Another episode that really picked up in the second half.
A grand threat seems to bring out the best in Kirk – he seems to be at this best when the life and death of entire planets is on the line. I’m not entirely sure why the write bought his family into it, as his lack of clear reaction to his brother’s death kind of undermined things. It works towards the ‘Kirk will do his duty no matter what’ theme, but he can seem as unemotional as Spock at times.
(And Robert Heinlein might well have wanted to have words with the Star Trek people: the aliens are awfully similar to The Puppet Masters).
The sudden ‘reset button’ at the end of the episode: “Oh, Vulcan’s have an inner eyelid” was annoying. Today I think you’d be more likely to see the blindness carried over for a few more episodes, but it’s necessary by the TV rules of the time.
29 down, 708 to go. And one season finished.