Star Trek III: The Search for Spock— is it a romance?

On June 1st, 1984, just in time for Pride, audiences were finally getting the sequel to one of the best action movies in film history, The Wrath Of Khan. How can you possibly follow up to the drama of that movie? The campiness? Khan easily stands out as one of the most engaging villains to grace our screens. The Search for Spock had much to live up to.

Is it better than the Wrath of Khan?

Not really. It’s a good movie, but in terms of “good cinema,” it’s not as impressive as Kirk’s Genesis exploits. The villain is weaker, there’s less plot and it takes a lot longer to get going.

However, did it fulfill all my little gay fantasies?

Yes, yes it did.

I’m here today to prove that Star Trek III is a romance movie at heart, by discussing the most romantic scenes, lines and talking about how insane Kirk’s actions are. Buckle in, set warp to 7, and sit back. Things are about to get gay.

The film begins with a heartbreaking recap of the finale of the last movie–Spock’s death. “I have been, and always will be your friend.” Pressing his hand up against Kirk’s, in a gesture that looks all-too-similar to a Vulcan kiss shared by Saavik and Spock later in the movie.

However, they’re separated by a piece of glass. I think this stops Kirk from getting closure, something he desperately seeks. They can’t meld, and Spock can’t give his katra to Kirk. Kirk can’t hold his best friend’s hand for one last time, as he does in the Motion Picture. If you weren’t getting a little misty eyed at this point, I’d be shocked and appalled.

Kirk’s obituary feels reminiscent of a grieving spouse’s. He essentially says that Spock is the best person he’s ever known, the most “human.” As he delivers the speech, his voice cracks in a way I admit got me crying. It’s clear that he loves Spock, a theme they will keep coming back to in this movie. 

After some playful banter between Scotty and Kirk on the bridge, we’re instantly drawn back to Spock again, when an energy reading from Spock’s room takes Chekhov by surprise. We’re rarely given a scene in this movie where Spock’s presence isn’t felt, as affirmed by one of Kirk’s lines, “this entire crew seems on the edge of obsessive behaviour regarding Mr Spock.” Says the man who will later blow up the actual love of his life, The Enterprise, for Spock. He’s not fooling anyone with his laid back attitude in regards to his “friend.” 

The next scene is heartbreaking, which I feel like I have, and will be saying a lot. Spock’s voice in McCoy’s body calls out to Kirk, using “Jim,” which Spock uses sparingly, if ever. Kirk, unfazed by the voice of his ex-lover coming from the body of his best friend, is given both a mission and a guilt trip. It’s apparently his fault that Spock is eternally doomed. Poor man.

After some more plot happens, which I enjoy but will not be discussing, we open on Kirk having a pity party with his best friends. Suddenly, Sarek, clad in the traditional drama-queen Vulcan robes. Sarek gives off a vibe of a distant father-in-law, who doesn’t quite approve of the relationship, which feels hypocritical, considering he married a human. He’s the reason that Spock went to glorified conversion therapy in The Motion Picture, after all. Maybe he’s just a homophobe. 

As Kirk puts it, “your son means more to me than you can ever know.” This line is curious, or as I’d rather put it, queer. Sarek clearly knows that Kirk and Spock are best friends. That’s why he goes to Kirk. That’s why he blames Kirk for the death of his son’s soul. Which feels a tad intense. And by a tad, I mean a lot. So Kirk saying that Spock was “more” than that? I rest my case, your honour. They’re gay.

All this just adds to the already burning Kirk Guilt Fire. The implication that Spock would trust Kirk with his very soul, would trust him to bring him peace is incredibly romantic. As yet another call back to the Wrath of Khan, Kirk reveals that he would have “given my [his] life” if it would have saved Spock’s. Kirk has a fear of death, as established by the previous movie. To give his life away is to succumb to this fear. It’s a pretty emotional thing to say about your platonic best bud, so I think this definitely falls under the romance category. 

Sarek proceeds to mind meld with Kirk, seeing what I can only assume he instantly regrets, and makes Kirk cry by reliving the memory of Spock’s death. Me too, Kirk. Me too. I enjoyed the little nod to Amok Time in this scene, though “enjoy” might be the wrong word for the tears I shed in both instances. In Amok Time, after Spock thinks he killed Kirk, he says that he “shall do neither” when T’Pau says “Live long and prosper”. In a parallel to this scene, Sarek says “Live long and prosper” to Kirk, which Kirk simply replies “no” to. The comparison is notable–Kirk cannot live without the “noblest part of himself” (a quote from earlier in the movie) and Spock cannot live without Kirk. 

In perhaps my favourite sequence of the movie, the crew steal the Enterprise, sacrificing their careers, lives and any future hopes for one dead Vulcan. While it is the entire crew, I can’t help but wonder if they’re doing it at least partially for Kirk. After all, he is clearly their friend, and without Spock, he’s a shell of a man. 

After Saavik and David find baby Spock, who will grow up to be an annoying teenager, there’s not a lot notable in terms of a romance movie, shifting swiftly into more familiar action territory. The awkward sex scene between Spock and Saavik ensues, Genesis is falling apart, and Kirk is getting into fights with Klingons. The gayest part is the obvious–the ongoing mission to save Spock’s soul. Yet more trauma and guilt ensues when the Klingons kill David, but as Kirk will go on to say, it was worth it to get Spock back. Bad parenting, sure, but a romantic idea. 

Kirk has to sacrifice more than his son, however, blowing up his ship in order to see Spock again. He has no idea how he’ll leave Genesis, has no plan, but is acting purely on his emotion. Spock himself would have never allowed this. He is the logical foil to Kirk’s emotion. They are, really, perfect for one another. Kirk is also clearly in a highly illogical state, as he is normally able to gauge the needs of the few in comparison to the needs of the one. He is a captain, after all. But in this movie, he has one goal–to save Spock, everyone else be damned.

When Kirk finally sees Spock again, he carries out the romantic trope of resting his jacket around the shoulders of his romantic interest. While this is normally observed in cheesy high school romances, it’s a cute gesture regardless. I highly doubt that Spock is cold, though, considering all the fire. Kirk is a romantic, not a practicalist in this movie.

Kirk then fights the Klingon commander to death in a Die Hard-esque scene, and then in a way reminiscent of Aliens, carries Spock out of the flaming surface of Genesis. Kirk has literally gone to Hell to save Spock, a doomed planet burning to the ground, destined to die. He is Orpheus, going to save his lover, risks be damned. How many of us can claim to have done that, or be willing to do that for a friend, or even a lover? This is the grand gesture seen in so many romances, the big sacrifice. 

Kirk brings Spock home to Vulcan. He is finally relieved of some of his guilt, thank goodness. Spock has been a barren shell of a Vulcan for a while now, but, for the fourth time this movie, quotes his death to Kirk, and then says “Jim, your name is Jim.” I admit that this line killed me, just a little bit.

Overall, I think this movie is definitely a romance. It’s emotional and sentimental, a love letter to the fans who kept Star Trek alive by writing fanfiction and organising conventions.

The best way I can describe it is that it simultaneously feels like fix-it fanfiction and a bridge between 2 movies. The plot is almost inconsequential to the main goal, to save Spock. The Klingons essentially are just a barrier, and killing the Klingon leader is not the big triumphant finish. This is what differentiates it from the Wrath of Khan. The action is a crutch for the emotions, not the other way around.

While not following the traditional format of a romance, as there’s no meet cute, it certainly follows the rules of the genre. A main romantic relationship (Kirk and Spock), challenges in the relationship (Spock literally dying) and a grand romantic gesture as well as a sacrifice (blowing up the Enterprise, rescuing Spock etc etc)

The Search for Spock is really the search for closure and for love.

It’s no wonder that they invented slash fiction.