Star Trek -- Kirk's Son Sacrifices Himself

Star Trek III: The Search for Spock

The crew of the Enterprise are still smarting after the death of Spock, some more than others; Doctor McCoy in particular exhibits signs of some kind of emotional breakdown. When ambassador Sarek arrives at Admiral Kirk's home expecting to hone in on Spock's eternal soul, his search is brought to an abrupt halt when he learns that Kirk has no clue as to what Sarek is talking about. Kirk does however discover that Spock's Katra is parked inside the brain of McCoy. Sarek presents Kirk with a mission to deliver both McCoy and Spock's body to Vulcan so that a seldom practiced ritual can be performed to restore McCoy's sanity.

Moments after the Enterprise's arrival at planet Genesis it is assaulted by a Klingon Bird of Prey under the command of Commander Kruge. Kruge is committed to obtaining all available data pertaining to Project Genesis; to shore up his advantage he has taken Lieutenant Saavik, David Marcus and an adolescent Mister Spock hostage on the planet surface. To pressure Kirk into surrendering the Enterprise, Kruge orders one of his men to execute one of the hostages; Saavik is the unfortunate target but David intervenes and attempts to take down the Klingon himself.

[eyeofbrown]

For anyone doubting Shatner’s qualities as an actor, watch the moment where he’s informed of his son’s death. Heartbreaking.

[KHN]

Captain Kirk is made from a metal undiscovered. He is the best of us. He never stops, he never loses. He never accepts anything less than victory. The Immortal warrior for Humanity's future.

[ryanhunter]

The way he gasps at 2:22…we have never seen Kirk so broken as that.😭😭😭

Whenever someone says Shatner is a bad actor just show them this scene.

[manuelalvarado]

The Klingon that knifed David was eventually shot with a phaser wielded by James Kirk, who eventually sent Klingon Commander Kruge to his death.
David's murder was avenged by his father.

[.BANDIT]

That's Kirk, son, alright.
Kirk would have done the same thing as David. Just as his Mother said in ST2 to Kirk ..."He's a lot like you. In MANY WAY'S."
This was one of them. Kirk would have given his life to save any member of his crew. Same as David.

[iainclarke]

The best way to show the ground literally having fallen away beneath Kirk, he loses his footing on the one place he's always felt so sure and secure. On the bridge of his own ship.

[DoctorBastard]

The way Shatner crumples to the floor in grief, then stands and steels himself knowing Kirk still has to deal with the situation and can't afford to allow himself emotion... Superb.

[Locutus]

William Shatner can do some damn fine acting, when he wants to.

[nilssona]

Klingon bastard you killed my son- most haunting line in this movie.

[AndrewChapman]

2:34 I like to think Scotty's looking sympathetically on Kirk as this wasn't long since his own nephew Peter Preston died after Khan's initial attack on the Enterprise.

[vietcong]

Until I became a parent, I never truly appreciated this scene.

[SixGunTiger]

Never doubt a father’s love for his son; for Kirk to be reunited with David and make up for lost time, only for David to be murdered by a maniac while defending his friends. You see the look in Kirk’s eyes when he says “I swear to you, we’re not finished yet!”

[ig-]

Christopher Lloyd played Kruge very well. He was a fine example of a merciless Klingon warrior.

[chrisgross]

Maybe just as sad as losing Spock at the end of 2. Poor David. Poor Kirk.

[vaderkent]

Seeing David die was a scene haunts me still to this day, the sound of him being stabbed and his body bouncing up, and Kirk knowing his son was murdered made the Kirk and krug battle all the more epic.

[scottgauley]

Seeing this makes me wish they could use indeed Saavik in Star Trek VI. I know Gene Roddenberry vetoed the idea, and they were unable to get Kirstie Alley back anyway (she was too expensive, and still starring in "Cheers" at the time). But to me, having Saavik in Star Trek VI would make perfect sense. You can hear the way she chokes "Admiral, " before her Vulcan stoicism kicks in. I like to think she was falling in love with David, and his act of heroic self-sacrifice had a profound impact on her. Don't forget, Vulcans still feel emotions, even more intensely than us, they just suppress them. After the events in this movie, no doubt underneath her logical surface she was filled with an intensely burning hatred for the Klingons. Her actions then in Star Trek VI would have been completely shall we say "logical". I not only would have loved to see that twist, but I would have greatly sympathized with her feelings.

[DJ-wxgz]

Shatner is not a bad actor. He's just Shatner. And we love him for it. But he can break your heart with emotional scenes like this one. Very believable. This is perhaps the most tragic scene of the entire franchise. Unlike Spock, David doesn't get resurrected. This whole movie unfolds like a Shakespearean tragedy in space. It's no wonder they lightened up so much with the next film. The first 3 were kinda dark!

[therizinosaurus]

I like how in STII kirk as for time from Khan and give him a minute, Kirk ask Kruge for a minute and he gets two minutes and a compliment. Either way.... Kirk is dangerous when he has time to come up with a counter attack.

[michealoceallaigh]

The House of Duras must've been in charge back then.

[jjgillmen]

2:09 -- Whether it was by accident or scripted during rehearsal, William Shatner made a really good choice to incorporate this piece of business. Definitely sold the moment really well -- especially when you add DeForest Kelly's (McCoy) and James Doohan's (Scotty) reactions in that moment. The look on Scotty's face brought an extra chill to this scene.