Synopsis: Captain Kirk becomes obsessed by the need to kill a sweet-smelling gaseous creature.
Depth psychology teaches that one’s psyche is in danger when one becomes possessed by a god. What god is it that Captain James T. Kirk is too closely identifying with in this episode?
One choice could be Ares, the God of War, who blindly leads with his sword, regardless of the consequences. An argument for an association with this god can be made evidenced by Kirk going after this creature in spite of the fact that the Enterprise has an important and time sensitive mission to accomplish, delivering much needed medical supplies to Theta VII.
Another choice could be Dionysus, the god most associated with madness and also the god most repressed in our culture. That there is madness here can be evidenced by the thing that made Kirk realize the creature was present – its smell. Smell is a sense that can lead us straight to the “reptile brain” and the one most strongly associated with memory. As the episode progresses, we learn that Kirk came across this creature once before, eleven years prior, when he was a lieutenant aboard the U.S.S. Farragut. Kirk believes that his momentary hesitation in firing on it gave the creature the opportunity to kill half the crew of that spaceship, including her commanding officer, Captain Garrovick. The guilt of this being repressed is a major contributor to his uncustomary behavior. To make matters more intense, aboard the Enterprise is that captain’s son, Ensign Garrovick. Just as Kirk hesitated for a moment and blamed himself for the death of his fellow crewmembers eleven years ago, Garrovick also waited a second or two to fire on the creature, resulting in the death of fellow crewmembers. Kirk is told by Mr. Spock that in neither case could quicker actions have made a difference, and Kirk passes on this wisdom to the young ensign. Being able to face what he did in his past allowed Kirk to let go of some of the guilt that led to his obsession.
Once the madness and repressed guilt had been identified, Kirk was able to become more strategic, more like Athene if you will. This is the Kirk that we are most familiar with, and the one that once again, through a balancing of rational strategy and human intuition saves the day, kills the monster – at least the one in the form of the sweet-smelling creature, and keeps the Enterprise and her crew safe.
Original post created 19 February 2021
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