THIS is what great science fiction is all about! The second season of the series kicks off with an entirely original story that explores Spock's Vulcan roots, and delves into that planet's ritual and customs that have grown shrouded in antiquity. I just love the way the writers (Roddenberry and Sturgeon) develop the concept of Pon Farr, the time of mating, and use it to create havoc with Spock's rational side. There's a uniquely creative element at work in the naming of the characters, the revelation of Vulcan as a red sky planet, the history of T'Pau, the beauty of T'Pring and the challenge of the Kal-if-fee. And if that wasn't enough, you have your first genuine 'Holy ____' moment in the history of Star Trek - Captain Kirk dies! That comes so totally out of left field that you're left wondering how this can possibly be happening to one of TV's favorite characters.
Even after forty plus years this episode performs it's magic for me. Not only does it work as extraordinary sci-fi, there's also the bond that's developed between Kirk, Spock and McCoy that sets the stage for a friendship that really didn't exist in the series before. Most of the time in the first season, their relationship was developed along strictly professional lines, with boundaries drawn along status and rank. Here those lines are blurred when Spock invites his fellow officers to witness the Koon-ut-kal-if-fee, and is given even more approbation when T'Pau honors Spock's choice.
What further magnifies this episode as one of the best are those elements written into the story that wouldn't have been missed if they were left out, but since they were included, work to create an even richer tapestry for the Star Trek universe. Here I'm thinking about T'Pau's renown as the only person ever to decline a seat on the Federation Council. With that simple description, Roddenberry elevates the character's status in the ST universe in a way that might otherwise have taken a couple of episodes to impress.
And of course there's T'Pring's rationale for the Kal-if-fee. I always got a kick out of the way Star Trek presented those situations that worked to reinforce logic and reason to effect an outcome. This one was brilliant, pitting Kirk as T'Pring's champion against a Spock who even if he emerged victorious, would have left T'Pring with her own desired outcome. All of these elements work so well in the story, that every time I watch it, I'm left speechless as an Aldebaran Shellmouth.
Even after forty plus years this episode performs it's magic for me. Not only does it work as extraordinary sci-fi, there's also the bond that's developed between Kirk, Spock and McCoy that sets the stage for a friendship that really didn't exist in the series before. Most of the time in the first season, their relationship was developed along strictly professional lines, with boundaries drawn along status and rank. Here those lines are blurred when Spock invites his fellow officers to witness the Koon-ut-kal-if-fee, and is given even more approbation when T'Pau honors Spock's choice.
What further magnifies this episode as one of the best are those elements written into the story that wouldn't have been missed if they were left out, but since they were included, work to create an even richer tapestry for the Star Trek universe. Here I'm thinking about T'Pau's renown as the only person ever to decline a seat on the Federation Council. With that simple description, Roddenberry elevates the character's status in the ST universe in a way that might otherwise have taken a couple of episodes to impress.
And of course there's T'Pring's rationale for the Kal-if-fee. I always got a kick out of the way Star Trek presented those situations that worked to reinforce logic and reason to effect an outcome. This one was brilliant, pitting Kirk as T'Pring's champion against a Spock who even if he emerged victorious, would have left T'Pring with her own desired outcome. All of these elements work so well in the story, that every time I watch it, I'm left speechless as an Aldebaran Shellmouth.