I did too, but 3 is the weakest of them all because it is terribly contrived
Okay I have to disagree a bit. You are 100% bang on right that Trek III was unbelievably contrived however it's certainly not the first time they pulled something like this...
Spock "should" have been a blind Vulcan at the end of the 1st season.
Now THERE was some drama! Spock is attacked by an alien parasite and will die if he is not subjected to a treatment of blinding light that will give him permanent blindness.
The treatment is administered and Spock is very much blind, however it is discovered that the visible light of the spectrum was not necessary to destroy the parasite- Spock
didn't have to be blinded.
THAT was brilliant!
Oh but Spock forgot about his Vulcan inner eyelid which protects him from blinding light; he had his full sight back by the end of the episode. :rolleyes
Talk about contrived. :lol
Think about how progressive the series would have been with a
blind Spock. You have a crew made up of different nationalities (who are all equals- no racial prejudice) and now a "disabled" character.
Except "I" don't believe that the audience of the 60s would accept it (a blind Spock that is).
They could have had a few episodes of him being blind and having his sight gradually return, but didn't have the guts to try that either.
Don't get me wrong- like I said Trek III is VERY contrived, and "I" was glad to have Spock back too (I think the only thing that could have been
worse is him "not being dead but just resting" when they fired him out of the torpedo bay :facepalm :lol).
Getting back to the original question: The end of ST:II still has its emotional impact for me 30 years later (even after watching this film probably over 1000 times), but if it was Spock's last outing, it would probably make me cry my eyes out just like I did when I first watched it in 1982. So yes it would definitely have a greater impact.
The other Saavik, just did not do it for me.
To each his own.
I liked (young) Kirstie Alley too, but I would have no problem with some Ponn Farr from Robin Curtis. :love :lol
Kevin