In "Let That Be Your Last Battlefield", the Enterprise is on the way to vaccinate an entire planet from some disease when they run across a stolen shuttle craft missing from a Star Fleet ship. They bring it aboard and discover the thief within, an injured multi-colored alien from a distant planet. As the stowaway lies in sick bay, an alien of this same race sneaks aboard the Enterprise in an attempt to arrest the first one. Apparently this man is a political prisoner on the run from the current administration on their home world Cheron. These two men are different within the caste system on Cheron due to which color is on which side of the face.
The man on the lamb is accused of terrorism and his rival is there to extradite him back to Cheron where he will be tried. Kirk won't let this happen until he has his day in court for stealing the shuttle craft; Cheron has no treaty in place with the Federation. The two men attempt to outwit each other. The Enterprise eventually ends up back at Cheron (much to the chagrin of Kirk). The two races' hatred for one another has consumed them so much that the entire planet has been wiped out. The two men are the last of their race. Despite this, the two beam down the surface and continue their cat and mouse escapade. They will chase one another until one is dead.
I'm not sure how the writer of this episode was able to type all of this out with such heavy hands. All jokes aside, yes, it is a bit on the nose... but I can't help enjoying it a bit. There is some bizarre directional choices on display here: the odd zoom, the running sequences, the (very cool) close-up facial reaction shots. It keeps things exciting when the plot drags on a bit. The acting is solid as well.
But it's really the heavy-handedness that keeps this from being a classic. The face paint hits the viewer like a bag of bricks and the conclusion leaves a bit to be desired. Still, not the worst Star Trek has had to offer in Season 3.
The man on the lamb is accused of terrorism and his rival is there to extradite him back to Cheron where he will be tried. Kirk won't let this happen until he has his day in court for stealing the shuttle craft; Cheron has no treaty in place with the Federation. The two men attempt to outwit each other. The Enterprise eventually ends up back at Cheron (much to the chagrin of Kirk). The two races' hatred for one another has consumed them so much that the entire planet has been wiped out. The two men are the last of their race. Despite this, the two beam down the surface and continue their cat and mouse escapade. They will chase one another until one is dead.
I'm not sure how the writer of this episode was able to type all of this out with such heavy hands. All jokes aside, yes, it is a bit on the nose... but I can't help enjoying it a bit. There is some bizarre directional choices on display here: the odd zoom, the running sequences, the (very cool) close-up facial reaction shots. It keeps things exciting when the plot drags on a bit. The acting is solid as well.
But it's really the heavy-handedness that keeps this from being a classic. The face paint hits the viewer like a bag of bricks and the conclusion leaves a bit to be desired. Still, not the worst Star Trek has had to offer in Season 3.