Star Trek TOS S2E9: Metamorphosis

No feminism in space.

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

“METAMORPHOSIS” Rating: 7.1/10

“The idea of male and female are universal constants,” Captain Kirk (William Shatner) asserts glibly in “Metamorphosis.” The episode is less confident than he is, though. Gene L. Coon’s script hints at the possibility of different kinds of bodies and different kinds of love which don’t fit easily into the categories of 60s gender expectations. Rather than seeing those possibilities as liberating or exciting, though, the episode tries to figure out how to contain them. Alien love is a threat which has to be funneled into familiar channels to keep men, women, and the universe in their respective places.