But isn't that how a lot of
Star Trek stories have been told over the years? Something is introduced as a deadly, menacing force, but then turns out to be a harmless alien conducting a test (Balok), or a mother protecting its young (the Horta), or a soldier defending its territory against perceived invaders (the Gorn), or a grazing creature unaware that it was creating danger (the cloud creature in "One of Our Planets is Missing"), or a captain willing to risk everything to acheive communication (Dathon from "Darmok"), or whatever.