The arrival of Lieutenant James T. Kirk (Paul Wesley) in Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 2 can break canon in multiple ways both big and small. Kirk will be a recurring character in SNW season 2, presumably seconded to the USS Enterprise by Captain Christopher Pike (Anson Mount). Pike was so impressed by an alternate universe version of Kirk in the Strange New Worlds season 1 finale that he began to take an active interest in the officer's career.
Strange New Worlds was always designed to bridge the gap between Star Trek: The Original Series' unaired pilot "The Cage", and its actual pilot "Where No Man Has Gone Before". However, the announcement that Kirk would be joining the show raised eyebrows in certain corners of Star Trek fandom. While there's no definitive evidence that Kirk didn't at least visit the USS Enterprise prior to taking command in 2265, there is evidence that he didn't serve under Captain Pike. This is just one of many elements of Star Trek: TOS canon that can be broken by Kirk's role in Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 2.
10 How Pike And Kirk Meeting Breaks Star Trek Canon
In the Star Trek: The Original Series episode "The Menagerie", the USS Enterprise docks at Starbase 11, where Captain Kirk (William Shatner) received news about Pike's tragic accident. When asked if he ever met Pike, Kirk responded "When he was made Fleet Captain". While Kirk didn't definitively respond with "Once" to the question about meeting Pike, it still implies that even if Pike's promotion wasn't the only time they met, Kirk and Pike had only fleeting interactions over the years. Perhaps Pike will take a hands-off approach to Kirk's career, orchestrating the better future he saw in Star Trek: Strange New Worlds' season 1 finale from behind the scenes.
9 Kirk Could Learn About The TOS Romulans In Strange New Worlds
The Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 1 finale depicted the events of the TOS episode "Balance of Terror", but with Pike in the Captain's chair. Christopher Pike's handling of the situation led to all-out war between the Federation and the Romulan Star Empire, convincing him that he had to step aside to make way for Kirk. Depending on how hands-on Pike is with Kirk's ascent through the ranks in Strange New Worlds, he could share this information with Kirk. This would create a bootstrap paradox where Kirk only defeated the Romulans in the future because Pike told him how he did it in the past - it's a temporal and canonical headache that's best avoided.
8 The USS Farragut's Captain Could Cause A Kirk Canon issue
Lt. Kirk is currently serving aboard the USS Farragut, a year or two after a devastating tragedy that he continued to blame himself for until his days on the Enterprise. The SNW season 2 trailer reveals Kirk's death philosophy, which has presumably been shaped by the tragedy. However, SNW will have to be rigorous in checking which named officers perished in the tragedy, and which survived. Kirk's former commanding officer, Captain Garrovick died, so he shouldn't still be in charge when SNW features the Farragut. Garrovick's son, David later served under Kirk, so the teenager could play a small role in SNW, expanding how and why he ends up aboard the Enterprise in TOS.
7 Kirk Made First Contact With The Gorn - AFTER Star Trek: Strange New Worlds
Aside from Pike, the biggest problem for Star Trek canon is if Kirk faces off against the Gorn. Star Trek: Strange New Worlds has made the Gorn their new big bad, taking a creative approach to what's been established in canon. In the Star Trek: The Original Series episode "Arena", it was Kirk who made official First Contact with the reptilian species. His log during the episode made it clear that he had never encountered one in the flesh, referring to it as the "creature the Metrons called a Gorn." If Kirk is thrown into the conflict between Pike's Enterprise and the Gorn, it will be interesting to see how Strange New Worlds avoids damaging the canonicity of the iconic Kirk and Gorn fight in Star Trek: The Original Series.
6 The Kirk Brothers Must Reconcile In Strange New Worlds
Lieutenant Sam Kirk (Dan Jeannotte) called his brother Jim "a huge pain in the ass, but he's as fine a captain as Starfleet has." This was said in an alternate timeline, so should be taken with a pinch of salt, however, it does imply some tension between Sam and James Kirk. Prime Universe Sam and his family were present to wave off the USS Enterprise when Kirk embarked upon his five-year mission, so the enmity between the Kirk brothers shouldn't last too long. If the Star Trek: Strange New Worlds writers decide to mine the Kirk family for dramatic brotherly tension, then they risk making Sam Kirk's death even sadder by suggesting the brothers were estranged in canon.
5 Kirk Could Learn About Khan Before Star Trek: TOS' "Space Seed"
Kirk appears to be somewhat aware of Khan Noonien-Singh (Ricardo Montalban) when he and his super soldiers are thawed from cryogenic slumber. In "Space Seed", Kirk is suspicious of Khan almost immediately, given the S.S. Botany Bay's links to Star Trek's Eugenics Wars and Khan's reluctance to share his surname. Kirk will meet Lieutenant La'an Noonien-Singh (Christina Chong), which is fine, but if SNW decides to follow up on Star Trek: Picard's Project Khan tease, Jim Kirk cannot be a part of it. The fact that La'an doesn't factor into Kirk and Spock's Khan briefing in "Space Seed" is evidence of their more evolved approach to her problematic family history.
4 Kirk Can't Meet Spock's Fiancée In Strange New Worlds
In Star Trek: The Original Series season 2, episode 1, "Amok Time", Kirk is forced into a duel to the death when Spock's fiancée T'Pring challenges her arranged marriage. While Kirk wasn't aware the Spock was engaged, he doesn't even have a passing knowledge of T'Pring, or of her role back on Vulcan. Star Trek: Strange New Worlds will have to show Kirk and Spock (Ethan Peck) forming their legendary friendship, but with T'Pring one of SNW's recurring characters, it might be difficult for Kirk to avoid bumping into her. Spock and T'Pring's increasing distance could fix this potential problem, as her absence would make it easier for Spock to keep the details of his engagement a secret until TOS season 2.
3 Strange New Worlds Could Retcon A Problematic Kirk Story
In "Turnabout Intruder", the final episode of Star Trek: The Original Series, Kirk swapped bodies with Dr. Janice Lester (Sandra Smith), a bitter scientist who was desperate for her own command. The underlying message of "Turnabout Intruder" is that Starfleet is inherently sexist, forcing Lester to go to elaborate lengths to gain promotion to Captain. That just wouldn't fly for a 2023 audience watching Star Trek: Strange New Worlds. Kirk encountering female Captains like Captain Batel (Melanie Scrofano) or even Number One, could prove that it was Janice Lester's ambition and self-loathing, rather than her gender that made her a bad fit for the Captain's chair.
2 Kirk Complicates Star Trek: Strange New Worlds' Sybok Story
Another element of Spock's Star Trek: Strange New Worlds arc is his brother Sybok, whom Captain Angel (Jesse James Keitel) attempted to free in season 1. Sybok is the villain of Star Trek V: The Final Frontier, but his existence was kept a secret from Kirk until he hijacked the Enterprise. This means that, when Spock's brother Sybok inevitably turns up in Strange New Worlds, it will have to be in an episode where Kirk is back aboard the USS Farragut. Alternatively, the family reunion could happen in a Spock-centric episode set away from the Enterprise. Otherwise, the already problematic Star Trek 5 could be made even more contentious within canon.
1 The Lower Decks Crossover Could Reveal Kirk's Death
In Star Trek V: The Final Frontier, Kirk stated that he always knew he'd die alone, but the Strange New Worlds/Lower Decks crossover could reveal even more information. Ensigns Beckett Mariner (Tawny Newsome) and Bradward Boimler (Jack Quaid) are keen students of Starfleet history, and even drank at the same bar as Kirk and Spock in "An Embarrassment of Dooplers". Boimler always lets his mouth run away from him, so could start babbling about Kirk's legendary status if the two Starfleet officers meet each other. Boimler mentioning the USS Enterprise-B disaster, the Nexus, or the fact that Kirk's body is in Daystrom Station could seriously complicate matters of canon for the legendary Enterprise Captain.
While it will certainly be exciting to see a younger Prime Universe James T. Kirk make a name for himself, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds will have to tread carefully. Season 1 proved that showrunner Akiva Goldsman and his writing team are capable of gently bending the rules of canon, and season 2 will be no exception. Adopting that approach to Kirk creates the exciting possibility of brand-new stories and new insight into this legendary Star Trek Captain.