Day of the Dove

**** (4 stars out of 5)

"Day of the Dove" brings back the Klingons for the final time in the original series. Michael Ansara is towering as Kang. Just awesome. He either gets all the best dialogue or he makes it the best with acting brilliance.

Kang and Kirk were both lured in to Beta XII-A by distress calls. 100 imaginary Human colonists dead, 400 real Klingons dead, and it's only 7 pm.

Kang's not buying the accusation that he's just destroyed "A colony of the invisible?" He backhands and captures Kirk.

"Go to the devil," Kirk mutters.

"We have no devil, Kirk, but we understand the habits of yours."

Chekov rushes Kang's goons, screaming revenge for the Archanis IV massacre.

"You killed my brother, Piotr!"

"So you volunteer to join him. That is loyalty."

Kirk turns the tables with the transporter. The Klingon survivors, including Kang's hot science officer wife, Mara, are now the prisoners. Sulu destroys their empty enemy vessel.

A swirling goblin made of light like the rainbow wheel cursor creeps around the halls of Enterprise. It shuts down the communications, seizes the engines and races for the extra-galactic void at warp 9. Most of Enterprise crew is locked in their rooms, with equal numbers on each side free. Phasers transmute into swords. Most everybody starts in with the stabbing. Kang finds this "delightful".

Spock points out that neither side has transmuting ability, and that if the Klingons COULD do it, why would they arm both sides? And why are all the plowshares missing?

Sulu points out that Chekov is an only child- there never was a Piotr.

Perception can't be trusted- even McCoy is baying for the blood of every Klingon. Scotty and Spock voice race hatred against each other. And stab-happy Chekov tries to force himself on Mara.

Oh, and now Johnson's back from the dead again. "Kill the Klingons! It's them or us, isn't it?"

Kirk uses rare and risky intra-ship beaming to go unarmed into Kang's camp and return Mara.

Inevitably, he gets into a swordfight.

"We can't be killed!" Kirk tries to explain to Kang.

"Then no doubt you will reassemble after I've hacked you to bits."

Kang does the hardest thing a Klingon can do and calls truce, rather than be a pawn killing for another's purposes. Good spirits, even ringing false, drive the manipulative pinwheel away.

"We need no urging to hate humans. But for the present, only a fool fights in a burning house."