“Dagger of the Mind” is Star Trek’s foray into the psychological-horror subgenre. A great effort is made to emphasize themes of violation, power and dominance. And as far as the characters and performances are concerned, the episode does a fine job establishing the context, mood and dread that is necessary for stories of this kind. But where the episode falls short is in what it doesn’t do – namely draw a clear enough connection between the violation and the loneliness and emptiness that can occur as the result of such a violation, as well as the motivations behind such acts of dominance. This concept can be inferred from the narrative, but a clearer connection would have driven home the true “horror” of the episode with greater conviction.

The episode centers around the Tantalus Penal Facility, run by Dr. Tristan Adams, the preeminent authority on rehabilitating the criminally insane. During a routine transport of supplies to and from the planet, a crazed man stows away on board the Enterprise. What happens next is a brief chase sequence through the ship as security tries to apprehend the man and return him to the penal colony. As it turns out, the man’s name is Dr. Simon Van Gelder – who is not an inmate, but a member of the penal colony staff. He has clearly lost his mind. And he wants asylum on board the Enterprise.

And so the mystery is established. What happened to Van Gelder? Why would a penal colony staff member want asylum from the colony itself? And what happened to turn this man into a lunatic? Of course, the Enterprise heads off to investigate and we know, long before it ever happens, that Kirk will eventually be subjected to the same circumstances that addled the brains of Van Gelder. It’s such a predictable development that it actually isn’t a detriment – it’s almost like the narrative device when you see the end of the story first, and then the rest of the episode is leading up to what you saw at the beginning.

On his trip to the penal colony, Kirk is accompanied by Dr. Helen Noel, a beautiful young woman whom he had met at a Christmas party on the Enterprise. There is an interesting dynamic between the two with attraction quite palpable from both characters. But Kirk is clearly the one resisting pushing the relationship further. And their partnership on this mission will save them both from the misguided experiments of Dr. Adams.

As for Adams, his character is, essentially, the same as Dr. Korby in “What Are Little Girls Made Of?” Both men were once well respected, highly innovative scientists in their respective fields. Both have the absolute best of intentions in improving humanity. And yet both eventually lose their own humanity and become monsters in the process. Having two characters so similar is a bit of a liability. But they also underscore a prominent theme in Star Trek, at least early on in the series: the dangers of losing one’s humanity, of letting the best of intentions lead us down the wrong path. Or in other words, letting the ends justify the means.

As it turns out, Dr. Adams has been using a device called a “neural neutralizer” – essentially a fancy name for a brainwashing machine – to control not only the inmates at the facility, but the staff as well. And so, like Dr. Korby, he has chosen to impose his views on others, removing from them the choice as to whether or not they wish to agree with his views. And it is in the removal of choice that the episode’s true “horror” comes into play.

We’ve all had nightmares in which we are simply stuck, we cannot move, and some terrible event is about to befall us. The feeling of helplessness, the inability to have any say in the outcome of one’s life, is a terrible thing to endure. It’s what drives slaves to revolt and societies toward democracy. It’s why dictators and those who seek absolute power are unable to hang on to such power indefinitely – the primal fear of helplessness is a strong motivator, stronger than the desire to control and violate.

But make no mistake, the desire to extend power and dominance, as symbolized by Dr. Adams, is a very strong one. One element to this is the notion that power corrupts. The moment we have the power to exert control over others, we almost instinctively try and utilize that power. And so this episode becomes a commentary on how, when and why it may or may not be acceptable to exert power to the point where it becomes dominance.

The brainwashing machine is simply a plot device that allows us to explore what happens when we get that power. Kirk, eager to determine whether or not the neural neutralizer was indeed responsible for Van Gelder’s condition, asks Dr. Noel to try the device on him. When he asks her to try implant an idea in his mind, she starts off with something innocuous – simply being hungry. But when she tries again, at a higher setting, she decides to change his memory of the time they met – to include consummating their attraction on the night they first met. She could have chosen any idea, but she chose one that suited her. And it shows that, while Dr. Noel is certainly portrayed as a good and decent character, such opportunities are almost too valuable to pass by.

Of course, in the midst of this experiment, Dr. Adams intervenes and truly asserts his dominance by emptying Kirk’s mind and filling it with the urge to loyally obey every command from himself. The horror of this act is established a bit earlier when Spock tries a Vulcan Mind Meld on the crazed Van Gelder. It’s a deeply intimate act – sharing the thoughts of another – but Spock’s self control is the key to the act becoming one of healing, rather than one of violation. And what Spock learns is that the neural neutralizer empties the brain of though and emotion to the point where it yearns for anything – even the dominant suggestions of someone like Dr. Adams.

This is the point of dominance over an unwilling victim (those who choose to be dominated represent an entirely different perspective on this issue) – to erase the identity of the “victim” and then rebuild the in whatever way the person with power chooses. And to connect back to that feeling of helplessness, of being unable to stop your power of choice being taken from you, is where the episode truly conveys a very real sense of horror.

In the end, Dr. Noel manages to help Kirk maintain his identity and she helps sabotage the penal colony’s power station long enough for the Enterprise to beam a security team through the protective screen. Unfortunately for Dr. Adams, when the power comes back on, he is left in the neural neutralizer. Without someone there to put thoughts into his mind, he dies of loneliness. It seems a rather hokey explanation until we hear from Kirk, who underscores what happens after the removal of choice and the removal of the self: the complete need to have the self reestablished. And that is why those who have been abducted and imprisoned often grow attachments to their captors.

“Dagger of the Mind” is an excellent example of how to subtly build a psychological horror story. It’s only real drawback is that it is a bit too subtle, In order for the story to work properly, you have to do an awful lot of inferential thinking. In a sense, though, it’s better than “dominant” act of shoving the concept down our throats.

Filed under: Original Series