Warning: SPOILERS for Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 4’s Puppet EpisodeEthan Peck reacts to Lieutenant Spock’s romantic kiss in Star Trek: Strange New Worlds‘ puppet episode.

Spock is the only member of the USS Enterprise crew who isn’t puppet-ized by the Jim Henson Creature Shop in Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 4, episode 5, “Level-Five Transporter Accident.” Meanwhile, Spock’s ex-fiancée, T’Pring (Gia Sandhu), was also aboard the Enterprise and turned into a Vulcan puppet. Despite T’Pring’s aversion to “hi-jinks,” she proves invaluable to helping Spock through this ordeal, culminating in the flesh-and-blood Vulcan sharing a kiss with the cuddly, felt Vulcan.

In an interview with TV Line, Ethan Peck calls Spock kissing puppet T’Pring “so weird,” and describes how more people than usual were on set to witness their unusual moment. However, as it plays in the moment, Spock and puppet T’Pring’s kiss is genuine, which is why, according to Peck, it’s “sort of funny and strange and interesting.” See Ethan’s quote below:

Speaking of amazing, we had to ask: How was that kiss with the puppet version of T’Pring? “It was so weird!” Peck laughs. “There were people that weren’t normally on set there to watch because they were so curious about it,” but “we played it really sincerely, and I think that’s what makes it sort of funny and strange and interesting.”

T’Pring (when she wasn’t a puppet) hitched a ride to Vulcan aboard the Starship Enterprise to help a struggling Spock in his quest to re-invest himself in Vulcan logic. Compounding Spock’s trauma, the Vulcan Science Officer is the only crew member who isn’t a puppet when Orion pirates led by Captain Ch’Rol (Rachael Harris) and Ejachi (Joe Lo Truglio) hijack the Enterprise.

Although being turned into a puppet shatters T’Pring’s Vulcan stoicism, resulting in an uncharacteristic emotional breakdown, she chooses to embrace “chaos.” Without T’Pring, Spock could not have endured his ordeal with the puppets and the Orion marauders. Despite their engagement being over, Spock and puppet T’Pring sharing a kiss proves their attraction goes beyond flesh and blood.

Image credit: Paramount+

However, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds‘ puppet episode ends with the twist that it was all Spock’s dream, and no one was turned into puppets. This turns the Muppet-y romp into an exploration of Spock’s psyche, and that he still has tremendous respect, feelings, and attraction towards T’Pring. Yet the ex-couple are not destined to be together, and they will finally end all contact in Star Trek: The Original Series season 2’s “Amok Time.”

There is no lack of surprising, hilarious, and bizarre moments in Star Trek: Strange New Worlds‘ puppet episode. Spock kissing puppet T’Pring is certainly unexpected, and ranks high among the many weird things Ethan Peck’s younger version of Spock has done in the prequel. Be assured that Ethan feels the same way you probably do about Spock and puppet T’Pring’s romantic smackeroo.

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 4’s puppet episode, “Level-Five Transporter Accident,” is streaming on Paramount+

Release Date

2022 – 2027-00-00

Network

Paramount+

Showrunner

Henry Alonso Myers, Akiva Goldsman

Directors

Dan Liu, Amanda Row, Maja Vrvilo, Akiva Goldsman, Dermott Downs, Eduardo Sánchez, Jeffrey W. Byrd, Jonathan Frakes, Jordan Canning, Leslie Hope, Valerie Weiss, Sydney Freeland, Christopher J. Byrne, Rachel Leiterman

Writers

Onitra Johnson