‘Star Trek’ Retro Recap: ‘Metamorphosis’

Written by John Edward Betancourt 

​World building is a supremely important element when it comes to assembling a franchise. Because when fans connect with a new saga, they want to consume every detail about it and immerse themselves within it, so they can feel as though they’re apart of this incredible new world they love and enjoy and one such franchise that I firmly believe does an incredible job of world building, is Star Trek. For Gene Roddenberry and other showrunners and executive producers that followed his lead, created an entire history for Earth’s future, one that is fascinating and alluring since it shows us every single precise point where mankind changes course and becomes a species of peace and growth and oddly enough, even the characters that are involved in these moments are well rounded and well known.
 
Take for example Zefram Cochrane, a name that immediately rings a bell for Trek fans everywhere since he was the father of warp drive and his quest to reach the stars is what helped bring about the birth of the United Federation of Planets. And while he’s best known for his appearance in Star Trek: First Contact, since that film straight up showed us the events that led to our first encounter with the Vulcans, I completely forgot about the fact that he showed up well before that film was even discussed in closed room at Paramount Pictures. For back in season two of The Original Series, Kirk and his closest friends were given the opportunity to meet the man that ushered in a new era of space travel in ‘Metamorphosis’ and his arrival on the series made for one fascinating episode.
 
In part because of the fact that he is a young man when Kirk and company encounter him on an isolated world, but also because everything present in First Contact when it comes to his character, such as the bullheadedness and the desire to be bold and do incredible things is present here, and that’s comforting on so many levels. Because it means that Ronald D. Moore and Brannon Braga did their homework properly for that film and that ties into the world building, we’ve been discussing. For in essence, the character is now seamless when it comes to the timeline and this is merely a younger version of the man the crew of the 1701-E meets on their mission to save Earth, with over two hundred years of seasoning behind him, since a strange alien known as the Companion rescued him from the clutches of death ages ago and that’s what made this episode so fascinating.
 
For it went from history lesson and fan moments to an in-depth exploration of the nature of love and how it knows no bounds. Since we came to learn that the Companion cared for Cochrane in ways that only a lover can and in turn, Zefram accepted that love and provided the alien with his own and when both parties come to realize that a separation would be devastating on an emotional level, extreme measures come into play to keep their love alive and this was just, unexpected. Because this saga rarely dealt with romance in the slightest, so to see it here is odd, yet it works in its own special way. For it gives closure to Cochrane’s story since we know that he will finally grow old with someone that genuinely cares for him and he can enjoy that love in peace and quiet, free from the trappings of fame that plagued him ages ago.
 
If anything, I would venture to say that my only complaint about this tale, is the rushed and nonchalant nature that comes with Ms. Hedford’s dying decision to let the Companion take over her body so that the romance can take place because… no one found it weird that Hedford was okay with handing over her mind and body to an alien being, all so that it could finally experience the wonder of love in physical form? It just seems out of place and hokey, but it is what it is and honestly, the fan service present here does overshadow this glaring and off-kilter flaw since you get to hang out with Zefram Cochrane for an hour or so. Either way it was just cool to see an episode of The Original Series that once again had major impact on the fabric of the franchise, and I truly cannot wait to run into more of these, as season two rolls on. Until next time. 

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