Dagger Of The Mind

[Mendon]

The resolution is maybe a little slapdash; it's too bad there aren't more minutes in an hour. But wow, what an episode. Everything here gels in its psychotic, downward spiral. There's Adams, the brilliant and respected scientist; Kirk, his admirer; and McCoy, a skeptic. And there's Noel, in whom Kirk sees his own devotion feverishly reflected, spurring him to take a step back. That is a step necessary to confirm the ravings of an apparent lunatic. The seeds of doubt do not mark the end for Adams, however. Before Kirk may emerge victorious, Adams will unleash the fruits of his genius against him, scarring his psyche even from beyond the grave. This is terrific writing where victory carries tangible costs, and it's all brought to life by an excellent cast.

Dagger Of The Mind has newly become one of my favorite episodes of Star Trek. How has this one flown underneath my radar for so long?

 

[Chrisisall]

How has this one flown underneath my radar for so long?

Atmospheric desturbances.

 

[KeepOnTrekking]

Yes, this one is very much underrated, Mendon!!
And you've only hit on the Kirk side of the story!! This is the one I see as a B-plot with Spock:

I believe a young Spock always saw his emotions coming from his human side and not coming from his Vulcan side. In "Dagger of the Mind" he comments "On my world there is no emotion. Where there is no emotion, there is no motive for violence." The episode's title comes from Macbeth where " a dagger of the mind" is refferred to as a "false creation." I believe that statement Spock made about there being no emotion on his world as being Spock's "dagger of the mind"--his false creation that he believes.

Spock says that he's that he's never melded with a human before Van Gelder. Seeing hoiw any melds with a Vulcan previously, the other Vulcan probably was able to control what and how much they shared with Spock. Being Vulcans, I don't see them sharing the truth about how having emotions are actually a part of their lives even after Surak's reform. Spock had to learn this for himself later in "All Our Yesterdays."

Spock's first meld with a human was a disturbed one at that. This could create more false perceptions to further his bias against expressing emotions. There's only a "human" experience to these emotions because he blindly doesn't see them in his Vulcan side. His mind meld with a deranged Van Gelder probably only pointed out to Spock the danger of not keeping emotions under control. This pushed him further into denying his emotions. I believe he learns this finally during his experience in "All Our Yesterdays" and related this epiphany with a young Spock in "Yesteryear." He relates that Vulcans do not lack emotions but merely control them. I think Spock saw this as important enough to risk contaminating the timeline by sharing this information. Maybe as a way to counterbalance the loss of I-Chaya to a young Spock...but that's getting further off topic. But the seeds were planted all the way back in "Dagger of the Mind."

 

[Mendon]

I, too, greatly admired Spock's role in this screenplay, though for a different set of reasons. Yours is a very rich subtextual reading whose scope extends far beyond this episode, and I salute you. Within the confines of this individual adventure, however, one can observe the other side of this transaction: even if Van Gelder's emotions would have a profound influence on Spock's attitude, in this first mind meld I most appreciated Spock's ability to project his own mental control outward, in essence bringing order to the chaos of a deranged mind. Only the insular Spock can provide peace to another in so intimate a way. It is a great moment in the development not only of his character, but of Vulcans in general.

 

[KeepOnTrekking]

Thanks, Mendon!! I really like your insight, too!! About Spock being able to project peace onto VanGelder's troubled mind!! I always saw Kirk as the doubting Hornblower type in the beginning and gaining more confidence from Spock and McCoy's input as the year went along. But I can see more ideas to explore now with this!! Makes me wonder when Spock first melded with Kirk, now. My memory's a little hazy right now. You've given me a lot to think about!!

 

[The Boy Who Cried Worf]

I've never cared for this episode as much as a lot of people for one simple reason. There seems to be no motivation whatsoever for Dr. Adams actions. This is supposed to be a legendary figure who transformed the Federation's penal system yet he comes across here as little more than a sadist with a pet toy.

This episode doesn't seem to fit in well with the whole star Trek philosophy either. Viewing criminals as sick people who need rehabilitation is exactly the kind of attitude Star Trek would take, but I've never understood McCoy's(and by extension the whole episode's) objection to that concept. Is the episode saying that prisons are still the way to go in the enlightened 23rd century?

 

[Mendon]

I have no problem assuming that access to such a tool corrupted Adams over time. More development is always better than less, but surely it's conceivable that he could have gone power mad. This doesn't particularly challenge my disbelief, and I am one to point it out when my disbelief is challenged.

As for the underlying philosophy, I loved the controversy that stirred beneath the surface of the episode. I don't think McCoy would ever imply that criminals do not need rehabilitation, but rather that he regards such tidy transformations as perhaps too good to be true. There is no anti-rehab message in this episode that I detected, but rather anti-reprogramming, a la A Clockwork Orange.

 

[Timo]

Well, Dr. Adams was apparently single-handedly responsible for transforming almost all of crime into curable ailment. Almost.

If you achieved that much, but not all, wouldn't you itch to perfect your historic achievement? The Tantalus Colony was supposedly a fairly standard penal institution, not a place for the hopeless incurables (Elba II served in that role), but it was still a good place for Dr. Adams to experiment with ever better ways of curing the criminals. And apparently there was no way, at least not one that Adams could have found - so he had to resort to extreme measures, ones that proved worse than the disease in the end.

Frankly, I'd have been surprised if such a burden didn't collapse the solo scientist. Although the idea of any scientist doing something that vast all by himself smacks of the good old Soviet Union and its subjugation of the scientific method to ideology, favoritism and the whims of the ruler...

Dr. Adams didn't sound much like a calculating criminal or madman with plans to conquer the universe. Erasing Kirk's mind would have gotten him nowhere: he was at the end of his rope, no matter what. His fate is thus a rather sad one, perhaps almost sympathetic, and his end especially gruesome. Deserved, perhaps, but deserved for fairly understandable reasons. I wonder if Adams ever truly harmed anybody in his life? Was van Gelder deliberately mauled, or the victim of an accident in the hands of a panicking Adams?

Timo Saloniemi

 

[Orcus]

The resolution is maybe a little slapdash; it's too bad there aren't more minutes in an hour. But wow, what an episode. Everything here gels in its psychotic, downward spiral. There's Adams, the brilliant and respected scientist; Kirk, his admirer; and McCoy, a skeptic. And there's Noel, in whom Kirk sees his own devotion feverishly reflected, spurring him to take a step back. That is a step necessary to confirm the ravings of an apparent lunatic. The seeds of doubt do not mark the end for Adams, however. Before Kirk may emerge victorious, Adams will unleash the fruits of his genius against him, scarring his psyche even from beyond the grave. This is terrific writing where victory carries tangible costs, and it's all brought to life by an excellent cast.

Dagger Of The Mind has newly become one of my favorite episodes of Star Trek. How has this one flown underneath my radar for so long?

Yes, this has been in my top five for many years. It's great stuff with many deeper levels to delve into as KeepOnTrekking points out. There are fantastic performances in this, as well as great writing, that keeps one coming back for more, time and time again.

I've rewatched this one many times and it seems to be one of the few that always seemed to be on during the many repeat seasons TOS has had over the years.

It's a great example of the series at its best to ensnare the casual viewer's interest...

 

[Mendon]

Well, Dr. Adams was apparently single-handedly responsible for transforming almost all of crime into curable ailment. Almost.

And I find within this claim, not only with the neural neutralizer, cause for concern. It's easy to see how many, like Kirk, would hold Adams in such high esteem for having achieved so much. But it's also natural that others, like McCoy, would be somewhat skeptical of his achievements. I imagine the neural neutralizer to be only the latest and most extreme in a long line of questionable methods that have helped him revolutionize the prison system. Finally, here, the lid is blown off.