“Elaan of Troyius”
Written by John Meredyth Lucas
Directed by John Meredyth Lucas
Season 3, Episode 13
Production episode: 3×02
Original air date: December 20, 1968
Star date:4372.5
Mission summary
Enterprise is on a top-secret mission to deliver Elaan, the Dohlman of Elas, to the nearby planet Troyius, where she is to marry the Troyian leader to avert nuclear war between their peoples. The Elasians are reportedly “vicious and arrogant,” like the neighboring Klingons who dispute the Federation’s claim over the Tellun system. On the other hand, McCoy has heard that Elasian women have a “subtle, mystical power that drives men wild.” It’s up to Troyian Ambassador Petri to civilize the savage Elaan and instruct her in the customs of her new home.
Things start off on the wrong foot when an honor guard of Flash Gordon rejects beams over and demands that everyone in the transporter room kneel before Zod Elaan. When she materializes, the sight of her skimpy, shiny battle armor brings Kirk and his men to their knees after all. Kirk’s also stunned at how bossy she is, but in the name of diplomacy, he humors her and she grants him permission to show her to her quarters. He sends Spock on that delightful errand while he interrogates Petri about their surly guest. The whining ambassador assures him that the Federation is counting on the full cooperation of Kirk and his crew to peaceful interactions with the difficult Elasians. He requests they travel to Troyius as slowly as possible to give him time to work with Elaan, and hopes that he can butter her up with some wedding gifts.
Kirk returns to the Bridge and orders Sulu to proceed at .037 impulse power, offending Scotty because they won’t be needing his precious warp engines. Before the Captain can settle into the long, boring diplomatic escort service he was expecting, Spock arrives and informs him that Elaan hates Uhura’s quarters, which were secured for her for the duration of her visit because they were the most feminine rooms available. Uhura’s perturbed, but for all the wrong reasons.
Kirk visits Elaan to see what her beef is, and finds her throwing Petri’s wedding gifts at him. She refuses to wear the Troyian wedding dress and crystal necklace the ambassador tries to give her, annoyed by the room, her duty, and Petri’s general appearance. She orders her guard Kryton to throw him out, leaving her alone with Kirk. He can give as good as he takes.
KIRK: Your Glory doesn’t seem to be responding to instruction.
ELAAN: I will never forgive the council for putting me through this torture. Were you responding to my demand for better quarters?
KIRK: There are none better. I suggest you make do with these.
ELAAN: You suggest?
KIRK: There are no more available, but if that’s the only way you can get gratification, I’ll arrange to have the whole room filled from floor to ceiling with breakable objects.
ELAAN: I will not be humiliated!
KIRK: Then act in a civilized fashion.
ELAAN: I did not give you permission to leave!
KIRK: I didn’t ask for any.
Zing! He leaves her still stinging from his brutal treatment and finds Petri in the hall, complaining that he can’t deal with her anymore. Kirk talks sense into him with some helpful advice, nothing he wouldn’t do himself:
Then make her listen, Ambassador. Use a different approach. Stop being so diplomatic. She respects strength. Go in strong.
Always full of good ideas, isn’t he? Spock presents a problem that Kirk has a little more experience with: a sensor ghost that seems to be following Enterprise. Kirk speculates it might be another ship, but he can’t sink his teeth into this fresh mystery because he has to deal with the Troyians again, who are now making a nuisance of themselves in Engineering. He hotfoots it down there before Scotty says something they’ll all regret and smooths things over with Elaan, in his own fashion. He turns the encounter into a lesson about courtesy, an alien concept for the warrior woman, who has changed into another hideous outfit for her tour of the ship.
Thank goodness a Klingon ship appears to take Kirk’s mind off his unruly cargo! That explains the weird sensor readings. For now, the enemy ship seems content to lurk and intimidate, matching their course and speed. The Captain has to turn his attention back to more overt dangers, when Security reports a “disturbance” in Elaan’s quarters—which turns out to be Ambassador Petri with Elaan’s dagger in his back. The bride has taken diplomatic matters into her own hands.
Fortunately, the biggest injury is to Petri’s pride. He’ll have a full recovery in about a week, but he holds Kirk personally responsible for his brush with death and refuses to deal with Elaan again. He also musters the strength to tell Nurse Chapel why Elasian women are so desirable despite their strong wills and impeccable fashion sense:
It’s not magic. It’s biochemical. A man whose flesh is once touched by the tears of a woman of Elas has his heart enslaved forever.
Kirk learns that the Federation High Commissioner is planning to attend the wedding, which pressures him to pick up where Petri left off, only hopefully with less backstabbing. Kirk confronts Elaan as she dines on a meal of green chicken and colorful cubes, and attempts to teach her simple table manners. It ends in a slap fight, and her throwing a knife at him as he leaves. She still has so much to learn.
Meanwhile, the Elasian muscle Kryton sneaks into Engineering and fiddles with the grossly unprotected dilithium chamber. He probably isn’t trying to improve warp engine efficiency. An engineer interrupts him and Kryton easily breaks the red shirt’s neck and drags him out of sight.
Since the Klingon ship still refuses to communicate with them, Kirk pays Elaan another visit for the promised lesson on courtesy. He notes Kryton’s absence, but her other two guards refuse to let the captain pass. They can’t argue with Spock’s phaser though, and he orders the Vulcan to take the stunned men to the brig while he schools Elaan. She attacks him as soon as he enters her quarters, but Kirk knows this game and he wrestles her to the bed, with her protesting him touching her. He promises to spank her as punishment for her childish behavior, but she abruptly switches tactics and cries that she doesn’t want people to hate her. He comforts her and insists that she’s liked, but not well-liked, brushing a tear from her eye. A poison tear! A moment later he’s under her spell and they’re kissing and she wants him to tell her more about spanking. Oh boy.
An emergency call from the Bridge helps to snap him out of it: Uhura’s picked up an unauthorized transmission from Engineering. Visibly verklempt, Kirk pulls himself together and away from Elaan’s bed to investigate. They capture Kryton in Engineering and discover the dead crewman’s body, and Kirk immediately recognizes his alien communicator as Klingon. He orders Spock to come down to perform a Vulcan mind meld to get information out of the stubborn Elasian, but Kryton steals a phaser from a security guard and vaporizes himself. With no way to know what the spy was up to in Engineering, Kirk orders Scotty to check every relay.
Kirk returns to Elaan’s quarters for… information. In a shocking twist, it turns out Kryton was in love with her and betrayed them to the Klingons to prevent her from marrying the Troyian ruler. Kirk urges her to forget what happened earlier, but she’s very persistent.
ELAAN: I chose you, and you chose me. I have a plan. With this ship, you could completely obliterate Troyius. Then there will be no need for the marriage. And in gratitude, my people will give you the complete rule of this system.
KIRK: What kind of a mind could think of such a thing?
It seems she was only interested in Kirk for his weapon… McCoy and Spock catch them in flagrante delicto and talk to the Captain alone in the corridor. He explains what happened with the tear and his friends realize this is no ordinary love affair with an alien woman. The doctor promises to work on an antidote, though the effects are supposed to be permanent, while Kirk and Spock deal with the Klingon ship.
The enemy battlecruiser is finally approaching and Enterprise prepares for battle. Kirk orders a maneuvering speed of warp 2, but Scotty stops him in time—Kryton rigged the engine to blow up if they hit warp speed. The ship is handicapped to just impulse engines, and Kirk is handicapped by Elaan’s unexpected appearance on the bridge in still another outfit. The Captain and Sulu attempt to evade the Klingon’s attack, but at the last minute Kirk belays the order to fire phasers, and the enemy passes without attacking. They were obviously hoping to trick Enterprise into blowing themselves up with their sabotaged engine. Spock wonders why the Klingons want to control the system so badly, and suggests that Elaan probably shouldn’t be on the Bridge. Kirk retorts, “I’ll be the judge–” before coming to his senses and thanking his first officer for gently keeping him in check. He escorts his girlfriend to Sickbay for her own safety and so he can concentrate on completing his mission.
ELAAN: Would you have me wearing my wedding dress for another man and never see you again?
KIRK: Yes, Elaan.
ELAAN: Are you happy at the prospect?
KIRK: No.
Scotty calls to give him more to worry about: the dilithium crystal that regulates the matter-antimatter warp core is burned out and the assembly is fused. There’s no way to fix it, and they barely have enough power to maintain the shields for a few attacks. Kirk sends Elaan on to Sickbay while he heads back up to the Bridge and deal with the Klingon commander, who demands immediate, unconditional surrender.
In Sickbay, Petri pleads with Elaan to wear the Troyian necklace he brought her, and a moment later she returns to the Bridge wearing it and her blue wedding dress, insisting that she wants to die with Kirk. He kicks her off the Bridge, but she hangs out by the turbolift, watching as he gives maneuvering orders, prolonging their inevitable destruction as the Klingons’ repeated attacks weaken the shields. At their most desperate moment, Spock picks up “some very peculiar energy readings” from Elaan’s necklace. They examine the jewels and discover that the Troyian common stones are dilithium crystals! What a crazy, random happenstance! “The necklace is supposed to bring you luck,” she says, and it seems it does. Kirk asks for them and she agrees gladly.
The Captain tries to stall the Klingons and keep them alive while Spock and Scotty try to adapt the rough crystals to their warp core. Though the unusual shape of the crystals cause some power fluctuations, they hold well enough to surprise the Klingon ship with a burst of warp speed and a full spread of photon torpedoes. The tables are turned, and the damaged Klingon ship limps away. Elaan doesn’t understand Kirk’s decision to let them go.
Kirk says good-bye to Elaan and Petri in the transporter room. Still wearing her wedding gown and the lucky radan necklace, minus the two stones powering the ship, she offers Kirk her dagger as a souvenir.
ELAAN: Remember me.
KIRK: I have no choice.
ELAAN: Nor have I. I have only responsibilities and obligations. Goodbye.
KIRK: Goodbye.
She beams down to Troyius and things seem back to normal. In private, McCoy tells Spock he’s finally discovered an antidote to the Elasian love tears, and the Vulcan assures him it is no longer necessary.
SPOCK: The antidote to a woman of Elas, Doctor, is a starship. The Enterprise infected the Captain long before the Dohlman did.
KIRK: Mister Sulu, prepare to take us out of orbit.
MCCOY: Well, I doubt seriously if there’s any kind of an antidote for the Enterprise.
SPOCK: In this particular instance, Doctor, I agree with you.
Analysis
For some reason I was dreading this one, possibly because I remembered Elaan’s ridiculous costumes, or groaned at the transparent “Helen of Troy” reference, or simply because it has a shaky reputation, but I was surprised at how enjoyable and compelling the episode turned out to be.
It’s an odd sort of romance that reminded me of the Trojan War, My Fair Lady, Tristan and Isolde, and Cleopatra. Regardless of Elaan’s selfish motives for wanting Kirk, her feelings seem genuine, and though Kirk is forced to love her, he does so in earnest. As we’ve seen him shake off mind control in the past, and indeed he musters himself whenever Enterprise is in danger here, it’s possible that there’s some latent attraction on his part there that might have manifested in time even without the help of a love potion.
Shatner delivers a nuanced performance, expertly showing Kirk’s increasing frustration with the Elasians, his restrained passion for Elaan, and his conflict between desire and duty. He is weary, shaken, distracted—but never uncertain. Their love for each other, though artificially induced (even if Elaan repeatedly insists that they chose each other), is tragic because they can never be together. The lesson Kirk teaches her isn’t manners or courtesy, but compassion for others. Most of all, she learns about duty and responsibility. Like Elaan, Kirk is a slave to his mission, his ship, his crew, and his career, but while he embraces it, she rebels. In the end, Elaan accepts her fate, as Kirk accepts his. I was disappointed that Spock spelled it out for McCoy and the viewer, but it doesn’t diminish the message: Kirk’s only love is the Enterprise.
France Nuyen also works well in this role. She’s haughty and demanding, exotically beautiful but difficult to like. The victim of an arranged, loveless marriage, it’s no wonder her every action is a tantrum. Over the course of the episode she subtly softens, losing none of her commanding presence but becoming a leader people would follow because they want to, not because she bullies them into it. Her love scenes with Kirk are gentle and affecting, winning our sympathy by the end, when she is not the Dohlman of Elas, but finally Elaan of Troyius. Her Troyian husband had better watch out! I also liked Jay Robinson’s turn as Petri, and I liked the character too until he got all mopey in Sickbay.
There are some clear flaws in this episode, notably the awful costumes, particularly the Troyian body armor and all Elaan’s outfits except for her blue wedding dress. It’s hard to take a show seriously when it looks so campy, but beneath the surface the story more than makes up for it. The coincidental discovery of the dilithium crystals is a bit weak, but it was justified well enough to not detract too much, and it’s a nice symbolic touch to have Elaan and the Troyians contribute to the success of the Enterprise‘s mission. (On the other hand, I don’t understand why they don’t carry spare crystals around if they’re so fragile and important, and I thought the whole chamber was fused beyond repair!) I found the battle scenes taut and convincing—a real glimpse into the “realistic” sort of space battles we wouldn’t see until Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, demonstrating strategy over firepower.
Overall, this episode was unexpectedly moving, especially the simple, touching gesture of Elaan putting on her wedding dress to die at Kirk’s side. It reminded me in many ways of the excellent Star Trek: The Next Generation episode, “The Perfect Mate,” in which Picard has an even more tragic romance with a woman promised to another to stop a war.
Eugene’s Rating: Warp 4 (on a scale of 1-6)
Torie Atkinson: If you’ve ever wondered what a Helen of Troy/ Antony and Cleopatra crossover fic would be like, “Elaan of Troyius” is your answer.
While the marriages of Helen of Troy and Cleopatra both start wars, the marriage of Elaan is supposed to avoid one: but being a plaything for cloak and dagger diplomacy isn’t much consolation to the raging, arrogant Dohlman. To be honest, I was with her on this. She behaves like a spoiled child and is generally unpleasant to be around, but asking her to uproot her existence to marry a man she’s never met but has been trained her whole life to loathe seems shockingly unfair. It’s never really clear what the Dohlman’s role is supposed to be, but “sexual peace offering” probably wasn’t on the list when she signed up. I imagine the situation she finds herself in here is frightening and distasteful enough that most anyone would rebel, too, and I was appalled that no one–not even Kirk!–seemed to have sympathy for what they were demanding of her.
Perhaps that’s why I reacted so negatively to her character arc. She’s admittedly manipulative and mildly psychotic, but cartoonishly so. She’s an exaggerated Bridezilla. I wish we knew a bit more about what her life was like before–she’s obviously the child of incredible privilege (plenty of which seems undeserved!), but how is it she’s at the whim of a Council? Who is she? Kirk’s jibe that women anywhere but Vulcan are “irrational” sets the tone of the sexism that flourishes by the second half of the episode. Of course the Elasian women have “mystical” power over men, because obviously there’s no other reason men would reward or be attracted by that kind of behavior. (I’m always baffled to see it, but I’ve met a few Elaan types, and they didn’t have biochemical tears to win their lovers.)
Elaan is aggressive and independent. She commands respect and obedience, albeit excessively so. And by the end, we learn that the only way to tame the shrew is to berate her–to humiliate and demean her. To treat her like a child, order her around, and force her to accept her circumstances without complaint. What she needs is a strong man to put her in her place, and that’s what Kirk gives her. To make matters worse, the racist undertones of Asian women being subservient and meek (or, if they aren’t, they’re monsters) are wince-worthy today. Elaan, guided by the strong and manly hand of our Captain Kirk, eventually falls into her role as an obedient and submissive wife.
Kirk repeatedly tries to set this up as a parallel to his duties, but that’s a ridiculous false equivalency. Kirk signed up for his position, and in exchange for accepting the rules and hierarchy it requires, he’s granted immense personal freedom and the respect of everyone he works with. Elaan, on the other hand, is expected to give up everything and gain nothing–her obedience is rewarded with what exactly? She loses the respect of others, the power she commanded, and the individuality and freedom she so enjoyed before. Perhaps she’ll live a privileged life, but she’ll never be herself again. As much as she abuses it, she must trade away her empowerment entirely.
It was an offensive throwback to argue that being a wife is an uncompromisable obligation and duty and that one’s own feelings and wishes are entirely irrelevant. I was reminded of the kind of post-World War II propaganda we see in Mildred Pierce (fantastic noir, shockingly sexist). Want to be aggressive, independent, and self-sufficient? Fat chance. That’s not where you belong. Your duty and obligation is to be a subservient and loving wife–and you have to accept that no matter who you are, or what power you command, or what the circumstances happen to be. The ending was sad and sweet, as a newly humbled Elaan says goodbye, but I was unmoved for Kirk. He may have no choice but to remember her, but he can move on with his life in a way that she never will. I don’t think anyone could argue she didn’t need a good taste of humble pie and a real curb to her abuses of power–but the role she’s forced to assume, presumably forever, seems far more harsh than even a Cleopatra deserves.
Blech. I feel like I need to wash the archaic gender role stench off of me and re-read A Doll’s House or something.
It’s hard to imagine my saying anything nice at this point, but above all else it’s an enjoyable outing–engaging, with a fantastic battle scene, a wonderful guest star in France Nuyen, and some really choice moments with Petri in particular. I even liked McCoy feeling put out at the end that there’s no need for the antidote. I’m sure he could still market it on Elas and make a pretty penny…
Torie’s Rating: Warp 3
Best Line: PETRI: There cannot be peace between us. We have deluded ourselves. Captain, when I am near them, I do not want peace. I want to kill them.
Syndication Edits: The last half of Kirk and Petri’s conversation outside Elaan’s quarters; Spock announces that the Klingon battlecruiser is matching their speed just before Kirk is summoned by Security to Elaan’s quarters; Petri blaming Kirk for his injury and stating he’s going to remain in Sickbay; Elaan orders Kirk to return her to Elas and he refuses; some establishing shots of the Klingon vessel and Enterprise and Kirk’s inquiry about the Klingons’ intentions; Kirk asks Uhura to locate the source of the transmission and Spock finds it; Scott asks if they can call Starfleet for help, and Petri offers Elaan the necklace again; the Klingons’ final demand for unconditional surrender; Scott whines about the dilithium crystals being dangerous and Kirk tries to stall the Klingons by asking them to ensure Elaan’s safety.
Trivia: This is the only episode of any Star Trek series to have been written and directed by the same person. Lucas’ original episode title was “Helen of Troyius,” intended as an SF adaptation of The Taming of the Shrew and Antony and Cleopatra.
This is the first time McCoy asks Spock, “Are you out of your Vulcan mind?” He asks the same question in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan and J.J. Abrams’ Star Trek film.
This is the first appearance of the Klingon ship, as designed by Matt Jefferies, though “Day of the Dove” aired before it with recycled footage of it. The fliptop Klingon communicator only appears in one other episode, “Errand of Mercy,” which is probably why Kirk has trouble working it.
Not only do we see Uhura’s quarters for the second (and last) time, but we also see her bathroom–sort of, probably–which is never directly shown on Star Trek.
In a deleted scene, which appears in the Blish novelization, Spock serenades Elaan with a Vulcan love song on his lyre, piping the music into her quarters to try and calm her down. In the original script, he reveals that he lost an all-Vulcan music competition to his father, and that Vulcans have “natural rhythm,” which impresses Uhura. (Images and script from the excerpted scene are available here.)
SPOCK: In ancient times, the Vulcan lyre was used to stimulate the fury of the mating time.
KIRK: We’ll need some stimulation–very fast. The Federation High Commissioner’s on his way to Troyius expecting to attend a wedding.
This takes place before the scene where Kirk finds Elaan eating, which plays exactly the same except for her commentary on the music: “What is that sickening sound?”
Other notes: The novel Firestorm by L.A. Graf is a sequel to this episode.
Robert Kennedy was assassinated while this episode was filmed, which shocked guest star France Nuyen, one of his supporters.
The Saurian Brandy bottle seen in this and other episodes is a George Dickel commemorative “powder horn” whiskey bottle.
Previous episode: Season 3, Episode 12 – “The Empath.”
Next episode: Season 3, Episode 14 – “Whom Gods Destroy.” US residents can watch it for free at the CBS website.
I’d say that, for all its problems, this is a solid 3. The sexual politics are problematic by today’s standards, but they were still fairly normal for the time. I think my biggest problem is that we get another Jim Kirk is different/better than everybody else bit when he ultimately shrugs off the supposedly irreversible effects of Elasian tears. I’m not sure if it’s better or worse that they combined that with the Kirk is married to his ship trope.
It’s also puzzling to me that they had this episode in the can at the beginning of the season and sat on it so long. It would have made a pretty good season opener, what with a guest star and all.
I don’t think I have actually watched this episode since the 70’s and like Eugene I had remembered in an unflattering light. I put the disc in my PS3 Tuesday night to watch it, expect another ‘Wink of an Eye’ or “The Empath” but I quickly found myself enjoying the story and the performances.
I think when I had seen in last I did not pick up on the wonderful subtleties of the performances. The absolutely perfect look that Elan gives Kirk after he has touched a tear. while I remembered the episode as, whiny woman gets here while Klingons get theirs, it really is much better than that. How much of Elan’s behavior is an attempt to sabotage the marriage? When that fails, she makes the play to put Kirk under her mojo. (And had Kirk gone along with her plan to wipe out her enemies I do not doubt later something, unfortunate would have happened to him.) However her plans backfires when Kirk proves to be more driven by duty than by love. With considerable effort he places his duty ahead of his own personal feelings, saving them all and causing Elan to become smitten with him.
While in the transporter room farewell scene she is subdued I think her expression is also one of loss for now she cares for Kirk in a way she never planned. (Remember Kirk is a Hornblower character and Hornblower was the sort of man ‘women easily loved’ according to the author.) By the end she has accepted her duty, modeling herself on Kirk and not her own desires.
To Torie’s points on the sexism of the episode.
First I will second DemetriosX in remembering that this is a product of a different age with different social mores than ours today, but I think there is more to consider.
Elan has a duty to her people. It is not a duty she chose that is true, but she did not chose her life of privilege either. It is part and parcel of that nobility thing. The ruling Councils and Parliaments have found a away to prevent a war that annihilate her people. She can accept this or kill her people. Not a fair choice, but life is often not fair. I think nearly all of her tantrums is not spoiled child but her trying to escape her duty. In the end see sees what duty means and accepts it.
Torie made fair points about Elan being married off to a man she has never met and given no choice in such an important matter. I will point out all this is true for the groom as well. He has presumable never met Elan, and is being married for the same reasons. His choice is also an arranged marriage or the death of his people. Because we do not meet him we have no empathy for him, but he exists in the storyline and I think he should not be forgotten in this tarde of sexual prizes for peace.
Eugene is again correct. This is a solid Warp 4, and probably the best of the season. And as mentioned, Elaan is royalty and “sexual peace offering” is one of the downsides of that position.
I liked Elaan’s elaborate, vaguely Egyptian, costumes and coife because they contrast so well with her barbaric sensibilities. (The guards’ uniforms are rather unfortunate, but then they were partially constructed out of placemats!) France Nuyen does an excellent job of portraying Elaan, which can’t have been easy.
I think Kirk might have been a bit annoyed about the Federation not letting him in the big secret about the ilithiumday istalscray, and why this seemingly minor interplanetary event is really so important.
@ 3 Churchhatestucker
I agree w you and Eugene that this is a nice solid 4, but I would prefer ‘The Enterprise Incident” over this outing.
As to the choice of quaters for Elan. The Cpatin is not going to surrender his, Spock’s are too alien, and frankyl it’s not likely you have some of command rank surrender their because of security issues. I don’t think they ever said that Uhara’s were the most feminine I think that was an assumption of the viewer’s part.
What does it say about me that this was the first time I really noticed the actresses ethnicity? I think Star Trek is one of the major reason I see peope first and race second.
As has been pointed out, the attitudes of today are different from what we (society) held when this episode was written and first run. Do we have to like the attitudes of those times today? No. But, we shouldn’t ignore the fact that such attitudes existed. Part of why I like this episode is because these cultures illustrate that the Federation is not all homogenized milk and white bread. The cultures are varied and offer much for others to embrace or despise. I wonder how many in people in the Federation look poorly upon the Vulcan Pon farr tradition.
Also, to me, this episode works well as a counter point to Quark’s inspired comments about root beer in “The Way Of The Warrior” episode of Deep Space Nine. While dispensing it’s brand of root beer, the Federation does find itself having to sample and tolerate various forms of bitter ale.
The revelation of the stones in the necklace did not bother me as I accepted the possibility that no one on the Enterprise crew knew that dilithium crystals were at the heart of the Federation’s interest in this system. If it were to become common knowledge – before the Federation had stronger ties to the system – that the crystals were so common there, every wild-cat mining operation in the quadrant would be trying to get in on the action and the resulting chaos could have made it easier for the Klingons to gain control of the system.
@5 BobSanDiego “I don’t think they ever said that Uhura’s were the most feminine I think that was an assumption of the viewer’s part.”
Elaan complained about the luxury of the quarters. Also, I think Uhura drew the short straw simply because she’s the highest ranking female on the ship (the assumption presumably being that a woman would prefer another woman’s quarters. At least the seat would be down.)
@6 Ludon I rather liked the dilithium necklace thing. It neatly wrapped up both the Klingon interest in the system (we’ve apparently forgotten about the neutral zone entirely by now) and the way out of the situation at the same time.
@7 ChruchHatesTucker
I think should would have complained about the luxury of the quaters no matter which cabin she was in. It’s two fold, first she is being difficult to try and derail a wedding she does not want and secondly the Federation lives in a luxury that a warriro culture like may not find suitable to the right frame of mind.
I don’t think it has anythig to do with whose quarters they are.
@8 BobSanDiego
Oh, I agree. I’m just saying that her comments and the fact that it was Uhura’s quarters is probably why some viewers took her complaints to be directed at the ‘femininity’ of the quarters, when she’d probably find Scotty’s digs to be fey.
There’s a whole lot going on in the sexual politics of this episode.
On the one hand, you have the “overly dominant woman needs to be put down so some mansplaining can occur.” Sure, times were different then, and this trope was much more accepted. But that’s exactly why it’s interesting to point out and talk about. It Was The 60’s is a starting point for a conversation; I mean why talk about a 40-year-old show if we can’t also think about how things have (and haven’t) changed?
Also, all that said — “Let the man come in and explain why you, little lady, have too much power” — we aren’t usually so direct about it now as we were in ’68, but that’s still all over the place today.
On the other hand, there’s marriage diplomacy. Dominated European power politics for centuries, but nobody really endorses it now, but the show also doesn’t give us any indication of who these people are and what the arrangement of their subsequent marriage is going to be like. What’s a Dohlman? (Not a dolmen, mind.) Is their marriage going to make her more like Queen Isabella? Marie Antoinette? Or some kind of concubine? The ep doesn’t give us any real answer to those questions (though it doesn’t look like the Elasians would be satisfied with the latter), and we have to make a lot of assumptions to judge, or even interpret what it means. After all, it would be Very Weird if, say, we’d made Richard Nixon marry Brezhnev’s daughter to ensure peace. How does that even work if there’s a Council of some kind? Is Elas a noble republic, a la Venice or something??? I can’t get too emotionally invested in this part, simply because it completely falls apart if you look at it without the most charitable of assumptions.
Another thing that bugged me here was the character change that happens in Elaan. By the end of the episode, she’s submissive in some way — whether it’s to her duty to her people, or to Kirk, or to her future husband, or to fate, or whatever, we can’t tell. But I don’t get why she did the complete 180. Perhaps she was inspired by the nobility with which Kirk executes his duty at the expense of his own feelings, but this seemed to come all at once rather than gradually. She shows none of the old spark. She shows up on the bridge and plays the good wife, standing by her man and all, but where did that come from? If it was from loving Kirk (does she love Kirk? I thought it was all a ploy), why does she lose her arrogance to everyone else as well? I’m just not convinced, I suppose.
Ludon@6: Is it clear from the story that the Federation actually knew about the dilithium crystals? I haven’t re-watched the episode, but my recollection is that the necklace made clear the Klingon interest in the whole affair, but that the Federation’s interest could have been explained as simply diplomatic.
Anyway, this is one of the best of the third-season episodes (which, I admit, is not necessarily saying much, but it’s actually not bad at all). I don’t have much to add (really!) to what’s already been said, other than a couple of aesthetic points:
– I totally agree that Elaan’s outfits were all rubbish except for the blue dress she wore at the end, which was simple, elegant, and beautiful.
– And the opening pan of her, from foot to head, on the transporter platform, has got to be one of the sexiest bits of television up to that time. Okay, the outfit was ridiculous, but, I mean, yow.
Oh, and I really liked the way Enterprise sails at sub-sub-sublight speed, practically taking a Hohmann transfer orbit to get from one planet in that system to the next. It’s interesting that there are so many episodes in the third season in which the starship is throttled back and spends a long time in transit across distances which it could otherwise cover in seconds. ‘For the World is Hollow and I Have Touched the Sky’ is another, as is ‘The Paradise Syndrome’. Going back to first season, we have ‘Where No Man Has Gone Before’ and the trip to Delta Vega. Any others come to mind?
And, you know, I don’t know, but I thought Kryton looked seriously bad-assed in that outfit. Like something off the cover of a Gor novel. (And, no, I haven’t read any Gor novels.)
@1 DemetriosX
Apparently there were so many optical effects required involving the Klingon ship, they needed the extra post production time before they could broadcast it. Almost anything would have been a better lead-in than “Spock’s Brain.”
DeepThought@10: You could argue that Elaan’s change was so abrupt because much of what had gone on before was an act. She didn’t want to do this, so she tried to sabotage it by making the Troyians back out. Once it became clear that wasn’t going to work, she decided to do the duty she already felt bound to do. In that case, the effect of Kirk’s example is a little easier to understand.
The Council could be anything from a council of nobles who hold the real power to a council of regents who are in charge because the Dohlman is a woman. There are lots of ways in which marriage politics still make sense within the framework of what little we know.
Nomad@11: Good to see you back again. It could also be that the Federation’s interest in the system was that the Klingons were interested. “We don’t know what they’re after, but we need to get in there first and cut them off at the knees. Worry about what they’re looking for later.”
Eugene@11: Over six months (RFK was assassinated during
filming) for post-production F/X on a show with almost no budget?
I’m not sure I buy it. OK, maybe it wasn’t ready to open the
season, but the effects were no more complicated than the alien in
“Day of the Dove”. They could have aired this one a lot earlier
than they did.
@10 DeepThought “does she love Kirk? I thought it was all a ploy”
It can be both. I got the feeling it was more the latter at first and then morphed into more of the former. (That whole tears thing probably warps your ideas on relationships anyway.)
I think she started out to manipulate Kirk to get what she wanted (Out of the wedding, her enemies crushed, and her the lamintations of their women) but by the end she had grown to real care and maybe lobe him, hense her very subduded manner in the transporter room at the end. She is doing what she must to save her people and she knows she’ll never see Jim Kirk again.
Heck, I give this one a strong 5. Action-adventure, dramatic tension that felt real, strong characters and good acting- this beats the TNG imitation by miles.
Arranged marriages have been frequent through our history, and political marriage among ruling families more so. I don’t know Elasian customs, and I don’t know why Elaan was selected by her people, but is was presumably a responsibilty that was a risk of her privileged life. This doesn’t mean she has to be happy about it, but still- this is a sacrifice for the benefit of two planetary poulations. And if the intention is ultimately to have co-rulers of the system, or by her descendants, this also has historical parallels. I don’t see her future as powerless, based on her personality shown. Her demeanor at the end is more like someone who learned that tantrums are not the way to exert influence, and will use her new maturity to good effect on Troyius.
I liked Kirk convincing Elaan to leave the bridge during the Klingon confrontation- her presence distracts him and is interfering with his ability to protect her. Sweet, if maybe a bit sexist at the core.
Elaan’s blue wedding dress predates Donna Karan’s similar shoulder-baring outfit by 40 years or so; Bill Theiss deserves his props.
The male Elasian costumes could be the inspiration for the Elven chain mail in the PC D&D game “The Temple of Elemental Evil”. Blech.
I personally disliked the reminder of the Fed High Commissioner’s attendance- Kirk and crew will do their best, as they see fit (see “Amok Time”), and no Foggy Bottom descendant will affect that.
But I don’t see the arranged marriage as sexist. The Troyian is presumably as unhappy as Elaan- a teal-skinned humanoid might have different standards of “hot” than I- and the Dohlman is probably the one relocating because a Troyian would get murder-death-killed before consummation if on Elas.
It’s interesting and ironic inversion that it is the apparently more militant society of Elas that surrenders its royal woman to an arranged marriage. The Troyans, who come across as the more enlightened and advanced society (and ostensibly more “Federation material”), are apparently the ones enforcing the sexual union/dominance as a precursor to peace.
One does wonder why the Federation has involved itself with this clearly “not ready for prime time” fragmented society, when its been made clear (and will be made more clear in later canon) that the Federation admits only properly evolved societies that are “ready” into its ranks (kinda like the EU). Is it just another instance, as we saw in “A Private Little War,” that the Federation is ready to fully involve itself in any ol’ Cold War with the Klingons? This would make Federation policy somewhat equivalent to the U.S.’s happy support of any ol’ murderous regime that happened to be virulently anti-communist.
Much more might have been explored of the relationship and history of these (widely separated) societies, but—I agree with one commenter—the episode serves more as a vehicle to underscore Kirk’s superhuman abilities and command responsibilities. Not complaining, as I agree this is one of the most wholly entertaining episodes of Season 3.
@11. NomadUK:
I agree I’ve always liked it when Star Trek took a step back to explain just how huge and isolated interstellar space can be… “destinations once days away are now years in the distance.”
Comments have noted the Helen of Troy/Cleopatra elements of the storyline, but I suggest it has a (clumsy) bit of “The Taming of the Shrew” as well.
Happy New Year, everyone!
Happy new year, Nomad, and everyone!
Re: the dilithium, I didn’t get the impression the Federation knew about it either. I thought they were doing a straight-up do-gooder diplomacy mission, were very curious about the Klingon interest, and then discovered (when Kirk did) their secret treasure.
The blue dress: gorgeous. The rest: ewww.
Re: Elaan’s change at the end, it struck me as abrupt, too. I can see her coming around to not being a spoiled brat anymore, but her sudden submissiveness and meekness contributed to my general distaste for the episode. Even after they fall in love, Beatrice and Benedict maintain plenty of their verve, and their personalities remain more or less the same. Why does Elaan seem to be a different person? Oh right, because Kirk is just soooo special he changed her. Or something.
Happy New Years Everyone! (Especially Eugene, who is often correct.)
@21 Torie “Re: Elaan’s change at the end, it struck me as abrupt, too.”
Resignation is often abrupt. I think that Elaan’s real personality was somewhere between the extremes we saw.
“Even after they fall in love, Beatrice and Benedict maintain plenty of their verve…”
What’s her gift to Kirk for him to remember her by? I think she’s got some verve left.
And drawing too close a parallel is a trap. Beatrice couldn’t seduce a man with her tears. Benedict didn’t love his ship.
Happy New Year, everyone! 2011 is already looking great because at some point, we’ll get to talk about the Star Trek movies :)
Re: the dilithium:
I think you could make a good argument that the Federation did know about it, but didn’t divulge it to anyone who didn’t need to know (ie. Kirk). It’s in their best interest to appear to be doing good despite ulterior motives. I’d like to think better of them, though, and in Gene Roddenberry’s universe they would have completely altruistic intentions.
Belatedly responding to some of Torie’s comments:
What she needs is a strong man to put her in her place, and that’s what Kirk gives her.
I don’t think that’s it, exactly. What Kirk does is gets her to stop and think and consider a different way of commanding her people. He does it in his usual style, by force, but he really changes her much more subtly than that. And if there weren’t some respect and admiration of him on her part, I don’t think he would have had the same impact. I think what really convinced her though was that even under her sway he was just as competent, efficient, and compassionate a leader. She asks him several times why he lets the Klingons escape, and I think she came to understand that it wasn’t a sign of weakness, as she would have thought before, but a different kind of strength. Petri asks her very gently if she will reconsider accepting the necklace he offers, and thus her duty, and she does because her perspective has fundamentally shifted.
To make matters worse, the racist undertones of Asian women being subservient and meek (or, if they aren’t, they’re monsters) are wince-worthy today.
OK, I know I’ve seen some scathing indictments of the racism in this episode but… I didn’t see it. As a representative of the supposedly stereotyped racial group, I think I would usually pick up on that. The thing is, regardless of France Nuyen’s race, I didn’t see Elaan as an Asian woman. With all the Egyptian-influenced fashion and makeup, she was obviously portrayed as exotic, but I just saw her character as an “Elasian” and I didn’t even realize until later on that Nuyen is actually Asian. Yes, I see now that this is an obvious comparison, and there’s merit to the criticism, but I pretty much looked at her only as an individual in this instance. Perhaps that’s naive of me, but it may account for my higher score for the episode.
Kirk repeatedly tries to set this up as a parallel to his duties, but that’s a ridiculous false equivalency. Kirk signed up for his position, and in exchange for accepting the rules and hierarchy it requires, he’s granted immense personal freedom and the respect of everyone he works with. Elaan, on the other hand, is expected to give up everything and gain nothing–her obedience is rewarded with what exactly?
Rewarded with the continued existence of both their planets and a chance at lasting peace for her people? We don’t know much about Elasia from this episode, but for all we know she accepted her role as Dohlmen gladly, and all the perks of the position. The Troyians call her their worst enemy, which suggests she has some power–perhaps she even commanded the forces against them in the war, which makes it even more important that she be the one to make this gesture. Arranged marriages suck, but as others have pointed out, they happen for lesser reasons. She got a raw deal, but in exchange for the privileges of office, you also have to accept the demands of the job, even when you don’t like them.
Keep in mind that Kirk is also restrained by his captaincy, often ordered to do things he doesn’t like, with no breaks from his life-or-death responsibilities. Sending his men to their certain deaths on a weekly basis is no small thing either. Granted, he often finds a way to bend the rules, but he is still part of the military and they hold him accountable for his actions. He suffers enough anxiety over the pull of command versus a chance at life with a woman that it’s clear he does not always love his job. Though it may not be relevant to bring this up, in Star Trek Generations, he chooses a quiet home life, not the bridge of the Enterprise in the Nexus, which can give you your heart’s desire. He tells Picard never to give up his command, but he doesn’t seem to miss it in the end.
@ 23 Eugene
I don’t think the episode is particularly racist (lord knows we’ve seen much worse in the Star Trek universe), just that the undertones are, in retrospect, unfortunate. I think her dark skin and eyes, makeup, and hair are clearly meant to evoke Cleopatra and be generally “exotic”–which is its own stereotype even if it’s not Asian*. But overall I didn’t have a problem with it. Nuyen is really fantastic (and beautiful), and I think this might be the first time we’ve actually seen an alien with an accent!
Fun fact: France Nuyen and Shatner starred together in over 500 performances of The World of Suzie Wong, and she won a Theatre World Award for it. They must have known each over very well by this point!
I take your points about Kirk’s duty, but again, I just don’t see how there’s an equivalency between the two. I never assumed for a moment that she chose to be the dolhman, but I suppose that’s all guesswork. In any case, I can’t believe you brought up Generations. *shakes head*
*Cleopatra was GREEK. But I digress.
I really enjoy this episode. It actually kind of retains the feeling of a late second season episode, probably due to the contributions of J.M. Lucas to the tone and direction. The lighting work is also reminiscent of earlier seasons, with moodier, less flat lighting on the bridge. This is obviously before the penny pinching of Paramount completely took over, which afterward no longer allowed the luxury of retakes, so that the actors could nuance their performances ( see “Inside Star Trek” by Herb Solow and Robert Justman for the sad details ), and the ennui of Fred Frieberger’s reign sucked the life out of everything.
As to what Torie said about Kirk at the end; perhaps I read more into the ending than was intended, but I felt that the sadness that Kirk was expressing was less for himself, than sympathy for the fate of Elaan. It’s difficult to watch that brilliantly played final attempt not to cry as she’s swept away by the transporter, and not be moved for her circumstances.
Also, as far as Kirk being portrayed as superhuman yet again because he is able to shake off the effects of the Elasian biochemicals, I prefer to think that, not only is the Captain an “…extremely dynamic individual”, to borrow a phrase, but the mere fact that he’s human, and not Elasian might have something to do with it, although that’s not explicitly implied.
I must agree with the dilithium comment. These are the one item that is absolutely essential for the ship to operate. Without the crystals, the ship is defenseless, and functionally stranded, but they don’t have spares????
I definitely don’t agree with those who call this the best episode of the season. It’s not even second or third. However, I was willing to defend this episode against Torie’s claims of sexism. Kirk sounds right when he says that if Elaan wants to be the Dohlman of Elas she needs to deal with the responsibilities, not just the privileges. Even in a constitutional monarchy like the UK, where the monarch has little or no actual governing power whatsoever, he or she has endless obligations to the state to go along with his or her privileges of office. Kirk also casts the position as voluntary when he suggests that the Dohlman can step down from office and give up her life of privilege if she doesn’t want to fulfill her duty to her people.
Like I said, I WAS willing, past tense. Unfortunately after watching the episode I became less and less willing. Kirk’s behavior early on may have been similar if the Dohlman were an arrogant, selfish and self-entitled young man instead of a woman, but I sincerely doubt he would have been quite so patronizing about it, nor would he have threatened to give the man a spanking. The attitude that difficult and uncooperative women should be treated like children is an old sexist trope. Then there’s the Dohlman’s manipulative magic tears, which gave me unpleasant flashbacks to “A Private Little War.” At least this doesn’t end with attempted gang-rape and murder.
Forgive me if I’m being repetitious, but I believe Elaan was on the bridge when the Enterprise was being attacked and everybody was stumbling back and forth. Did anyone else notice when she was on the far left that she was laughing hysterically ? Now I saw this on an online site which showed whole episodes. Maybe it was before final editing for TV broadcast ? Haven’t see it on TV since that time to confirm this, but I sure as heck know I saw her laughing.