The Apple is one of those episodes I remember mostly from a specific image, in this case the image of a flower with deadly poison darts inside. This isn't one of those episodes that wins awards, but despite the plot holes discussed below, it manages to be a fun one to watch. The prime directive comes up in this episode again, and it seems this is exactly the kind of civilization it was designed to protect. But no, Kirk can't do that, he has to destroy their culture and offer to replace it with human culture.
The episode begins with Kirk, Spock, McCoy and Chekov beaming down with an an assortment of red shirts to investigate a planet that appears to be paradise. The weather is perfect from pole to pole and it is covered in the best lush plant life you can buy to decorate a sound stage. Kirk ignores a warning from Scotty that the anti-matter pods are losing potency and they start exploring. But the villain from the first act rears its flowery head and kills a red shirt with a blast of poison flower darts. Yes, the first act villain is a flower, and I say first act like that because the flowers disappear and are never mentioned after the first act. Spock takes a dart load for the captain and they attempt to beam back to the ship, but the energy drain stops it. Spock makes one of his unexplained recoveries, but they lose another red shirt to lightning.
Kirk notices a figure following them and greets the man as only Kirk can, with a punch in the face. The humanoid speaks English of course and appears to be from the village of spray tan. His name is Akuta and he take them to his village. Akuta explains he is the eyes and mouth of Vaal, evidently the deity of this world. They seem much like us, but appear to live forever rather than reproducing. Every day they feed Vaal by bringing minerals to a giant snake head normally protected by a forcefield. Spock seems to think maybe they should follow the prime directive and leave these primitive people as they are. McCoy and Kirk see things differently and decide they are obviously slaves to a machine.
The decision is made somewhat easier when Vaal starts trying to destroy the Enterprise by dragging it down with a tractor beam. Vaal also tells the people to kill the intruders by bashing in their skulls. They manage to get one red shirt, but Kirk stops and confines them before they can kill anyone else. All this fighting and feuding gets Vaal hungry for fuel, but this just gives Kirk and idea. He has Scotty blast Vaal's forcefield with the phasers to drain Vaal of power. It works and Vaal is destroyed. Kirk leaves the primitive villages to fend for themselves and figure out all that love stuff on their own.
The break down: If it wasn't for the threat to the Enterprise, this episode would be Kirk as his most arrogant. They show up at a planet that seems to be doing just fine (other than an infestation of deadly dart flowers) and destroy the thing granting the people immortality so they can be, "free." Not a bad episode, but not the best either.
6 out of 10
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