In 1979, “Star Trek: The Motion Picture” didn’t exactly have a critically sound reception. “Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan” was a shot at redemption, which Leonard Nimoy realized after the fact. Speaking with TrekMovie.com in 2009, Nimoy stated how “Wrath of Khan” kicked off a new era for the franchise. “The second one put us back on track and what happened, unintentionally, we didn’t realize that we were at the beginning of a trilogy,” he explained. “That the three films, II, III and IV, told a story that had [an] arc.” Spock going to fix the warp drive and dying in the process is what kicks off the remainder of that trilogy.
As suggested by the title, “Star Trek III: The Search for Spock” sees the return of the Vulcan, with him becoming resurrected by the end. The storyline carries over into “Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home,” where Spock continues recovering from being brought back to life. He’s also the one to figure out a threatening probe is sending out a signal reminiscent of songs sent by humpback whales, which have since gone extinct. Spock’s journey is pivotal throughout all these films, and even when he’s not physically present, he’s still influencing the story. And it all goes back to him fixing the warp drive to save his friends.
Spock’s death is one of the most memorable scenes in sci-fi history. Even if it didn’t set up future films, it would be significant for that reason alone.
