WARNING: This article contains SPOILERS for Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 2, episode 5, "Charades".First introduced in Star Trek: Discovery, Mia Kirshner plays the newest iteration of Spock's human mother, Amanda Grayson, in Star Trek: Strange New Worlds. In the Strange New Worlds season 2 episode, "Charades," Amanda visits the USS Enterprise to help Spock (Ethan Peck) prepare for the Vulcan ceremonial engagement dinner with his fiancée, T'Pring (Gia Sandhu), and her parents. Upon arriving, Amanda immediately sees through Spock's attempts to hide his ears, and she realizes that Spock has become human. Rather than selfishly celebrating the fact that she now has a human son, Amanda does everything she can to help Spock.
One of the best moments in Strange New Worlds season 2, episode 5 comes when Spock reveals himself as human to T'Pring's parents and speaks up in defense of his very human mother. He says: "You refer to my human side as a handicap. Yet my mother is the most resilient, comionate, tolerant person I have known." Spock points out how strong his mother is, despite the prejudice she faces as a human living on Vulcan. Amanda's love for her son is obvious, and Mia Kirshner imbues the character with calming, comionate energy and a quiet, intelligent strength.
Who Is Mia Kirshner's Amanda in Star Trek: Strange New Worlds?
Since her introduction in the Star Trek: The Original Series episode "Journey to Babel," Spock's human mother, Amanda Grayson (originally played by Jane Wyatt), has been a fascinating character. Spock's father, Sarek (Mark Lenard), was the Vulcan Ambassador to Earth, and he met Amanda on one of his visits there. The pair fell in love and married, after which Amanda moved to Vulcan with Sarek. As a human living on the planet Vulcan, Amanda faced prejudice and judgment from many of the Vulcans around her, and she had to learn to control her emotions. After giving birth to Spock, Amanda ed Sarek's desire to raise their son in the Vulcan way. Despite this, Amanda helped Spock with some of his more human difficulties, and she often read to him and her foster daughter, Michael Burnham (Sonequa Martin-Green).
Perhaps best known for her role as Jenny Schecter on Showtime's The L Word, Canadian actress Mia Kirshner has appeared in several popular television shows, including 24, The Vampire Diaries, and Defiance. As far as movies go, Kirshner had major roles in 1996's The Crow: Cuity of Angels, 2001's Not Another Teen Movie, and 2006's The Black Dahlia, and she appeared in 2021's Crisis. Kirshner counts many other movies and television shows on her resume since her first major role as Sophie Metternich in Dracula: The Series in the early 1990s.
Will Spock's Mother Amanda Return In Star Trek: Strange New Worlds?
Though it remains unknown whether Mia Kirshner's Amanda Grayson will make another appearance in Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, it seems likely that the character will return. The Spock of Strange New Worlds continues to struggle with reconciling his Vulcan and human emotions, and his mother can help him work through this better than anyone. Despite being estranged from his father Sarek (James Frain), Spock has always had a loving relationship with his mother and there's no indication that he ever broke off communication with her. While it's unlikely Ambassador Sarek will make an appearance when Spock's around, in order to preserve Star Trek: The Original Series' established canon, Mia Kirshner's Amanda would be a welcome sight in any future episodes of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds.
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 2 streams Thursdays on Paramount+.