"The Conscience of the King" is the 13th episode of the first season of the American

science-fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel unive ...

television series ''

Star Trek ''Star Trek'' is an American science fiction media franchise created by Gene Roddenberry, which began with the eponymous 1960s television series and quickly became a worldwide pop-culture phenomenon. The franchise has expanded into vari ...

''. Written by Barry Trivers and directed by

Gerd Oswald Gerd Oswald (June 9, 1919 – May 22, 1989) was a German director of American films and television. Biography Born in Berlin, Oswald was the son of German film director Richard Oswald and actress Käthe Oswald. He worked as a child actor be ...

, it was first aired on December 8, 1966. The episode takes its title from the concluding lines of Act II of ''

Hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts ...

:'' "The play's the thing/Wherein I'll catch the conscience of the king." In the episode,

Captain Kirk James Tiberius Kirk is a fictional character in the ''Star Trek'' media franchise. Originally played by Canadian actor William Shatner, Kirk first appeared in ''Star Trek'' serving aboard the starship USS ''Enterprise'' as captain. Kirk leads ...

crosses paths with an actor suspected of having been a mass-murdering dictator 20 years earlier.

Plot

The USS ''Enterprise'' is called to Planet Q by Dr. Thomas Leighton, a friend of

's, ostensibly to investigate a possible new synthetic food source. Leighton's true motivation, however, is his suspicion that Anton Karidian, the leader of a Shakespearean acting troupe currently on the planet, is in fact Kodos the Executioner, former governor of the Earth colony of Tarsus IV. Kodos had ordered that half the population of 8000 be put to death during a food shortage (supply ships were late and it was believed the full population would not survive until they arrived). Both Leighton and Kirk were eyewitnesses. Kirk insists Kodos is dead, but reconsiders after researching Karidian's background. Hoping to meet Karidian at a party at Leighton's home, Kirk meets his daughter Lenore. During a walk outside, the two find Leighton dead. Kirk arranges for the ''Enterprise'' to ferry the acting troupe to its next destination. He transfers Lt. Kevin Riley to Engineering, after discovering that he, too, was a witness to the Tarsus IV massacre. These actions arouse the curiosity of First Officer

Spock Spock is a fictional character in the ''Star Trek'' media franchise. He first appeared in the original ''Star Trek'' series serving aboard the starship USS ''Enterprise'' as science officer and first officer (and Kirk's Second-in-command) and ...

who, after an investigation of his own, learns the history of the massacre, Kirk and Riley's connection to it, and that seven of the nine witnesses to the massacre have died, in each case when Karidian's troupe was somewhere nearby. Riley is poisoned, and a phaser set on overload is left in Kirk's quarters. Kirk confronts Karidian with his suspicions. Karidian does not admit to being Kodos, but argues in defense of Kodos's actions, and when asked to read a transcript of Kodos's execution order, does so with barely a glance at the paper. A computer analysis of his voice results in a near-perfect match with Kodos, but Kirk still hesitates to accuse Karidian. Lt. Riley, recovering in sickbay, overhears Dr. McCoy's log entry and learns that Karidian is suspected of being Kodos. Riley heads for the ship's theater, where the Karidian troupe is performing ''Hamlet'', and goes backstage, phaser in hand, to exact revenge for the death of his family. Kirk discovers him before he can act, and persuades him to surrender the weapon. Karidian, overhearing, is disturbed, and Lenore tries to reassure him by revealing that she has been killing the witnesses to his crimes. Kirk, overhearing this conversation, moves to arrest them both. Lenore snatches a phaser from a security guard and aims at Kirk. Karidian jumps into the line of fire, is hit, and dies. Lenore breaks down and begs her father to wake up and continue his performance. Later, on the bridge, McCoy reports on her psychiatric condition; she believes her father is still alive and giving performances to cheering crowds.

Production

The episode featured the final appearance (in production order) of

Grace Lee Whitney Grace Lee Whitney (born Mary Ann Chase; April 1, 1930 – May 1, 2015) was an American actress and singer. She played Janice Rand on the original ''Star Trek'' television series and subsequent ''Star Trek'' films. Early life Whitney was born o ...

(Yeoman

Janice Rand Janice Rand is a fictional character in the American science fiction television series ''Star Trek: The Original Series'' during its first season, as well as three of the ''Star Trek'' films. She is the Captain's yeoman on board the USS ''Enter ...

). Whitney had already been notified that she was fired from the series a week before filming on this episode began. Her brief walk-on scene was her last scene in ''Star Trek'' before her return 13 years later in '' Star Trek: The Motion Picture''. This episode was the second and final appearance of Lieutenant Kevin Riley, played by Bruce Hyde, who first appeared in "

The Naked Time "The Naked Time" is the fourth episode of the first season of the American science fiction television series ''Star Trek''. Written by John D. F. Black and directed by Marc Daniels, it first aired on September 29, 1966. In the episode, a stran ...

". All first-season core Star Trek regular background players appear in this episode: Eddie Paskey (Lt. Lesley), Frank da Vinci (Lt. Brent), William Blackburn (Lt. Hadley), Ron Veto (Harrison) and Jeanne Malone (''Enterprise'' yeoman.) The ship's theater is a redress of the engineering set. Set pieces of the ship's gymnasium (first seen in the episode " Charlie X") are hanging on the walls, and the ceiling of the set is visible in some of the shooting angles. Star of '' The Addams Family'' John Astin provided the voice of the unseen Captain John Daley, though he went uncredited.

Reception

In 2013, ''

Wired ''Wired'' (stylized as ''WIRED'') is a monthly American magazine, published in print and online editions, that focuses on how emerging technologies affect culture, the economy, and politics. Owned by Condé Nast, it is headquartered in San ...

'' ranked this episode one of the top 10 episodes of the original television series. Zack Handlen of '' The A.V. Club'' gave the episode an A− rating, noting strong performances from the actors including a "great Spock/McCoy dynamic" and "some very credible acting from Shatner." Keith DeCandido, writing for '' Tor.com'', commended the acting of Moss, Shatner, and Anderson, but felt that the episode had aged poorly in regard to only being able to identify Karidian as Kodos via an unreliable voice comparison. He gave the episode a rating of 7. Jamahl Epsicokhan of Jammer's Reviews rated the episode 2.5 stars out of 4 and similarly praised the performances of Moss and Anderson, but criticized the ending, calling it "inappropriate". Michelle Erica Green of ''Trek Today'' also praised Moss and Anderson's performances, but criticized the episode's script. Later ''Star Trek'' writer Ronald D. Moore considers the episode to be "deeply underrated" and one of the series' best.

In popular culture

This episode is referenced in the

HBO Max HBO Max is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. Launched in the United States on May 27, 2020, the service is built around the libraries of HBO, Warner Bros., Cartoon Ne ...

mini series ''

Station Eleven ''Station Eleven'' is a novel by the Canadian writer Emily St. John Mandel. It takes place in the Great Lakes region before and after a fictional swine flu pandemic, known as the "Georgia Flu", has devastated the world, killing most of the popul ...

'' episode "Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Aren't Dead", where the episode is playing on television.

References

External links