Nurse Christine Chapel (Jess Bush) was introduced with an important new skill in Star Trek: Strange New Worlds but it was seemingly forgotten about after the series premiere. Chapel is part of the USS Enterprise's medical team and works closely with Dr. Joseph M'Benga (Babs Olunsanmokun). One of Strange New Worlds' legacy characters from Star Trek: The Original Series, the younger, brasher Christine became an instant fan-favorite, and she distinguished herself from her very first scene when Captain Christopher Pike (Anson Mount) needed a way to infiltrate Kiley 279 to rescue Number One (Rebecca Romijn).
Strange New Worlds' premiere revealed that Nurse Chapel came aboard the Starship Enterprise as a civilian exchange from the Stanford Morehouse Epigenetic Project. Christine's essential skill is she helped develop the technology Starfleet uses to alter human DNA and turn them into aliens. In Strange New Worlds episode 1, Chapel "messed with the genomes" of Captain Pike, Spock (Ethan Peck), and Lt. La'an Noonien Singh (Christina Chong), and she temporarily turned them into lookalikes of the inhabitants of Kiley 279. Christine's disguises worked for the humans but unfortunately, Spock's half-Vulcan DNA proved a greater challenge. Chapel's tech has since become common throughout Star Trek, but it wasn't seen or used again after Strange New Worlds' premiere.
Why Strange New Worlds Focused On Chapel As Spock's Love Interest
In Strange New Worlds episode 2, Nurse Chapel's flirtation with Spock began, which was immediately noticeable Cadet Nyota Uhura (Celia Rose Gooding). Spock and Christine became friends in Strange New Worlds episode 5, "Spock Amok," and they shared their first kiss - under duress and to fool the villainous Captain Angel (Jesse James Keitel) - in Strange New Worlds episode 7, "The Serene Squall." By then, Chapel's attraction to Spock, which carries over into Star Trek: The Original Series and the versions of the characters played by Majel Barrett and Leonard Nimoy, became as important as Christine's medical talents, if not more so. But the scintillating chemistry between Jess Bush as Nurse Chapel and Ethan Peck as Spock is palpable, and Strange New Worlds understandably leans into it.
Chapel and Spock form a compelling love triangle in the series along with Spock's Vulcan fiancée, T'Pring (Gia Sandhu). And Strange New Worlds is aware that Spock and Chapel actually outlast Spock and T'Pring since they will continue to serve together on Captain James T. Kirk's (William Shatner) USS Enterprise years after Strange New Worlds. By then, Christine's love for Spock is unrequited, although the Vulcan Science Officer does acknowledge it. Strange New Worlds is mindfully setting up Spock and Chapel's TOS future while excitingly exploring the early years of their relationship.
Will Nurse Chapel's Surgical Technology Return In Strange New Worlds Season 2?
The obvious reason that Nurse Chapel's surgical alteration technology wasn't seen again in Strange New Worlds season 1 is that none of the episodes after the premiere required changing the Enterprise crew into aliens for infiltration. But Chapel's tech could easily return in Strange New Worlds season 2 if an episode's story requires it. Christine's tech was an ingenious retcon of her character to add to her brilliance and make her even more capable than simply being Dr. M'Benga's nurse.
But the true appeal of Nurse Chapel and the rest of Strange New Worlds' characters are in their interactions with each other, and how Captain Pike's crew bonds as a family aboard the Enterprise. Star Trek: Strange New Worlds hit upon dramatic (and comedy) gold with Jess Bush's Chapel and Ethan Peck's Spock, and how their relationship develops is one of the most compelling aspects of season 2.
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 2 will premiere in 2023 on Paramount+.