Star Trek: The Original Series reveals that Captain James T. Kirk experienced a tragedy that defined his Starfleet career prior to his arrival on the Enterprise in Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 2. In TOS season 2, episode 13, Kirk (William Shatner) becomes obsessed with hunting down a mysterious cloud creature he encountered while serving on the USS Farragut eleven years prior in 2257. 200 crew died in this encounter with the entity, and Kirk blamed those deaths on his own hesitation to fire on the entity.
11 years later, Kirk risks the lives of the TOS Enterprise crew and the population of the planet Theta VII to defeat his own white whale - the ethereal vampiric entity that feeds on the blood of humans. Kirk is successful in defeating the entity, assisted by David Garrovick (Stephen Brooks), the son of the Farragut's deceased captain. As Strange New Worlds season 2 will take place between two and three years after the devastation of the Farragut, it's likely that it will play a part in the story of the younger James T. Kirk (Paul Wesley).
Lt. Kirk Won’t Be The Kirk Star Trek Fans Expect
The Strange New Worlds timeline and its proximity to the tragic events on the Farragut means that Kirk likely won't be the confident and single-minded Starfleet officer audiences expect. In the Strange New Worlds season 1 finale, Pike (Anson Mount) is impressed by Kirk when they meet in an alternate universe. Perhaps considering Kirk as a new Number One, Pike reads up on the officer, who's still serving aboard the Farragut, dealing with his survivor's guilt. SNW set up Kirk's Farragut tragedy in season 1, episode 9, "Memento Mori" in which Nurse Christine Chapel (Jess Bush) wears a USS Farragut pin to her fallen colleagues on Starfleet Memorial Day.
The Kirk who arrives aboard the Enterprise in SNW season 2 will likely have a more vulnerable side than audiences are used to. The confidence and macho swagger of William Shatner's Kirk will still be there, but it will be a front for the young officer's insecurities about his fatal hesitation aboard the Farragut. In "Obsession", Kirk punishes David Garrovick for making the same mistake as he once did, and it'll be interesting to see how Kirk's guilt will impact his character arc in Strange New Worlds.
SNW Could Explain Why Captain Kirk Wants The Enterprise, Not The Farragut
Kirk commanding the Enterprise is asserted as something vital to the fate of the universe in Strange New Worlds' season 1 finale. However, it could also be the perfect way for Kirk to move on from the trauma of the Farragut. When Kirk sets off on his "monster hunt" in "Obsession", Spock and McCoy are troubled by how out of character his actions are. Kirk himself reveals in a personal log that he's wracked with self-doubt about putting the crew's lives at risk in pursuit of the monster from his past.
It's clear that in moving from the Farragut to the Enterprise, Kirk was able to suppress his guilt over the devastating events aboard his previous ship. Star Trek: Strange New Worlds could explore this further, allowing Paul Wesley's Kirk to redeem himself for his perceived failings aboard the Farragut. Reuniting Kirk with his brother, Sam, can help the former to move past his survivor's guilt - something that may have been unattainable if he stayed aboard the Farragut. It's clear that in leaving his first ship behind him, Lieutenant Kirk can become the Enterprise captain that audiences know and love from Star Trek: The Original Series.