Plot holes galore, especially in this one episode!
As you might guess from the image above, I rewatched Return of the Archons the other day. Honestly, I always liked that episode, even though it has some glaring plot holes.
- Sulu gets absorbed by a guy touching him with what turns out to be a hollow stick. But the main characters need to be herded into a machine.
- Landru can deactivate phasers but fails to do so until after Kirk blows open his hideaway.
- Besides that, they point the deactivated phasers at some Lawgivers for no apparent reason.
- While “Festival” might not be a plot hole, it is kind of creepy.
- Of course, the Prime Directive only applies to cultures Kirk likes. Imagine if, on another planet, Bees became the dominant species. What do you mean, you have a queen, and everyone else is some kind of slave? Well, that’s bees for you.
- There are electric poles in the town, but no one seems to have electricity and they are wowed by the light panel.
- Once the crew is absorbed, why continue holding them in a cell? What’s more is, why did they quit taking the crew after Kirk and Spock?
- When Landru is gone, Sulu is back to normal and on duty within–what?–30 seconds? Starfleet has a very generous policy of taking your word for it that the aliens influencing you are no longer bothering you, which we see in other episodes and even in TNG when Picard is assimilated and then just goes back to commanding the Enterprise. Sure.
Ok, I know… I do love the show and I even like this episode. But it is fun to see how many things like this you notice. Of course, back in the 60s, you got to see the episode once and then maybe one more time months later in reruns.
What’s your favorite episode to nit pick?
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