Writer: John Meredyth Lucas
Director: John Meredyth Lucas
Producer: Fred Freiberger
"Elaan of Troyius" would be good, if it wasn't so bad.
There's a lot going on, with engaging characters and plot twists and machinations. But the foundation of the story is a big bag of awful.
Basically, Elaan is the Dolman of Elas, a planet at war with Troyius, and the governments of the two planets have decided that she's going to be married to the ruler of Troyius to broker peace. Y'know, that old story? But while her name is clearly a play on "Helen of Troy", the plot is more Taming of the Shrew. See, Elaan is being a real bitch about this marriage, namely because she didn't want it. Also the Elasians are a warrior culture and the Troyians are prissy peaceniks. So the Enterprise has to take the trip between the two worlds real slow, so the Troyian ambassador can teach Elaan manners. And after she nearly kills him, that task falls to Kirk. On top of all this, it turns out Elas is rich with dilithium, and the Klingons are in the area to sabotage the wedding so they can ally with Elas and get the dilithium.
So there's a lot going on. There's politics and spies and sabotage and even a Klingon battle cruiser. But the focus of the story is largely on the fact that Elaan is a huge bitch, that Kirk has to cut her down to size, and that they of course fall in love (Elasian women's tears are a love potion it turns out, if they touch your skin). And while the explanation for Elaan's attitude problems are that Elasians are warriors and she is their rich spoiled queen, it is definitely hard to watch this episode without seeing a pretty clear subtext. Which is that Elaan's biggest problem is she's a woman, and women are irrational and stubborn and have to be disciplined by a man. And so the great dramatic thrust of the episode is whether Kirk can transform Elaan from a commanding, arrogant ruler to a docile, obediant wife. No points for guessing that he effects this transformation through becoming Elaan's lover himself.
The best stuff in this episode, aside from all the aliens and costumes on display, is the sabotage plot involving the Klingons. And no doubt, the coolest part about that is the debut of the Klingon D-7 battle cruiser. Throughout the second season, the show had avoided ever actually showing the oft-mentioned Klingon ship, because there just wasn't money in the budget for a new model. AMT to the rescue! The hobby model company had signed with Trek early on to make models of the Enterprise for sale and wanted to expand the line. So they hired actual series art director Matt Jefferies to design the Klingon battle cruiser as a companion product, then let the show use the master model created for the molds on the show!!
In the end, it turns out Kirk is able to resist the Elasian tears love potion because he's already in love with his duty, and Elaan learns to accept her obligations to her peoples. Again, if it wasn't for the steady strain of sexism permeating the entire episode, this would be a good one.
Rating: 2 out of 4
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