The Return of the Archons
The Return of the Archons (Memory Alpha; SD Video) takes our favorite crew to Beta III, where the Archon disappeared a century ago. There they find a society without war, without fighting and populated by people with only happy thoughts. Kirk immediately sets out to destroy it.
Which is ironic, since this is the first time we hear about the “Prime Directive.” Spock doesn’t want to disrupt the society, despite them holding the landing party captive and threatening to kill them and destroy the Enterprise. And thus begins a long line where the Prime Directive is basically just something that gets mentioned before being ignored.
Begin Spoilers
I have no idea what this “Red Hour” “Festival” thing is in the beginning. How does that fit into anything, aside from giving the audience the heebie-jeebies?
End Spoilers
But aside from that one (large) loose end, this episode holds together nicely. It tells a simple story well, and explores how oppression happens, and how hard it is to rebel against what appears to be “The Good.”
Grade
A-
