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I’m noticing something absolutely fascinating about the early part of Spock and Kirk’s relationship. I’m making video compilations of every time kirk says Spock/Mr.Spock and vice versa every time Spock says Captain/Jim (I’ve got a spreadsheet and EVERYTHING because I’m obsessive like that)
Regardless! In the beginning, Kirk is very verbally/publicly protective of Spock which makes sense Star date-wise since Kirk just got promoted to captain of the Enterprise and Spock to first officer instead of just science officer:
He’s the first to call out people that won’t let Spock talk in Where No Man Has Gone Before, Charlie X and Balance of Terror.
He has an I’ll Kill You glare whenever anyone is racist/xenophobic toward Spock like Styles and Charlie (even Bones initially if you watch the Man Trap! Which is only their fourth mission).
You can even pin point exactly when Kirk is like “alright... I’m in love with this man” you can pin point it as a slow motion tumble from about halfway through The Enemy Within when he asks Spock to tell him when he’s slipping, to watching Spock stand up against Trelaine in The Squire of Gothos.
He’s got this “if Spock won’t fight for his place on this ship, I will.” Attitude that hits a fever pitch in The Menagerie
Spock on the other hand is extremely physically protective of Kirk from the get-go, even though he hasn’t even fully sized Kirk up. I think at least initially this could be chalked up to feeling like he failed to protect Captain Pike in The Cage (and later from the events that prelude The Menagerie) but it’s more than that. I think it’s also a manifestation of his inner frustration about how closed-off Kirk is because of his painful past:
He goes so far as to request a freaking phaser rifle in Where No Man Has Gone Before, just to potentially protect Kirk from Mitchell, and seems a little peeved that Kirk fought him alone. That’s not his freaking job, he’s a science officer
Pretty much ALL Spock’s actions in The Man Trap, Charlie X, Squire of Gothos, What Are Little Girls Made Of are directly to protect Kirk, forsaking his scientific curiousity (something he will keep doing for Kirk’s sake as we know)
In Dagger of The Mind Spock even forsakes his own personal boundaries to potentially protect Kirk by mind melding with Dr. Van Gelder.
All of this frustration culminates in the way they bicker in Conscience of A King, Kirk is closed off and has a self-destructive streak that Spock can only curb by physically getting in the way.
This protectiveness (like Kirk’s) hits its fever pitch in The Menagerie where Spock is willing to potentially face the death penalty for both his captains because of his intense protectiveness of them.
They protect each other in opposite ways that you’d expect them to, Spock the academic punches monsters and throws himself into bodily/mental peril without hesitation. Kirk the soldier cuts with words and wit to defend Spock from prejudiced assholes and is absolutely enthralled by Spock’s intellect.
All these episodes I’ve discussed are only the first half of the first season. It sets the tone for their relationship, their proclivities complete one another and it’s so... romantic. I don’t see how other people don’t see it.
Of course the relationship evolves beyond this simple feelings protectiveness but man, it sets a tempo to their romance.