Ethan Peck will miss playing the human version of Spock from Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 2, episode 5, “Charades.”

Ethan Peck, who plays Lt. Spock on Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, reflects on the experience of playing human Spock in season 2. After being delayed due to the Writer’s Guild and SAG-AFTRA strikes, Strange New Worlds season 3 is now in production. The Strange New Worlds cast recently got together on Zoom for a Q&A in support of the SAG-AFTRA Foundation. Although they couldn’t speak much about the upcoming Strange New Worlds season 3, they spent time discussing some of season 2’s best moments.

In Strange New Worlds season 2, episode 5, “Charades,” powerful aliens mistakenly remove Spock’s Vulcan DNA after he is injured in a shuttle accident. Now fully human, Spock must wrestle with more intense emotions, while also performing an engagement ceremony with his Vulcan fiancee, T’Pring (Gia Sandhu). “Charades” allows Spock to express the emotions he always keeps below the surface and embrace his more human tendencies. Ethan Peck particularly enjoyed playing this version of Spock and was sad to see him go at the episode’s end. Read his full discussion with Number One actor Rebecca Romijn and check out the full Q&A below:

Ethan Peck: “At the end of that episode, I was really kind of heartbroken to say goodbye to human Spock because obviously, those emotions exist beneath the surface, and so to wear them on his sleeve was such a relief. And to put it all back away was really sad for me. It was a really interesting experience. Really wonderful. And again, [I’m] so grateful for that script and so appreciative of receiving that.”

Rebecca Romijn: “Ethan, I have a question.”

Ethan Peck: “Yes, Rebecca.”

Rebecca Romijn: “Does Spock remember what it was like to be human Spock?”

Ethan Peck: “Rebecca, that’s a very good question. That’s something that I’m kind of rolling around in my brain as we head into season 3. How human is Spock now on his path to becoming Leonard Nimoy’s Spock at the beginning of The Original Series? How human is he now? I was thinking about this the other day with Chris Fisher, our directing producer. And I think he remembers all of it. But it’s like he’s taken drugs and he’s had this otherworldly experience. And so he can’t really inhabit it like he used to, but there’ll still be the information, I imagine.”

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Spock Will Fully Embrace His Vulcan Side By Star Trek: The Original Series

Throughout Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, Spock has been torn between his human side and his Vulcan side, often struggling to contain his strong emotions. Although Star Trek: The Original Series’ Spock would occasionally have emotional outbursts, they were generally caused by an outside force. Leonard Nimoy’s Spock had fully embraced his Vulcan side, pushing his human emotions much deeper below the surface. Strange New Worlds has only shown the beginning of this journey, which became most obvious in Star Trek’s first musical episode.

In Strange New Worlds season 2, episode 9, “Subspace Rhapsody,” Nurse Christine Chapel (Jess Bush) breaks up with Spock via a rousing song and dance number. This leads to a responding song from Spock, in which he sings: “I’ve betrayed my core philosophy. Unbending reason must be my true north.” Chapel’s actions deeply wounded Spock, and he responds by deciding to embrace Vulcan logic. This transition will surely have its ups and downs, and Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 3 will likely show more of Spock’s journey to become the ever-logical Vulcan introduced in Star Trek: The Original Series.