18. The Squire of GothosWHY WE LIKE IT: Trelane is the prototype for Q. And that classic ending!
WHY WE DON'T: Kind of a silly runaround, and I find Trelane more annoying than anything.
REVIEW: A godlike being playing with the crew is a Star Trek staple, but in this case, it's all kind of silly and pointless. When your antagonist can do anything, you just have to wait for him to defeat himself, going through setpiece after setpiece until that happens.
The mystery starts out as interesting, and Trelane isn't immediately annoying, but as the episode goes on, he becomes more and more childish and whiney. Once you know how the episode ends (a very classic and watchable ending), there's no mystery and you just want Kirk to slap him a couple times.
Which he does! The main characters are all strong here, including Sulu, Scotty and Uhura who are still being used interestingly. Still, sitting through harpsichord music, badly staged sword fights and that ridiculous mirror scene (so what was that machine for anyway?) again isn't something I look forward to.
LESSON: Don't break your toys unless you want mom and dad to take them away.
REWATCHABILITY - Medium: I'm a bit on the fence between Low and Medium, but the classic finale and the strong performances by the regulars (not that William Campbell doesn't do well with what he was handed) make me recommend it mildly.
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