10-14-2022, 05:36 PM
(This post was last modified: 10-14-2022, 05:42 PM by FaceInTheCrowd.)
It's that question about condemning someone to death based on others' perceptions or prejudices. At no time did anyone propose that Mitchell should be killed. At most, Spock predicted that they would inevitably be forced to kill him to avoid the Valiant's fate if he remained onboard. Kirk's ultimate decision to pursue and kill Mitchell, or to bombard the planet with lethal radiation if he failed, was made after Mitchell's murder of Kelso.
Here's a question: do we think Kirk decided to kill Mitchell as "justice" for Kelso's murder, or was Mitchell's murder of Kelso just the tipping point that convinced Kirk and he had no other choice? If the Enterprise had been fully repaired, why not just beam up, go, report back to Starfleet and get orders on how to deal with the now super-powered Mitchell? Or do we think that Kirk, not knowing that Dehner's eyes were now lit up, thought Mitchell had taken her by force and he needed to rescue her?
Here's a question: do we think Kirk decided to kill Mitchell as "justice" for Kelso's murder, or was Mitchell's murder of Kelso just the tipping point that convinced Kirk and he had no other choice? If the Enterprise had been fully repaired, why not just beam up, go, report back to Starfleet and get orders on how to deal with the now super-powered Mitchell? Or do we think that Kirk, not knowing that Dehner's eyes were now lit up, thought Mitchell had taken her by force and he needed to rescue her?