‘Star Trek’ Retro Recap: ‘That Which Survives’

Written by John Edward Betancourt

Legacy is a word that means a great deal to us, simply because we want to be remembered in a positive fashion after we depart from this plane of existence. Which is why we do our best to lead a good life, filled with wonderful memories, so that people keep us in their hearts when the time comes to say our goodbyes. But with the advent of technology, it would seem that it is becoming easier and easier to preserve the memory of the dearly departed, since social media accounts honoring the dead now exist and well, that leaves one to wonder how technology and the cloud will help to keep the thought of us alive in the future, as it all continues to become more sophisticated. 
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Thankfully, science fiction is there to help us explore those possibilities and it just so happens that the next episode of Star Trek dives into this the long way around, courtesy of a grand mystery. For ‘That Which Survives’ sees the crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise stumble upon a world that simply should not exist in the slightest. For it defies all laws of physics and once Kirk and his landing party go to explore the wonder of this strange new world, the mystery surrounding this world deepens. For the NCC-1701 is hurtled a thousand light years away, seemingly by the planet, leaving the away team on their own to figure out how to survive on a world that appears to be unable to support life outside of its atmosphere, and finding food and water isn’t the only problem they’re facing.

For a mysterious woman continues to pop up to touch members of the away team, something that immediately injures or kills the victim and this carnage extends to the Enterprise as well. Because she also keeps appearing aboard the ship to touch devices or crewmen, ending more lives while causing great damage to the ship. The kind that forces Scotty to risk life and limb in order to fix the old girl. But while this makes for some thrilling moments and some delightful interactions from the cast, it doesn’t quite lead into any examination of what legacy looks like far in the future with advanced technology at our fingertips, at least… not until Captain Kirk and the survivors of this mystery woman’s latest attack begin to discover that she is far more than a bloodthirsty phantom.

Because it turns out that this world is quite the twisted monument. For long ago it was created with the intent of becoming a military base, and unfortunately, its creation brought about the end of an entire race of species. And the woman that is stalking the crew and the ship was once known as Commander Lorisa, the last CO of this ghostly place and the last message she left behind is in essence, her legacy. Something that takes a little bit of extra work on the away team’s behalf to uncover, because the defense systems of this world, created a violent version of her in order to protect the base. But eventually Kirk and his friends are able to see that there is a good humanoid buried beneath the digital bloodlust and restoring her legacy oddly provides the audience with a fine lesson on how legacy could be tainted digitally.

Since this story just goes to show that it is the programming of the device that holds one’s memory, that will determine whether or not we are remembered in a positive or negative light in years to come. But in the end however, this was just a mediocre episode for certain. One that tried to dive into some philosophical concepts but failed in its endeavor by making the mystery a priority over anything else and that’s pretty much par for the course for season three. But while it may have failed in being a smarter than average tale, it is still an entertaining ride. One that truly does feature some incredible banter between Spock and Scotty when the Enterprise is in trouble and one that does keep your attention as the mystery unfolds. But alas, its storytelling struggles serve to remind us that this series was indeed running on fumes thanks to the pressures it was facing and all we can hope for at this point, are some last gasps of brilliance before the five-year mission comes to its early end. Until next time.

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