‘Star Trek’ Retro Recap: ‘The Conscience of the King’

Written by John Edward Betancourt 

If there is one unfortunate truth when it comes to our world and our lives, it would be that we really only get one genuine shot to get some things right. Whether it be providing someone with a good first impression or jumping upon a grand opportunity in our career field that could benefit us immediately, missing these opportunities haunts us when we have time to reflect and that’s why the second chance is something, we all yearn for. Because it would be fascinating to know how our future might have changed if we made a different call, and while we understand the lesson that comes with ‘failure’ or not abiding by the notion of Carpe Diem, the human mind simply cannot help but ponder upon, ‘what if?’
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Which is why that particular notion is a huge part of fiction as a whole. Because in that safe space, we can properly ponder upon those missed opportunities in life and see what could have been and it just so happens that Star Trek decided to explore this concept in its next episode, ‘The Conscience of the King’. But as this saga is wont to do, it didn’t just examine an everyday missed opportunity, like say, Kirk embarrassing himself at a meeting of starship captains. Oh no, instead this one went all out into far more philosophical territory by asking all of us what we would do when given the opportunity to right a massive wrong, since Captain Kirk found himself in essence, face to face with a mass murderer that he barely recalled from his youth and this, made for one fascinating tale.

Because Jim quite frankly struggled with this second chance to bring justice to the galaxy once Kodos the Executioner was aboard the Enterprise. Because the more brash elements of his personality clearly wanted to deal with this matter in secrecy, as evidenced by his desire to bark orders and scheme, and it was obvious from his grandiose discussion with Spock later in the episode that part of him just wanted to let the fury of a younger man handle this with swift impunity. But time changes us, it adds maturity and that’s where the conflict in question comes from since Kirk truly believes in what Starfleet stands for and knew that vengeance wouldn’t apply here and it was simply fascinating to see Jim grapple with all of these internal emotions while working to keep his starship running and it was quite the relief to see him handle this like a Starfleet captain when all is said and done.

But while it was wonderful to see the series continue to establish the moral high ground that Starfleet operates within, what truly surprised me when it comes to this particular episode, was the wonderful mystery present in this tale. Because this one really was a classic ‘who done it?’ since we spend so much time trying to figure out if Anton Karidian is really Kodos after all and I loved the cat and mouse that plays out over the course of this story since it involves more than Kirk’s investigation. If anything, every little clue and every little moment definitely engaged me and kept my attention and I love the fact that the twists at the end pay off in spades for the audience because it really was a satisfying stunner of an ending and all of this really made for one amazing episode.

For the franchise never goes wrong when it explores morality and what being the bigger person is all about, and I love that Kirk got a second chance to handle the whole Kodos situation in proper fashion, and I also loved the humanity on display on this episode. Because how we treat one another was a big focus for this story, and all the negative explorations of that were counterbalanced nicely by the genesis of the brotherhood that Kirk and Spock and McCoy would exhibit for years to come since the latter two gentleman genuinely showed care for their friend and commander and went the extra mile to ensure his safety and really, this is an episode that really demonstrated through and through, what kind of a man James T. Kirk really is at his core. And I feel like this story, is what truly gave the character depth and direction and helped to mold him into the captain we all revere and I’m looking forward to seeing Kirk continue to grow as the series rolls on. Until next time.

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