Star Trek: The Original Series, by showing how it started. Lieutenant Spock (Ethan Peck), as seen in Strange New Worlds, is more in tune with his human emotions than the Commander Spock (Leonard Nimoy) viewers know from TOS. This has allowed SNW to tell new stories for the character that revolve around the conflict between Spock's Human and Vulcan sides, leading to a love triangle between Spock, his fiancée T'Pring (Gia Sandhu), and Nurse Christine Chapel (Jess Bush).
In Star Trek: The Original Series season 1, episode 24, "This Side of Paradise", it was revealed that Spock had another romance around this time. When the USS Enterprise was sent to evacuate the colonists of the doomed planet Omicron Ceti III, Spock was reunited with Leila Kalomi (Jill Ireland), a botanist who had fallen for the Vulcan when they met on Earth six years earlier. Their meeting took place in 2261, two years after the events of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 1.
Spock's Forgotten Star Trek Romance Explained
Spock rejected Leila's advances because, as a Vulcan, he could not allow himself to express any emotion. However, when Leila and Spock were reunited on Omicron Ceti III, he fell under the influence of mind-altering spores. Under the influence of the spores, Spock was more emotional and he professed his love for Leila so that they could enjoy a blissful life together on the planet. "This Side of Paradise" made it clear that Spock's attraction to Leila was the result of his emotional repression being broken down by the spores, rather than the spores acting as a love potion.
This means that, when Spock and Leila meet in 2261, the Vulcan became attracted to her, but had to reject her because he forced himself to suppress those emotions. In exploring Spock and Leila's first meeting, Strange New Worlds could further delve into Spock's transition from the more emotional, human version seen in Star Trek's unaired pilot "The Cage" to the repressed Vulcan he became while serving alongside Captain James T Kirk (William Shatner). It could also add further tension between Spock and T'Pring, further explaining why Kirk is unaware of her until Star Trek: The Original Series season 2, episode 1, "Amok Time".
Spock's Love Triangle Could Get More Complicated In Strange New Worlds Season 2
Spock's love triangle in Star Trek: Strange New Worlds is an affecting representation of his inner conflict between his Human and Vulcan sides. It's clear that he feels something for Christine Chapel, but Vulcan tradition and his desire to embrace logic over emotion prohibits him from acting on those feelings. Chapel respects this and continues to be a loyal friend to Spock throughout the years, but she, like Leila Kalomi, will continue to harbor romantic feelings for him.
The introduction of Leila into Strange New Worlds season 2 would risk upending this friendship because while Chapel has made her peace with Spock's decision to continue his relationship with T'Pring, this could change if she becomes aware of his attraction to the human botanist. Spock's father Sarek (Mark Lennard) married a human female, Amanda Grayson (Jane Wyatt), so it's interesting that Spock rejects following a similar path. A Leila Kalomi episode of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds could, therefore, further develop Spock's relationship with his father, as well as continue his ongoing struggle between his Human and Vulcan sides.