Star Trek: 10 Things You Didn't Know About Captain Pike
A look at some of the most fascinating facts about Star Trek's first captain.
Christopher Pike went down in Trek history as one of the most decorated and respected Starfleet officers of all time. He headed one of the historic five-year-missions of the 1701 Enterprise, defended Earth against Control, and learned the tragic truth of his destiny, only to follow through with it in order to protect others.
After having a mirror universe tyrant lead Discovery's first season, fans were begging for a more likeable Captain to take his place. Captain Pike was a perfect choice. From the moment he arrived on the ship, the mood shifted entirely. He loosened the war-time rules put in place by Lorca and became a friend to his crew, something we saw much more of in Strange New Worlds. He came to embody the principles of peace and the sense of wonder that Starfleet was built on.
As we get ready for the second season of Strange New Worlds (and the mysterious Lower Decks crossover that was recently announced), now is a great time to go over some lesser-known details about the first Captain in Star Trek.
10. His Horses
In Quality Of Mercy, the finale of the first season of Strange New Worlds, Pike encountered his future self, who came to warn Pike not to prevent the injury that left him paralysed and disfigured, in order to protect the future of the Federation.
To convince Pike that he was telling the truth, his counterpart told him about how their first horse, the creatively named Sir-Neighs-A-Lot, broke his leg in a rainstorm and had to be put down when Pike was a child. Pike was heartbroken and cried for a week over his loss, but never told anyone, explaining that it's hard to give a tragic backstory with such a silly name.
Earlier, we also saw Pike riding one of his horse's in the snow near the start of the first episode. Something that you may not have noticed is that Pike's love of horses was actually a small callback to The Cage. When the Talosians were trying to get him to fall in love with Vina, they created an illusion of Pike's old home in Mojave, complete with his two beloved horses, Tango and Mary Lou.