Ever notice that every blockbuster movie has the same fundamental pieces? A hero, a journey, some conflicts to muck it all up, a reward, and the hero returning home and everybody applauding his or her swag? Yeah, scholar Joseph Campbell noticed first—in 1949. He wrote The Hero with a Thousand Faces, in which he outlined the 17 stages of a mythological hero's journey.

About half a century later, Christopher Vogler condensed those stages down to 12 in an attempt to show Hollywood how every story ever written should—and, uh, does—follow Campbell's pattern. We're working with those 12 stages, so take a look. (P.S. Want more? We have an entire Online Course devoted to the hero's journey.)

Ordinary World

As the story begins, we're introduced to the world of Star Trek and the state of this universe. If you've never seen or heard of Star Trek, then you're likely a figment of our imagination devised to prove a point. But just in case you do exist, this stage introduces you to a world filled with spaceships and other hi-tech gear. We also learn about the controversy surrounding the Genesis and that there are a group of really bad aliens, called Klingons, interested in it.

Kirk, our hero, also provides us with insight into his mental state by way of his captain's log. With Spock dead and his son investigating Genesis, the Enterprise is like a "house with all the children gone" and he feels lost.

Call to Adventure

The Call to Adventure comes when things begin to change in the hero's world. Kirk's first sign of these changes arrive with a dazed and confused McCoy. McCoy breaks into Spock's quarters and speaks to Kirk in a voice reminiscent of the dearly departed Vulcan.

Too soon, Bones. Way too soon.

Refusal of the Call

Kirk doesn't refuse the call so much as Admiral Morrow slaps the phone from his hands and starts complaining about their shared data plan. In this (really bad) analogy, Genesis is the data plan.

When Kirk requests permission to return to Genesis, Morrow refuses to allow him as Genesis has become a galactic controversy. Starfleet also plans on decommissioning the Enterprise, putting another obstacle in Kirk's path to Genesis.

Meeting the Mentor

Playing the role of the wise old mentor in The Search of Spock is be Sarek, Vulcan ambassador to the Federation and Spock's father. Sarek teaches Kirk about katra, Vulcan death customs, and Spock's predicament should the Admiral have lost his soul—which, yeah, sounds like one heck of a predicament.

He also helps figure out that Spock's katra is renting space in McCoy's brain before tasking Kirk with retrieving his son's body and returning to Vulcan.

If that doesn't make it obvious, Sarek is always wearing robes and dramatically pulling the hood to reveal his face. Obi-Wan envy much?

Crossing the Threshold

In the hero's journey, the hero crosses the threshold when he decides to leave the ordinary world. For Kirk, this moment comes when he decides to go grand theft starship on the Enterprise. This act has the potential to forever alter Kirk's world as he'll be committing treason…which isn't a crime most people are willing to forgive and forget.

Tests, Allies, Enemies

Kirk is tested when he breaks McCoy out of prison and steals the Enterprise. He makes enemies of Starfleet, represented by the security guards and Captains Styles. His allies are his crew, all of who join his cause to help Spock. Together, they successfully escape with the Enterprise and, thanks to Scotty's creative engineering, prevent the Excelsior from pursuing them.

Approach to the Inmost Cave

The inmost cave is represented by a place of extreme danger. In The Search for Spock, that would be Genesis. Kirk's travels on the Enterprise to Genesis represent this approach. On the way, they prepare for what awaits them by attempting to contact the Grissom and weight their options.

What they don't know is that the Grissom is the least of their worries.

Ordeal

The ordeal is exactly as it sounds, so it'll come as no surprise that the Enterprise's battle with the Klingon Bird-of-Prey will represent this stage. The battle is tense, and Kirk faces death as the Enterprise is still battle damaged from its encounter with Khan. Although Kirk manages to fight the Bird-of-Prey to a standstill, Kruge gains the upper hand by killing one of the hostages, Kirk's son, David.

Reward (Seizing the Sword)

At this stage, Kirk surrenders the Enterprise but his submission is the feint of a larger strategy. Kirk and his crew beam to the planet's surface the instant their enemies beam aboard to claim their prize. All the Klingons find is an empty ship and a computer counting down. Boom.

The Enterprise is destroyed in fiery glory while Kirk watches his beloved ship disintegrate in the atmosphere like a shooting star.

Now, you may be wondering, how does losing the Enterprise fall under a stage titled "Reward." Doesn't seem like much of a reward, does it? But as McCoy reminds Kirk, he turned "death into a fighting chance to live." The reward is life itself.

The Road Back

Kirk and his crew locate Saavik and the newly resurrected Spock and defeat the Klingon guards. Now that they have the treasure they sought, Spock, they can finally head home.

But, whoops: Kirk just blew up their ride. He'll have to ask to bum a ride with Kruge. We're sure the Klingon warrior will be down with that.

Resurrection

As it turns out, he isn't. Kruge teleports to the planet's surface and has everyone beamed board the Bird-of-Prey except for Kirk and Spock. Kirk must face his last challenge and battle Kruge on the exploding planet.

After getting some good hits on Kruge's weak spot— which turns out to be his face, who knew?—Kirk escapes the planet with Spock. Having faced death again, Kirk has been resurrected emotionally with purpose restored to his life. In keeping with the theme of this stage, his friend Spock has also been resurrected, quite literally.

Return with the Elixir

Kirk and his crew arrive at Vulcan and complete their journey. In a traditional hero's journey, the elixir is an item with the power to change the world for the better. In The Search for Spock, that's the katra. Using it, the Vulcans are able to return Spock's mind to his brand-spanking new body—which, unfortunately, wasn't removed from Genesis quickly enough to stop the aging process.

Kirk and his crew embrace their friend and everything ends happily ever after…except for Kirk's dead son…and the whole wanted for treason thing….

Okay, it ends happily enough.