Strange New Worlds Season 4's Most Chilling Scene Predicts One Of Star Trek's Greatest Tragedies

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The following contains spoilers for "Star Trek: Strange New Worlds" Season 4, Episode 2, "The Griffin Incident."

On "Star Trek: Strange New Worlds," the young, not-yet Captain James Kirk (Paul Wesley) has occasionally alluded to his partner, Carol Marcus, and the young son, David, they share. Neither of the Marcuses has actually appeared onscreen yet, which is fitting because as we know from "Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan" that Kirk was an absentee dad — he couldn't bridge the gap between his career exploring the universe and his family. Carol (Bibi Besch) tells Jim (William Shatner) in that film, "You had your world, and I had mine."

"Strange New Worlds" is set when Kirk was still trying to keep those worlds together. The latest episode, "The Griffin Incident," alludes to how tragically this will all end. Kirk is traveling with Spock (Ethan Peck) and La'an (Christina Chong) when they discover the USS Griffin, a Starfleet ship that vanished years ago. They beam aboard to investigate, and almost immediately, things get spooky. Kirk says he doesn't believe in ghosts, but he might have to revise that assessment, because there's something aboard the Griffin that makes the trio see people and things that aren't there to drive them insane. 

The ship heightens La'an's paranoia and violent side, driving her to attack and stab Kirk with a knife. The crazed La'an tells Jim that, "Your little boy is going to die just like you. At the end of a blade, bleeding out in a dark corner of space." Trekkies know that this isn't an idle threat meant to scare Kirk: The possessed La'an really is predicting the future, specifically as depicted in "Star Trek III: The Search for Spock."

Paramount

In "The Search for Spock," David (Merritt Butrick) is stabbed to death by a Klingon soldier under the charge of Commander Kruge (Christopher Lloyd). The Klingons initially move to kill Saavik (Robin Curtis, who understandably felt anxious filming the scene), but David gives his life to protect her.

If Kirk seems to move past his son's death relatively quickly in the following two movies, David's murder comes back around in the sixth film, "Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country." The Klingon Empire is hoping for peace with the Federation, but most of the Enterprise crew is wary of allying with the people they've spent their careers fighting. Kirk is especially troubled at the prospect, since he holds Klingons (all Klingons) responsible for David's death. "The Undiscovered Country" is a politically potent work that shows how time can turn an idealist into a conservative, including holding emotional, irrational grudges against people for one of their kind's actions.

Alluding to David's death in "Strange New Worlds" is not just a wink-wink moment for Trekkies. It underlines that there really is an inexplicable, supernatural presence on the Griffin — otherwise, how could La'an foresee David's death with such accuracy? It's a line that strengthens the horror of "The Griffin Incident," even aside from the dialogue being chilling.

The episode's penultimate scene is Kirk preparing for a video call with Carol and David. When the scene cuts, they still haven't answered. It's a sad reminder that Kirk's countless legendary accomplishments to come will be at the cost of missing his son grow up — and that when he finally reconnects with David, he's going to lose him again, forever.

"Star Trek: Strange New Worlds" is streaming on Paramount+.