When the episode opened with Sulu in period clothing in a setting resembling 1800's earth I was worried this was another time travel episode. Fortunately it was something even stranger. Sulu and another crewman are being hunted down by robed figures with staffs of some kind. Just before beaming to the ship Sulu is touched with a staff and when he is beamed aboard seems to have been brainwashed. After examining him Kirk beams down with a larger away party to figure out what is going on. We also are told the Enterprise is here to investigate the disappearance of the Federation ship Archon one hundred years earlier (I guess they weren't in much of a rush).
All the inhabitants of the planet seem tranquil and brainwashed as hell. They keep talking about some festival and somebody named Landru they hold with godlike reverence. Then suddenly the festival starts and people go nuts. Women are dragged way, windows are smashed and the away team is forced to flee for shelter. Fortunately the place they had randomly recommended to them before the festival happens to belong to a member of the resistance. From him they learn that one hundred years earlier a spaceship arrived and was destroyed by Landru. Kirk is naturally worried by this a contacts Scotty only to learn the Enterprise is being attacked and will lose power in less than 12 hours. Suddenly they are confronted by two hooded lawgivers, but figure out they are acting like machines. Then a holograph of Landru appears and stuns them with a, "hypersonic," attack.
They awaken in prison and soon McCoy has been brainwashed. Kirk is next and it looks to have worked on him too, but when it is time for Spock he learned Kirk wasn't brainwashed because another member of the resistance is in charge of the brainwashing. After being willing to give Kirk and Spock weapons the two resistance members are not quite as excited to actually have to help destroy their beloved Landru. Kirk talks his way into the audience hall however and is again confronted by the hologram. Not taking any guff he blasts a hole in the wall revealing Landru to be a computer built by the original Landru 6000 years earlier. Kirk and Spock pull the old logic trap game and destroy Landru in moments. They leave behind a team of socioligists to help rebuild society.
Review/discussion: There are a number of unaddressed odd features to this episode. I was thinking it would be revealed that the crew of the Archon were the source of humans on this planet, but no, humans just pop up everywhere it turns out. Just one of those TOS things that TNG would have at least addressed I guess. Also, why can the lawgivers brainwash Sulu just by touching him with a staff, but everybody else has to be taken to an indoctrination chamber? Not a bad episode, but also not the best of Trek. As a final note, this is the episode that introduced the Prime Directive, and also introduces ignoring it.
5 out of 10
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