the way ill do this is ill choose my faves and talk abt em. but ill talk about the og pilot as well since it has a different cast and such
(1 second from every TOS episode)
the introduction of captain pike! but the more broody one. i kinda wish there was such a prominent female characther in the original series with the different cast like the pilot. i like the introduction to the talosians in this episode! i do like the change of captains though. i think captain pike was a little too intropesctive, and itd probably work if spock wasnt there lol . either way, its a fine episode, but i do think the reboot is an improvement on pike, and i like the exploration of the rest of the crew at that time.
this was the episode where i was like "wow, this show is fucking weird...but its great". i think it manages tension pretty well, and the weird alien head actually kind of like, helps with the twist at the end?
kirks bluff in this episode is one of my favorite of his. he has a constant of outsmarting his enemies in TOS, specially computers (and i'll talk about that later, as its one of my favorite things about this series). he's a cunning captain, i think this episode demonstrates that well!
also it has one of my favorite visuals in TOS, which is that round thing and this spinning cube.
oh hey, spocks dad is romulan, didn't know that.
this episode contains one of my favorite lines, "leave any bigotry in your quarters. there's no room for it on the bridge". i think that quote sums up a lot of trek's ideas, it can be faulty and miss its mark at times, but i feel like its exploration of those themes were important, and very much explored in TOS! (despite what anyone says. lol).
also, a great introduction to the romulans, and an amazing performance by mark lenard. and yeah, he's great as sarek as well, i think.
this is one of my favorite star trek episodes til now, tbh. the performances, the story, the parallels between kirk and the romulan commander, how the crew reacts to seeing how romulans look like vulcans, ie spock, just. its an interesting, well told story, i just love it :)
this episode is so fucking weird to watch, specially after balance of terror. its so good. its just everyone hallucinating and kirk getting beat up and its. well its very funny. such a tonal change if youre watching it on netflix, chronogically. theres a guy in a furry rabbit costume. finnegan. the women! incredible.
trek can be about racism, homophobia, war, genocide, etc...it can also be a whole episode of a halluciation carnival! whatever! its just fun!
is this a good episode? i dont know. is it a fun one? i personally had fun watching it. lovely.
also, it has this lovely theme called "ruth".
yessss spock episode. as all spock episodes, this one's great. the exploration of him as a leader, the fights he has with the crew and specially mccoy, is all very interesting. i know theyre all kind of like...mean to him? but like. theyre stranded on a planet right now, i can see why. doesnt excuse insubordination i guess, but you get my point.
love, love the amount of bureocratic assholes and shitty admirals in trek btw. not necessarily that this guy was in the wrong. also talking about insubordination, kind of funny how much kirk does that.
also just wanna mention how much scotty is just vibing this episode. like hes just helping them and doing the engineering stuff. seriously, gotta love him for that.
anyway, point of the episode, spock leads in a more logical way, while his human crewmen are more emotional about it. the conflict of interest, and the exploration of spocks, and kind of mccoys, characthers, is all pretty good. i like it. its good.
anyway, i think even though spocks a vulcan, he has also in his mind the moral issues during this episode, and he has emotional responses, specially highlighted at the end of this episode. his characther arc of struggling with his logical and emotional sides, and finding the balance between those, is shown here and in many other eps i love.
also it has this moment!
watch out! watch out everyone! its khan! hes here! its khan! guys! anyway, what a great performance by ricardo motalbán.
the tension in this episode is handled so well. the discussions khan has with the crew, and the relationship he has with his soon to be wife show his charisma and his cunning... the discussion of eugenics in this episode is not something i expected actually, but i honestly almost never see it in media.
watching this episode before STII adds a lot to the movie, i think. you can see how much khan has changed in his revenge quest, not as in he was a good person before, but the desire for revenge completely overtook him. it's an interesting contrast, and it's a bit funny how kirk just leaves him there and is like [claps hands] ok job done! love it when he makes terrible mistakes that bite him in the ass later.
also, that fight kirk has with khan is pretty funny. my man beats him with a pipe. i love this show.
im kind of obssessed with this episode. its like. one of my favorite weird alien things in TOS. cuz most aliens are like, people with nose ridges in this series, its pretty fun seeing kind of a weird...blob thing.
also a very fun for the characthers! i think they all have an interesting moment and a time to shine. kirks leadership skills and bravery, spock communicating with the horta, and bones being like "i cant fucking heal this thing i dont even know what it is" to "oh shit ive done it. lol." is very funny lmfao. i really love bones tbh hes brilliant.
leonard nimoy really kills it when the horta is speaking through spock. its very nice seeing everyone realize what theyve done and come to an agreement.
also has a nice K/S moment with spock being worried for his captain. i told i was gonna talk about it. but its really sweet, even platonically! they love each other and thats undeniable :) .
considered to be one of the best TOS, and overall star trek episodes, and for good reason! the beliveable romance between kirk and edith keeler, the exploration of death, war, poverty and politics, and also mccoy acting like a crazy man truly makes this episode shine among the rest.
obviously one of my favorite kirk romances. you can really see the progression of their relationship, and keeler has more of a characther than "is in love with kirk", she has morals, she's smart, shes intuitive and empathetic, and you can see how kirk loves and admires her.
also the comedic moments in this episode are pretty great. really fond of kirk trying to explain spock...
there are many moments i love. bones screaming "assasins! murderersssssss!", keeler saying kirk belongs somewhere else, while spock belongs at kirks side. the moment we realize shes supposed to die, when kirk decides to preserve the future and not save his love. also, on a lighter note, the outfits! love kirk and spock in casual clothes, and spock wearing fun hats. lovely all around, one of the episodes that made me fall in love with this franchise.
