So I finished Season 1 of Star Trek Strange New Worlds, and I have a problem with it, and its name is Spock. I mean, actually, thats a bit unfair, but it seemed catchy so let’s go with it. I do have a few issues with Spock himself - namely his sideburns look painted on with makeup and are way too long and pointy, and while his relationship with T’Pring is kind of interesting to see, the fact I know it is doomed undermines it a lot. #PrequelIssues But what I actually want to talk about now is neither of those relatively minor issues, and instead the fact that the season finale sets Spock up as a Chosen One.
What’s a Chosen One? Honestly I’d be surprised if anyone reading this doesn’t know, and not just because nobody reads these, but it probably is worthwhile to define what I mean anyways. A Chosen One is a character in a story who is somehow marked by fate to do great things, who has a destiny they will fulfill to save the village or the country or the galaxy or whatever. They are special, and different from every other character because of their status as being chosen. Sometimes its a specific god that does the choosing, like in many ancient myths about heroes, who are either chosen as champions by Gods, like Odysseus and Athena, or are descended from them and chosen that way, like Hercules and Zeus. Other times it’s something more amorphous, like fate or the universe or the Force, like Anakin, Luke, and Rey in Star Wars. A chosen one is in contrast to a hero of humble beginnings, like Frodo, who is the hero not because he is marked by fate but by happenstance; his uncle stumbled on to the ring, and the responsibility falls on Frodo mostly because he is willing to shoulder it, although I’m sure at least some Tolkien fans might argue Frodo is somehow chosen too since Hobbits appear to have more resistance to the One Ring than other races but this isn’t about Frodo so I’m not gonna argue about that right now, point is, not all heroes are Chosen Ones.
I have not watched all of Star Trek, so I will allow I might be wrong, but I don’t think Star Trek ever had anything remotely close to a Chosen One narrative until Deep Space 9, the Star Trek series that simultaneously manages to be both the best and the source of every troublesome trend that has plagues Star Trek since. Deep Space 9 introduced one with Benjamin Sisko, however. He was chosen by the Prophets to be their Emissary, and is in fact 1/4 Prophet - in essence, he is a demigod just like Hercules, chosen by the gods to be their tool in this universe. Early on in the series he is unwilling to be the Emissary and it feels like a subversion of the trope to some degree, but by the end he becomes a true believer, at least of sorts, and fulfills his destiny, albeit not exactly to the letter of the recommendations of the Prophets. Narratively I can kinda give it a pass because it is clear Sisko has choices, that he could refuse his call to be a hero, and that the Prophets, also known as the Wormhole Aliens, should not be understood as exactly the same as gods and while they chose him and are using him to further their ends, it isn’t really fated in the way a Chosen One story usually is, and Sisko allies with them at least in part because he thinks they have Bajor’s best interest at heart and he cares about Bajor, not merely because he is 1/4 Prophet or because fate says so.
Discovery never had quite as clear of a Chosen One narrative as DS9 - Burnham is not explicitly chosen by any particular gods or god-like aliens, unless you count the Progenitors in Season 5, which honestly probably should count but thats basically just the final episode, so I guess she kind was shoehorned in as one right at the end, but I don’t think that really makes my point for me. Regardless, however throughout the series she is always the most important person in the universe. S1 She is blamed for starting the Klingon War, and Lorca and Georgiou both are obsessed with her, resulting in her being the center of attention for two entire universes, all season. Season 2, her mother and herself are both engaging in bizarre time travel shenanigans to help her save the entire universe, making her a Chosen One but chosen by herself (or her mom). Season 3 onward, she continues to always be the center of the entire universe, but in somewhat more organic ways - she’s the captain of the only ship that can travel quickly post burn, so of course she is important! She is the only person who has ties to both Earth and the Federation and Vulcan, so of course she is important! Etc, etc. Discovery clearly wants Burnham to be a chosen one, but shies away from truly doing so in favor of workarounds that put her in the position of a chosen one and emphasize how she is just as important as a chosen one, but without outright saying it.
Now in Strange New Worlds, we have Pike and his knowledge that in ten years, he will be melted and will save the lives of five Starfleet cadets, but fail to save the life of two (I think. Some numbers of save and failing to save the details don’t really matter.) In some way this is a Chosen One narrative in of itself - he is fated to save these kids - but in S1E10 he is essentially informed that he could avoid his fate, that he could save all seven kids and himself, now that he has foreknowledge, and the episode is basically making the argument of why he should not try, but instead let it happen. Long story short, if he saves himself, he will be in command of the Enterprise when it first contacts the Romulans, and he is gonna fuck it up, resulting in a huge awful war that kills billions but also kills Spock, who is the only one who can make peace with the Romulans.
Discovery also alluded to Spock being super important, and he also is the crux of the timeline split in the most recent Trek movies. Spock is now a Chosen One. He does not appear to have been chosen by any gods, like Sisko, or an amorphous force, in fact it kinda just seems like happenstance, but because of the time travel and future knowledge, we are assured that ONLY Spock can make peace between the Romulans and the Federation, and that this is “Save the Galaxy” type shit - more or less phrased exactly like that. Spock is important, Spock is Chosen. And like… thats lame.
Star Trek is suppose to be progressive. Its always been a foundational part of its ethos as a show. I am not saying its impossible to have a Chosen One narrative in a story and have it make a progressive point - its absolutely not impossible - but the two are definitely in tension. Chosen One stories imply the existence of rightful hierarchy - that some people are just better and more important than others, and should be treated as such, and that is antithetical to progressivism, leftism, and the fundamental message of Star Trek. It also parallels the Great Man Theory of history, which modern progressive thought has rejected - Spock should not be the only person capable of making peace, in his absence the same social pressure exist and someone else likely would step up and fill that gap. Not that individual action has no effect, but there has been a move away from thinking if history as just a result of the actions of Great Men, and Chosen One narratives push back against that.
In a franchise where the progressivism is incidental rather than central, I could forgive a Chosen One narrative. But in Star Trek, it feels singularly misplaced. I don’t like it in DS9, and I think it was a mistake to include it there, and ultimately I think it was mishandled and is part of the reason (among many) that the final season kind of sucked. Now seeing the entire franchise contort itself around Spock to turn him into a Chosen One decades after his introduction, an enormous retcon to prop up a fan favorite character, to make Star Trek all about Spock instead of all about progressive thought is disappointing and silly and kinda gross. I hope they can do better,
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