Star Trek: Strange New Worlds' Captain Christopher Pike (Anson Mount) may not be the sort of infamous lothario that Captain James T. Kirk (William Shatner) was, but he’s had a few important romantic relationships. Originally played by Jeffrey Hunter, Pike was the commanding officer of the USS Enterprise in the first pilot episode for Star Trek: The Original Series, "The Cage." Hunter declined to return for the second pilot, "Where No Man Has Gone Before," and was replaced by Shatner's Kirk. Pike – played by Sean Kenney under heavy makeup – played an important part in the TOS season 1 episode "The Menagerie," but otherwise became a Star Trek footnote.
Captain Pike's stature in the franchise grew exponentially when Mount took over the role in Star Trek: Discovery season 2, which took place about a decade before the events of Star Trek: The Original Series. Discovery's version of Pike became so popular that Paramount granted him his own spinoff, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, which is now arguably the flagship Star Trek show after its dazzling first season. While his romantic exploits have not been a major focus on the show so far, he has enjoyed a few romantic entanglements, though they've tended to end poorly for the good captain.
