Star Trek TOS S01E14, Balance of Terror

Dir. Vincent McEveety, Wri. Paul Schneider

The Summary: The Enterprise responds to a distress call from an outpost under attack by Romulans, and things get tense really quickly.

The Good: Using a wedding as a framing narrative for the events of the episode is brilliant and gives it real pathos. The slow build-up of tension throughout the runtime is remarkable. Again, as in “The Corbomite Maneuver,” you’ve got the whole ensemble working at full tilt and with something to do, which makes so much of a difference. The episode just feels better written when everyone has a job to do. Kirk saying, “Leave any bigotry in your quarters—there’s no room for it on the bridge” is an amazing example of how positive and forward-thinking Trek was. The Romulan commander (Mark Lenard) manages to convey danger and nobility and pride in a surprisingly contained performance. The world-building of the Romulan society is very well done–subtle but clearly present. The episode goes to great lengths to make the contrast between the captains’ styles clear. “War is never imperative” should be a mantra for modern leaders. The whole ‘blindfolded sword fight’ thing this episode has going on (which it totally steals from submarine movies) is thrilling and engaging. This episode also has absolutely one of the best Bones-Kirk heart-to-hearts in the series. Not only that, but it even manages to stick the landing.

The Bad: They linger a little too long on the revelation that Romulans look like Vulcans—we get it already. I know what they’re going for here, but they treat the viewer a little too condescendingly for my taste. We almost got through a whole episode with no Janice, but not quite—at least she’s not there for long.

The Review: This is one of the most critically-praised and fan-favorite episodes of this series for a reason. From beginning to end, this is absolutely one of the most compelling hours of TV ever filmed from the era before prestige TV began. There are so many things to praise here. You know you have a good Star Trek episode when you can make the viewer feel something about a minor character death. They happen all the time, to the point of being a joke about the show, but every once in a while they make one hit hard, and this is one of those episodes.

One of the greatest strengths of the episode is the simplicity of its plot. There’s a distress call, Enterprise has to respond, and thus begins a duel between two captains as Kirk attempts to hunt down their hidden attacker. While there is definitely some techno-babble fueling this episode, it’s the kind that works well by providing interesting limitations or constraints on the action. It doesn’t provide deus ex machina solutions out of nowhere, it helps frame the action and make it more engaging. We learn very quickly about the Romulan cloaking capabilities, and we find out how they work along with the crew. The fact that the Federation has been out of contact with the Romulans for so long is a well-considered narrative conceit that allows this to work. Each revelation is exciting, all the way up to the climactic encounter between the two ships.

More than its intense and tight plotting, however, this episode is notable for its themes of tolerance and acceptance. When people talk about Trek being fundamentally socially liberal, this is one of the best episodes to cite. From its themes of not judging people based on appearances, to its clear insistence on the possibility of peace even in the midst of Cold War, this episode is a poster child for liberal themes of the 1960s. Not only that, but the themes are relatively well executed. The racial point is a bit belabored by the screenplay, but the ideas are communicated clearly and effectively. A more hard-hearted critic than me might give the show a hard time for attempting to have its cake and eat it too (after all, the episode does end in a shootout), but I think that’s being too hard on it. The important thing is that Kirk has ideals about the possibility and necessity of peace in the first place.

Ultimately, this episode works on both its narrative and thematic levels to make for an excellent hour of television. It’s definitely a little anachronistic to conceive of space combat in terms of submarine warfare, and the explicit racial imagery and dialogue may make it seem like a ‘very special episode,’ but those are petty quibbles. They forget both the context in which the show originally aired and the lack of precedent for filmed science fiction before this show’s airing. This is a groundbreaking and emotionally powerful episode that stands on its own even outside of the Trek canon. Anyone could enjoy this episode, even if they had never seen a single Trek show before, and that’s an incredible statement. A universal recommendation.

The Score: