2See below, from TOS episode The Tholian Web. Do you think AOS Jim would have said this? Left a message like this for his First and Ship’s Doctor to find?
I couldn’t be certain. It hasn’t really been proven yet that, while Jim clearly needs both Spock and McCoy (and they need/want to be beside him), he knows that he needs them both. Sure he considers them friends, and sure he’s asked for both their opinions in order to make his command decisions. But is he at the point where he realizes Spock and McCoy have to see the value in each other too? Oh, Abrams. You could have at least given us that!
Now, in my head canon… of course Jim is aware that Spock and Bones are like his limbs! And in my head canon, too, he’s always subtly trying to make the two officers the best of friends. I mean, how fun is it when said limbs can’t function together as a unit? That makes for some awkwardness, yes?
But Leonard is recalcitrant and like, “Why would I want to hang out with Pointy in his free time when I have to see his ugly mug every day?” Spock tells Jim that only if Jim wishes for him to lose all sense of efficiency should he put him with the doctor so frequently.
Heh.
Jim never gives up on his life’s mission and eventually succeeds so well that Spock and Bones will occasionally seek each other out on their own. Yay for the imagination!
So to answer the question, in my version I think he would leave them such a message (and how ironic would that be given he’s already died?) if he knew they weren’t in the right place yet to be understanding of one another. Why? Because he’s Jim Kirk! That’s a Jim Kirk kind of thing to do.
…Maybe in AOS, though, it’s not a vid but just a recording of his voice. I can’t really see Jim taking the time to look in a camera, or seeing the point in that.
Related Posts:
- I can’t get this out of my head. – from July 12, 2014
- Dubstepping the Trek – from December 7, 2013
- When All Else Fails, Watch Star Trek – from November 30, 2013
- This Should Have Been – from September 14, 2013
- Ah, the Things that Entertain Me… – from April 9, 2013
In my head canon Jim knows he needs both of them but for different areas of his life. He recognizes he needs Spock when making command decisions because of his logic and willingness to think things through before taking action. He balances Jim out in that way. However, for me in my head canon Bones is more the reassurance, has my back guy. Not that Jim doesn’t know that Bones won’t tell him exactly what for when it comes down to it, but rather because he knows that Bones has his back so he is secure in taking the advice from someone he trusts. Also I believe that Bones gives him physical/emotional comfort. With the physical it can be bromance or romance in that he just knows when Jim needs a hug or something. Emotionally I think Bones who obviously has no trouble expressing his feelings..lol….just gets that sometimes there are certain words you need to hear said out loud. A reassurance that yeah kid I’ve got your back and yeah..I love you. So for me I believe Jim would write each man an old fashion letter on real paper with real ink. I think that he would tell each man some personal thoughts pertaining to that individual as well as explain his hopes for these men to get along after he is gone. That they will need each other. By writing to each man separately it allows Bones and Spock to attempt to get closer or at least tolerate each other better without having to acknowledge that this is what Jim would want. They can just pretend that getting closer is just something that sort of just happens. They don’t have to acknowledge their faults as that would be private. So the matter of pride is sort of taken care of and IDK just not having the other person hear what Jim thought about them or felt about them maybe makes it easier. Of course this is just my opinion based on my personal head canon….
Sorry for the late reply! Busy weekend. :) I had considered the idea that he might write letters (that was the first image that came to mind, lol) but then decided that wouldn’t be conducive to Spock and McCoy hearing what Jim had to say about each other. I think neither man would share a personal letter from Jim, at least not until many many years later. But you’re right: if Jim did write make the communications private, it would give Spock and McCoy the illusion they weren’t trying to get along on purpose – that it “just happens”.