What’s with the penchant of Star Trek to give us guest stars who push the limits of melodrama and overacting to new and preposterous heights? “Whom Gods Destroy” is yet another in this series of nonsense, ruining what might otherwise have been a moderately successful episode. Instead, this ends up being little more than a cartoon of amateurish proportions. Once again, over-indulgence ruins any possibility of success.

In this episode, Kirk and Spock beam down to an isolated insane asylum only to find that it’s most dangerous inmate, Garth (party on), has escaped and, using an ability to disguise his appearance, he soon captures Kirk and Spock. His plan is to then capture then Enterprise and lead his “troops” (crazed inmates) on a mission of conquest. Kirk has a codeword safeguard that prevents Garth from taking the ship. So Garth spends much of the episode trying to extract the information using all manner of devious methods from torture to psychological manipulation.

Garth’s character is the key to the episode. He is suitably intelligent, crafty, ambitious and deadly. His past as a Starfleet captain (and a former idol of Kirk) is used to great effect. The result is what should have been a solid foil for Kirk and Spock. Unfortunately, the performance (though at times compelling) ends up being a complete waste due to perpetual overacting. The temper tantrum scene is particularly bad – but it is by no means an isolated incident.

The various attempts by Garth, then, do not have the truly horrific emotional consequences they ought to because, quite simply, we can’t take him seriously. Instead, everything takes on a bizarre caricature of drama and soon becomes little more than a vehicle for Garth to overact and overindulge in every possible scene. And Garth’s “consort,” the lovely Marta, doesn’t fare any better – not even when Garth decides to blow her up.

The episode’s “climax” comes down to a scene in which Garth disguises himself as Captain Kirk and Spock is left to decide which version of the captain is the authentic person. But the scene simply makes no sense whatsoever. Spock is armed with a phaser set to stun. Neither captain is armed. So why the charade and rigmarole of a fight between the captains – other than to fill up time? Matters were dire. All Spock had to do was stun them both and sort out the mess later. And yet he simply stood back and let the fight unfold until the real captain suggested stunning them both – at which point Spock stunned Garth.

Not a very “stunning” conclusion.

“Whom Gods Destroy” is an empty shell of an episode. Beneath the overblown exterior is a hollow, empty story which doesn’t warrant a second thought. Not even the passing attempts at commentary about justice for the criminally insane registers thanks to the horrendous plot and acting.

Filed under: Original Series