Episode Summary
The crew is surveying an area of the universe that, strangely, shows no intelligent life of any kind in standard scans. It goes against statistical norms, we are told. A giant glowing green field of energy suddenly appears out of no where, just as the crew has become comfortable with there being no real life in the are. The energy is in the shape of a giant hand that wraps itself around the Enterprise, and holds on.
Hand in Space! Hand in Space! Oh my dear lord Apollo god, Hand in Space!Though the crew tries everything it can to repel the hand, it remains unaffected. Finally, the hand in space transforms into the image of a giant face speaking to them, calling them his beloved children, and congratulating them for making it into space. The apparition announces he will not release them, and instead they will share sacramental wine together. He begins referencing the ancient Greek heros, finally announcing himself to be Apollo and demanding that Kirk beam down to a planet with all his officers but Spock.
The crew travels to the planet, believing themselves to have no choice but to obey. Leaving Spock behind, Kirk tells Spock that he is the best man to find the answers. A new female officer, Carolyn, travels to the planet, as well as a new lieutenant with long man-hair, and a heavy accent. Soon after landing, Apollo announces he will take the female lietenant as his bride. The crew attacks, but Apollo drives them off with electrical bolts, then disappears. The crew begins searching for the source of power that allows him to deliver such illusions.
Apollo Enlarges Himself to Show His PowerEpisode Tidbits
We are introduced here, for the first time, to Chekov, who announces himself to be only 22. He appears as a long haired dramatic helmsman with a heavy accent, declaring for us the obvious strangeness of a green hand in space. In case it wasn't obvious enough that being held by a giant energy appendage is a highly serious situation, just make sure a man with a heavy accent announces it for us. Chekov to the job! On the planet surface Chekov proves a pleasant diversion with his accidental irreverance.
With this episode Star Trek asks us to consider that those we call gods are simply those with "a bag of tricks", as Kirk puts it. That is, that the Greek gods were likely only aliens space travelers landed on earth demanding to be worshipped, and those with less technology had no choice but to believe them holy. The mix of science fiction and ancient Greek lore is amusing, but otherwise the idea of gods only being our own projection is an old consideration that thinkers before have asked us to reflect on before--that we could be fooled into believing a mere man (or finite creature) to be a god when they have no unlimited power after all. In this sense the episode has only limited interest.
More obvious, in this episode, is the reduction of a woman to a mere object of beauty to be wanted for her delicacy, to be protected by those that would win her. The woman in this episode is lured in too by her being worshipped in such a manner. Lured in, she also uses Apollo's appreciation of her to gather information about him. But in this episode even with the idea that a woman is meant ultimately to be loved by a man for her beauty, we see that a Star Fleet woman is bound by duty. Carolyn loves her Greek ruler, but denies her own heart for the sake of her duty to the crew. Star Trek would then have us deny the needs of our own feelings in exchange for the obligations of our work.
By the end of the episode, though we have been taught to see that even our gods are only extended versions of ourselves--that is, also limited beings but with a little more ability than we have ourselves--we are also taught that our gods are great sources of inspiration. Though we should not trick ourselves into thinking that the gods are omnipotent, we might remember that our own dreams for them push forward our dreams for ourselves. In considering the demands of genuine obligation, and the potential inspiration of the gods, we are taught that our only true duty is to the to the one thing that is truly ours--humanity.
Episode Highlights
This episode offers the most wonderfully dramatic set shakes seen so far. That is, the crew does a wonderful job at throwing themselves about the set of the ship.
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