'Star Trek: Discovery': Is Spock a Killer?

While Spock has yet to appear in an episode of Star Trek: Discovery, fans know he's coming and he's been the subject of several conversations already. The most recent revelation is that Spock may be a murderer. Could this be possible?

To recap, Discovery is set years before James Kirk takes command of the Enterprise and Spock becomes his first officer. Capt. Christopher Pike currently commands the Enterprise and Spock is his chief science officer.

The Enterprise sent out a distress call to the USS Discovery. Pike came aboard the Discovery, where Spock's foster sister Cmdr. Michael Burnham serves. He took command of the vessel to continue his urgent mission to investigate a series of mysterious red signals that popped up across the galaxy.

Burnham is surprised that Spock doesn't come with Pike and even more surprised when Pike tells her that Spock has taken leave from his duties. Burnham investigates Spock's quarters and discovers a log entry. The log reveals that Spock had seen the red signals weeks before they appeared. Burnham brings this information to Pike. Pike reveals that Spock committed himself to a Starfleet psychiatric ward. Pike contacts the ward. He's told that Spock murdered several of the staff members and fled and that his whereabouts are currently unknown.

Burnham, Pike, and Spock's mother, Amanda Grayson agree that the idea of Spock killing anybody seems unbelievable. As Burnham articulates, that leaves two possibilities. Either what they've been told is true and Spock is in great distress, or it's a lie and someone is trying to cover something up.

So is it possible that Spock murdered those people working at the psychiatric ward on Starbase 5? Or is he incapable of doing such a thing, as Pike, Burnham, and Grayson assume?

Looking at Spock's history, he is willing to kill when logic dictates it is the only path forward. One classic example of this is in the Star Trek: The Original Series episode "Where No Man Has Gone Before." In that episode, Lt. Cmdr. Gary Mitchell, a crew member who was friends with Capt. Kirk became possessed by psionic powers that he could not control. Spock determined that Mitchell was a threat who could destroy the ship if left unchecked. He gave Kirk two logical options for moving forward: strand Mitchell on the deserted planet Delta Vega or kill him outright.

But just because Spock is willing to kill doesn't mean he does so on a whim. He's capable of incapacitating opponents using a Vulcan nerve pinch, making killing unnecessary. For him to do so would be an extreme measure.

If Spock did have murder in his past, that's one of those things you'd think would have come up at some point during his adventures with Kirk aboard the Enterprise. Some of said the same thing about Spock having a sister, but there is an explanation for that coming later this season. There may be another reason the murders go unmentioned. Starfleet could wipe them from his record the same way they wiped Burnham's mutiny. Otherwise, it seems like it should be relevant to his future duties.

It does seem out of character and unlikely that Spock killed a bunch of people, at least of his own sane and competent free will. Yet, we have seen Spock attempt murder when he was not in his right state of mind. In the Star Trek episode "Amok Time," Spock underwent pon farr, the part of the Vulcan mating cycle that occurs every seven years of a Vulcan's adult life. Pon farr makes the Vulcan aggressive and violent. Pon farr is only resolved one of three ways. The Vulcan must mate or take part in ritual combat. If neither of those things occurs within eight days, the Vulcan will die. In the case of "Amok Time," the Enterprise traveled to Vulcan, where Spock and Kirk participated in the ritual duel known as kal-if-fee. Dr. McCoy tricked Spock into believing he had killed Kirk, which resolved his pon farr.

Could Spock be undergoing pon farr at the time of Discovery? Unlikely. "Amok Time" implies it is Spock's first time undergoing pon farr. Besides that, "Amok Time" takes place in 2267. Star Trek: Discovery Season Two is taking place in the year 2257, meaning the timing - every seven years - is off. Also, Vulcans are a founding civilization of the Federation. It seems likely that there would be protocols in place for handling that kind of thing.

It seems unlikely that Spock killed anyone of his own volition. It is also unlikely to be the result of pon farr. Yet, it has been said that Spock in Discovery is not the stoic logician he becomes in Star Trek: The Original Series. Perhaps he is acting violently. He did, after all, check himself into the psychiatric ward.

Then again, Discovery also features Section 31. Section 31 is an autonomous shadow agency operating parallel to Starfleet for the benefit of the Federation. Section 31 is almost certainly aware of the red signals popping up across the galaxy. Could they also have become aware of Spock's connections to the bursts? If so, it may be that Section 31 collected Spock from Starbase 5 and concocted the story of Spock's escape to cover up its operation. This seems more likely than Spock murdering several members of the staff in a violent escape. Future episodes of Star Trek: Discovery will reveal how right or wrong we are.

Do you think Spock could have murdered those people on Starbase 5? Let us know your theory in the comments.

New Star Trek: Discovery episodes become available to stream Thursdays at 8:30 p.m. ET on CBS All Access.