Star Trek TOS Rewatch: S1E2 "Charlie X"

In the future, we will fear our children.

See the Star Trek TOS Rewatch Index page for links to all the episodes covered so far.

“CHARLIE X” RATING: 8.0/10

Like the first Star Trek episode, the second is a thinly disguised horror story, which feels like it’s exploring the landscape of nightmare rather than the bounds of distant space. Where  “The Man Trap” was stalked by anxieties about women and alien invaders, though, “Charlie X” shows that in the future we’re still going to fear our own children.

The Charlie of the title is Charlie Evans (Robert Walker), a 17-year-old who is the sole survivor of a transport wreck on the planet Thasus 14 years ago. Charlie has had no human contact since he was 3; he was rescued by the research ship Antares, which then delivered him to the Enterprise.