THE PLOT
The Enterprise is sent to retrieve a scientific expedition from a world whose sun is on the brink of going supernova. When Kirk, Spock, and McCoy beam down, they discover the base deserted, covered in dust and cobwebs, unused for months. A data recording shows the two scientists vanishing into thin air. As soon as they view that recording, Kirk and company similarly vanish.
Waking up miles beneath the planet's surface, they discover only one other living companion: a mysterious, mute woman, whom McCoy dubs "Gem." Gem is an empath, sharing the emotions and feelings of those around her, and able to heal any wound - so long as she takes the pain into herself. All of them find they are prisoners of the Vians, alien scientists using Gem for their own, unknown agenda.
Exploring, they discover the two missing scientists - dead, encased in clear tubes labeling them as test subjects. Beside them are three more empty tubes, each of them labeled: "Subject McCoy... Subject Kirk... Subject Spock." If Kirk and Spock cannot think of a means of escape, then they may be the next to die...
CHARACTERS
Capt. Beefcake: When the Vians run an experiment on Kirk, it entails his suspension from the ceiling... shirtless, of course. It is notable that, unlike the "Shirtless Kirk" scenes of earlier seasons, the camera carefully frames Kirk from the chest up, in an effort to avoid revealing Shatner's already-expanding girth.
Other than some ham when the Vians use a "slow-mo" ray on him, Shatner gives a solid performance. It's a strong episode for the character of Kirk, as he displays his ever-present persistence, taking every chance he can to escape. All of which just makes him a more appealing subject for the Vians, who use his own virtues against him.
Spock: Spock's analytical skills get quite a bit of focus. He is constantly taking readings. At first, these readings only show what the Vians wish them to find at any given moment: the machinery and the test subjects, the way to the surface. But Spock's own observations persist, revealing a vital clue about the Vians' teleportation technology. Finally, he allows Kirk to get through to the Vians at the end by figuring out the weakness in the Vians' force field, letting himself - and then Kirk - through the field to confront them.
McCoy: As a medical doctor, he is fascinated by Gem's abilities, past the point of pragmatic usefulness. At one point, his own fascination makes him irritated when Spock interrupts with observations that may help them to escape. Kirk actually has to remind him that escape must be their first priority. The value McCoy places on preserving life really comes through at the ending, when he effectively volunteers himself as the Vians' final test subject, and when he refuses to allow Gem to sacrifice herself.
Villains of the Week: The Vians are alien scientists who use their supremely advanced technology to run tests on Kirk, Gem, and the human scientists who preceded them. They are really rather chilling. Speaking with calm, clinical detachment, they study their prisoners the way a scientist would study a lab rat. They manipulate their prisoners, and are completely unconcerned about the possibility of damage or death to them. Their very calm makes them far more frightening than most Trek villains - though an overly explanatory ending ends up undermining them.
Hot Alien Space Babe of the Week: Kathryn Hays is Gem, the empath of the title. Hays is well-cast, in that there is something otherworldly about her presence. One of the most haunting images of a particularly visual episode is that of a single tear, streaking down her face, when McCoy is taken for his "test."
THOUGHTS
In some ways, the slashed budget of Season Three may have made several episodes more visually imaginative than they otherwise may have been. At full budget, for instance, Spectre of the Gun would probably have utilized a full, realistic western set - and been far less interesting. Here, too, the reduced budget results in some intriguing set and lighting decisions. Lighting is kept low, the walls of the set made up of black curtains, creating the illusion of a void. Spotlights come up on reveals, as dictated by the script, and set dressing is bare and tends toward the Expressionistic. The result is as close to Star Trek as theatre as any episode will likely ever come. Some of it just looks cheap, of course - The computer banks, for example, or the Vians' weapons. But several visuals approach what I imagine Salvador Dali might have created, had he ever directed a Trek episode.
The first 40 minutes are quite effective. The setting is atmospheric, the Vians are genuinely sinister, Gem is effectively otherworldly. The mysteries build. What is the Vians' purpose, and how does it involve Gem? Why are the traits shown by Kirk, Spock, and McCoy so important? The characters are well-captured, with Kirk, Spock, and McCoy all getting some outstanding character moments.
Unfortunately, The Empath falls badly apart when it actually comes time to provide answers. The last act amounts to a massive infodump, as the Vians stand around and narrate for us exactly what their purpose is, exactly why they have been doing these horrible things, and exactly what Gem's role is. Not even the tiniest shred of ambiguity is allowed to remain, and the Vians - among the most disturbing villains the show has presented - quickly become the dullest. I would have far preferred only a hinted-at explanation. Surely that they were testing Gem's capacity for self-sacrifice would have been enough, without dumping on added exposition about her planet? An episode that thrived on ambiguity dies when explanations are delivered... and perhaps, given what a very different Trek episode this was anyway, this might have been one that could have been allowed to leave a few things unexplained.
It all ends with some clumsy, jokey, would-be banter on the Enterprise bridge, with Kirk and McCoy celebrating human emotion while needling Spock. Given that the characters apparently feel no reaction to the events of the episode, the audience is left with no reason to think about what they've just seen either. All the atmosphere and visual imagination of the first 40 minutes disappears into an overly-explained, overly-tidy, and thus fundamentally empty viewing experience.
As for my score? For the first 40 minutes, I had been leaning toward a "7," possibly even an "8." But what had been a very strong episode is badly marred by one of the series' all-time worst endings. It's still worth watching for those first 40 minutes - but on any future viewings, I'll probably hit the "off" switch as soon as McCoy is taken. Almost everything up to that point is very good to excellent... but almost everything after that point just plain stinks.
Rating: 6/10.
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