Star Trek: Discovery season 4 is intentionally drawing parallels between the classic Kirk & Spock partnership and Burnham & Saru in the modern era. Deviating from franchise tradition, Star Trek: Discovery's main character didn't begin her on-screen journey as the titular ship's captain. Instead, Sonequa Martin-Green's Michael Burnham worked her way up from disgraced Starfleet officer to distinguished captain of the Discovery - and all it took was time-traveling into the far future, solving a galactic apocalypse, and a string of predecessors who died and quit in rapid succession.

Now promoted to captain, Burnham's relationships aboard the Discovery are changing - for better and worse - and none are more important in Star Trek than the dynamic between a captain and their first officer. The most classic example, of course, is the original 1960s Enterprise pairing of Captain James T. Kirk and his trusted Vulcan science officer, Mr. Spock. While Kirk played the role of an audacious and heroic maverick, Spock's dedication to logic made him the voice of reason, tempering his captain's wilder instincts and keeping the Enterprise from imploding in a hail of testosterone. In a move that Spock would either describe as "fascinating" or "highly illogical," Star Trek: Discovery is now attempting to recreate the Kirk-Spock connection with Burnham and Saru.

It's not subtle either. Star Trek: Discovery season 4's premiere is titled "Kobayashi Maru" and heavily references the unwinnable Starfleet training simulation of the same name, which James T. Kirk famously defeated... by cheating. Discovery's President Rillak tells Burnham how the Kobayashi Maru teaches students about loss and no-win situations, comparing the training scenario to the Discovery's Beta Six rescue operation. Just like Kirk centuries prior (or after from Burnham's perspective?), the Discovery captain refuses to accept the Kobayashi Maru's inevitable outcome, believing there's always a way to win, no matter the odds. Here, Star Trek: Discovery intentionally paints Burnham as a Kirk-esque Starfleet captain - a never-say-die rebel who rubs politicians and bigwigs up the wrong way.


Star Trek: Discovery season 4's second episode ("Anomaly") completes the other end of the equation by turning Saru into an analogue of Leonard Nimoy's Spock. For starters, the episode transitions Saru back onto the Discovery payroll after his Kaminar council stint, then establishes the character as Burnham's second-in-command. For the first time, Burnham and Saru occupy the same Starfleet roles as Kirk and Spock, and the comparison doesn't end there. As Discovery investigates season 4's big villain - a gravitational anomaly 5 light years wide - Burnham becomes conflicted between her responsibilities as a captain and her love for Booker. Just as Spock might, Saru provides a calming, measured voice among the chaos.

He reassures Captain Burnham that her boyfriend should fly into the anomaly, then encourages her to be more emotionally open when Booker needs reassurance to combat his grief-induced hallucinations. Where Spock so regularly had the perfect advice for his captain (except during Pon Farr season, of course), Saru is rapidly fulfilling that role for his own commanding officer. To seal the deal, Star Trek: Discovery even gives Saru Spock's famous title, with Burnham resolving to call her First Officer "Mr. Saru" henceforth. Though plenty of Starfleet officers have adopted similar naming, Leonard Nimoy's is the most famous, predominantly known as Mr. Spock throughout Star Trek: The Original Series.

Star Trek: Discovery is deliberately placing a mirror between Kirk & Spock and Burnham & Saru, but the modern duality won't be anywhere near as extreme as TOS. Though she's softened over the seasons, Michael Burnham spent part of her formative years raised by Vulcans - Spock's own parents, no less. Accordingly, she's much less impulsive compared to James T. Kirk. Likewise, Saru is no longer as stiff and formal as Mr. Spock after going through the Kelpien vahar'ai process, meaning he and Burnham meet in the middle far more than Kirk and Spock, whose heart vs. mind battles are the stuff of legend. Though Star Trek: Discovery's captain and first officer parallel is a neat homage to the past, the exact same relationship wouldn't necessarily work in the modern era. Spock's shtick can't be bettered after Nimoy's timeless performance, and Kirk in 2021 would be cancelled faster than Star Trek: Phase Two.