Kate Mulgrew Went “Janeway Bun” So Mount’s Pike Could Peak

Since Anson Mount was cast as Christopher Pike in Star Trek: Discovery season two, he helped build on the legacy of James T. Kirk’s predecessor in such a refreshing way that creator Gene Roddenberry and actors Jeffrey Hunter nor Bruce Greenwood could ever imagine. The character’s popularity, along with Rebecca Romijn’s Una-Chin Riley and Ethan Peck’s Spock, provided the foundation that became Star Trek: Strange New Worlds. One of the more unexpected phenomena aside from the throwback to more traditional Trek storytelling is the obsession over Pike’s hair since it’s safe to say he’s probably the most virile captain, ironically enough, since William Shatner’s Kirk on The Original Series. Yes, I’m fully aware of Chris Pine’s entry as Kelvin Kirk, but for the purposes of this argument, let’s stick to TV. Now, Star Trek: Voyager’s Kate Mulgrew is chiming in on people’s perplexing preoccupation with Mount’s perfect Pike pompadour.

“The Janeway Bun walked so Pike’s Peak could run. #JanewayBunGetsItDone #OG,” Mulgrew quote tweeted on CBS Studios’ social media account, giving fans a space to stan Mount’s hair. For anyone keeping track, Kathryn Janeway had several hairstyles throughout Voyager’s seven-season run on UPN from 1995-2001. On the Nickelodeon/Paramount+ animated series Prodigy, Hologram Janeway uses the bun while the vice admiral has a touch of grey in her shorter hair. The last live-action visit was her cameo in 2002’s Star Trek: Nemesis sporting her bun.

Given the current thirst level for Mount, his current style, and Paramount not likely wanting to ruin the good thing they have already with Pike, I don’t expect any dramatic hair changes to the character any time soon. You can almost make a feminist argument that the way they’re more daring with Janeway’s hair or even Sonequa Martin-Green’s Michael Burnham is proof positive that the appreciation is far more layered beyond aesthetics. You can argue that we’ve barely just scratched the surface since we’ve only effectively seen Mount’s Pike in two seasons’ worth of Star Trek TV, and he could make a dramatic change whenever. I doubt it would be anything like, say, when Avery Brooks’ shaved his head as Sisko, which had to be fought for before Paramount finally agreed after three seasons on Deep Space Nine.