The question is will they rewrite Pike's future? If so, will the writers / powers that be rescue him from Talos after the events of The Menagerie or will they undo the events of his near death completely.
They'll have Spock and Pike be aware of what's gonna happen, Pike's gonna take painkillers before it happens, Spock plans ahead to take him to Talos.
If the show were to last 10+ years to "catch up" to Pike's melting (or if Paramount thought the show was popular enough to turn into feature films), I would imagine that any potential update to Pike's condition would happen after the events of Menagerie. I'd say that the odds are slim, but possible. I could see an episode where Number One risks her career to medically help Pike and continue their adventures on a different ship. That said, I think it's FAR more likely, that this series will have Pike come to terms with his ultimate fate and that Pike may even find some peace in knowing that he saves those recruits. As Kirk says in Star Trek VI (paraphrasing) any continuing adventures will become the care of another crew. This is especially true since any post-Menagerie Pike adventures would have to be without Spock or Ohura.
I dig it! It would be cool when the SNW run is over - I do think they hand it off to Kirk & Co - if they were able to get word to Pike that a couple of those cadets did something amazing with the life he gave them through his sacrifice.
But that would also be after the injured Pike arrives on Talos IV, and we already know that the Talosians will give him the perception of a normal life, unfettered by his injuries. So there's really nothing left to update. Pike of course can't be actually healed of his injuries and leave Talos IV, because then everyone would learn about what happened there. So even if the Talosians did somehow actually heal Pike's body - which is unlikely, since they couldn't do diddly squat with Vina - he can't ever leave, becaue he has to keep the secret of Talos IV intact.
No rewrites. But also, no promises about his future after reaching Talos IV in "The Menagerie". There's been occasional speculation across the decades, in novels and comics, of course...and of course, we can't assume that the Talosians haven't obtained better medical data on humans in general since "The Cage" either. I await developments with interest. In the meantime, there's the centennial of the Federation's founding coming up, right? That falls right into Pike's second five-year tour...
Before Pike took the time crystal, he was told, "... your fate will be sealed, forever. There will be no escaping it." Why people keep arguing there's wiggle room or simple ways to avoid his fate is baffling.
I would imagine that if there were sufficient motivation to "rewrite" Pike's ultimate ending, it wouldn't be the Talosians that healed him. In the admittedly unlikely event that the powers that be wanted to continue with Pike, I would imagine some other party would come up with his cure. Regarding leaving Talos, while I agree that it probably isn't happening, I can't imagine the whole secrecy thing being a problem. Pike would simply never speak of it, similar to the "classified" fate of Discovery, or Spock's sister (or even his brother--though that secret was kept by choice). "Where were you the last few years, Captain." "Extended leave, Lieutenant..." Starfleet officers are incredibly good at keeping secrets when the plot demands it (or when writers invent a character or race and then write them into prequels like the Borg and Enterprise).
Or, alternatively, if it's deemed no longer a concern, declassification is also an option. We just don't know. Yet.
I never thought they would redesign Kirks Enterprise until they actually did. So yeah, I think at the very least they will TRY to undo it. Will they be successful…depends on if they want to embrace being in an Alternate universe or not. now, they could do something like save Pike from his fate but reveal that if he doesn’t let it happen something really bad happens. So he has to go back and undo the change. Basically re-accept his fate. Because for 50+ years Chris Pike was just a guy. Little more than a name with some basic characterization. Now he’s become a fully realized character that Anson Mount portrays excellently. People want him to avoid a terrible fate.
I'm 50/50. I think it's possible. We're in season 1, 10 years away from the event, yet it's obviously a large theme of the 1st season. Would the writers let this happen to the main hero of the show? Like Pike they might try to find another way and have their cake and eat it.
Other than a medal named for him, is Pike mentioned at all in a canonical story set after The Menagerie? If not, his ultimate fate is still unknown.
See, and that's exactly why I DON'T want him to avoid a terrible fate. I want a fully realized character who meets a tragic and painful end doing something within his character. But then still gets a sort of happy ending on Talos IV. I want to FEEL IT when it happens to him. The conflict of knowing he did good, for good reasons, and still got the raw end of the deal. I'm not here for a happy ending. I'm here for the story of a good man who doesn't get a happy ending. And now knows it. But who chooses to be a good man anyway.
It all depends on if it is a fixed point in time or not, maybe Pike *has* to come to this tragic end in order to save his crew or even someone in particular that was going to make a *massive* impact on the rest of history? An example might be that Pike might end up saving Chief Miles O’Brien’s ancestor, therefore without meeting his fate and completing his duty regardless there would be no Mile’s O’Brien? We all know that Miles O’Brien is the most important man in the galaxy, don’t we?
The writers of modern Trek pander so hard to continuity they'd never let themselves change Pike's fate outside of a one-off time travel or AU episode. They'll just use meaningless TOS stardates and have this five year mission last however long the show does. "Captain's log, we're on day 6,925 of our 5-year mission..."
I would like to see the last episode of the series end with Kirk, Spock and McCoy beaming down to Talos 4 with doctors who have the ability to fix Pike and Vina. Let them live out their lives on Talos 4. Remember the episode where McCoy was dying and the planet/spaceship they rescued from a meteorite had very advanced medical information. Not only did they save McCoy's life, but they also have the ability to help Pike and Vina. Save it for the last episode. I love happy endings.