS just yet. And that makes those early relationships deeper, particularly the ones that are instrumental in building him into what he'll ultimately become. La'an's existence in his trajectory isn't inconsiderable, though—it's formative.

They've had shared trauma, trust, loss, and empathy. Even if it only came fully to life in a single timeline, the resonance of that relationship is strong. That's not something Spock has yet been a part of. And that's why, in this reality of the Star Trek timeline, La'an—quietly and unexpectedly—becomes Kirk's most significant connection.

I didn't think Strange New Worlds would catch me off guard like this. But now, if I'm imagining Kirk during this period, it's not Spock at his side—it's La'an. And that gives Star Trek a whole new dimension that I didn't see coming.

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Also read: I firmly believe Star Trek: Enterprise’s cancellation was a blessing in disguise for the franchise: Here’s why

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