Synopsis: The Enterprise investigates the disappearance of the S. S. Beagle to find a planet that parallels Earth’s development, except the Roman Empire never fell.
In past blogs on episodes such as: “Return to Tomorrow” and “Patterns of Force” I have spoken about inflation, and how it is a necessary part of the process that Carl (C.J.) Jung calls individuation, the path to our psyches becoming more whole. “Bread and Circuses” can be seen as the opposite of this – alienation (Edinger, 1992). But we do not see it in Captain James T. Kirk or the crew of the Enterprise. We see it embodied in the character of Captain Bob Merrick, who commanded the S.S. Beagle.
Before beaming down to the planet, there is a discussion between Kirk and Mr. Spock on how Merrick washed out at Starfleet Academy because he couldn’t pass one psycho-simulator test. Once on the planet, Merrick explains that his ship was damaged by a meteor, and that when he beamed down he saw no way out but to give into the demands of Roman Proconsul Claudius Marcus. Resistance was futile, to paraphrase a Star Trek: The Next Generation trope.
In Merrick’s journey to the Underworld Claudius made Merrick a co-ruler of the realm, much as Hades enthroned Persephone. And in so doing, took away his power from above. Claudius continues to describe Kirk as a man and Merrick as not being one – and Merrick himself acknowledges the difference between commanding a spaceship as he did, and a starship as Kirk does. Yet, in the end of “Bread and Circuses” Merrick does give his life to save the lives of the landing party, and therefore does “die like a man.” So, in a way, although Merrick does not return to the surface world as Persephone did each year to reunite with Demeter, he did at least seem to find his inner strength in the Underworld to find his purpose – at least as it pertains to this episode.
One other note, when Kirk, Spock, and Dr. Leonard (Bones) McCoy beam down to the planet, an initial conversation not only identifies that the Prime Directive is in “full force,” but its requirements are stated: “No identification of self or mission, no interference with the social development of said planet. No references to space or the fact that there are other worlds or more advanced civilizations.” The episode ends with Kirk recording into his Captain’s Log a recommendation for Chief Engineer Montgomery Scott, who was left in command of the Enterprise when they transported down to the planet. In it he remarks that in spite of great temptation, Scott obeyed the Prime Directive, yet was able to apply just enough force to extricate the landing party from death. Scott did not identify with a god and cause inflation, instead he imagined what he could do with such powers and reasoned out how to proceed in a “right-sized” way – a way of equilibrium between the conscious and unconscious, acting in a way that displays what happens when we integrate different parts of our psyches to become more whole.
Reference:
Edinger, E. (1992). Ego and archetype. Shambala.
Original post created 5 March 2021
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