3 historic James T. Kirk (Paul Wesley) moments happened in Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 2, and all of them occurred very differently than how they played out in J.J. Abrams’ Star Trek (2009). Strange New Worlds is set in Star Trek’s Prime Timeline, whereas Abrams’ reboot takes place in an alternate reality dubbed the Kelvin Timeline. It’s worth noting that Star Trek: Strange New Worlds‘ events occur in 2259 and 2260, just after Star Trek (2009)’s main story takes place in 2258 in the alternate Kelvin Timeline.

Because Star Trek: Strange New Worlds takes place in Star Trek‘s Prime Timeline, the events of the prequel series about Captain Christopher Pike’s (Anson Mount) USS Enterprise are canon. Paul Wesley’s Lieutenant James T. Kirk and Ethan Peck’s Lieutenant Spock are the younger versions of the Captain Kirk and Mr. Spock played by William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy, respectively, in Star Trek: The Original Series. Chris Pine’s Star Trek movie Captain Kirk, Zachary Quinto’s Spock, and their Starship Enterprise crew live different lives in a separate universe. As J.J. Abrams’ Star Trek is a big-budget Hollywood blockbuster, the events of Chris Pine’s Captain Kirk’s life are decidedly more dramatic than similar Kirk moments in Star Trek: Strange New Worlds‘ Prime Timeline canon.

How Kirk Met Uhura In Strange New Worlds Compared To J.J. Abrams’ Star Trek

Kirk and Uhura had a very different first interaction

Lt. James T. Kirk canonically steps aboard the USS Enterprise for the first time in Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 2, episode 6, “Lost in Translation.” James’ first action after meeting his brother, Lt. Sam Kirk (Dan Jeannotte), is to visit the Enterprise’s Port Galley bar. There, Jim notices a distressed Ensign Nyota Uhura (Celia Rose Gooding), who assumes Kirk is there to hit on her. Moments later, experiencing a nightmarish vision, it’s Uhura who hits Kirk by accident. Despite getting slugged by the Ensign, James helps Nyota uncover the secret of her waking fears, and a decades-long friendship is forged.

J.J. Abrams’ Star Trek played Kirk’s first meeting with Nyota Uhura (Zoe Saldana) very differently. Kirk and Uhura met in a bar in Iowa in 2285, when Nyota was a Starfleet Academy cadet. Kirk hit on Uhura but was shot down. There was also violence involved, as Uhura’s fellow cadets decided to get physical with the Iowa farm boy. Kirk was outnumbered in his bar fight and lost, but he took them all on valiantly (or Jim was foolhardy). A few years later, when he was also enrolled at Starfleet Academy, Kirk dated Uhura’s Orion roommate, Gaila (Rachel Nichols).

How Kirk Met Captain Pike In Strange New Worlds Compared To J.J. Abrams’ Star Trek

Anson Mount’s Pike didn’t dare Paul Wesley’s Kirk to do anything

Lt. James T. Kirk met Captain Christopher Pike in the simplest way possible in Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 2, episode 6, “Lost in Translation.” Kirk simply entered Pike’s ready room and introduced himself to the Captain of the Enterprise. James had just been promoted to First Officer of the USS Farragut, and he beamed aboard the Enterprise to learn the finer points of being a Number One from Lt. Commander Una Chin-Riley (Rebecca Romijn), Pike’s First Officer. Kirk and Pike’s first meeting was just a friendly handshake.

J.J. Abrams’ conjured a very different relationship between Kirk and Captain Pike (Bruce Greenwood). After Lt. George Kirk’s (Chris Hemsworth) tragic death at the start of Star Trek (2009), James grew up without a father. Captain Pike became Kirk’s ersatz father figure, and Chris counseled Jim after his bloody bar fight sparked by Kirk meeting Uhura. Pike, who admired Kirk’s father, dared James to enter Starfleet Academy. At the end of Star Trek (2009), Pike passed the Captaincy of the Enterprise to Kirk. In Star Trek Into Darkness, Pike was murdered by Khan Noonien Singh (Benedict Cumberbatch), spurring Kirk to seek revenge for the death of his mentor and father figure.

How Kirk Met Spock In Strange New Worlds Compared To J.J. Abrams’ Star Trek

Kirk and Spock didn’t start by fighting each other in Star Trek’s Prime Universe

Kirk and Spock’s first meeting in Star Trek’s Prime Timeline canon occurred in Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 2, episode 6, “Lost in Translation.” Ensign Uhura simply introduced Lt. Kirk to Lt. Spock, and the trio sat together at the Starship Enterprise’ Port Galley to share a drink and chat. However, the moment that led Spock toward Kirk was because the Vulcan was intrigued by the frustration James had with his brother Sam, whom Spock is no fan of. Star Trek: Strange New Worlds plays Kirk and Spock’s iconic meeting as a low-key moment, as neither they nor Uhura have any idea how intertwined their lives will become or how deeply their friendship will grow.

In J.J. Abrams’ Star Trek, Kirk and Spock’s first meeting was sparked by the Vulcan (correctly) accusing Cadet Kirk of cheating on the Kobayashi Maru training scenario Spock programmed. Kirk next illegally boarded the USS Enterprise, where Commander Spock was First Officer, and challenged the Vulcan’s authority repeatedly. Spock had Kirk exiled from the Enterprise for mutiny, but James returned to the starship away. After forcing Spock to violently admit he was too morally compromised to be Acting Captain, Kirk and Spock worked together to defeat the Romulan Nero (Eric Bana) and save Earth. Star Trek: Strange New Worlds could not have depicted Kirk and Spock’s meeting more differently than J.J. Abrams’ Star Trek.