![]() The court martial scene could have been better, too. How could this episode have been better? A body swapping plot could have been cool, and it could even have been fun if Kirk had been hijacked by a woman if female self-hatred wasn't the key plot point. I also liked Sulu and Chekov dropping their hands to their laps, wordlessly refusing to carry out Lester's orders. It made me feel certain that if Kirk hadn't gotten his own body back, Spock would have served a female Kirk in exactly the same way he served the male Kirk, and the heck with those Starfleet rules that she wouldn't have gotten command.Īnd I liked Spock deliberately inciting Lester into a rage. While McCoy was holding out for actual, legal proof (clearly, the "dermal optic" test for emotional stability and psychological changes needs work), Spock was unwavering in his aggressive support for Kirk. I also enjoyed the Kirk/Spock conversation and mind meld in the brig, too, under the disbelieving eyes of the redshirt lieutenant.įor me, the best part of the episode was Spock's intense loyalty toward and belief in Kirk. His almost immediate acceptance of the situation, and his cleverness in pretending to be a perfectly sane Lester so that he could stay out of a straitjacket until he got help was very much what Kirk would do. I also thought Sandra Smith did a great job as Kirk. (If it were me, would I help the man I loved steal the body of a high profile woman? Hard to believe love would push you that far.) Coleman, whose motivations for going along with this masquerade were difficult to understand. I was less comfortable with her pursed mouth tantrum as she pounded her fist on the conference table, and the seductive way she manipulated Dr. Lester-possessed Kirk stood differently and self-consciously, she smoothed back her hair, touched herself as if she were indeed trying to adjust to having a different body, and practically caressed the captain's chair when she first arrived on the bridge. He did an exceptional job of making us see Lester-possessed Kirk as a completely different, emotionally unstable person by using body language and vocal inflection. If anyone ever doubted that William Shatner can act, you could just sit them down in front of this episode. Plus, Star Trek will forever get credit with me for making a woman second in command in "The Cage," and putting Uhura on the bridge in 1966. But not the Federation?Īnd there have been many wonderful, strong female characters on this show, so many that I'd have difficulty compiling a list. Even the Romulan empire allowed women to be starship captains. But at its core, Star Trek was about an idealistic future where all beings were created equal. That even in the 23rd century, women are considered to be inferior to men. ![]() While they mostly skirt around the issue (pun intended), it's implied several times during this episode and stated outright during the court martial scene that a woman could never be a starship captain. Oh, how I wish this unfortunate piece of misogyny wasn't the final episode of a series that I love as much as I love Star Trek. "Believe me, it's better to be dead than to be alone in the body of a woman."
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