3.15 — “Let That Be Your Last Battlefield”

3.15 — “Let That Be Your Last Battlefield”

Plot: The Enterprise takes aboard a fugitive, Lokai, with strange coloring, his face half black, half white along the vertical axis. He has stolen a shuttlecraft, and he is being pursued by another being of the same race, Bele, who also boards the Enterprise. They are from the planet Cheron, and the pursuit has lasted for 50,000 years. Lokai explains that his crime was to resist oppression visited on his people after the end of their slavery, while Bele claims that uprisings fomented by Lokai are responsible for thousands of deaths. Absent an extradition treaty, and not knowing who is in the right, Kirk resists Bele’s request that he surrender Lokai to justice. Eventually, the ship reaches Cheron to discover it has changed. Bele and Lokai must determine whether to move past their prejudice, or remain defined by their hate.

Thoughts: Hang it. This episode lacks a certain subtlety, and contains some bad dialogue that sounds uncharacteristic of the crew. But I still find this to be a dignified and memorable episode.

Frank Gorshin, a.k.a. The Riddler on Batman (1966-1968), is playing Two-Face here. He’s a terrific actor; you can’t take your eyes off him. The makeup on the aliens may look like greasepaint, I grant you, but it is striking nevertheless. 

Good scene involving the self destruct sequence, which was copied almost exactly using slightly different characters in Star Trek III. Great reactions from the supporting cast during this scene.

Pursuit for 50,000 years, though? Surely there is a statute of limitations. This epic pursuit unfortunately brings back memories of “The Alternative Factor.”

The downer ending distinguishes this episode from all but a few of its predecessors–”The City on the Edge of Forever” and “A Private Little War” make for good company. It’s too bad the episode couldn’t figure out how to make better use of Spock.

If you’re counting down to the end of the series, this is #10.

3 out of 5 stolen shuttlecraft.

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