Balance of Character: A Review of Balance of Terror

 "Had he and I but met/by some old Ancient Inn/We should have sat us down to wet/Right many a nipperkin/But ranged as infantry/And staring face to face/I shot at him as he at me/And killed him in his place." These lines come from Thomas Hardy's 1902 poem, The Man he Killed, and offers a commentary on the then raging Boer War. The poem is a rumination on war and how the people who kill one another are not so different. It is that theme that runs throughout the Star Trek episode, Balance of Terror, which over 50 years later still holds up as one of the masterpieces of the Star Trek Franchise. 

This theme of recognizing the humanity of our common enemy is apparent right away in the episode with this line by Spock: "Earth believes the Romulans to be warlike, cruel, treacherous, and only the Romulans know what they think of Earth." Through this line, the episode instantly making clear that there is going to be greater nuance in this episode than hunt down the evil monster. 

And indeed when we meet the Romulan commander, he is immediately, for lack of a better word, humanized to us. This is a truly impressive feat considering his ship is responsible for the killing of several Starfleet bases. The viewer should hate this man but we cannot. One of his first words is a longing to return home which is something we can all relate to. There is also the fascinating way his body language conveys defeat even though the mission was successful. This body language is mirrored by the ensuing dialogue where he laments the violence and war "Our gift to the homeland another war. How many comrades have we lost so. Death and more death. Soon even for the Prator's taste. I find myself wishing for destruction." These are not the words of a monster but rather someone who has been beaten down by a tyrannical state. He is a flesh and blood person with his own wants and desires: wants and desires that do not coincide with his actions. This three dimensionality makes us sympathetic to him. A sympathy that is only reinforced by his words "danger and I are old friends" which is exactly something Kirk would say.  

The episode does not stop there, however, in making us relate to the Romulans. We see a Romulan officer sacrifice himself to save his commander. This reinforces that these people are not unfeeling Martians but rather flesh and blood people just as capable of compassion as you or I. Brilliantly, in just two scenes the episode has revealed just how false the earth propaganda about the Romulans being "cruel and treacherous" is. Yes, they may be brutal but they are also sensitive and fiercely loyal to one another. 

The final scene with the Romulan commander is justifiably famous and much of the dialogue echoes the aforementioned Hardy poem. Compare those four opening lines "Had he and I but met/by some old Ancient Inn/We should have sat us down to wet/Right many a nipperkin" to the Romulan commander's lament "I regret that we met in this kind of way. . . . In a different reality I could have called you friend." We might have moved into the 23rd century, we might be in space, we might have aliens fighting humans, but in the end there are universal constants. That of how war divides us and makes people we could break bread with into something that is "other" and we must destroy. 

                                                The Romulan commander's haunting final scene

But this is not the only thing the episode does well. For revealing layers runs throughout the episode. There are no straw people here. In a lesser episode, Mr. Stiles would have been a one note bigot, but not so here. He might be the overtly prejudiced towards Spock, but the episodes mixes things up extremely skillfully. First, when the Enterprise crew finds out that Spock looks like a Romulan, we see not Stiles looking at Spock with distrust, but also Sulu. Later, during an officer's meeting, Stiles is allowed to make reasonable points about confronting the Romulans. Points that might come across as emotional but ones that intriguingly the logical Spock agrees with. By doing this, Balance of Terror is offering dimension and preventing anyone from being a caricature. Indeed the whole conference scene is a masterclass in this as Dr. McCoy is also allowed to air his humanist fears of war and combat and again we are encouraged to respect and understand his perspective. No one is allowed to be a cardboard cutout, nor is the crew of the Enterprise a monolith. 

Furthermore, one of the most underrated parts of Balance of Terror is how it allows Spock and Kirk a chance to be people, rather than superheroes. Spock makes an all too human blunder by accidentally hitting the wrong button which keeps him relatable and grounded. Kirk is given a fantastic scene where he makes a "why me speech" as he ruminates about how the bridge crew is waiting for his every move. What this scene shows is Kirk is far from the carefree womanizer that he is remembered as today. Rather he is a man tormented by his job and how every day he fears if he is making the right choice or leading his crew to their death. Consistently Balance of Terror is peeling back the layers of everyone involved whether it be the Romulans or the crew of the Enterprise. 

And another layer is added at the end. A young couple soon to be married is torn apart by the battle with the man being killed and the woman living. The episode ends with the woman saying "I'm all right" but at this point we should know she is lying. Everything in this episode has been multifaceted, so it is dubious that this line is meant to be taken at face value. By ending with a grieving loved one of a victim of war, the episode offers one more stark reminder of the cost of war. This episode is not about explosions or deering do. Balance of Terror is about people, flawed people who are sometimes faced with doing and experiencing terrible things. It is a richness we do not see enough in our media and should be treasured whenever it comes along.