Stardate: 3156.2
Quick Summary: The Enterprise is in search of the crew from a long-lost ship on planet Beta 3, but while on the planet they discover a population of brainwashed zombies who occasionally also party and riot like there's no tomorrow. They're under the control of a godlike creature named Landrew who either kills or "absorbs" people in order to maintain peace on the planet, bringing them as one into "the Good of the Body". But Kirk and Spock are helped by an underground resistance and track Landrew to his lair where they discover he's little more than a powerful computer, programmed to protect "the Good", so Kirk and Spock convince it that through its actions it is now harming the Good, rather than protecting it. The computer can't process such paradoxical thoughts, so it explodes.
Review: Whew, where to begin? Religious overtones, political philosophy, zombies, and partying at Festival all accounted for. The language is so frustratingly cryptic for the first 30 minutes... "If you did not go to Festival then you are not of the Body", "The Good is All", "You will be absorbed into the Unity of Good", etc. When Festival begins and the women are kissing and trying to jump Kirk's bones and one guy screams out, "FESTIVAL! FESTIVAL!", man did I want to go to Festival!
The entire episode is a mystery that unravels slowly so that only by the end do you know what's going on. Yes, Landrew is The Lawgiver and everything he does is to protect the peace and keep at bay the "ancient evils" of violence - to "Preserve the Good" - but when he asserts that "the infection [of the Enterprise crew's ideas] are strong; for the good of the Body you must die", Landrew raises an entirely new specter of political thought regarding individualism versus the State. Spock interprets this as meaning that "the Good of the Body" equates to free choice and individual creativity, thus Landrew's argument that he carries out his actions stamping out individualism in order to preserve the Good is nullified. "Preserving the Good" has a whole new meaning, and Landrew runs counter to it.
If you're scratching your head reading this, rest assured, so am I, and I wrote the darn thing. It's a mind-scrambler, but it does make sense. The really cool idea is that there is no Landrew, thus what does this say about legions of people following imaginary rules and imaginary rulers who enforce them, both in this episode and in reality as well?
The endnote is pitch-perfect. Spock wonders aloud how long humanity has desired a peacemaker like Landrew. Kirk replies, "A long time. We're just lucky, I guess".
This episode will fill your brain with a million references to larger ideas, which is its strength. If only the annoying crypticness didn't go on for so long.
Review: 3 stars
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