THE THOLIAN WEB
Another bottle show - and another really good one!
What hadn't really occurred to me until this rewatch is that the primary antagonist of this episode is not the Tholians (who are more of a ticking clock) but the very fabric of the universe itself, with all the associated weirdness and space phenomena that make exploration so cool. This was also an issue in
The Empath where solar emissions presented a very real danger to the ship, the unstoppable asteroid from
The Paradise Syndrome and even the spooky mind-realm the Enterprise wandered into in
Is There In Truth No Beauty.
Season 3 is really taking the time to reinforce just how deadly the natural forces of the galaxy can be and while Starfleet's finest crew and most advanced technology might be good against the Klingons, they are woefully outmatched here. In fact, their very biology becomes a threat as the region of space begins to cause insanity.
Hey, is that a form of "space madness" that Spock mentioned back in
Naked Time?
McCoy's being a dick. Spock must be in command.
Why is McCoy grilling Spock about why he stayed to fight the Tholians? Obviously he was still trying to save Kirk. One would think McCoy would understand and appreciate that. He's really insubordinate this episode. I'm going to chalk it up to being in this unstable space because McCoy is really horrible this episode. On the one hand, he's blaming Spock for not just leaving the Captain and saving the ship at the outset. On the other, he's seems to be accusing Spock for taking Kirk's command. Well are you pissed at Spock for trying to save Kirk or are you pissed at him for taking Kirk's command?
Actually, staying to try to save Kirk is rather human of Spock. He ignores the logic of "the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few or the one" and risks the many to save the one.
This is the other thing that really stood out to me from this episode - McCoy is at his throat A LOT and for very inconsistent reasons!
Spock on the other hand has really improved on his command style since
The Galileo Seven, retaining his cool against argumentative subordinates, conducting a funeral (something he outright refused in G7), taking time to welcome back Uhura & Chekov, discussing his orders when required and following rational, even HUMAN protocol (such as choosing to stay behind and rescue Kirk).
Get back to work, McCoy!
OTHER THOUGHTS:
- Scenes on the Defiant are dark and creepy, emphasised by using unfamiliar camera angles
- Wow, there are a LOT of crewmembers on the Defiant. Just bodies EVERYWHERE!
- Remember when the Enterprise used to have loads of crew on board? Good times
- Scott has to leave the Bridge to help repair the transporter – a prime example of why the CHIEF ENGINEER should not dragged away from his primary duties to sit in the command chair. At least we get a brief stint of “Sulu in command” but that’s really what it should have been from the beginning
- Uhura gets lines AND something that advances the plot! It’s shame that no-one believed her story, but in fairness no-one believed Scotty either.
- Chapel also plays an active role and saves McCoy (even if she stands around panicking for rather too long IMO)
- When Chekov goes mad on the Bridge, he knocks over both his and Sulu’s chairs. I always assumed that they were anchored to the deck (at least in-universe) but I guess not! Makes all those time the ship shakes even more deadly to our intrepid crew...
- I think this is the longest time an episode has played with the “main character is dead” trope. I almost believed it!
NEW SETS
The chapel is not really new but it's only been seen in Season One's
Balance Of Terror so I'm counting it
It's pretty much the same design too, right down to the rarely used side door of the Briefing Room set.
Finally, anyone who bought into the “Vulcans don’t lie” nonsense in Enterprise Incident should pay attention to the end of this episode: Spock straight up lies to Kirk’s face!
