"Obsession"
"Obsession"
When members of a landing party are attacked and killed by a mysterious creature, Kirk realizes that the creature's description is similar to another creature that was responsible for killing half the crew of Kirk's first deep-space assignment, the U.S.S. Farragut. Among those killed was the Farragut's commander, Captain Garrovick, whose son now serves aboard the Enterprise as an ensign. Ensign Garrovick beams down with Kirk and another landing party to further investigate the creature, and hesitates in firing his phaser on the creature. Three men are killed by the creature, but Kirk and Garrovick survive. Kirk blames Garrovick for the deaths of the landing party, and has him confined to quarters. Meanwhile, McCoy and Spock confront Kirk about the incident on the Farragut, and learn that Kirk has blamed himself for years for the death of his former captain, who was a mentor to him. Kirk believes that he is to blame for the loss of Garrovick and crew because he hesitated in firing. The creature leaves Argus X and Kirk gives chase. The creature turns and fights, entering the ship and attempting to kill Garrovick. Spock stops the creature, who doesn't like Spock's copper-based blood, and returns to Tycho IV, its home planet, where it attacked the Farragut crew. Kirk and Garrovick use a large jar of human blood to bait the creature and then kill it with a matter/antimatter bomb. Kirk realizes that neither he nor Ensign Garrovick could have stopped the creature with conventional means. Both men are freed from their guilt, and Kirk offers to tell Ensign Garrovick some "tall tales" about his late father.
Story
"Obsession" is an important episode mainly in regards to Kirk. We learn here what his first command was and that it was a tragic experience, and that he's been haunted by it ever since. We also get to see the usually-balanced Kirk struggle with obsession somewhat, though it's important to note that Kirk is not obsessed here. Instead, he's a man on a mission, with clear goals and evidence to support those goals. "Obsession" succeeds in making us feel for Kirk and for Ensign Garrovick, especially as we see Garrovick repeating Kirk's earlier mistake of blaming himself for something he could not have prevented. The episode is a powerful look at the motivations behind human actions and our struggle to deal with things beyond our control.
Action
There's some action here, mainly in the form of the cloud's attack on the landing parties and the destruction of the cloud creature at the end of the episode. "Obsession" is a character-based story and as such does not rely overmuch on action.
Performances
Critical to this episode's success are Shatner and Stephen Brooks's performances as Kirk and Ensign Garrovick, respectively. Shatner brings a sense of taut conviction to Kirk, and plays the stress the captain is feeling wonderfully throughout the episode. Brooks does a great job of conveying Garrovick's frustration with himself and his perceived error.
Trektastic Moments
Man, do some Redshirts die here! By my count, three Redshirts die from the first landing party, and then another three die from the second! That's a total of six! It's crazy. There must have been a surplus of Redshirts running around in Starfleet. I jest, but these guys die to show that space is a dangerous place.
Overall
A poignant episode with a tense story and a haunted Captain Kirk. A+.
The episode's title card.
Dead Redshirts. It's sad, I know.
Ensign Garrovick, son of Kirk's first commanding officer, Captain Garrovick.
Kirk and Garrovick bait the vampire cloud.
When members of a landing party are attacked and killed by a mysterious creature, Kirk realizes that the creature's description is similar to another creature that was responsible for killing half the crew of Kirk's first deep-space assignment, the U.S.S. Farragut. Among those killed was the Farragut's commander, Captain Garrovick, whose son now serves aboard the Enterprise as an ensign. Ensign Garrovick beams down with Kirk and another landing party to further investigate the creature, and hesitates in firing his phaser on the creature. Three men are killed by the creature, but Kirk and Garrovick survive. Kirk blames Garrovick for the deaths of the landing party, and has him confined to quarters. Meanwhile, McCoy and Spock confront Kirk about the incident on the Farragut, and learn that Kirk has blamed himself for years for the death of his former captain, who was a mentor to him. Kirk believes that he is to blame for the loss of Garrovick and crew because he hesitated in firing. The creature leaves Argus X and Kirk gives chase. The creature turns and fights, entering the ship and attempting to kill Garrovick. Spock stops the creature, who doesn't like Spock's copper-based blood, and returns to Tycho IV, its home planet, where it attacked the Farragut crew. Kirk and Garrovick use a large jar of human blood to bait the creature and then kill it with a matter/antimatter bomb. Kirk realizes that neither he nor Ensign Garrovick could have stopped the creature with conventional means. Both men are freed from their guilt, and Kirk offers to tell Ensign Garrovick some "tall tales" about his late father.
Story
"Obsession" is an important episode mainly in regards to Kirk. We learn here what his first command was and that it was a tragic experience, and that he's been haunted by it ever since. We also get to see the usually-balanced Kirk struggle with obsession somewhat, though it's important to note that Kirk is not obsessed here. Instead, he's a man on a mission, with clear goals and evidence to support those goals. "Obsession" succeeds in making us feel for Kirk and for Ensign Garrovick, especially as we see Garrovick repeating Kirk's earlier mistake of blaming himself for something he could not have prevented. The episode is a powerful look at the motivations behind human actions and our struggle to deal with things beyond our control.
Action
There's some action here, mainly in the form of the cloud's attack on the landing parties and the destruction of the cloud creature at the end of the episode. "Obsession" is a character-based story and as such does not rely overmuch on action.
Performances
Critical to this episode's success are Shatner and Stephen Brooks's performances as Kirk and Ensign Garrovick, respectively. Shatner brings a sense of taut conviction to Kirk, and plays the stress the captain is feeling wonderfully throughout the episode. Brooks does a great job of conveying Garrovick's frustration with himself and his perceived error.
Trektastic Moments
Man, do some Redshirts die here! By my count, three Redshirts die from the first landing party, and then another three die from the second! That's a total of six! It's crazy. There must have been a surplus of Redshirts running around in Starfleet. I jest, but these guys die to show that space is a dangerous place.
Overall
A poignant episode with a tense story and a haunted Captain Kirk. A+.
The episode's title card.
Dead Redshirts. It's sad, I know.
Ensign Garrovick, son of Kirk's first commanding officer, Captain Garrovick.
Kirk and Garrovick bait the vampire cloud.
posted by Christopher at 7:03 AM
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