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Star Trek TOS S1E13: The Conscience of the King

Star Trek TOS S1E13: The Conscience of the King

In which Star Trek avoids talking about genocide.

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Noah Berlatsky
Feb 23, 2023
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Everything Is Horrible
Everything Is Horrible
Star Trek TOS S1E13: The Conscience of the King
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See the Star Trek TOS Rewatch Index page for links to all the episodes covered so far.

“THE CONSCIENCE OF THE KING” RATING: 5.2/10

“The Corbomite Maneuver” foreshadowed the low-conflict Star Trek of The Next Generation. “The Conscience of the King” points towards the political intrigue and tough moral choices of Deep Space Nine.

That sounds appealing. But unfortunately writer Barry Trivers and director Gred Oswald lack both the serialized format and the nerve to engage their themes with any specificity. The result is an episode which seems determined to run away from its own central conflict. “Conscience of the King” rushes from romance to murder mystery to Shakespeare pastiche—anything that will allow it not to talk about genocide.

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