Star Trek II’s Most Emotional Moment Had Everyone On Set Weeping (Except The Director)

The final scene between Kirk and Spock saw the two characters separated by a glass partition, as Spock saved the U.S.S. Enterprise by entering a radioactive chamber to fix the ship’s engine by hand. While the lethal dose of radiation killed him, Kirk looked on. Their final conversation was about how the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few, and that Spock always considered Kirk a friend. His final words were, naturally, “Live long and prosper.” These final moments left a deep mark on many Trekkies, including the crew in the room, who had all been watching Kirk and Spock on TV since 1966 (“Khan” was filmed in 1981). 

Meyer admitted — in “Star Trek: Where No One Has Gone Before: A History in Pictures” — that he had never seen “Star Trek: The Motion Picture” before agreeing to rewrite and direct “Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan.” As such, his attachment to the characters of Kirk and Spock wasn’t quite as intense as many of the longtime Trek filmmakers he worked among. As he said:

“I looked at my cinematographer, Gayne Rescher, and he was weeping. […] Other people were weeping. I thought, ‘What the hell is going on here?’ That’s how much I didn’t understand about this show.”

It wouldn’t be until later that Meyer put together the gravity of the situation, although he saw it more through the lens of two actors doing an excellent job. He appreciated that it meant a lot for Shatner and Nimoy. He continued: 

“They were totally there. […] You know, they had started out as rivals in the early days of the show, but then they sort of realized that they needed each other. So even though they were very different people, they had a genuine friendship.”