Review

The dictator of more than a quarter of Earth from 1992 to 1996 in the Star Trek universe, Khan Noonien Singh ruled much of east Asia and the middle east until he was deposed in what is by the 23rd century referred to as the Eugenics War. In this episode the Enterprise discovers Khan and a number of his genetically engineered comrades frozen in cryogenic stasis and revives them, oblivious to their true place in history at first. We're treated to a number of fascinating tidbits about the Eugenics War throughout this episode as Khan's true place in history is slowly revealed. The Eugenics War apparently was a long lasting global conflict centered around the controversial practice of genetically engineering superior human beings who apparently had a tendency to seize power by force and establish authoritarian dictatorial regimes throughout the world until they were eventually defeated and exiled (or probably assassinated in some cases). Khan and his comrades were exiled only to be reborn by captain Kirk centuries later in this episode.

In a subsequent episode it would be a lot of fun to go into more depth about the exact events of the Eugenics War such as exactly how long it lasted, who the belligerents were, and what exactly the diverging point is between Earth's real history and the Star Trek universe's version of Earth. For the moment though, what exposition there is in this episode is more than adequate to tell a terrific story. As the episode states itself plainly enough, Khan is magnetically charming and charismatic despite his obviously terrifying lust for power. The move by the writers to include a scene where Kirk, Scotty, and McCoy briefly admire Khan in his historical context simply because he was one of the more benevolent dictators of the day was a smart choice and exactly the sort of detail that develops nuanced, interesting characters. Indeed at every stage of the story Khan continued to deliver as a well crafted antagonist while being ever so human despite his superhuman characteristics.

The one detail that didn't work dramatically speaking was the character of McGivers. Right from the moment her character was introduced when Kirk said that the discovery of an ancient Earth spacecraft would give her "something to do for a change" the episode was already beginning to falter with her characterization and we hadn't even seen her on screen yet. In the very next scene we see her whiling away her day dreamily painting the sexy men of the past she evidently spends her days fantasizing about. Throughout the episode McGivers struggles with reconciling her attraction to Khan and her duty as a Starfleet officer. Kirk was right to reprimand her for this behavior. Some might argue that this episode (like some others before it) has a streak of misogyny with regards to how Khan treats McGivers, but I would sooner argue that the true misogyny of the episode is McGivers' characterization itself rather than how she is treated. I simply do not find a woman this consumed by a masochistic attraction to abusive tyrants to be a very compelling character.

The decision at the end of the story to maroon Khan, his comrades, and McGivers on Ceti Alpha V was also a curious choice. It's well within the realm of realism that Kirk could have the authority to do something like this (or that he could have the ability to get away with it by faking documents or something), but Kirk should have been smart enough to realize that he was handing McGivers a probable death sentence by giving her the option to go with Khan to avoid her court martial. To be clear the danger to McGivers wasn't necessarily from the stated harsh conditions of the planet which she chose to accept, but from the dangers presented to her by Khan's personality which I have my doubts she was fully aware of. Kirk as captain should have realized that McGivers was not in a position to make a rational decision about whether or not living with Khan would be a smart choice and should have made that decision for her as his first duty is to protect the lives of all members of his crew. She would have been better off court martialed for sure.

Setting that aside though this episode is outstanding and easily the best episode since Balance of Terror. With better characterization of McGivers (or perhaps the omission of her character entirely), this episode too could have been worth a perfect score.