In Defense Of The Episode “And The Children Shall Lead”
(From Star Trek: The Original Series)
CW: mentions suicide
Greetings, Star Trek fans!
“Hail, Hail, Fire and Snow!”
I would like to start by saying that I understand and respect that everyone has their Star Trek likes and dislikes, and I value and validate all opinions. I’m a staunch believer in the philosophy that someone’s favorite series/episode might be someone else’s least favorite, and vice versa. Infinite Diversity!
On that note, this episode has the reputation of being one of the worst, and it is greatly maligned. It certainly has some flaws, and I can understand its strong criticisms and why people do not care for it. I concur that it’s not an episode that would make most people’s “Good Star Trek Episodes” list.
At the same time, it is not my least favorite episode of Star Trek. While I don’t tend to seek it out on its own, if it pops up, or if I’m rewatching, I don’t skip it. In fact, I have always liked this one, and for years I’ve been trying to figure out, and articulate, why. Therefore, I’m giving it a shot!
The dark concept is intriguing and bold, and while the execution might have issues, as many episodes do, I firmly believe that it is deeper and more layered than it appears. I feel it deserves another look.
Right out of the gate, the set up of the Triacus situation is legitimately creepy. The smoldering embers, Professor’s logs, suicides by Cyalodin, fresh graves, the anxiety cave, and the children’s complete and utter indifference — sets a very macabre and atmospheric tone.
Dr. McCoy pointed out that the children need to see child specialists. I’m 100 percent with him! Kirk is not one, but he is a smart and caring guy, and is trying his absolute best in his “Kirk thinking” way to figure things out, problem-solve, and communicate with the children.
The scene with Kirk and Tommy after the ice cream party is particularly strong, effective, tense, and somewhat disturbing. Craig Huxley as Tommy did a great job, and I thought the child actors were solid.
Sure, the security guy on the bridge is not watching the kids carefully, (Kirk, get them off the damn bridge!), but I do think that the children’s efforts to overtake and control the crew and to reveal the crewmembers’ inner “beasts” is really powerful and poignant.
Sulu’s and Uhura’s fears are well executed, and Scotty’s threat to kill Kirk and Spock is downright chilling. In addition, the beaming of the two redshirt officers out into space, inadvertently killing them, is intense and shocking.
There is some very strong acting by Shatner and Nimoy as Kirk is overwhelmed by his feeling the loss of control and command, while Spock, starting to be influenced, abandons his logic, and speaks in an eerie tone. This is emotionally affecting, and it’s a relief to see them finally break through to their reality, with their always grounded friendship helping them to do so.
Okay, let’s talk about the shower curtain in the room. Stunt casting? Yes. Was Melvin Belli a trained actor? No. Is this considered kind of campy and cheesy? You betcha. For all intents and purposes, it shouldn’t work for me — but it absolutely does!
I really like the concept of the Gorgan. His end goal and means, as well as the manipulative hold he has on the children, are sinister and frightening. He manipulated them with mind control, false promises, and emotional suppression. Perhaps Mr. Belli delivered his lines in a monotone fashion, but fortunately, I think this just adds to the alien factor.
The climactic ending of the episode is excellent. Kirk’s skill of quickly out-thinking the enemy saves the day ….again! (“Then let him show himself!”) Maybe it’s because I worked with young children for 30 years, but I feel that the concept and exploration of them releasing their grief is interesting and extremely important. Could this have been handled a bit more deftly and/or deeply? Absolutely. But big props for the effort.
One caveat. There is the serious issue of how hugely traumatizing the parent death images that were shown to the children, as well as them coming to grips with their unknowing complicity, will be for them. But for the purposes of this piece, I am not going there.
To sum up, for me, this episode exerts a strong effort to explore some challenging topics, such as mind control, how easy it is to exploit and influence young children, as well as looking at the deep personal fears that each of us has buried in our subconscious. While the production may not have entirely succeeded, and critiques are valid, I do feel that it has many strengths, which always pleasantly surprise me, and I enjoy watching it. I believe it’s a decent episode of Season 3.
(And if you still don’t like it, that’s totally cool!)
LLAP 🖖
