WHO MOURNS FOR ADONAIS | S.2.E.2
Star Trek - The Original Series
Original air date: September 22, 1967
SYNOPSIS
A powerful being claiming to be the Greek god Apollo appears and demands that the crew of the Enterprise disembark onto his planet to worship him.
CANON CONTEXT
The title is in line 415 of the 1821 elegy Adonais by Percy Bysshe Shelley and roughly means "who mourns for gods?"
RECAP
Okay, let’s start with the elephant in the episode: Adonais. Who the heck is that supposed to be or represent in this episode? It basically is meant to ask the question, “who will mourn for the gods?” That doesn’t change the ridiculousness of this episode, for me.
It starts with a hand. No, seriously, it does.
This hand manages to hold the USS Enterprise prisoner in space. Let’s move past how this is even feasibly possible and spin right into the face that appears in space next.
I present to you, Apollo! As in the greek god, Apollo. Why is he here and is he really Apollo is up for debate. He claims to have been around over five-thousand years ago with his fellow relations, the usual gods, etc. To say I am bored is an understatement at this point. Why even do an episode like this? It just isn’t believable and defies all logic. And this is coming from a person who is watching a show about spaceships in the future! Am I watching an episode of Hercules or Star Trek, people?!
Okay, okay, moving on. Here is Apollo and he’s looking for a few loyal subjects to love him and worship him and live with him forever and ever. That’s where the Enterprise comes in. His own personal play things that he can control however he wants. He does this by harnessing some sort of energy that he manages to use with some organ that is unidentifiable by Bones.
Let me not forget to mention Lieutenant Carolyn Palamas. The episode actually starts with Scotty flirting with her. He’s clearly got the hots for her that Bones and Kirk mention in detail. What I don’t get is just how hard he’s pining for her throughout the episode. Especially, because Apollo takes a liking for her as well.
It’s not like she’s the only woman on the Enterprise, but there’s only room for one femme fatale per episode it seems. Anyway, she’s not exactly scantily clad enough. Let’s fix that.
That’s better. Now that we’ve fixed this issue we move on to this Apollo dude. He insists that everyone on the Enterprise transport down to the planet where they will be his slave and he will destroy their ship. What need will they have for it anyhow? Of course, Kirk, Bones, Scotty, and Chekov who are on the planet must come up with a way out. The solution? Carolyn must spurn his love so that he gets so mad his powers are weakened.
Come to find out, the center of the power he uses is in that structure just behind him. How and what it is never gets answered. I swear Star Trek is filled with more unanswered questions than any show I’ve ever seen. So, while his defenses (aka ego) are low, the Enterprise targets their phasers on that structure.
This makes it so Apollo no longer has a hold on them or the Enterprise. Bye, bye hand! Awe, Carolyn is heartbroken when Apollo calls out to his family to take him. Take him where, exactly? No idea. Is that really important, anyhow?
It’s assumed that we all live happily ever after. The End. Oh, and we’re likely not going to see Carolyn again. If we do I’ll be surprised. And if we see a continuation of Scotty having the hots for her I’d be doubly surprised. It’s not like the obvious continued tension between Nurse Chapel and Spock. This is different and I couldn’t honestly care less. And to answer the question of the episode: Who mourns for the gods? No one, duh!
DID THEY REALLY SAY THAT?
[last lines]
Dr. McCoy: I wish we hadn't had to do this.
Capt. Kirk: So do I. They gave us so much - the Greek civilization, much of our culture and philosophy came from the worship of those beings. In a way, they began the Golden Age. Would it have hurt us, I wonder, just to have gathered a few laurel leaves?