I don't get this idea that some people have that Kirk - and other Trek characters like Data and Trip - can't die or shouldn't die.
Props to the fact that Kirk died and, as far as canon is concerned, has stayed dead.
And rats to the death-doesn't-mean-anything trend that started with Spock.
I can say now looking back Spock should have stayed dead. And they should've gotten the Excelsior for a ship. Show some growth, change, real-life stuff, rather than stagnation.
Good post..and I agree. Search For Spock guts the emotions of KHAN. Spock should have stayed dead, and they should have given more screen time to the others; Doohan/Takei or brought in someone new.
Rob
The Star Trek movie franchise wouldn't have worked without Spock. There is no way they would have been able to leave him dead.
Bringing Spock backed worked because Kirk lost his son and the Enterprise. When you bring a character back from the dead there has to be some sacrifice to balance the scales in the narrative. Everything just can't go back to the status quo without some hardship.
That may have happened within TSFS, but by the end of TVH, that's pretty much what we ended up with, right back to the status quo. Spock back, Enterprise back. Sorry, but for all the anguish we saw in TSFS, David's death really had no lasting resonance.