#Like Kirk and Spock's love for each other is portrayed which is nice but basically everything else about them just didnt feel

[rainbowresurrection]

I ended up reading The Price of the Phoenix and while it didn't make me want to bleach my eyes like Killing Time, I still didn't like it as much as I hoped I would. Don't get me wrong, the homoeroticism was intriguing to me, but the actual writing and storyline itself left me with a headache. I think I get my hopes up with these books, given all of the possibilities that the written word has for Trek, and it inevitably sets me up for disappointment lol

[astrangergivingthestrangewelcome]

Why I don't Believe in Star Trek's Triumverate

When I say Triumverate I mean the belief that many people hold which is that Spock Bones and Kirk have some sort of special bond that goes all three ways. Some people make it romantic (I ship Spirk, let’s get that up front now) other people make it one big bromance, but the key thing is that all three men feel the same way about each other.

This simply isn’t true if we look at the the canon material. The one exception would be the Final Frontier, Shatner practically beat us over the head with Triumverate in that film.

The thing is what was portrayed in that movie was not consistent with what we had seen up to that point.

While I personally though several bits of Final Frontier had merit (particularly the “Not in front of the Klingons” business but I’m biased) it’s scenes like the three of them singing Row Row Your Boat around a campfire and saying good night fifty million times that show why the film is considered the series’ worse. The Triumverate scenes don’t fit.

The relationships between the three men in TOS are completely different. Briefly: Kirk and Spock are in love, Kirk and Bones are best friends, Bones and Spock are a mess.

Okay. If you disagree with my breakdown I’d love it if you kept reading. I’d love some friendly discourse.

So I really want to get into how I perceive the relationship between Spock and McCoy, because that’s where I find myself shaking my head and going, “This feels wrong” in fics I read and posts I see. I *think* most people who’ll be reading this seeing as it is Tumblr will agree with me that Spock and Kirk are head overheels, always touching, dig it in there Mr. Spock in love with each other. And I hope many of you will agree that Bones and Kirk have always been there for one another through out their adventures and they really are like family to one another.

But there’s this sentiment in the fandom over how good of a relationship Spock and Bones have and this is what I have the most issue with.

I’m not gonna go saying how Spock and Bones are enemies or anything like that because that’s really not my point at all, I don’t believe that. Just watch The Empath. McCoy wasn’t about to let Spock die for him. Likewise in All Our Yesterday(ya know Bones and Spock get stranded on the ice planet) Spock wasn’t about to leave McCoy behind.

However the only times we see the two of them getting along and actually maybe being nice to eachother is under dire circumstances. Whenever it’s just normal day to day interactions they yell at eachother (hell they yell at eachother in dire circumstances as well most of the time). This isn’t normal. People like to pretend it’s all friendly bickering but it isn’t. Spock makes that quite clear in All Our Yesterdays with this little interaction

“You listen to me, you pointed-eared Vulcan.”

“I don’t like that. I don’t think I ever did and now I’m sure!”

Kirk enjoys an easy relationship with both of them. Kirk and Spock play chess together, Kirk and Bones drink and laugh.

Spock and Bones don’t have anything like that. They insult each other. That’s all they do.

Now I think McCoy is a good guy. I think he’s an excellent doctor with excellent bedside manner plus the fact he’s just always ready to fight amuses me to no end.

But he doesn’t understand Spock and he thinks that he does and it Bothers me So Much because after years of working with someone like Spock it’s like he never bothered to look past the surface.

For example the end speech of Requiem for Methuselah where McCoy goes on about how Spock will never know love and how pitiable that is and right after he leaves, right after he leaves, Spock tenderly goes up Kirk, puts his arms around him and goes “Forget.”

But Spock doesn’t know how to love someone remember? That’s what McCoy said.

Look at the space amoeba episode “Immunity Syndrome”. Those two idiots were at eachother’s throats the entire episode over who gets to go on a suicide mission to the point it was getting hiralious. Kirk’s over here sad and agonizing over which of the two people he loves the most he’s going to send to go die basically and meanwhile Spock and Bones are literally bickering over who gets to die first. My favorite thing is when Kirk decides to pick Spock and says the words “I’m sorry Spock” because,,, ya know,,, it’s a suicide mission and Kirk is sorry Spock’s going on one and Bones thinks that that means he got the job, because he’s just that eager to go on the suicide mission. (Like I said, idiots.)

Anyway look at this interaction right before Spock goes off into space.

MCCOY: You’re determined not to let me share in this, aren’t you? 

SPOCK: This is not a competition, Doctor. Whether you understand it or not, grant me my own kind of dignity. 

MCCOY: Vulcan dignity? How can I grant you what I don’t understand? 

SPOCK: Then employ one of your own superstitions. Wish me luck. 

(Silence and stares, then McCoy opens the hangar deck door. Spock walks across and into the Galileo. The doors shut.) 

MCCOY: Good luck, Spock.

McCoy gets it wrong. Again. Spock’s not interested in hogging an important scientific discovery to himself, he’s not selfish like that, he never was. Spock thought he was the best fit for the job, that was it end of story. McCoy doesn’t get him. It also speaks to how messed up their relationship is that McCoy can only say good luck when Spock can no longer hear.

But the strongest evidence for just how much McCoy doesn’t understand Spock is in the episode Tholian Web. Bones and Spock are both grieving the loss of Captain Kirk and Bones antagonizes Spock. I find it unbelievable, Bones really does question Spock’s every decision. If you don’t remember the episode basically the ship lost Kirk, there’s a thin hope they could get him back, but the Tholians are ordering them to get out of Tholian space. Tensions run high as Spock risks every thing to try and get him back.

Take a look at this interaction between Spock and Bones

MCCOY: (looking at a medal) He was a hero in every sense of the word, yet his life was sacrificed for nothing. The one thing that would have given his death meaning is the safety of the Enterprise. Now you’ve made that impossible, Mister Spock. 

SPOCK: We came here for a specific purpose, Doctor. 

MCCOY: Maybe not the same one. I really came here to find out why you stayed and fought. 

SPOCK: The Captain would have remained to recover a crew member at the risk of his own life or even his own ship. 

MCCOY: Yes, he would, Mister Spock, but you didn’t have that decision to make. What would you gain by fighting the Tholians? You could have assured yourself of a captaincy by leaving the area. But you chose to stay. Why? 

SPOCK: I need not explain my rationale to you or any other member of this crew. There is a margin of variation in any experiment. While there was a chance, I was bound legally and morally to ascertain the Captain’s status. 

MCCOY: You mean to be sure if he was dead. Well, you made certain of that. 

Yeah. What the hell. The fact that McCoy can’t put together that maybe Spock stayed because he would do anything to save his Captain, the fact that he would think Spock would WANT the captaincy at the expense of Jim’s life, that he would be eager and happy to take off and leave Kirk behind is baffling to me.

How the hell can you know a man for so long and yet get everything he is and everything he stands for so completely wrong.

Spock’s not an open book. He was taught to repress all his emotions when he was a kid and this has caused him so much damage it’s incredible. He has absolutely no idea how to handle his emotions in a healthy way, so when shit really hits the fan like it did in Tholian Web and he’s really hurting that’s when he puts up his shields the most because he can’t deal with what he’s experiencing. That’s when he really needs to be given a break but that’s exactly when he can’t get them because he’s the first officer and the whole ship is counting on him.

So it’s not easy to get to know him. But Jim does. Jim understands Spock completely. He doesn’t have to say a thing. He understands and has the uptmost respect for the bravery, competence and selflessness.

Bones doesn’t. He just doesn’t.