Everything You Need to Know Before Reading On (and some random points about this project)

So what's the point of all this? Why am I analyzing and commenting on every episode of The Original Series? Well for one thing I like analyzing movies/tv that need it, I find it fun. And secondly, I'm a very firm believer in Kirk/Spock and I believe that there is more than enough evidence to support this. This is my attempt at compiling all of the evidence in TOS into one place.

NO, I will not be twisting events in TOS to suit my case of Kirk/Spock. I've found that a lot of people do this, and it hurts our case more than helps it. I will not look at a perfectly normal scene between the two and scream "SEE, RIGHT THERE, THAT WAS TOTALLY A MOMENT OF HOTNESS OMG LULZ." There's enough real evidence that supports K/S that I don't have to make any up. I don't like the idea of Kirk and Spock and make up evidence, I like the idea of Kirk and Spock because of the evidence.

I also won't ignore evidence that challenges K/S, as many people seem to do. Everything that's canon will get it's due attention, which is why I'm analyzing ALL of the episodes.

This will also be of great help to the K/S fan who gets into one of those pesky debates with a non K/S fan. All of the evidence will be right here at their disposal. XD

Oh yeah, and this is meant to be fun for the reader. I'm not taking this project as 100% hardcore, must-be-serious-at-all-times kind of thing, hence the 'commentary' aspect. I am fully capable of poking lovingly at the series when it deserves it. We are talking about a science fiction tv show from the 60s, hilarity is inevitable.

I CAN, IN FACT, POST STUFF LIKE THIS. I did it with Labyrinth and had zero trouble. Just because it's not your traditional fic, doesn't mean I can be shut down.

The truth is in the analyzation, the humor is in the commentary.

I will go through all of the episodes in their entirety. This is so that people don't get lost in what's going on. I won't go into uber detail about every single little thing, but I'm not gonna leave gaps in the story either. Yay for balance. =D

Also, before anyone comments about how I'm reading too much into things: No, I'm not. Actually, if anything, I won't be going into enough detail. WHen it comes to good writing and acting, a LOT of thought goes into it. Neither endeavor is something that's just thrown down. Every little thing is considered and thought out. Most of the time it's things the audience would never pick up on, but need to be figured out anyway. I'm tired of hearing the "Pssh, you're just nitpicking to find shit." I'm not. And who has to nitpick? Us K/Sers are up to our eyes in evidence over here. Nitpicking is hardly neccesary.

What exactly makes me so darn special as to do all of this? Well I'm an actress for one, and a writer for second, which means I have not only studied what it takes for an actor to approach a role, but what a writer must do to create a character. Since the stuff we're dealing with here comes down to actors and the text itself, I figure that I've got a bit of a headstart. No, I'm not saying I'm the greatest actor and/or writer of all time, that would be ridiculous. Also, you don't have to be the best actor or writer on the planet in order to analyze.

****Now with all of the boring stuff out of the way, let's get down to the good stuff: Kirk and Spock's character study and undeniable (yeah that's right, I said UNDENIABLE and I can prove it) sexual tension. I say that Kirk and Spock had NUMEROUS moments of flirting and all out tension of both a ROMANTIC and SEXUAL nature. And it's not just in between the lines with subtext and telling looks, it's right there in the TEXT itself. It's canon. As I will explain…

*^*^*^*^*^*^My comments will look like this: (((blah blah witty things and insights here)))

Off we go!

Episode One: Where No Man Has Gone Before

The Enterprise has received a recorded distress signal from a ship that has been missing for two centuries and had probed outside of Earth's galaxy. What was the Enterprise getting ready to do? Probe outside Earth's galaxy. Small universe.

(((I wonder how long it'll take for us to get to some Kirk/Spock goodness.)))

Kirk and Spock are playing a game of multi-level chess.

((( XD )))

At least they WERE playing multi-level chess. Kirk is staring at a display monitor at the moment, not paying attention.

"You're move, Captain." Spock says with a smile.

(((We all know Spock as the straight faced Vulcan, but this early on in the show he wasn't quite there yet so the fact that he's smiling isn't terribly interesting. What IS interesting is that he's smiling while Kirk is turned away. Right off the bat, we've got a clue.)))

(((Oh, and take a look at the hi-larious uniforms they have on. Tan turtlenecks, and is that….velour? Oh dear. And Spock's eyebrows? Wow.)))

Kirk is still staring at the monitor, still speaking in a kind of hypnotic tone, "Should've intercepted by now. Bridge said they'd call."

"I'll have you check mated your next move." Spock claims confidently.

Now THIS catches Kirk's attention, and he looks at Spock.

(((It's clear with Spock's tone that he knew exactly what he was saying, and the effect it would have. These guys are clearly close.)))

Kirk smiles widely, and keeps smiling as he says, "Have I ever told you that you play a very irritating game of chess, Mr. Spock?"

Spock doesn't miss a beat, "Irritating? Ah yes, one of your earth emotions."

Kirk makes his move, and Spock's face falls. He was clearly not expecting that move. Kirk sees Spock's reaction and smiles slyly.

"You sure you don't know what irritation is?" Kirk jabs playfully.

Spock takes his turn as he says, "The fact that one of my human ancestors married a human female-"

"Terrible, having bad blood like that," Kirk teases.

The ship's navigator chimes in from the bridge then, and gets both Kirk and Spock's attention.

(((Well now, they certainly hit the ground running. From a scene less than a minute long they've given a shit ton of info. Spock isn't supposed to register emotion but (alas!) he's half human, they're familiar enough to play chess and tease each other, and they clearly enjoy each other's company. They're also playing chess. They're not talking sports, they're not talking chicks (HA), they're playing a highly strategic game. These guys are intellectuals. We've got also got our first slashy hint: Look at Kirk's face during the exchange, Kirk is always grinning his ass off. When else does he grin his ass off? When he's SEDUCING someone. Who does he smile at one helluva lot? SPOCK. This is one hint of many at their flirty relationship. Yeah, that's right. FLIRTY. Imagine this scene played out between a man and a woman. Illuminating, no?)))

(((Where were we? Ah yeah, the navigator insisted on moving the plot forward.)))

So the navigator tells Kirk that they've reached the ship that was sending a distress signal (The Valiant), and it's uber small. Small enough to beam aboard. Kirk says to do just that, and the next thing we know we're in the transporter room. Valiant is beamed aboard, and the poor thing looks like it's had a rough couple of centuries. Turns out it's a disaster recorder that was jettisoned from the ship that probed outside Earth's galaxy 200 years ago. It starts transmitting and it's top lights up, which apparently is cause enough for a big swell in dramatic music, a red alert, and the title intro.

(((Right when it was getting insanely tense, yes I know.)))

Aaaaand we're back. Kirk and Spock calmly walk to the elevator and at the last second Gary Mitchell hops in with them. Gary asks if they finished the game of chess.

Spock is the one to answer, "He played most illogically. His next move should've been the rook."

(((By the way Spock steps forward as he says this, it's clear that he's still agitated. I love how they showed illogic beating logic right off the bat, it serves one of the general messages of the show that intuition wins out. One of the lynch pins of this series is the metaphor of Kirk and Spock's positions on the ship. Kirk (the intuitive, emotional one) is the leader, while Spock (the logical one) is the right hand man. Both vital, but intuition leads.)))

They get to the bridge and find…a whole lot of nothing waiting for them. Kirk speaks to the crew and tells them (but mostly the audience) that they're hoping to find out what the Valiant was doing there and what destroyed the vessel.

The department heads drop in and Kirk addresses them, but not before he gets a pretty girl's name wrong when he asks her to move.

(((My, how attentive he seems to a very pretty blonde. And by 'attentive' I mean 'completely oblivious.' She could've been a chair as far as he seems concerned.)))

Speaking of pretty blondes, Kirk meets a new one. The show's first Dame of the Hour, Dr. Dehner, the new psychiatrist for the ship. ::Sigh:: The hero of the show meets a pretty girl. Romantic music, googly eyes, and undeniable electricity…are nowhere to be found. At all. She states her purpose (observing crew reactions in emergency conditions) and he acknowledges the fact that she moved her lips and words came out. Then Spock speaks up with news, and Kirk walks away.

(((It's about as sexually titillating as a dead rhino.)))

(((We've just seen Kirk interact with two very attractive ladies in the span of thirty seconds and he's all business. Spock, on the other hand, got 1,000 watt grins from the get go. Is that concrete evidence that they're doin' it like they do on the Discovery channel? Not at all. It's just an interesting detail. There are a lot of those.)))

Gary tries his luck with Dehner, who takes no time in telling him to get bent. Then Spock gets a breakthrough with the recorder.

Spock (listening to the Valiant's tapes): "Getting something from the recorder now."

Dehner: "If there was an emergency I'd be interested in how that crew reacted."

Kirk turns and looks in her direction as if to say "Oh, was she talking?"

(((I'm not kidding. Look at it. It's like he forgot she existed the second he walked away.)))

Long story short, Spock says it sounds like the ship encountered some unknown force.

(((Yeah…they better get used to that.)))

Spock: "Now. Orders. Counter orders. Repeated urgent requests for information from the ships computer records for anything concerning ESP in human beings."

Kirk: "Extra-sensory perception?"

(((No, Kirk, Eliminating Sexy Possums. If it wasn't the 60s, when people probably needed that stuff clarified, I'd laugh at you.)))

Kirk: "Dr. Dehner, how are you on ESP?"

Dehner: "In tests I've taken my ESP was rather high."

Kirk: "I'm asking what you know about ESP."

(((High ESP? Possibly. High IQ? Not so much.)))

Etc etc, Spock hears something that sounded like the captain of the Valiant giving orders to destroy his own ship. OoOoOOoO, cue suspenseful music. Why would a captain order his own ship destroyed? No clue, that's what the next 43 minutes are for.

Kirk decides to continue with the probe as planned and the Enterprise leaves the galaxy.

A purple force field comes into view then, and it's coming up fast. Spock yells out some orders while Kirk broods quietly. Deflectors say there's something there, sensors say there isn't.

(((Equipment giving confusing readings? Better get used to that, too.)))

The Enterprise flies into the big purple force field and the lights go off on the bridge. The force field turns red and starts flashing, but it's when parts of the bridge's control panels starts blowing out and caching fire that things get crazy. Amidst all of the shit hitting all of the fans, Dehner gets zapped in the head, and soon Gary gets the same treatment. Then the ship pulls out of the force field.

Kirk sees Dehner on the ground and goes to her side.

(((This isn't a romantic gesture, he just has a SOUL.)))

Then Kirk hears that Gary is in the same condition and moves to go to his side as well, but Spock gently stops him by catching his forearm.

(((And when I say 'gentle' I mean 'gentle.' Unless it's a drastic situation, they have a gentle way of making contact that is not, as they say, 'butch.' Are they pansies? No. Do they have a way of making contact that's more intimate than normal? Yup.)))

Spock gives Kirk a little 411 (everything is shit and there's nine people dead), and Kirk kneels down next to Gary. When Gary turns over we see that his eyes are completely silver, but he says he feels fine.

Cut to a little while later as Kirk logs everything wrong with the ship. Basically it's all but fucked. They're traveling on impulse power and the crew seen on the bridge is piecing it all back together. Kirk tells us that the big question now is: What happened to the Valiant after they pulled through the weird energy field?

Kirk is walking around the bridge and ends up near Spock, who's sitting at his station and going through information on his console, namely the ESP ratings of Dehner and Gary. Dehner's is high, but Gary's is higher.

Spock and Kirk look at each other for a brief moment, but it's not a 'trading glances' look (as in they weren't reacting to the information they had just read). The eye contact was accidental, but held for a split second. This happens a lot in developing attraction stories, and it happens a lot to Kirk and Spock.

(((Is that the most overtly HOLY CRAP THEY WANT EACH OTHER moment in all of history? Of course not. But it does help to get the ball rolling a little. And no, I'm not thinking about it too hard. This amount of detail, and so much more, is thought of by writers and actors. This kind of small moment probably wasn't written in, it was most likely found by the actors.)))

Dehner comes in and gives her report on Gary's status, as well as hers (they're feeling fine, but yeah those eyes are weird) and she gets a shot to truly showcase her idiocy. Kirk says that her ESPER rating is high, but Gary's is higher, suggesting that there could be danger there. Dehner offers the brilliantly DENSE argument in a snipefest with Spock that ESPERS 'are simply people with flashes of insight' and there's absolutely no danger. Spock puts her in her place but quick, and when Kirk has heard enough he jumps in on Spock's side.

(((One more time with feeling: High ESP? Yes. High IQ? Fuck no.)))

Cut to Kirk visiting Gary in the sick bay. This convo deserves close examination.

Gary is reading, but decides to turn on his side and rest. Kirk enters quietly.

"Hello, Jim," Gary says, smiling as he feels Kirk's presence.

(((What's interesting to the plot is that Gary's could tell it was Kirk without looking, which is kind of creepy. What's interesting to their relationship is that Gary smiled so brightly. These guys work together, they see each other all the time, so seeing each other now isn't a big deal. So why the smile? Hm…what kind of feeling makes people smile like that? The mind reels.)))

Kirk is caught off guard by Gary knowing it's him without looking and says nothing. Gary, still smiling his head off, looks at Kirk.

"Hey, you look worried," Gary says.

(((Gary's tone was also very telling. People don't take that kind of fondly concerned tone with just anyone.)))

Kirk grins, then drops this bomb, "I've been worried about you since that night on Deneb 4."

(((DO WHAT NOW??? Wtf happened on Deneb 4? His choice of words is pretty in-your-face too. 'That night' implies something completely different than 'that time' or 'that day.' If a writer gives that to an actor, it's a clear indication that something personal happened. I mean come on, we've all heard the phrase 'About last night…')))

Gary laughs softly, then says "Yeah, she was nova, that one. Not nearly as many after effects this time. Except for the eyes, they kind of stare back at me when I'm shaving."

(((Okay okay, put on the brakes a bit. So, ultimately, Kirk was referencing some crazy chick that Gary had something to do with. Granted, all Gary calls her is a 'nova,' but we're naturally meant to assume that he had some romantic involvement with her. Does he ever say that? Nope. And there's a pretty big beat between Kirk's line and Gary's response. It's like Kirk dangled the possibility out there, and then Gary mentioned a woman. Keep in mind that this is the sixties, if Gary had said something like "Yeah, we went crazy on each other didn't we?" or "Man you had a big dick." The show would've been killed in a heartbeat. The name of the game is 'hiding everything right in front of your face.' It's a game this show plays verrrrry well.)))

Kirk asks him how he's feeling, Gary says fine, then its his turn to bring up the past.

"Hey man, I remember you at the Academy," Gary says, putting his arms behind his head and smiling fondly, "A stack of books with legs. The first thing I ever heard from an upperclassman was 'Watch out for Lt. Kirk. In his class you either think or sink."

(((Again, what would you be thinking if this was between a man and a woman? Exactly.)))

(((We also get the bit of info that Kirk is a very, very intelligent guy. He was not only 'a stack of books with legs' but he freaking TAUGHT at the Academy. He's a braniac. A brave, handsome, braniac that's driven by emotion who is currently smiling his head off. And when does he smile? When he flirts. This is clearly, clearly evident in episodes to come when he's trying to woo chicks (something he does 9 times out of 10 as a means of getting something else, like information).)))

Kirk smiles, remembering, "I wasn't that bad, was I?"

(((Awww, our wittle Kirk is embarrassed. This is the moment when the boy compliments the girl and the girl gets all flattered and goes "Oh I was NOT, teeheehee." Only in this case it's two men…and yet it's still happening.)))

"If I hadn't aimed that little blonde lab technician at you…" Gary trails off.

Then we hear about how Gary apparently set up Kirk with a chick so he'd be distracted from classes and how Kirk almost married her.

(((Oh well then, Kirk has almost married a chick. He MUST be straight! After all, bisexual men always know they're bisexual, they don't have to figure it out or anything. And they most certainly have never figured it out in the middle of their life. ::Rolls eyes::)))

Kirk sees what Gary's been reading.

"You? Spinoza?" Kirk says softly, with –another– smile.

(((There you go with that intimate tone again, Kirk. Keep it in your pants for two seconds man, geez.)))

Gary says he's ready for work, Kirk says he'll have Dehner keep an eye on him. Gary's obviously not too much of a Dehner fan.

(((Neither are we, Gary.)))

"Consider it a challenge," Kirk says.

(((Well well WELL, this is very interesting. Could Gary later woo Dehner just to prove to Jim that he can? Considering Gary and Dehner's odd romantic arc, it's most certainly possible. Oh Roddenberry, there you go hiding it out in the open again.)))

"That doesn't seem very friendly," Gary answers seriously.

(((Uh, whoa there Gary. You and Kirk apparently did that kind of thing all the time back in the day, why is it so 'unfriendly' now?)))

(((So what exactly am I trying to say about Kirk and Gary? They were obviously pals back in the day, before Kirk realized he didn't only dig chicks, and now Kirk clearly has a thing for Gary, and it looks like Gary has a thing for Kirk too. Alas, Gary's turning into a super being now so that kind of ruins that. And besides, this is Kirk and Spock's story.)))

Next we see Kirk on the bridge. Spock is watching Gary in his room, and Gary's reading a lot faster now than he was a moment ago.

(((Oh la la! Spock, you eavesdropping little FIEND! Gary was reading before Kirk visited, then started up again after. Spock all but flat out stated 'Hey, I watched your entire conversation.)))

Cut to a bit later. Dehner is in the room with Gary now, and kind of an odd scene takes place. They're still chilly with one another, then Gary shows off his power as he makes himself flatline, then come back to life a second later. While he was out she leaned over him, and now with her so close he seizes the day and starts touching her gently.

(((At this point we can tell that's he playing a game rather than showing genuine interest. Since she lets him, it seems to be working.)))

Dehner tests his abilities by asking him to recall a specific page of a book he just read, and he does. Then Gary pulls her close to tell her that the page of the book she had him recite was a passionate love poem.

"How do you feel doctor?" he asks, "How do you feel?"

(((Whoa, ease up on the Creep Factor there, Gary.)))

She replies with, "I just fell, nothing happened."

(((Ahhhh, so he was asking her if she'd felt any certain powers.)))

"Are you sure?" he asks in a whispery voice, pulling her closer, "Are you sure?"

Dehner is clearly resisting him. She's very tense.

(((Yeah, this is a real love scene alright. And by 'love scene' I mean 'creepfest.')))

Then some random guy named Lee comes in, coughs awkwardly to break up whatever the hell is going on, and says that it's his lunch break so he just stopped by to see how Gary was.

(((Who the hell is Lee, and why is he taking time from his lunch break to see Gary???)))

Lee steps into the room, obviously disturbed by Gary's silver eyes.

Gary smiles and says, "Don't let the light in my eyes bother you, pal, they're all for our good looking lady doctor here."

Lee laughs a little like Gary had just made a joke, "Yeah, sure."

(((Okay…let's back this Gay Train up a sec. Lee comes in from his lunch break, interrupting a very awkward seduction attempt, to see how Gary is doing. Gary says he has eyes for the doctor. Lee laughs at Gary's joke. DO I NEED TO DRAW YOU A PICTURE??? I didn't change a thing either, it's all right there in Technicolor.)))

Gary gives Lee advice about the ship's repair that Lee doesn't take seriously until Gary snaps at him.

Cut to Lee in a meeting with the ship's department heads (including Spock and Kirk) telling them that Gary was, somehow, right. Dehner comes in later, saying that she had been fascinated by Gary, er…Mr. Mitchell.

Spock is quick to point out that they're interested in what Gary is mutating into than Gary himself.

Dehner is quick to get vicious, saying to Spock, "I know those from your planet aren't supposed to have feelings like we do, Mr. Spock, but to talk that way about a man you've worked next to for years is-"

"That's enough, doctor," Kirk interrupts firmly.

(((Behold, the first time Kirk jumps in to defend Spock, and he does it pretty darn quickly too.)))

"I don't think so," Dehner calmly snipes back at Kirk, "I understand you least of all. Gary told me that you've been friends since you joined the service, that you asked for him aboard your first command."

(((Now THERE'S an interesting bit of information, for those keeping track.)))

Kirk puts Dehner in her place but quick, and then tells Spock to continue. From there, Dehner is questioned about Gary's growing powers until she finally loses it.

Dehner: "Don't you understand?! A mutated, superior man could also be a wonderful thing! The forerunner of a new and better kind of human being!"

(((Bitch. Is. Retarded.)))

Nobody says anything for a moment, probably to keep themselves from ROFL.

Shortly thereafter, Kirk dismisses the meeting and everybody leaves.

Everybody, that is, except for Spock. He starts to leave, stops, then turns to the captain.

(((Oooo, Spock, do tell. What's on your mind?)))

Spock advises Kirk to leave Gary on Delta Vega, a nearby deserted planet that only has a mine on it's surface. Kirk is instantly combative.

"If you mean strand Mitchell there, I won't do it!" Kirk snaps, "Station is fully automated, even the ore ships call once every twenty years."

"You have one other choice," Spock calmly points out, "Kill Mitchell while you still can."

Kirk absorbs what has just been said, then quietly commands, "Get out of here."

Spock doesn't obey, doesn't move, he just keeps talking, "It is your only other choice, assuming you make it while you still have time."

"Will you try for one moment to feel?" Kirk says, "At least act like you've got a heart."

(((OUCH, Kirk. OUCH. Especially since you just defended Spock on that exact point not two minutes ago.)))

Kirk's voice softens, "We're talking about Gary."

(((God I bet Kirk's arm is tired, what with all of this torch carrying going on.)))

Spock keeps at it by saying, "The Captain of the Valiant probably felt the same way, and he waited too long to make his decision. I think we've both guessed that."

Kirk doesn't say anything for a second, but it's clear he knows that Spock is right.

"Set course for Delta Vega," Kirk orders.

(((Spock – 1. Kirk – 0.)))

(((Gee, what other time does Spock tell Kirk that someone he cares for has to die? Could it be from The City on the Edge of Forever, when Spock tells him that Edith needs to die for the sake of history? What an interesting parallel, eh? And that 'romantic arc' wasn't nearly as substantial, but I'll save that for that episode.)))

After Kirk once again restates what everyone's planning to do next for the people in the cheap seats, we're back in Gary's room in sickbay. Kirk, Spock and Dehner enter just in time to see Gary make a cup of water fly into his hand. Long story short: Gary can move shit and read minds now and he knows what's going on. He electrifies Kirk, then electrifies Spock when he tries to attack as well.

(((Might I point out that Spock tries to make a dive for Gary, instead of just reaching for his gun, which would've been more logical. Spock reacted emotionally.)))

They manage to hold Gary down while Dehner gives him a tranquilizer.

Next we see Kirk wrangling Gary into the transporter room, where Gary's hit with another dose of tranquilizer.

So what does a man with two shots of a tranquilizer do? Why, he stands in place all on his own while he's beamed down to Delta Vega, that's what!

They arrive on the planet's surface, and Gary is taken to a holding cell.

Behold! The worst line of the episode!!

Dehner (looking out at the planet): "There's no soul on this planet but us?"

Kirk: "Nobody but us chickens, doctor."

(((Yay 60s.)))

Kirk, Spock and Dehner go to talk to Gary. Gary gets all wound up and walks into the force field that's keeping him captive, then he does it again just for kicks and is thrown backward. His eyes lose the creepy silvery coating.

"Jim," Gary says quietly. His tone is emotional, as is his expression.

They figure out the obvious: Hurting Gary significantly causes the God-like being to go away for a while, making him vulnerable. But then the silver comes back. Well shit.

Meanwhile, back on the ship, Scotty is finishing up the repairs. He tells Kirk as much via communicator, then asks if Spock got the phaser rifle he sent down.

Kirk is clueless until Spock comes around the corner carrying said rifle. There's a tense moment of silence. They both know what the rifle is for. Kirk hangs up on Scotty and slaps the communicator down. He is clearly upset.

Spock: "He tried to get through to force field again. His eyes changed back faster, he didn't become as weak."

Kirk: "Dehner feels he isn't that dangerous. What makes you right and a trained psychiatrist wrong?"

(((Kirk is grasping at straws now, you can tell by his words and his tone.)))

Spock: "Because she feels. I don't. All I know is logic. In my opinion we'll be lucky if we can repair this ship and get away in time."

(((Spock – 2. Kirk – 0.)))

We come back from commercial to see most of the landing party beaming back up to the ship while Kirk, Spock and Dehner are at Gary's cell. Dehner is watching Gary just stand in his cell with a hypnotic, damn near aroused, expression.

Dehner: "He's been like that for hours now."

(((This line is the sexiest of the show, simply because of how she says it. She's totally on his side now, it's obvious.)))

Gary uses his powers to strangle poor Lee (who's waiting by the oh-shit-let's-blow-everything-up-button in the other room), then he electrocutes Kirk and Spock again, this time knocking them out. Gary turns off the force field with his mind and shows Dehner her reflection, she's got the ol' silver in the eyes now too.

Cut to later. Kirk and Spock are still out cold on the floor. The doctor swings by and wakes up Kirk. When the doctor goes to revive Spock, Kirk stops him and tells him to wait until he's gone. The doctor tells him the direction Gary and Dehner headed off to, and Kirk goes after them alone.

(((Kirk knew that if Spock was awake before he left, he'd insist on going with him. Kirk clearly didn't want to put him in danger like that. It's really sweet, actually, and brave. 'Foolish, but fearless' is basically Kirk's slogan.)))

Kirk chases after the God-like beings, the God-like beings perform miracles, then Gary tells Dehner to go to Kirk to see how pathetic mere humans really are.

She appears to Kirk, who now has a chance to state the numerous points of the episode with vigor and passion.

Dehner: "Before long we'll be where it would've taken mankind millions of years of learning to-"

Kirk: "And what will Mitchell learn when getting there? Will he know what to do with his power? Will he acquire the wisdom?"

(((Point 1: The path to obtaining knowledge is just as important as the knowledge itself.)))

Dehner: "Please go back while you still can."

Kirk: "Did you hear him joke about compassion? Of all else a God needs compassion. Mitchell!"

(((Point 2 is pretty obvious.)))

Dehner: "What do you know about Gods?"

Kirk: "Then let's talk about humans. About our frailties. As powerful as he gets he'll still have all of that inside of him."

(((Point 3: However strong/smart/powerful a human may be, they're still human.)))

Dehner: "Go back!"

Kirk: "You were a psychiatrist once. You know the ugly, savage things we keep buried that none of us dare expose. But he'll dare. Who's to stop him, he doesn't need to care."

(((Point 4: Without our sanity to keep the beasts within us all in check, there's chaos.)))

Then Gary shows up.

Behold! The first ever pointless tuck and roll of the series!

Well Gary's not a very nice God, so he makes a grave with a headstone for Kirk and then forces Kirk to pray to him. This gives Kirk a chance to say the 5th and final point of this episode to Dehner.

Kirk: "Do you like what you see?! Absolute power corrupting absolutely!!"

(((Point 5…self explanatory. Big stuff for a 60s t.v. pilot.)))

Dehner FINALLY gets it and attacks Gary with electricity. The Gods attack each other for a second, then they stop and Gary's eyes go back to normal.

A fight between Kirk and Gary ensues.

Behold! The first pointless torn shirt of the series!

(((Mmm…sexy Kirk shoulder.)))

Well Gary's power comes back too quickly so Kirk has to trap Gary in the grave by creating a landslide with the rifle. Then he goes to Dehner's side and she dies. He's kinda sad.

((('Cause he has a SOUL.)))

Cut to later, on the bridge. The pilot ends with this little exchange between Kirk and Spock:

"He didn't ask for what happened to him," Kirk muses aloud.

"I felt for him too," Spock admits.

Kirk looks over at Spock, who is still staring ahead, and grins ever so slightly before saying, "I believe there's some hope for you after all, Mr. Spock."

Kirk looks ahead again. Spock looks over at Kirk. Kirk looks over at Spock. They hold eye contact for a moment. They both look ahead. Spock grins every so slightly.

(((Oh my, they are really good at packing so much into what looks like so little.

#1. Spock admits to feeling. This, as we all know, is HUGE. We can also tell that this is a direct response to Kirk's insults from earlier.

#2. Kirk grins to show how affected he is by Spock's admittance. There's something else going on, too. If it was simply a matter of "Hey, my friend has emotions!" He would have treated the moment differently, possibly in a more extroverted way if the actor so chose.

#3. "I believe there's some hope for you after all, Mr. Spock." This line states the obvious, but also implies that there's hope for something more, especially with the way the line delivered.

#4. Eye contact. They find themselves in a moment yet again, only this time it's more pronounced, and it's no accident.

#5. Spock smiles just as slightly as Kirk does, and in the same way. They're both speaking the same thing.

If this took place between a man and a woman, it would be PAINFULLY obvious that the series is setting up for them to be the main romantic interest. This is the pilot, after all, and the pilot is always supposed to give you a taste of everything the show is about. Mission accomplished.)))

***Alrighty then, what's the score so far?

Times a God-like entity is featured: 1

Times Kirk resists/ignores a pretty lady when he has no reason to: 1

Times Kirk rips/loses/has no shirt: 1

Pointless Rolls: 1

I'm keeping track of more than that, but instead of listing everything every time I'm just tossing up the ones featured in the episode.

And we're off!!