‘Star Trek: Strange New Worlds’ Reveals the Vulnerable Moment That Changes Kirk and Spock [Exclusive]

By Samantha Coley Published Aug 6, 2026, 4:00 AM EDT Sam is a News Editor for Collider and a known lover of all things sci-fi and horror. She spends her days editing news stories, coodrinating exclusives, and working closely with writers to deliver their best work. When she's not editing the daily news, she can be found hanging out with her wife (they're probably rewatching Ghosts for the millionth time), tweeting about romance, and cooking something delicious while belting to Chappell Roan and Sabrina Carpenter 's latest hits at the top of her lungs. Sign in to your Collider account Add Us Add on Google Preferred Source Google News Summary Generate a summary of this story Like Like follow Follow followed Followed Listen Thread Log in Here is a fact-based summary of the story contents: Try something different: Show me the facts Explain it like I’m 5 Give me a lighthearted recap Editor's Note: This interview contains spoilers for Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 4, Episode 3, "Human Best Friend."

After delivering a perfectly classic Star Trek episode with its season opener, followed by a twisted horror episode, Strange New Worlds has delivered its first comedy episode of the season. In “Human Best Friend,” the crew of the USS Enterprise takes some much-needed shore leave on a wild pleasure planet where even the atmosphere itself is intoxicating. While Scotty ( Martin Quinn ) and Ortegas ( Melissa Navia ) take center stage for the episode in a bid to become the Geordi and Data of Strange New Worlds , Spock ( Ethan Peck ), La’an ( Christina Chong ), and a very real Kirk ( Paul Wesley ) take turns stealing the show with their laugh-out-loud performances.

I recently caught up with Peck, Chong, and Wesley to unpack their jump into comedy this week. During our conversation, Peck and Wesley spoke about how this intimate experience between Spock and Kirk lays the groundwork for their friendship in the original series ​​​​​​. They also discussed filming the slap at the end of the episode when Kirk is trying to prove to Spock that he’s not a hallucination. Chong spoke about getting to learn new fight choreography and letting La’an indulge in her sillier side while processing her pent-up anger. Finally, the trio all shared their reaction to Rebecca Romijn ’s Klingon rendition of “Total Eclipse of the Heart.” You can watch the interview in the player above or read the full transcript of our conversation below.

(L-R): Ethan Peck as Spock and Paul Wesley as James T. Kirk in season 4, episode 3, of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds streaming on Paramount+, 2026. Photo Credit: Jan Thijs/Paramount+ Image via Jan Thijs/Paramount+ COLLIDER: This is one of my favorite episodes of the season that I've seen so far, and I love the reveal that Kirk was really there the whole time.

CHRISTINA CHONG: So funny, it’s so funny.

It’s so good. Ethan and Paul, how would you say that the relationship between Kirk and Spock has shifted after such a vulnerable experience on Spock's end?

ETHAN PECK: Yeah, there might be a bit of reticence and withdrawal from Spock because he's been so exposed in this episode. And then Kirk, you know, is so warm and welcoming of him. So that's what I anticipate.

PAUL WESLEY: Yeah, it's really cool. It becomes a part of canon, right? It's like we sort of, like, begin to understand why these two have such a connection. And it's because they shared these, like, intimate moments together, revealing, you know, things about one another. Or…