We've got aliens galore in this episode - there's about a hundred ambassadors aboard the Enterprise - and some we see for the first time: Andorians, Tellarites; others we'll never see again. We also see other Vulcans, but not just any Vulcans: Spock's father, Sarek, makes his first appearance, as well as Spock's human mom (both superbly played by Lenard and Wyatt). Before you can say 'Tal-shaya,' Kirk almost gets whacked, Spock gets slapped and McCoy goes on a little power trip in his sickbay. This might denote another comedy from Trek, such as "The Trouble With Tribbles," but though there are some humorous moments, it's mostly an episode driven by intrigue, suspense and interesting drama on the Vulcan side, where even more backstory is revealed on Spock, as sort of a follow-up to "Amok Time."
I think it's this episode, more than any other, in which Spock's lonely place in the Trek universe is spelled out. We, as the audience, had already gathered as much during the past forty or so episodes, but here, Spock's mother, the ideal choice to voice such concerns out loud, makes apparent the pain Spock has endured during his life - in terms we had only guessed at earlier. She had known since he was a little boy that he belongs in neither the human nor the Vulcan worlds and, as a mother, she had no choice but to feel his pain, that ultimate form of alienation - but, as a human, her feelings are much more obvious to us. Nimoy gives another subtly excellent performance; his demeanor is slightly different when speaking with his mother about 'the situation' between himself and his father. Despite the Vulcan reserve, you sense his discomfort and sadness.
The great thing about a Trek episode such as this is it propels us full throttle into this universe of the Federation, its allies, its enemies (Orion pirates - who would've thought?), its politics and even its social customs. We learn about a Vulcan method of the quick kill, as another sample, and it's 'interesting' to hear Spock speak of his father's killing capability in that unemotional tone. It's almost like a handbook on the 23rd century done up in episodic video style. The drama is balanced out by some nice action scenes and thrills. Kirk does pull an odd move in his fight with the assassin, but there was no stuntman involved, to Shatner's credit (uh, maybe that's why they did use stuntmen usually). Mention should also be made of actor Nalder as the lead Andorian; as in a couple of other episodes, an actor's accent and appearance made him the ideal choice to play the alien.
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