Spock and Uhura [SPOILERS]

The novelization (which I finally got around to reading after seeing the movie several times) has Spock spontaniously making the decision to go to Star Fleet Academy in reaction to the comments.

I loved Spock & Uhura, just perfect. I was totally caught by surprise but they did play fair with us. The hints were there.

I also loved the semi-public transporter scene. It really worked for me. Spock had been hit HARD by a really really bad day, his father gave him a new perspective on Vulcans and emotions, and he pretty much expected to die really really soon. This wasn't friends with benefits, or ohmygodweloveeachother, this was two lovers saying goodbye. They sold me on it. Kirk's reaction was also perfect.

I was relatively unspoiled going into the movie, for me anyway. I knew it was a reboot, I knew that it was how the crew got together, and I'd figured out that Spock Prime was somehow responsible for a timeline branch resulting in an alternate universe. I didn't know anything about what happened to any of the charactors.

This was a younger TOS Spock who had been pushed in a different direrction. He's not going to be as repressed as TOS Spock and that's okay. He's still going to be Vulcan, but he's going to be better at balancing logic and emotion.

 

Whether with Spock or anyone else, kisses seem inappropriate for comforting. That's what hugs are for. If my mother died, it would seem unnatural and a little invasive for my girlfriend to start kissing me immediately, as kissing is reserved for feelings of romance (which would be rather unwelcome when in grief/shock). You don't see a lot of kissing at funerals, because romance is inappropriate in such situations. The scenes just felt wrong to me.

 

Great post. The last thing people should be doing is making out at a time like that. A hug is much more appropriate for the given occasion.

 

That's also the reason why I think that Spock will be less ashamed of his human origins and traits than Spock Prime was in TOS, always pretending he never acted or thought like an human though it was obvious in some instances that he did.
I also think back to the scene where nuSpock explains to his mother that he intends to undergo Kolinahr and hopes that she won't take it as him rejecting or being ashamed of her. It's obvious in that scene that if Amanda hadn't given him her assent, he wouldn't have, to not hurt her.
What I'm coming at is that given this, I can't see him trying to be "more Vulcan than the Vulcans" in the next movie. I can't see him achieving the perfect balance either, but I think that at least he'll try to listen more to his human side instead of rejecting what comes from it point blank.

I'm still re-watching TOS (I'm almost at the end of Season 2) and the more I watch it, rediscovering Nimoy's awesome performance as Spock, the more I realise that Quinto's Spock is equally great. Watching TOS again didn't diminish the impression I had of his acting in the movie, on the contrary.

 

I dunno. When I'm making out, I expect a bit more than a couple of closed-mouth pecks on the lips. There was no sexual overture there. It's the way people who happen to be having a romantic relationship would comfort each other. Hugs alone are more appropriate for friends and blood relatives.

 

You know what...this is 100% correct. After you find out that someone close to you has died...you would not start kissing like that...you would have no interest in that at all -- but you would hug...definitely hug and hug deeply...And I know that a lot of this know this from first hand experience. The scenes felt wrong to me too...I found it very unnatural to say the least.

 

I think men would love a warm kiss at a time like that.

 

Have you had someone close to you die?
Yes I agree that when you're making out of course you want more than just some pecking...but this wasn't a make out session. You do not kiss someone to bring comfort to them...you hug, hold, caress them....

 

In my experience with men and romance, it's always a good time for sexuality for them.

 

True...but not after you just heard that your mom died...I'm speaking from personal experience and you are not intersted in that sort of thing AT ALL...but I'm also not a guy...

 

Yeah...sexuality is their thing; it is what they do.

 

For the both of you, have you ever had a close family member die, WHILE YOU WERE IN LOVE AND DATING SOMEONE?

It's a different scenario if that happens while your single, or even if your married.

While your feelings are expanding for that significant other during a time of immense grief the need for physical comfort and emotional normalcy is greatly enhanced. Because that's what people (ie humans) do when they see someone they are intimately attached to go through grief, touch them, and yes, kiss them.

And I would suggest watching that scene again. He did NOT refuse her attention, in fact he was rather soothed by it. Eyes closed, and a returned hug and kiss (before she pulled away) proved it. So therefore, he's most likely used to her physical comfort, and rather enjoys it, even though he's rather awkward about it. Probably has something to do with being Vulcan or something....

It's a really remarkable scene if you think about it in the GRAND SCHEME of things, also compare her "aggressiveness" of comfort in the lift, to his "forwardness" of attention in the transporter, where he gives her the comfort she needs in his return of the near suicide mission.

Don't believe in the relationship or the deepness of it yet, then WHAT THE HELL WAS THE MESSAGE FOR?

"Please tell Lt. Uhura..."

What, that he was using her for sex, that pon farr is a delicious pie, that he hates her, that there's only one highlander, that Pushing Daises has only two more episodes left...

or that he loves her?

It's not rocket science. It's love.

 

Oh, I agree with you totally. I was just questioning the kneejerk assumption that chaste kisses are never appropriate for someone who is grieving. And yes, I have had someone close to me die, and my loved one hugged me alot after I found out, but also kissed me in ways that we both knew did not amount to foreplay.

 

I don't agree. It depends on who's doing it and how. They weren't really snogging, it was more of a "we're really intimate so let me comfort you" sort of kiss. This is personal opinion, of course, and I am not trying to state a fact.

 

Yes unfortunately I have.....I've been a child, single and also involved when these deaths have occured. When we found out that there was a death...we all hugged and embraced, husbands, wives, boyfriends, girlfriends, siblings...hugged and of course cried....

But I'm talking about right when you find out...not after the dust settles when of course some kissing would be appropriate.

 

Um, how long would have been the appropriate time for them to be scene reacting together to the genocide, after all it's only a 2 hr movie.

When my mother died 2 years ago, one of the OG Trekkies, it was pretty devastating. Kidney failure is just awful, but my ex, MY FRIGGIN EX, was there with the same kind of comfort.

The non-sexual, emotional kind. Same thing actually, genuine deep hugs, butterfly kisses and not leaving me alone for long periods of time. I mean, this scene is so deep and tangible I am having so many issues with the people who just refuse to see what's staring them in the face.

This scene is about comfort, not sex. Same with the transporter room (although that's about levity too).

 

I agree with you whole-heartedly. You're right.
I have mentioned before in another thread that for me this scene was werid. Not because of the actual kissing to comfort the other. I don't really think it's wrong kissing your partner when they're grieving. You hold them tight, of course you hug them, give them warmth, even kiss them. If they don't want you to kiss them in a situation like that, they will tell you or pull away. Spock in this scene didn't pull away. he hugged and kissed her to. He didn't reject it.
So, it's not the wrong thing to do in the situation given in the movie here.
However, what felt kinda wrong to me there was, I guess, the pure fact that it was Spock and Uhura.
It just seems so.....illogical. These two! I mean, there isn't any indication of the two of them ever having had an affair or a fling in any of the original episodes or the movies, is there?
I thought it was just a way to indicate Spock also has a very strong human side to him, and that he can be tempted by things, which I think was unnecessary to show that way because it's clear, anyway. It comes through all the time there, so the kissing part to make it more apparent to us was, well, not desperately needed.
On the other hand, it was alright with me, because it kind of fitted into the grande scheme. It seemed okay that she wanted to comfort him in this situation and it turned out to be this way.
You see, I'm a little torn here. It's a logical part in context with the rest of the movie, but the fact it's Spock-Uhura is kind of illogical, looking back at the movies and TOS.
Nah, you get the idea.......

I'm probably gonna see it for a 3rd time this week, so I can eventually make up my mind about whether I approve of this scene or not now.

 

First I'm sorry to hear about your Mom...I know it's one of the worst things you can go thru and your still going thru it...it's only been 2yrs for you...

I mean you're right LOL it is a 2hr movie so they have to keep it moving..and we are obviously over analyzing everything. But yeah forget just your mom dying but your whole planet.....would make it almost unbearably painful to deal with....

When my mom died of ovarian cancer when I was 23 there was mostly hugging going on...now this was 13yrs ago...the last death I dealt with so I can't remember everything clearly...but my boyfriend at the time did comfort me with hugs. I don't remember any kissing at all between anybody...just hugging and holding, ok kisses on the cheek, butterfly kisses...but it was not immediately after, again I guess we really can't compare situations because this is a movie and not real life (in real life a vulcan wouldn't do this at all LOL LOL).

 

I've lost a parent. And my sweetie not only hugged me, but kissed me.

But I am not Spock and neither are you. He followed the kiss with a clutch, holding on for dear life. Seemed absolutely real to me.