Spock (Leonard Nimoy) was resurrected by the Genesis Planet in Star Trek III: The Search for Spock, but the Vulcan’s miraculous comeback would have been short-lived were it not for Lieutenant Saavik (Robin Curtis). Star Trek III was the directorial debut of Leonard Nimoy, which reversed the heroic death of Spock in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan. Star Trek III is also the debut of Robin Curtis as Saavik aftrer Kirstie Alley did not return to play Spock’s Vulcan protégé.
After Spock sacrificed himself to save the USS Enterprise in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, his body was placed in a photon torpedo tube and launched toward the emerging Genesis Planet, which was being formed by Khan Noonien Singh’s (Ricardo Montalban) destruction of the Genesis Device. Spock’s makeshift casket landed safely on the Genesis Planet, and the Vulcan was resurrected from infancy by Genesis’ life-giving energies. Lt. Saavik and David Marcus (Merritt Butrick) discovered Spock was alive when they surveyed the Genesis Planet, and they all faced calamity from the self-destructing world and from Klingons led by Kruge (Christopher Lloyd).
Spock Would Have Died In Star Trek III Without Lt. Saavik
Pon farr would have been the death of Spock… again.
Spock may have been reborn thanks to Genesis, but had Lt. Saavik not arrived and found him, the Vulcan wouldn’t have survived for very long. The strange energies of the Genesis Planet forced Spock to age in a matter of hours, eventually restoring him from birth to his physical state when Spock died in Star Trek II. But this meant that upon reaching young adulthood, Spock underwent pon farr, the Vulcan time of mating that happens every seven years, and is lethal to Vulcans if they don’t consummate.
Lt. Saavik found the teenage Spock suffering from pon farr, and she immediately understood what it meant. Star Trek III depicted it tastefully, but Saavik did mate with Spock to help him survive pon farr. Considering pon farr occurs every seven years, and Spock was aging rapidly, it’s possible that Saavik aided Spock through his pon farr more than once. It’s safe to say that Spock owes his life to Saavik, and it was fortunate for him that it was his Vulcan protégé who found him on the Genesis Planet.
Star Trek III Needed Kirk, McCoy & Saavik To Bring Back Spock
Spock came back with a lot of help from his friends.
Lt. Saavik may have been intimately responsible for saving Spock’s life, but it was the work of many that fully restored the beloved Vulcan in Star Trek III: The Search for Spock.Admiral James T. Kirk (William Shatner) risked his Starfleet career, as did the crew of the USS Enterprise, to bring Spock back to Vulcan from the Genesis Planet. Dr. Leonard McCoy (DeForest Kelley) also put his life on the line, first by harboring Spock’s katra, or Vulcan soul, in his mind, and then undergoing the ritual to merge Spock with his katra.
Without Saavik, Spock wouldn’t have made it off of Genesis.
Kirk, McCoy, Saavik, and the entire crew of the Starship Enterprise worked together to bring Spock back, although he didn’t fully become his Vulcan self until Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home. Meanwhile, David Marcus was killed by Kruge, but Kirk’s son also deserves credit for heroically keeping Spock safe. However, before Spock’s friends could retrieve him from the Genesis Planet, it was Lt. Saavik who gently and crucially cared for the suffering Spock and helped him survive pon farr in Star Trek III: The Search for Spock. Without Saavik, Spock wouldn’t have made it off of Genesis.