“Turnabout Intruder”
Wow, another fantastic episode, except for the very end where it kind of goes off the rails. But if you ignore the last 3 minutes, this was a superb, exciting episode.
Others will have to help me out on this, but I think this is the third or fourth, maybe even the fifth time when Kirk has been replaced/changed in 3 seasons. This time he is lured to a planet with a distress call, while Spock and McCoy are given a distraction, he is left alone with an old flame from Starfleet Academy who is “sick”. As soon as they’re alone, she first laments that her gender has held her back while he became a Starfleet Captain. Then she springs into action when he gets near a device on the wall. They switch bodies, but before she can kill Kirk, the others get back. She soon returns to the Enterprise as Kirk and tries to take command.
I really loved Shatner’s acting here, acting different than his normal self in several small subtle ways, as well as big obvious ways. We seldom see this kind of deliberate subterfuge and sabotage on this show from fellow humans. These aren’t aliens they’re fighting but an ex-girlfriend. And throughout the episode, she makes some smart moves and some impulsive moves and some emotional moves. She’s clearly not fully mentally stable, but they still didn’t earn the last three minutes where she apparently breaks down for no reason after she had the situation well in hand.
I really enjoyed the various aspects of the crew suspecting something was wrong, and then Spock mind-melding with the real Kirk in a woman’s body and becoming such a full-throated advocate for him. I found that really touching. Last week we had an episode where Spock falls in love, and this week we have an episode where Spock stands up for his friend because he knows the truth, even though he has no proof. He declares things truthfully and logically and I found his trial testimony very moving.
In the end, the core of the show is not adventures with aliens and discovering new worlds, it’s the friendship of these three crewmembers and the strong leadership of Captain Kirk. So I feel like if the show is going to come to an abrupt end, emphasizing this core is a great way to leave the audience and say goodbye.
The other question I have on my mind is if this really was a meta-commentary on gender relations. Is she right in that she could be perfectly capable but not allowed to advance in Starfleet because she’s a woman? Star Trek Discovery and other Trek shows that explore this period of the Trek future would say no, but for the sake of this episode, it is a possibility. Of course, the episode takes the easy way out and makes her a hysterical crazy woman at the end, maybe because they didn’t know how to end the show otherwise as they were out of time.
I have to admit, I really liked this Kirk. There were portions of the episode where I found myself rooting for this Kirk. When they almost found her out, and she acted quickly and improvised, I found myself saying “Yes”, as she got out of the situation. Other times she didn’t do as well, making it really obvious to the others that something was wrong. In an alternate universe, she could have gotten away with it, and the rest of the show could have been this Kirk at the helm of the Enterprise. I’m writing the fantasy fiction in my head right now. Would she have developed a hatred of Klingons? Would she have been as mad at Khan? Would she have kicked Malcolm McDowell’s ass better than the real Kirk? We shall never know.
