#the Empath

[possumtion]

I am normal about the empath (lie)

(Prompt fill for the @mcspirkevents bingo card: “Final Moments)

[trek-tracks]

Imagine this. You're Spock. You've tried not to get yourself emotionally involved with your crewmates. It's not going very well. Your doctor goes and contracts a terminal illness and doesn't tell you (but luckily your captain can't go three seconds without breaking Space HIPAA or whatever exists in the future) and then tries to run away and die on an asteroid. You take out the Instrument of Obedience, privately thinking that it would be nice to have some control over this maniac you somehow care about's actions. You spend Surak knows how much time downloading and translating an entire civilization's medical library to cure him. No problem. It was just an incurable disease. You didn't need to sleep this month.

Two episodes later, another alien civilization tries to check said doctor out like he's a library book and then writes "withdrawn" on his forehead and pretends they don't have to give him back. He tells you to leave to save yourself; he'll stay. Did you mention you decoded an entire medical archive like two weeks ago for---fine. You go through unspeakable emotional violations to put him back into circulation on the Enterprise. It's cool. You didn't need your dignity anyway.

Two episodes after that, your illogical, self-sacrificial doctor mutinies and sedates you--the ranking officer in charge--undoing the fact that, again, how many hours did you spend? Curing an incurable illness because you couldn't let him die? Singing like an idiot in front of a bunch of snickering Platonians with laurel leaves on your head and no pants to speak of?--so he can get himself tortured to death on your behalf. You convince an empath to save him. He pushes her away because he "can't destroy life." Your captain is crying. The shiny force field shows everyone that you're having very non-shiny emotions. Do Vulcans even believe in hell

You think you've finally reached some sort of sacrificial detente. It's been a while. Neither of you have died on the other's behalf. You've both had to save your captain a few times, but that's normal. All in a day's work. Then said captain wants all three of you to check out a mysteriously abandoned library of time periods. You should have figured you would wind up in some sort of frozen wasteland with your doctor and no perceivable way to return what you'd borrowed. Well. At least there's the two of you so that you can keep an eye on--

He falls down in the snow. His hands are blue. "Go on without me," he says, dramatically. "Alone, you have a chance."

yeah I'd strangle that fucker against a cave wall too

[forecast0ctopus]

noooo they gave him the worst crop top of all time……..sick and twisted

[major-comet]

the biggest problem with tos’ episodic format is that the episode usually ends pretty quickly after the conflict resolves and then they never really talk about it again - no matter how intense or harrowing it was

which means that we don’t get to actually *see* the interpersonal fallout of bones being diagnosed with and cured from a previously-incurable terminal illness (that he didn’t even want to tell jim and spock he had), and then just four episodes later drugging them so that he can go be tortured (and likely die) instead of spock, and so jim doesn’t have to make the choice between them.

did they talk about it? beyond just a standard debrief and a “never fucking do that again bones i swear to god i mean it this time”? did they make it the captains’ quarters for the debrief, only for mccoy to be pulled into a crushing, trembling hug as soon as the door shut while jim tried to assure himself that bones was still here, was still breathing? spock hovering nearby - a hand gently coming to rest on his shoulder?

why didn’t mccoy want to tell them about the xenopolycythemia, anyways? to try and hold onto a few more normal-ish months before every time they looked at him their eyes would be filled with grief - mourning a man they hadn’t yet lost? the same reason he ran away; to spare them what he went through with his father?

only for him to immediately turn around and throw himself back to the wolves to (almost) die right in front of them anyways

i don’t really know how they handled it. whether they talked about it and attempted to soothe the hurt, or just resolutely tried to bottle it up.

but i do know this: spock eventually came back from gol because jim simply (though accidentally) called out for him in a moment of need. bones only came back because jim personally drafted him back into starfleet

[electronickingdomfox]

Reddit asking the real questions.

And then the correct answers:

The tragedy is that they DID film a shot of half-naked McCoy, and then never got to use it in the final episode!

[your-name-is-jim]

McCoy captured and tortured by aliens:

Kirk captured and tortured by the same aliens:

Sorry, aliens, but I have questions LOL

[s3 e12 - The Empath]

[hvezdnastreka]

I watched the empath!

The second time posting this, as tumblr hid it for some reason from dashboard and tags. I hope it was because of the long rant about the episode and not because of the art. Please don't hide this tumblr, thank youuu

[per1w1nkl3]

theres something so special to me about kirk being incredibly private, unhealthily so, he alone going his way doing what he feels is right. it's exhausting but it's what he's always done, it's what he must do.

but spock and mccoy, they notice there's something wrong, they meet up, try to to find out what it is and how to help.

spock might not know much about human emotions but he knows loneliness and he knows guilt and he would never want jim, his brilliant captain to feel that.

so spock, the cold, emotionless vulcan goes to his quarters and talks to him stern but kindly. he erases his memory, he's always ready to be by his side no matter what.

the both of them would see stars born and die before they'd willingly let anything happen to jim

[muirmarie]

the empath au where spock's like. hmm. 93% of insanity. interesting. what if i just.....backed myself up somewhere??? to be restored later??? and he manages to catch mccoy before he can hypo him, and just uploads his katra right on up into mccoy without so much as a by your leave per usual, and they have to go on mr. toad's wild ride back to vulcan in season 3 - and the vulcan healer looks at kirk like??? is this a joke??? where's his katra???

and kirk's like. hmm. i wonder if this has anything to do with why my chief medical officer is being fully unhinged. i thought it was just survivor's guilt, but now i WONDER.

anyway yeah spock and mccoy post-katra (beta canon linked) bestie brains from season 3 on, is what i'm saying

[gay-mooshrooms]

Gem freezing while walking away once she feels Spock sit down next to Kirk. Her slowly turning and looking at them while Spock stares at Kirk, and then Spock looking away embarrassed when he sees her looking. Her putting her hand on Spock's shoulder and the most awe-induced love-struck smile comes over her face. Spock wanting to sacrifice himself for both Kirk and McCoy, McCoy hypoing Spock to sacrifice himself instead. Spock and Kirk both holding onto McCoy's arms when he gets injured. McCoy telling Spock he has a good bedside manor.

SHALL I GO ON

[trek-tracks]

him

[sapphicambitions]

No because WHAT was this if not gay

Spock got caught pining over Kirk and the empath was like oh? Oh

[starofhisheart]

Jim ur gay is showing

[discoonthegrass]

The Empath: Trapped in an alien laboratory, Kirk, Spock and McCoy meet an empath and are involved in a series of experiments.

This Side of Paradise: The Enterprise investigates a planet whose colonists should be dead, but are not. (Vague description: it’s the one where they all get drugged up on happiness-inducing spores besides Jim, and Jim has to convince Spock to come back to the Enterprise by insulting him.)

This is the last poll of Round 4! Remember to vote on the other polls in this round, listed here. I need to wait for these polls to expire before starting Round 5, so check back here on Friday for that or come back to my blog tomorrow for a bonus poll!

[cheer-deforest-kelley]

Here’s an interview with De from 1968 (during the filming of “The Empath”) from a fanzine called “Inside Star Trek”.

“Inside Star Trek” was the first official Star Trek fanzine, distributed through the first officially authorized Star Trek fan club.

The zine was published from 1968-1969 (during filming of the third and final season of the original series) and then again from 1976-1979 (during pre-production until Star Trek: The Motion Picture was released).

The artwork was a bit cheesy, but every issue featured behind the scenes info and an interview with one of the cast or production team (usually on set during a break in filming).

[savpumpkinhead]

oh my goodness. i am watching 3x12 of st tos (the empath) and spock just revealed his plan to self sacrifice for mccoy WAHH i love them so much