Lots going on in this one. Spock's parents, Sarek and Amanda, arrive on the ship, much to Spock discomfiture. Sarek is still ticked at Spock for joining Starfleet, which happened 18 years ago. Spock is still in open rebellion against an unreasonably oppressive father. (God, did I live THAT one!) Additionally, we've got a boatload of snarky diplomats, an Orion spy / saboteur and a vital mission upon which the safety of the universe rests...again! Sarek ups the ante when his heart condition is reveled. Kirk does it again when he is critically wounded by the spy. Only Spock can provide the blood transfusion necessary for Sarek's 'bypass' operation, but he won't leave his post when Kirk is down. Mom tries to appeal to his human half, reminding him of the feelings he had during his tormented childhood. (Again, I was right there with him.) Big Mistake; we won't be seeing much of that type of open emotional display until a lot later in his character arc. I find it most interesting that Spock's flawless logic spectacularly fails to guide him to the obviously only correct response to the choices presented to him. It takes an emotional reaction from the heroic Captain Kirk, who drags himself out of a sick bed to convince Spock he's all right, releasing the Vulcan to do his preeminent family duty. Once again, it takes a conflict of interest for a supposedly 'emotionless' being to demonstrate to us, by direct contrast, the value of human feelings...in this case, compassion. This is a common enough theme throughout the TOS stories, ultimately perhaps Spock's best reason to be there in the first place, but this episode may be the pinnacle of the Classic Trek Morality Tale. Hidden amongst the excitement, the tension, the stirring music, this story asks the question, "What is the human thing to do here?" Also note that Spock continues to be unable to answer this question without considerable help from his 'flawed, feeling human friends' for about another two decades, when confronted with the problem of rescuing Chekov in STIV:TVH. Kirk saves the day, Spock gets another lesson in humanity at it's finest, Sarek gets his first glimpse of how worthy Spock's friends really are, and McCoy 'finally gets the last word'. The perfect Trek story. Retired clinical psychologist and university professor, happily married, untimate Spock fan