T’Pring is one of the more memorable side characters in Star Trek, so it only makes sense that her appearance in the newest series is just as strong as her legacy. T’Pring’s (Arelen Martel) introduction as Spock’s (Leonard Nimoy) betrothed in The Original Series was simple...until it wasn’t. After that, things got messy. Who knew that a quick trip to Vulcan for a wedding would turn into a bloody brawl in the sand between two high-ranking Starfleet officers?
T’Pring directed her ambitions toward getting a man instead of boldly establishing her own independence. This left a sour taste in the mouths of many fans, especially those with an interest in the relationship between Captain Kirk (William Shatner) and his First Officer. Years later, opinions haven’t changed much — but only because T’Pring (Gia Sandhu) has only recently been re-introduced into the franchise. She’s still as soft-spoken and direct as she was initially established to be, but now she’s a career woman set on making things work with Spock and in her own life. What other interesting changes has the character undergone?
T’Pring’s Relationship with Spock
T’Pring is ambitious and daring, with a ruthlessness honed from her limited station on Vulcan, and in the larger Star Trek universe. In The Original Series, such traits in a woman are to be scorned. When T’Pring (Martel) claims “kal-if-fee” and challenges Spock’s right to marry her in favor of making him fight Captain Kirk to the death, she’s doing so to clear a path toward claiming Stonn (Lawrence Montaigne) as her lover. Her willingness to pit Spock against his best friend and captain is selfish and cruel.
In Strange New Worlds, though, those same traits, along with the situations in which they’re displayed, are flipped upside down. Instead of fighting to divorce him, T’Pring (Sandhu) is so proud to be with Spock that she proposes to him. She accompanies Spock on a few science missions, tries to improve their sex life by doing research, and even gets into classic Star Trek hijinks in season 1, episode 5, “Spock Amok.” In the meantime, though, the new series has continued the tradition of Nurse Chapel (Jess Bush) having a crush on Spock. This might eventually spell trouble for his relationship with T’Pring (Sandhu).
T’Pring’s Career
T’Pring goes from a one-off character in The Original Series to a recurring one in Strange New Worlds. Viewers get a chance to know her beyond her enthusiasm for chaos. In fact, T’Pring even gets a job as an agent at the El-Keshtanktil. Here, she works to reconnect Vulcan criminals with the true path of Vulcan logic, under the assumption that leaving it in the first place led them down a path of bad choices.
Fans of the character can look forward to seeing more of her. One of her co-workers is none other than Stonn (Roderick McNeil), who has her working with Spock’s long-lost half-brother. It’s enough plot relevance to keep her around for much of season 2, as Sybok may finally appear in Strange New Worlds to wreak his own special type of havoc. Fans don’t know much about what he’ll get into, as his presence was only teased at the end of the first season. Hopefully, it won’t cause too much trouble for T’Pring in the long run.
T’Pring’s Personality
In The Original Series, T'Pring is a victim of circumstance. She’s stand-offish at first, and then reveals herself to be selfish because Vulcan society is taking away her choice to walk away from marrying Spock. She can't afford to care about exposing Captain Kirk to the trauma of dying at the hands of someone he trusts. She doesn’t have time to care about the pain she causes Spock in the process. All T’Pring knows is that if she doesn’t take high risks for her freedom, then she’ll be stuck in a loveless marriage with a man that’s more legend than husband.
Strange New Worlds puts a new spin on T’Pring’s personality. She’s still direct about what she feels, but what she feels is love for Spock. She’s just as stubbornly focused on achieving her goals, which now include pursuing a career. She even gets to interact with other members of the crew like Nurse Chapel (Bush). It’s easy to hate T’Pring, or even feel like she might be in the way. She caused trouble in the original story, and now her very presence is causing issues in the Star Trek timeline. However, she’s a force to be reckoned with and an undeniably important part of Spock’s story; that is, until she claims “kal-if-fee” again.
T’Pring’s Function in the Story
The biggest part of how T’Pring is perceived in Star Trek stems from what she does in the story. She’s seen as selfish and cruel in The Original Series because that’s how she’s painted. Viewers aren’t meant to look at her story with empathy. This is made all the more clear when Spock warns Stonn (McNeil) about realizing that “having a thing is less satisfying than wanting it.” She’s the ‘it’ that he’s talking about. And in season 2, episode 1, “Amok Time,” his phrasing – accidental or otherwise – really captures how she’s more of a concept than a person.
Luckily, T’Pring has more agency in Strange New Worlds, which isn’t the first time Star Trek has made major character changes. She’s outspoken in the bedroom and unafraid to call Spock out when she feels dismissed or pushed to the side, which leads to body-swapping hilarity. T’Pring achieves her greatest growth in Star Trek by being herself. Her story changes by giving her a chance to be more than the tired trope of the annoying woman who disrupts a man’s life.