Patterns of Force

TOS Season 2 Episode 21
Air Date: February 16th, 2016

The Enterprise is tasks to track down John Gill, a former instructor of Kirk's who was tasks to observe a pre-warp civilization on the planet Ekos. When they approach the planet, a thermal nuclear missile is launched at the Enterprise. It was easy to destroy the missile but it left Spock puzzled on how they developed weapons and detection devices beyond what they should have been.

When they transport down they find a military force that wears the Nazi version of the swastika. They learn that they are at war with another planet in their solar system Zeon, and John Gill is the Fuhrer. Kirk and Spock was able to disguise themselves as Nazi soldiers but were quickly discovered due to their lack of understanding of procedure.

After a torture session they escape using the transponders in their arms turning them into a simple phaser. They help a Zeon prisoner Izak, which brings Kirk and Spock into the Zeon underground. There they meet a Ekosian who has joined the underground since she doesn't believe in where her civilization is going. She is able to get Kirk and Spock into a special event where the Fuhrer is giving a speech.

They find Gill but he appears to be drugged or hypnotized. They seem to be using him as a prop, a false figure head to get the people of Ekos to go to war with Zeon. They beam down McCoy to try to get Gill to wake up. They were able to ask Gill a few questions and learn that he tried to save Ekos from collapse by using an efficient government in Earth's history, hoping that if he kept the evil part out that it would bring the people together. But the deputy Fuhrer Melakon drugged Gill and used what he built to get to this point.

Kirk gets Gill to broadcast a video denouncing Melakon and to stand down all military actions. Melakon shoots the Fuhrer but then gets shot himself.

"You propose we pass ourselves off as Nazis captain?" - Spock
"If John Gill is the Fuhrer, it would seem the logical approach" - Kirk
"That's very well taken captain." - Spock

"Quite correct. You should make a very convincing Nazi." - Spock

"Mr. Spock, the guard did a very professional job on my back." - Kirk
"Of course captain... you realize that the aim will of course be very crude" - Spock
"IIIII.... don't care if you hit the broad side of a barn, just hurry please" - Kirk
"Captain, why should I aim at such a structure" - Spock

"If we adopt the ways of the Nazis, we are as bad as the Nazis." - Izak

"Doctor McCoy is having difficulty with that uniform, sir." - Uhura
"Well, send him down naked if you have to. Kirk out." - Kirk

"Absolute power corrupts absolutely." - McCoy