TOS is starting off with a solid run of episodes! After last nights solid Shakespeare inspired episode tonight's episode was as intense as they come! This episode introduces one of treks top villain races, the Romulans and from the beginning it is clear they are a violent offshoot of the Vulcans. This episode also tackles racial bias head on in the form of Lt. Stiles, the ships navigator who lost several family members in the Romulan war a century before and doesn't trust Spock after learning the Romulans look just like Vulcans.
The episode opens with Kirk about to perform a wedding between two crew members from phaser control, but is interrupted by an announcement that a Federation outpost is under attack. They go to condition red (they still haven't quite worked out the yellow and red alert system yet) and head toward the outpost at maximum warp. Uhura manages to establish communications but they can't get there in time to stop a mysterious vessel from uncloaking, blasting the outpost into oblivion and disappearing once again.
Spock has managed a basic form of tracking on the cloaked vessel and Kirk decides to follow behind matching their every move hoping it will look like an echo. We then cut to the bridge of the Romulan vessel where the romulan captain has figured out Kirk's game, but his crew is struggling to keep up. Back on the Enterprise Spock has detected a comet the Romulan vessel will pass through making it visible enough to lock weapons. The Enterprise maneuvers to firing position, but this reveals to the Romulan captain that the Enterprise is tracking them and he evades at the last minute. The Enterprise fires a wide spray of phaser fire damaging the Romulans who uncloak and shoot a powerful blast of deadly red plasma (read that in your scary voice) at the Enterprise.
The Enterprise speeds away at full warp and managed to stay ahead just long enough for the plasma to disperse revealing it's range limit. The Enterprise moves in to blast the Romulans before they can return into the neutral zone, but the Romulans managed to lose them after taking some damage and dumping debris out the chutes. They wait each other out, but Spock slips activating a panel that somehow lets the Romulans know where they are. Kirk evades and fires doing some serious damage, but the Romulans respond be jettisoning an, "old fashioned," nuclear bomb injuring many crew on the Enterprise including the crewman set to be married alone in phaser control.
Lt. Stiles rushes down to help and turns down an assist from Spock only to be overwhelmed by a coolant leak a few seconds later just as the Romulans move to attack. Spock still manages to swoop in and save the day but activating the phasers just in time. Kirk finally gets to face his foe face to face in a touching moment just before the Romulan captain destroys his own vessel rather than take the offer of aid from Kirk. In a depressing conclusion we learn the only fatality was the crewman set to be married that morning.
Reviewdewy: The episode centers around the confrontation between Kirk and the unnamed but clever Romulan captain. It even features some refreshing moments of self doubt from Kirk and some political struggle on the Romulan vessel which as a fan of Romulan episodes of TNG seemed to be pretty much the same as in TNG. This episode is both exciting and sets up a new threat to the peace and safety of the Federation.
9 out of 10
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