Someday, it will probably cease to amaze me that Animorphs cribbed a whole Star Trek plot. Say Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hide did it first if you really you want to, but let’s be honest about where Animorphs #32— the one where Rachel gets split in half as a starfish and develops a good and bad half — is really coming from.
I’m fine with that, though. At least The Separation doesn’t have its main characters dismiss sexual assault in the workplace (I assume; I’ll admit that it’s been a while since I read it, although that would be a pretty wild change of pace for a children’s series).
If not for the Janice Rand subplot — which so helpfully ends with us finding out she actually liked the evil Kirk coming onto her the whole time! — The Enemy Within would be a great episode. It’s campy; it’s well-written; it’s dramatic; it’s got actual Sulu content (even if that’s mostly him pretending to shiver in sunny California).
Kirk splitting into two halves, each with their positives and negatives, is a compelling concept turned into great drama by Bill Shatner at his most unhinged — and that’s not a bad thing! Also, he’s sans girdle and I like looking at his wide chest. There’s a great Kirk smile or two hiding in here, too.
There are some great character moments hiding around the big upsetting plot beat, too.
The crewman who stands up for Janice — meeting his own Captain in the eyes and telling him that he knows what he did — is an attempt to show that men should stand up for women, not each other, a great scene that’s unfortunately drowned out by the men who do stick together.
Taken as a character moment, though, when Kirk is accused of assaulting Rand, Spock’s response that there can be only one solution — an imposter — is such a strong affirmation of the Kirk and Spock friendship. In the real world, this boys club blanket protection would be quite troubling, but taken at face value, you can really see how much it means to Kirk, who has no idea what’s going on or why the world has turn on him, to have Spock’s support. (Also, this is one of several times that, for all its progressive politics, Kirk is victimized as as an embodiment of male fears about women in the workplace).
As for Bones, well — his haircut isn’t great, and his scrubs still don’t fit, but I’m just glad he’s here, in the episode mostly known for introducing this dog-in-an-alien costume to the world:
Good Doctor: I
Bad Doctor: II
No Doctor: II
Unfortunately, Spock has to explain the basic idea of medical shock to our good Doctor McCoy, who also fails to perform an autopsy on a dog-in-an-alien costume.
Filk Recommendation: The Enemy Within by Leslie Fish & The Dehorn Crew
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