Star Trek: 10 Greatest Captain Kirk Speeches

Though Star Trek V: The Final Frontier often ends up being the butt of the joke, the fact is that it contains some of the best scenes between the Big Three, not least of which being the scene in the observation deck. Sybok, sure as he is that he can help these men, implores them to share their inner pain with him. This leads to a devastating scene for McCoy, but also this poignant speech from Kirk.

They’re the things we carry with us, the things that make us who we are. If we lose them, we lose ourselves. I don’t want my pain taken away, I need my pain!

Not unlike another captain of the Enterprise who would follow, Kirk speaks to the benefits of experience here. There is no simple way in which a person can move on from the things they've seen an experienced, nor, in his mind, should they. Just as Picard would describe time as a companion, Kirk sees pain as a necessary evil. 

Sybok actually seems to take this on board. The action on the Enterprise-A shifts after the hijacking, with Sybok and his fanatics becoming something of a happy band of hippies. Kirk, in full possession of the pain and anger that fuel him, is the one to keep the level head once presented with 'god'. In Sybok's last moments, we can perhaps see the man begin to understand what Kirk was talking about. 

Star Trek V may not be everyone's favourite film, but there are still enormous ideas on display.