Wanderlust

3.13 — “Elaan of Troyius”

3.13 — “Elaan of Troyius”

Plot: Another diplomatic mission places Kirk on escort duty, transporting the betrothed daughter of the ruler of Troyius (the Dohman of Troyius, Elaan) to her scheduled nuptials with the ruler of a rival planet, in order to divert the two planets from their present course of mutual destruction. When the appointed ambassador fails to bridge the cultural gap, Kirk is saddled with instructing the temperamental Elaan in courtesy and the customs of the new planet she will call home. Meanwhile, the Enterprise must contend with sabotage, and an attack from a Klingon Bird of Prey.

Thoughts: Yay, another diplomatic mission! After “Elaan of Troyius,” “Is There in Truth No Beauty?” and “Journey to Babel,” I hope the Enterprise goes on a lot more diplomatic missions.

I had a good time with this episode. The character of Elaan is well performed, and the exoticism, grace, and power of the character reminded me of no one so much as first season’s Khan Noonien Singh. We have a second interracial kiss from Star Trek, following hard on the heels of the history-making “Plato’s Stepchildren,” when Shatner kisses France Nuyen (Elaan), who is Vietnamese.

Some writers have criticized this episode for sexism, or the use of Asian stereotypes. Unpacking these stereotypes I will leave as an exercise to the reader. I can’t help but think, however, that this was a good, meaty, visible role for an Asian-American female actor at the time (December 1968), full of power, nuance, and depth. No one needs to be embarrassed about their participation in this episode–except maybe the guards who had to wear those sparkly red costumes that look like they came straight out of an old Flash Gordon serial. 

Poor Kirk. The last time external forces caused him to fall permanently in love, without consent, with a special guest star was back in 1.9 — “Dagger of the Mind.” As in the earlier episode, it’s not clear that the effect ever gets reversed (although it may have happened off camera). Yes, Kirk is carrying around some baggage–but he remains true to his first love, the Enterprise. 

4.5 out of 5 diplomatic requests for a spanking.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elaan_of_Troyius

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3 responses to “3.13 — “Elaan of Troyius””

  1. Randi Cohen Avatar
    Randi Cohen

    Not bad.  I agree, she does rather remind a person of Khan, but not as smart nor cunning unfortunately.   If she were, this would have been a great episode, but as it is I find it just okay.  I feel like throwing daggers and breaking things is just not that much of a credible threat (thus need to bring in Klingons to make things interesting).  It would have been better if she had something more interesting than chemical seduction as a super-power, since that had already been done in “A Private Little War”.  Like maybe she could contact Harry Mudd and try to replace herself with one of his android women, then run off with her guardsman in a shuttlecraft or something.  That would have been an interesting moral dilemma for Kirk as far as whether she should be brought back.  As it is, there really are no major philosophical dilemmas or personal struggles except for what is a foregone conclusion (Kirk chooses Enterprise over woman… how many times have we seen that happen?)

    Also not sure it makes sense for her man to boobytrap the Enterprise so they all die… unless the Klingons lied to him about the nature of device he was implanting.

    Overall, I rate this 3 out of 5 unused utensils.

    Reply
  2. R. Alex Reutter Avatar
    R. Alex Reutter

    You guys have covered the issues pretty well. 

    This episode almost has it all: diplomacy, mystery, a firefight where the Enterprise is at a disadvantage but the solution to the mystery also solves their problem, a great performance by the guest actor… but Elaan, her man, and the ambassador’s subplots don’t quite all hang together.

    Reply
  3. Katharine Bond Avatar
    Katharine Bond

    I could not get over the fact that Kirk is essentially playing the civilizing force for the noble savage and/or hysterical woman. I think even in 1968 that was a tired trope.

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