Reasons why Tarsus IV happened on AOS Star trek too - an analysis
Jim Kirk went to Tarsus IV. And survived.
While it’s never confirmed or commented on the reboot Star trek movies, you can see many hints about it if you take a closer look.
Many people have wondered whether the movie version of Jim Kirk went to Tarsus IV. I’m sure he did. On this analysis, I will tell you why.
For those of you who don’t know, here’s a summary of what Tarsus is about:
“In 2246, Kirk was living on the planet Tarsus IV during a food crisis that was starving the colony of eight thousand people. Governor Kodos, sympathetic to old eugenics philosophies, tried to save a portion of his colony by killing the four thousand colonists he deemed least desirable or able to survive.
Kodos was unaware of the imminent arrival of relief ships. The thirteen-year-old Jim Kirk was one of only nine eyewitnesses to the massacre. (x)
In the movie version, our first glimpse of Jim is when he is born on the Kelvin and his father dies.
Then the movie jumps to Jim’s teenage years, showing us Jim stealing his dad’s antique car and his step-father Frank shouting at him through the speakers. Sadly, the original scene - which showed Jim’s brother Sam leaving - was cut from the final movie.
But it shows that Jim’s step-dad Frank isn’t really the father-of-the-year type. The atmosphere in the house has become so poisonous that Jim’s brother Sam decides to leave. This scene is very interesting because it addressed the fact that
Sam: (to Jim) “You’re gonna be okay, you always are. Always do everything right; good grades, obeying every stupid order.”
It’s clear that up until now, Jim has been the perfect little boy - never misbehaving, always following rules, always searching for approval. But Sam - the last member of the family Jim really has left since their mother is up in space - and him abandoning Jim makes something crack in Jim. So Jim takes the Corvette and drives it over a cliff.
It can be even argued that Jim’s stunt with the car is suicidal. He is driving fast, but changes his mind at the last minute and turns the card around while jumping out of it. The automatic police robot catching him suggest that Jim will get in trouble because of this. But Jim doesn’t seem apologetic. For the first time in his life, Jim has stopped being good and quiet.
I don’t think Frank took this too well. I am betting that Frank had a taste for violence, and wasn’t afraid of hitting Jim when it came to it. And since this moment is shown as kind of a drastic turn in Jim’s life, I bet the movie is trying to hint something. And that something is Tarsus IV.
Think about it. Jim has no family left, and Frank probably wanted to get rid of him, telling the social workers and such that Jim is too rebellious for him. What would be the most logical solution? To send him away. Somewhere far away - even to another planet.To send him on Tarsus.
At this point, Jim was abandoned by everyone in his family. His dad died while saving him, Winona ditched Jim and Sam to Iowa with an abusive step-father, and even Sam left Jim behind. This is the spark for Jim’s abandonement issues that follow him althrough the movies.
But I think it’s clear that the car incident and Jim’s rough childhood isn’t the main reasons behind his behaviour. The next time we see Jim, he’s picking a bar fight in Iowa. The year is 2255 (source) so that makes Jim 22 years old.
Now, there is a big hole in the timeline. We are not told what happened after Jim’s car stunt. It’s not referred in any way in the actual movies. But interestingly enough, there’s this:
“According to the Star Trek app accompanying Star Trek Into Darkness, John Harrison’s bio claimed he was one of nine survivors of a 2246 attack on the (Tarsus) planet, his parents Richard and Sara perishing. It was not made explicitly clear if this “attack” was the same event that happened in the regular timeline.”
(x)
Naturally, this seems odd because Khan said he was born sometime in mid-20th century, and Admiral Marcus was supposed to have revived him after the destruction of Vulcan (about a year before Into Darkness’ events). But if we dismiss the inconsistensies of this, it still says that Tarsus DID happen in the movie verse.
And what’s important - it happened in 2246. Jim was born in 2233. Which - yes - would make him thirteen at the time of the genocide - like he is in the original version. And when he see Jim at the bar in Iowa, it’s been about 9 years since Tarsus.
It all fits. The timelines, everything.
Still not convinced? Okay, let’s go on.
Remember how tragic and messed up the whole Tarsus incident was? I’m not an expert in the original series trivia, but from what i’ve gathered, Jim lived on Tarsus IV and witnessed the food starvation, most likely suffered from it himself, too. He witnessed the genocide of 4000 people. He has seen Kodos’ face, and he is one of the nine survivors of Tarsus. He has seen bodies, killing, Hunger Games - styled government, probably even cannibalism. I think that’s where Jim learnt how to fight - because he probably had to fight for his life or for others more than once.
Jim is damaged. When we see him at the bar, he’s all boasting confidence and arrogance. But you must realize that it’s all a facade. Jim knows what people think of thim - that he’s a ‘dumb hick’, a needy bar loser, primitive asshole and condescending towards everyone. Jim knows this, and he uses it as his armour, as a shield against other people.
But as well all know, the stereotypes people hold of him couldn’t be more wrong. For example, he instantly knows what xenolinguistics are, even though Uhura thinks he’s too dumb for that. And like Pike says:
Pike:‘Cause I looked up your file while you were drooling on the floor. Your aptitude tests are off the charts, so what is it? You like being the only genius level repeat offender in the Midwest?
Jim: Maybe I love it.
Not to mention how much of a genius Jim is in engineering and coding - he even managed to write a subroutine to the Kobayashi Maru. And then there’s of course this:
Why does Jim conciously dumb himself down in front of others? I think it’s a self-protection mechanism.
Now, this isn’t the only clear personality trait Jim has. Besides of avoiding letting people too close, Jim fears abandonment and detests failure. I think this also hints at Tarsus, since everyone Jim has ever cared about have either abandoned him or died on him.
Jim being ‘a horndog’ and all playboy-ish, and the movies repeatedly showing it, I think that it could also intepreted as another Tarsus-related trait. It could speak of Jim’s constant search of approval and abandonement issues. I think Jim’s afraid of falling in love, because everyone that he has ever cared about has always either abandoned or died on him. Jim has no shortage of warm beds, like we are shown. But what if he hides his real reasons of doing one-night stands? What if Jim is just afraid that he’ll grow caring about someone?
Also notice how Jim reacts when Bones is about to leave him during Vulcan’s distress call:
Jim pretends it’s alright, but it’s clear how hard the situation is for him.
And like Jim says - he doesn’t believe in no-win scenarios. Failing isn’t an option. Because Jim simply doesn’t know how to deal with it. He has always been best at everything he has put his mind into. In Tarsus, failing meant dying. Or getting other people killed. So that’s not an option - Jim doesn’t accept the possibility of it. If he can’t beat a test, he codes it in a way so he can. Spock claims Jim should face the concept of fear in the face of certain death, Jim says he doesn’t need to. I wonder where that came from? Jim always thinks there is a choice. Getting his whole academic career on the line to prove that isn’t a problem for him.
That’s how we get to to the third big thing: Jim’s authority issues. He openly dislikes authorities. It starts with talking back to Cupcake/Mr.Hendorff, even if Jim risks getting his ass kicked and seriously injured. Then along comes Pike (eventhough Pike wins Jim’s trust). But Jim continues to disrespect Starfleet and Federation authorities and things like security staff on the Enterprise - not to mention how he totally walks over people during the whole Vulcan chaos. Including Spock. Especially Spock.
It’s also both poignant and interesting how strongly Jim reacts to Old Spock’s mind meld. But I don’t think it’s just a ‘emotional transference’ like Old Spock says. Does experiencing the destruction of a whole planet and thousands of people dying sound familiar?
Yes. Exactly. I think there is bleak foreshadowing here. I think Jim’s impressive motivation to save Vulcan wasn’t just about his reluctance to failures, but also the memory of the heartbreak from Tarsus. And this goes along with Jim’s rather unorthodox methods to save Earth - no matter the consequences. Jim has had to watch helplessly two genocides, and he won’t let that ever happen to Earth.
One more thing that also clearly points to Tarsus is Jim’s complete fearlessness of violence.He doesn’t care about himself getting hurt. Starting with the bar fight
to the reckless rescue attempt of Sulu
which could have killed him.
Or not to mention the fact that when Spock attacks Jim and almost kills him
Jim isn’t as terrified as any normal person who has been nearly been choked to death a minute ago
instead, he justs gets on with it like such a close brush with death and colorful violence is nothing new to him. Which of course it isn’t.
Of course, this doesn’t change when we come to Into Darkness. For example, when Khan attacks the Starfleet Headquarters, Jim runs straight into attack instead of laying low.
He totally overlooks his own safety.
Pike’s death is something Jim sees as a personal failure, and doesn’t know how to deal with it. So he doesn’t. He just makes a bunch of reckless decisions (accepting Admiral Marcus’ offer, firing Scotty, promoting Chekov and so on).
But you know what really drew my attention? When Jim attacks Khan even after Khan has already surrendered. Jim says that it’s because of Pike, which mostly it definitely is, but then again - think about it. Khan is a mass murderer - strikingly similar to Kodos. He is intelligent, brutal, and not afraid of collateral damage to achieve his goals.
And not to mention Admiral Marcus later on and his likelessness of Kodos.
When Into Darkness reaches its climax - the absolute no-win scenario where everyone in the Enterprise and lots of people in San Fransisco are doomed to die - Jim still refuses to let it happen.
Jim is ready to rather get himself killed than letting a mass destruction happen again.
So in summary - Tarsus IV happened on the movie verse. Timelines match, and the official movie materials refer to the event.
And most importantly, Jim Kirk is just too damaged and complex in his actions and behaviour without a dark past lurking behind it. Jim is extremely smart, but hides it. Instead, he keeps up an arrogant facade while constantly doubting his own choices (especially in Into Darkness, when he confesses to Spock that he thinks he’s a bad captain).
Also, Jim has some self-destructive tendencies and sometimes absolutely no self-preservation instinct. Jim is not afraid of violence or dying - he seems to have gotten used to it. Instead, Jim suffers from abandonment, authority and slight trust issues, and he is absolutely terrified of failing. Besides speaking of lonely childhood, this all also speaks of experiencing tragedy and losing important people. It speaks of witnessing death and cruelty. And very importantly, it shows that Jim has had very bad experiences when it comes to authorities and leaders - from his step-dad to Kodos.
Remember that Jim is one of nine eye witnesses that actually has seen Kodos’ face and can regocnize him. And since Kodos is only mistakenly thought to be dead - who would be more amazing villain for the third movie than him? Of course everything in this analysis is just speculation, but imagine if all of this would be observed in the third film? And more interestingly - if we got to see both Jim facing his old demons AND his crew learning of his dark past and trying to save him from Kodos. That would be a movie I would definitely watch.
I would have loved so much if the movies properly addressed the Tarsus backstory. I think their main reason not do it has been the fact that Tarsus is such a cruel and gory storyline. It would have forced the movies to present the flashbacks/scenes of Tarsus rather vaguely if they want to keep their age-ratings low.
I mean, they would have had to show things like murder, chaos, starvation, cannibalism and genocide. Including Jim’s painful struggle through it and all the damage that the Tarsus left in him.
Once again, this is all speculation but I would really like to think that the writers really acknowledge how amazing character they have in their hands - and that they give Jim Kirk the background story we know he has.
But in the end, we’ll just have to wait and see.
- Thank you for reading. Reblogging, liking and commenting are always welcome and appreciated!
- Screencaps from x and x. (Edited by me)
