War is brewing between the Federation and the Klingons, and the fate of an undeveloped race – the Organians – hangs in the balance. But there’s more to the Organians than meets the eye, as the Enterprise learns in “Errand of Mercy.”
Mission Log #26 – Episode 026 – Errand of Mercy
You guys missed the point that the mere presence of violent beings such as the Humans and the Klingons is painful to their species. The presence of war like attitudes and violence throughout the galaxy would threaten their peace. And despite of this and their distaste for interference the Oregonians still take that step to prevent a situation that will engulf the entire Galaxy and threaten their lives.
War is stupid and it hurts more then just the two sides.
Maybe you could have used music from Information Society for this episode.
Regarding Kirk’s shifting stances from diplomat to soldier, if we need to reconcile them I wonder if we can make a case for this being a study in being a solider, following orders, etc.
When Kirk’s mission is more open-ended and he’s on his own judgement, he is more likely to seek the peaceful solution as that is his mandate. However, in a state of war, he shifts to the soldier mentality and follows the ethos of the Federation more strictly.
So the arc is not just Kirk learning a lesson about war on behalf of the Federation, but also perhaps being shown exactly how far he shuts his normal judgement down . Is he just being a good soldier, or is he welcoming dropping some of the responsibilities and focusing on something simple in a conflict?
So that’s twice Ken’s freaked out at a suggestion that struggle is endemic to human existence.
I don’t know what causes it, but remind me never to question his right to chemically-induced space spore bliss.
Something I thought of while watching the episode toward the end:
The Organians stop a conflict between the Federation and the Klingons by heating their weapons so that they can’t be used. While it seems like a lame power for a super powerful race, it makes sense in a way. They are a race that has evolved far beyond humanity, so they likely look at the two sides the way we look at single celled organisms. Their response is as simple as, “Look how this specimen reacts to heat negatively.” To do anything more complex would just seem unnecessary toward a race so simple.