Warning: SPOILERS for Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 2, episode 9 - "Subspace RhapsodyStar Trek: Strange New Worlds confirmed that a romance between James T. Kirk (Paul Wesley) and La'an Noonien-Singh (Christina Chong) isn't meant to be. Strange New Worlds season 2, episode 9 was Star Trek's first-ever musical episode, thrusting Captain Pike (Anson Mount) and the crew of the USS Enterprise into a world of song after an experiment with a subspace rift went awry. The disruptions from the rift caused the crew to break out in elaborate musical numbers whenever they experienced heightened emotions, bringing up difficult truths for many including La'an.

After the events of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 2, episode 3, "Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow", La'an has been struggling with her feelings for Lieutenant James Kirk after falling for an alternate reality version of him in a different timeline. Because of the Temporal Prime Directive, La'an was asked not to reveal what she and the alternate Kirk went through, but in "Subspace Rhapsody" she admitted as much as she could to Kirk after realizing that it might come out in song if they continued working together. However, Kirk's response to La'an's confession cemented the reality that their romance will likely go no further.

Strange New Worlds’ Kirk & La’an Romance Can’t Happen In Star Trek’s Prime Timeline

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds confirmed that Kirk and La'an can't have a romance in the franchise's Prime Timeline because Prime Kirk is too different from the version La'an fell in love with. For one thing, Prime Kirk still has preconceived notions about La'an's last name. Part of the reason La'an was drawn to the alternate Kirk was because he came from a reality where no one had ever heard of Khan Noonien-Singh, La'an's ancestor and a brutal genetically augmented tyrant from Star Trek's 20th century. However, in the Prime Timeline, Khan and his fellow augments are widely known, and Kirk would be aware of the history behind La'an name.

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds' musical episode also confirmed that Kirk is already in a relationship with Carol Marcus, his love interest from Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan. Not only that, but Carol is pregnant with their son, David, complicating the relationship and Kirk's availability even further. While La'an and Kirk admitted that there was an undeniable attraction between them, Kirk made it clear that he wasn't in the market for a romantic relationship given his apparently complicated situation with Carol.

Kirk's confession clearly surprised and hurt La'an, but it did provide some closure for both her and the audience on the events she experienced during "Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow". La'an's conversation with Kirk in "Subspace Rhapsody" seemed to make her realize that the version of him that she knew was truly gone, and also gave her more confidence to express her feelings in other situations going forward. Ultimately, La'an and Kirk's talk was a smart way for Star Trek: Strange New Worlds to resolve an earlier storyline without completely breaking the wider franchise canon.

How No Kirk & La’an Romance Saves Star Trek: TOS Canon

Although Kirk and La'an's scene in "Subspace Rhapsody" was painful, ending any possibility of their romance was necessary in order to keep Star Trek: Strange New Worlds in line with Star Trek: The Original Series canon. La'an's ancestor Khan (Ricardo Montalbán) was introduced as a character in TOS, and ultimately became Kirk's arch nemesis during the events of the TOS movies. A true romantic connection between La'an and Kirk, even if it were brief, would change Kirk's relationship to Khan in the future and raise questions about why La'an wasn't involved with Khan's return and his battles with Kirk.

Additionally, Kirk's romance with Carol Marcus and the existence of their son was a huge part of his character arc in the Star Trek: TOS movies. Despite Kirk and La'an's mutual interest, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds made the right choice to prioritize Kirk and Carol over him and La'an. Mentioning Carol in Strange New Worlds keeps the show in line with the franchise's timeline and introduces the possibility of exploring Carol and her early relationship with Kirk more in the future, something audiences have never seen before.

While Kirk and La'an's romance was an undeniably interesting idea, pushing the relationship any further would have verged too far into completely breaking Star Trek canon, something Star Trek: Strange New Worlds has been relatively careful about. Although Strange New Worlds has retconned certain things by necessity and has also chosen to do so for the sake of a more interesting storyline, it has stopped short of changing established future events entirely. Kirk and La'an as a couple would simply have been a bridge too far in that direction.

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 2 streams Thursdays on Paramount+.