Season 1 of Star Trek: The Original Series was remarkably solid for the first season in the entire franchise. I don't think Season 2 is quite as good, but it makes up for having some of the show's most iconic episodes.
Season 2 of Star Trek has some really fantastic episodes in it. As a matter of fact, its best episodes are even better than the high points of Season 1. I think it helps that the overall character writing is an improvement this season. The banter between Kirk, Spock, and McCoy is witty and fun in even the weaker episodes, and the season does a good job of splitting the screentime between the main trio and some of the more minor characters. However, Season 2 also has some big issues. You can really tell that the show is started to run out of ideas, since storylines start to get reused constantly, particularly ones involving godlike aliens, AIs, and planets modeled after Earth history. Even more, I think there are far more episodes this season that just aged poorly, with some being sexist and others dealing with serious topics in the worst ways possible. I'll elaborate more in the individual reviews, but keep in mind that I'll be getting a bit more serious and political than I usually do with some of these episodes.
Once again, I'll be reviewing each episode individually:
Amok Time: After all of those hints in Season 1, I think the decision to finally show off Vulcan makes for a strong season premiere. The main plot of "Spock is in heat" wasn't anything amazing, but Leonard Nimoy acts his heart out all episode, the fight between Kirk and Spock is fantastic and compelling (and oddly well-done for a Star Trek fight), and the extra Vulcan lore is just fantastic. I definitely get why Amok Time is a well-liked episode, it was a lot of fun! It also happens to be incredibly gay and I have no idea if that was intended or not.
Who Mourns For Adonais: Also known as The Squire Of Gothos: Greek Edition. The main storyline has pretty much already been done before, beat for beat: A godlike figure traps the Enterprise on his planet and plays around with them. But while Trelane was interesting for practically being a child, Apollo was kind of formal and dull. I don't mean to spend this entire review comparing, but this really just felt like Gothos but with stitled writing, weak effects, and nowhere near as much tension.
The Changeling: This episode was pretty cool. The evil AI Nomad looked kind of derpy, but that was all part of the charm, and its cold attitude and cruel actions still made it a really threatening villain for the Enterprise to take down. I like that Scotty and especially Uhura got a bit more screentime than usual, and Kirk using logical loopholes to shut down Nomad was a clever end to the episode. It's not too original nowadays and it has a lot of holes, but The Changeling was a pretty fun one.
Mirror, Mirror: This was another really iconic episode, and it definitely lived up to the hype! It takes a simple high-concept premise and mines it for all its worth, spending a lot of time developing and fleshing-out the mirror universe. Seeing Kirk, Uhura, Scotty, and Bones try and blend into the ship is tense and compelling, and I liked how Kirk is forced to make decisions he normally wouldn't have because of it. Uhura and Scotty once again get some nice screentime, Spock's goatee is magnificent, and the sheer cruelty of the mirror universe is a great contrast from Star Trek's usual idealism. You can tell from the length of this review that Mirror, Mirror is one of my favorite episodes of the show so far.
The Apple: I heard this episode was awful, but I have to say, it was almost really good! The evil plants at the start were pretty inventive, I really liked the subplot about Kirk dealing with the loss of some red shirts, and the moral dilemma at the heart of The Apple is an interesting one. However, for an episode about colonialism, I'm not all that sure how I feel about the colonists (Kirk) being depicted as in the right. There's a lot of potential here and some great ideas, but I think the general message just hasn't aged well at all.
The Doomsday Machine: This is easily one of the best episodes of The Original Series, it really does have everything. There's mystery, action, character work, horror, dark themes, and an amazing ending. The planet killer is such a terrifying antagonist, made even scarier with the absolutely fantastic remastered effects. It just looks so alien, and that giant magma-filled maw is absolutely nightmarish! But the real star of the show is Decker, whose storyline about dealing with PTSD is both well-executed and well-acted. If it weren't for an episode coming up soon, this would be my favorite episode.
Catspaw: This was yet another Gothos clone, but unlike the first one this season, I think the decision to make Catspaw Halloween-themed made it kinda entertaining. It threw so many fun ideas at the wall that it never once felt boring, even if not all of those ideas ended up working. Catspaw wasn't all that scary, but it was that charming kind of "spooky" that I love so much about Halloween. I also thought the banter between Kirk, Spock, and Bones were especially good this episode. This was a very silly and cheesy episode, but I had a fun time with it.
I, Mudd: Ugh, of all the characters to bring back, it had to be Mudd. Even in this episode, he remains sexist and unfunny. The main conflict was also just not all that tense and compelling, especially compared to fellow AI episode The Changeling. However, I didn't hate this one nearly as much as Mudd's Women, because I could tell the cast was having the time of their lives. The enthusiasm and energy from everyone involved, especially in the final ten minutes, was infectious and made generally weak comedic writing land just a bit more reliably.
Metamorphosis: Similarly to The Apple, I think this episode was so unbelievably close to greatness if its age didn't show. The concept of a human-alien love story just feels so perfectly Star Trek, the sets are colorful and pretty, and apparently Cochrane is a reoccuring character. But... remember my big complaint about Wonder Woman 1984? Because this episode had the exact same problem. There's a similar consent problem with the alien taking over Hedford's body at the end, and it just left such a bad taste in my mouth by the end of the episode.
Journey To Babel: This episode had a lot of really good worldbuilding and character development. I really liked the concept of the Enterprise having to transport a bunch of alien ambassadors, and seeing the different species was really cool. I wish the political stuff wasn't relegated to the subplot, but getting to meet Spock's family and learning more about his origins still managed to be really interesting as well. Spock had always been the show's most fleshed-out character, but exploring his split between his human and Vulcan half really solidified that.
Friday's Child: I feel like I should have loved this episode more than I did. We got the Klingons back, and my favorite character Bones got a ton of screentime to himself. However, this episode just ended up boring me. The pregnancy storyline doesn't really have any urgency or tension that made it memorable, and as much as I wanted to enjoy the Capellan stuff, I was so unbelievably distracted by their costumes. Normally, goofy alien costumes in Trek don't bother me, but this was definitely an exception.
The Deadly Years: I'm not a fan of "rapid aging" stories, and Star Trek didn't do much to win me over on the concept. It definitely stuck with that pretty regressive mindset of old people being useless (which is odd given that the 60-year-old Picard is a captain), and suffers from an extended court sequence that restates scenes that we already saw. However, the banter between Spock, Kirk, and McCoy managed to save this one for me, and was generally really entertaining for most of the episode.
Obsession: Sparkly vampire Twilight jokes aside, this was a pretty good episode. I love when otherwise moral characters are pushed to the brink, so while the plot was a bit similar to Decker's arc from The Doomsday Machine, the fact that it's Kirk of all characters still made it pretty impactful. Seeing Kirk let his confident captain act down for an episode was really refreshing, and it was nice to be able to learn a bit more about his past. It all made me overlook the fact that the villain is just a cloud.
Wolf In The Fold: While there is already quite a bit of sexism in Star Trek, this episode was especially sexist, to the point that it ruined what could have been a really cool episode. We had a murder mystery, a fun focus on Scotty, Jack The Ripper, but then we also got stuff like Spock claiming women get terrified easily, the "pleasure planet", lots of female deaths, and Scotty's general attitude throughout the episode that just ruined the episode for me. It wasn't just a single plot point like Metamorphosis or The Enemy Within, this was the whole episode, and I couldn't stand to watch it.
The Trouble With Tribbles: Like many others, I was first exposed to Star Trek through the reboot films, and I remember spotting the Tribble in Into Darkness. My dad pointed it out and said I had to watch the episode with the Tribbles in it, and I'm so glad I did. The Trouble With Tribbles was the first Star Trek episode I ever watched, and it's still my favorite episode in The Original Series. Upon rewatching it, there were just so many scenes that I remember from my first viewing years ago. The bar fight, Kirk losing his mind, the Tribble music, Scotty's confession, and of course, that iconic shot of Kirk covered in Tribbles. But even more, the writing is impressively sharp and witty, and I was surprised at how quotable it is. It's a fantastic entry point to the series too, offering fun action, strong humor, an intriguing mystery, some iconic species, 60s charm, and a role for pretty much every single character. An absolute classic.
The Gamesters Of Triskellion: It's kinda depressing that my favorite episode is surrounded by two of the worst. Similarly to Wolf In The Fold, I don't think the core concept of the characters fighting as gladiators isn't all that bad, and I always love seeing characters not in the main trio get screentime. However, there were some really rough scenes here, particularly Uhura's attempted rape and the transphobic Tamoon jokes. The Spock/McCoy scenes make this one slightly more tolerable than Wolf In The Fold, but they're both very low points in the series.
A Piece Of The Action: This episode was just so stupid, but I loved it so much. The sheer existence of this episode is hysterical, just seeing Kirk, Spock, and McCoy in their sci-fi suits playing pool with 1920s gangsters is just a sight to behold. Thankfully, I'm pretty sure the people who made this episode were very aware of how silly the concept is, because they went all out with the humor. The gangster clichés, Spock saying "Youse", Fizzbin, Kirk driving, the fact that the episode had a punchline. Not unlike the X-Files, I'm happy to see Trek has a hidden talent in comedy.
The Immunity Syndrome: Similarly to Corbomite and Doomsday, this was one of those episodes about the Enterprise crew confronting a seemingly unstoppable floating object in space. While not as good as those two episodes, this was still a tense outing due to just how crippling the space amoeba was to the Enterprise crew. The highlight, though, was the character work, culminating in that fantastic argument between the main trio over who would go on a suicide mission to save the ship.
A Private Little War: This was a pretty alright episode with a lot of depth. The actual storyline on Neural, Klingons aside, wasn't anything amazing, but it dealt with the subjects of pacifism and intervention pretty well. I especially liked how Kirk makes the decision to supply the hill people with guns at the end of the episode, yet it's not framed as Kirk making the "right decision". The ending leaves you conflicted over Kirk's decision, which is a bit of a bold move given how neatly tied most Star Trek episodes are.
Return To Tomorrow: This episode was actually a really neat usage of the body swap trope. Shatner and Nimoy did a good job of playing completely different characters, especially since we got to see Spock act like a mustache-twirling villain, and the escalation throughout the episode into sheer chaos in the last few minutes was incredibly well-done. I also really liked how it dealt with the ethical nature of using someone's body, as most of the characters consented to it and the main antagonist was the only one who refused to give their body back.
Patterns Of Force: Patterns Of Force tries to be a comedic romp not unlike A Piece Of The Action... but in a planet resembling Nazi Germany. Look, I like seeing Nazis getting beat up as much as the next person, but this episode also tried to say something, and horribly fails. It not only tries to deal with Nazism with the subtlety of a sledgehammer ("Zeon"? Really?), but even made the claim that they were efficient? That's not true! The ending felt off too. If current day is any indication, you can't just get rid of the leader of a movement and expect it to die out. And why was Spock shushed for pointing that out? This happens multiple times in Trek. Spock rightfully doubts the episode's message and Kirk and McCoy just laugh him off! Patterns Of Force just left a bad taste in my mouth, and felt far too lackadaisical for an episode about Nazism.
By Any Other Name: This one had a bit of a slow start, but it became really entertaining in the second half. I'm a big fan of aliens that have a fundamental misunderstanding of humanity, so seeing them take over the Enterprise is really tense and compelling. However, the best part was actually the last fifteen minutes, where the remaining members of the Enterprise crew trick the aliens into experiencing human emotions, at which point the episode becomes oddly fun and upbeat.
The Omega Glory: And I thought Patterns Of Force was bad, this episode was horrendous! It's such an unbelievable mess that I can't even figure out its message. On one hand, the America surrogates (Yangs) are savages, and overly patriotic to a fault, implying that TOG is a criticism of blind nationalism. But on the other hand, there's definitely a big "yellow peril" message here, and Kirk's final speech that America is right and every other country is wrong is so shamelessly patriotic that it doubles back over to utterly hilarious. I think you can get a lot of unintentional hilarity out of this one, but there are also a lot of unfortunate implications here that solidify The Omega Glory a truly awful episode.
The Ultimate Computer: Coming after The Omega Glory, an obvious product of the Cold War, this episode surprisingly aged like fine wine. The fear of AI taking over our jobs isn't only still here, it's probably even greater than ever as technology progresses. I love how this episode actually lingers on the subject, with Kirk spending the entire first half of the episode dealing with losing his role and wondering what it even means to be captain. M-5 becomes a really scary villain near the end, and Dr Daystrom is a fleshed-out character given his one-off role. Good stuff!
Bread And Circuses: Those Earth surrogate episodes tend to have a really bad track record, which is why I was surprised that the one about Space Gladiators wasn't all that bad. The gladiator fights were fun, the planet being based on Earth history was actually justified, Spock and McCoy have some truly fantastic scenes together, and there wasn't really too much poorly aged stuff in it. However, I did think the overall story was a bit confusing, and Uhura's religious speech at the end was just... ugh.
Assignment: Earth: What an odd finale. It's pretty obvious that it was meant to be the backdoor pilot of a spinoff we never got, meaning that the Enterprise crew we know and love doesn't actually appear all that much. I just can't bring myself to really care about any of the new characters this episode focuses on, and for an episode about stopping WWIII, it doesn't feel like there's much urgency here. I was honestly focusing on Gary Seven's adorable black cat more than the actual plot.
Overall, this season was far more uneven than the first one. Its high points are incredibly high, containing some of my favorite episodes in the entire series, but its low points were far more frequent, with some really poorly-aged and tone-deaf storylines and many more reused ideas. Still, I can't be too mad with the Tribble season, so...
3/5 Stars
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