Ethan Peck's Spock in Star Trek: Strange New Worlds perfectly blends the key elements of both Leonard Nimoy and Zachary Quinto's interpretations of the character. First appearing in Star Trek: Discovery season 2, Ethan Peck is the third actor to play Spock as an adult main character in Star Trek. Peck's portrayal of the Vulcan borrows from the performances of Nimoy and Quinto in both Star Trek: The Original Series and the J.J. Abrams Star Trek movies, while also uniquely interpreting the character as his own.
As a prequel to TOS, Strange New Worlds draws on the younger, more human Spock from Star Trek's rejected original pilot, "The Cage". Peck's performance brilliantly bridges the gap between this more human version to the emotionally repressed, logical Vulcan who serves as the USS Enterprise's Number One to Captain James T Kirk (William Shatner). As the son of a Human mother and Vulcan father, Spock's arc in SNW is all about his inner conflict between his human and Vulcan heritage, and Peck's performance brings out both sides, drawing on his predecessors Leonard Nimoy and Zachary Quinto to do so.
How Ethan Peck's Spock Perfectly Blends Nimoy & Quinto
In "The Cage", Spock was visibly delighted by the blue flowers on Talos IV, beaming broadly as he and Pike fondled the leaves to create music. It's a small moment, but something that is largely absent from Nimoy's later performance, albeit with some notable exceptions. Ethan Peck regularly draws on this more emotional, more humorous Spock; for example, when he and Strange New Worlds' Lt. Hemmer (Bruce Horak) played a prank on Cadet Nyota Uhura (Celia Rose Gooding). Spock's humanity shines through in many of his other scenes with Uhura too, such as when he attempted to give her a pep talk while they and their away team were stranded on a comet hurtling towards the planet below. It was tinged with the traditional Vulcan detachment, but was clearly driven by Spock's empathy for the struggling Cadet.
Peck's performance also draws on Zachary Quinto's more emotionally volatile portrayal of Spock. In J.J. Abrams' movies, Quinto's Spock is prone to violent outbursts, such as when he attacked James T. Kirk (Chris Pine) or faced off against Khan Noonien-Singh (Benedict Cumberbatch) in a brutal fight driven by vengeance. This is similar to how, after Hemmer was killed by Strange New Worlds' Gorn, Spock became overwhelmed with fury and lost his Vulcan control of his emotions. It's also interesting to note that, in both the Abrams movies and SNW, Spock is in a committed romance, whereas Leonard Nimoy's Spock in TOS was a deeply private man who kept his fiancée T'Pring (Arlene Martel) a secret from Kirk's Enterprise crew.
What Ethan Peck's Spock Still Needs To Become Nimoy's Spock
Spock's Strange New Worlds arc will ultimately end with him choosing to embrace his Vulcan heritage by repressing his emotions. So far, the conflict between Spock's Human and Vulcan heritage has been embodied by the love triangle with T'Pring (Gia Sandhu) and Nurse Christine Chapel (Jess Bush). In SNW season 2, it's likely that the story of embracing emotional repression will develop further with the introduction of Spock's half-brother Sybok, as teased in season 1.
Sybok rejected Vulcan logic in favor of emotion, resulting in his incarceration in a criminal rehabilitation center. In pitting Spock against Sybok in Strange New Worlds season 2 or beyond, the prequel series could depict the Vulcan seeing the downsides of embracing emotion over logic, and eventually committing to repressing his Human side. In rejecting emotion in favor of logic, Ethan Peck's balanced performance would finally transition into the TOS Spock immortalized by Leonard Nimoy, completing his Star Trek: Strange New Worlds evolution.
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 2 premieres in 2023 on Paramount+.