“The Enemy Within” has an exceptionally strong premise. In this episode, Captain Kirk must literally come face to face with his darker, more evil self. It’s a an important mythic archetype which is competently explored within the episode. With a few scenes skirting the edges of camp, the performances and dialogue are distinctly memorable. There are some technical issues in terms of the surface layer story. But with the primary focus being Captain Kirk, the episode is well worth watching.

The story begins with a transporter malfunction. Shortly after Captain Kirk returns from a survey planet, a duplicate Kirk also materializes on board the Enterprise. The technical explanation for the occurrence is pretty thin, but it’s also irrelevant. The story is about the two Kirks and how they reconcile their differences with one another. And with that in mind, the episode plunges into the differences between the two Kirks almost immediately.

In a sense, this episode is a natural progression from “The Naked Time.” In that episode, the intoxicating effects of the disease allowed us to see beneath the surface of the characters, to see some of their inner desires. For his part, Kirk talked about his attraction to Yeoman Rand, and his devotion to his ship. In this episode, the first impulse of the “anti-Kirk” is to pay a visit to Yeoman Rand’s quarters. Once there, he tries to force himself on her in a scene that is surprisingly violent for a show that is three decades old.

And actually, it’s a bit over-the-top. I get that the episode was trying to establish this as the “evil” Kirk – but for him to be so un-redeemably evil is a bit of a stretch, particularly when you take into account what happens with the “good” Kirk. As the episode unfolds, the good Kirk’s ability to make decisions and assert himself slowly diminishes. In other words, the more time that passes from when he was whole, the less like his true self he becomes. The episode would have been a bit more interesting, and plausible, had the same thing happened with his evil self – starting off rather like the “whole” Kirk, then slowly descending into darkness. In the grand scheme of the episode, it’s a minor quibble – but it’s enough of a distraction to be worth noting.

The distinction between the two Kirks does allow for a rather profound exploration of the human equation, of the light and dark within us all. The theme is echoed by Spock, a half-human, half-Vulcan being whose inner conflict between emotion and logic was also established in “The Naked Time.” He explains that this internal conflict is always a part of him, but that his intelligence is the key by which he is able to make both halves coexist. Indeed, the discussion underscores the importance of Kirk’s dark side. Spock says to McCoy about Kirk’s “evil” self, “His evil side, if you will, properly controlled and disciplined, is vital to his strength.” In other words, we, like Kirk, need our darker halves.

The idea of embracing our dark, evil nature may be difficult to accept. It was for Kirk. But when “good” Kirk balks at the prospect of trying to reintegrate his evil side, McCoy has a profoundly important reply: “We all have our darker side. We need it. It’s half of what we really are. It’s not ugly, it’s human.” And those lines are a good summation of the point of the episode. As much as our darker side might cause harm, if left unrestrained, it’s inseparable to us, to our nature, to our humanity. And when this notion is combined with Spock’s lesson about using our intelligence to transform our negativity into something constructive, the conclusion is simple: balance is the key.

Ultimately, “good” Kirk must confront his “evil” twin, his shadow. Only after their confrontation, and only after “good” Kirk uses his compassion and intelligence to reconcile with his evil self, can they be rejoined. The rejoining involves yet another technobabble contrivance. But once again, the technobabble is entirely irrelevant to the symbolism of the two halves of Kirk coming to terms with one another. It’s a powerful character and thematic drama.

Unfortunately, the rest of the episode isn’t as strong in terms of how well it supports the main story. There is a subplot of Sulu being stuck on the planet as night falls and temperatures plunge to dangerous levels. But instead of creating tension, the Sulu scenes only distract from the Kirk story. Kind of like an in-episode commercial, or something. Also, some of the choices the crew makes when trying to hunt down the evil Kirk (which accounts for a sizable chunk of the story) are not particularly sound. But for the most part, these miscues can be overlooked in favor of the very strong mythic story.

Though there is a truly exceptional premise and story, there are just a few too many miscues to allow “The Enemy Within” to be counted as a truly exceptional episode. The performance of Kirk, which is central to the episode, is quite well-done. But there is the possibility that some will see it as complete overacting – and therefore be pulled out of the episode. Even so, an important technical point needs to be applauded: despite the fact that this is a thirty year-old episode, the portrayal of duplicate Kirks was handled fairly well. You can certainly see how the portrayal was done, but it never distracted from the story, which is the most important consideration for any effect.

Filed under: Original Series