Star Trek TOS S01E23 – A Taste of Armageddon
Dir. Joseph Pevney, Wri. Robert Hamner & Gene L. Coon
The Summary: The Enterprise is sent into the middle of a war that is conducted virtually between two neighboring planets.
The Good: Once again, the episode does a good job of creating tension about what the problem is. The behaviors and events witnessed by the crew of the Enterprise seem to make no sense, and watching the explanation play out is really fun. The core idea of this episode is one of the more bizarre, out-there ideas in Trek, but is interesting in a way that feels very much of a whole with this series. I can see this being a turn-off for some, as the premise is quite far-fetched, but as a Trek fan I was very much on board with the idea. Scott gets to be super cool up on the ship, although it is balanced out by his playing wildly into his own Scottish stereotype. Seriously, this episode is one of the best arguments for Scott actually being the best captain in Trek. He is great here. Kirk being all “I could destroy this planet singlehandedly” is both thrilling and a great character moment. I cannot overstate how awesome Kirk is in this—he is really cool. In fact, the whole episode just exudes coolness as a natural by-product. If you like watching Trek characters be amazing, this will really give you what you want.
The Bad: Hoo, man, this episode really hits the bottom of the barrel with regards to costuming. The locals’ outfits are, famously, the most ridiculous and distracting probably in the entire history of Star Trek. At one point Spock seemingly mind melds with…a door, I guess? It’s pretty clear that they still haven’t worked out the full extent of his psychic abilities, and this doesn’t really feel consistent with how the power has been used before. Kirk is kind of a jerk (if a very cool jerk) to the locals in general. I mean, their society absolutely is stupid, so he’s not wrong about that, but his condescension and dismissal of them don’t feel particularly Trek-like. His reaction is significantly removed from, for example, TNG’s respect for all ways of life. We also get another annoyingly (and I mean really annoyingly) stupid diplomat in a long string of same. The trope is definitely beginning to wear thin (and we aren’t even close to the end of it).
The Review: Let’s get one thing straight right off the bat: the basic idea underpinning this entire episode makes basically no sense. In particular, it seems absolutely ludicrous that guests to the planet would be required to participate in the culture’s bizarre handling of war. That being said, however, I don’t really care much at all. The idea works metaphorically even if it gets bogged down when considered literally, and that’s enough for me. The themes and character work resonate with the viewer, making this episode transcend (to a degree) some of its limitations. In addition to those practical limitations, the episode is somewhat slow-moving, and really takes its time to get anywhere exciting. Man, is the payoff worth it though. In the explosive finale of this episode we get some of Kirk’s best monologuing in the entire series. I definitely feel like this episode will rank lower for some, either because of the silly idea or the rather long trip to the payoff, but I think it’s definitely worth the time. Try to see past the silly costumes and a few plot contrivances, and you’ll find one of the most emotionally and morally resonant episodes of the Original Series.
The Score: 