History Recap / StarTrekS2E10JourneyToBabel

* AbsenteeActor: Despite being mentioned, Scotty does not appear.

* NoodleIncident: Why DID Sarek marry Amanda? "[[ItSeemedLikeAGoodIdeaAtTheTime At the time, it seemed the logical thing to do.]]" (Although the tender look he gives her shortly afterward suggests there's a simple enough answer -- he loves her; [[CannotSpitItOut he's just too stubbornly Vulcan to say so]].)

* BearsAreBadNews: Sort of. Amanda reveals that Spock kept a similar creature as a pet, despite it having six-inch fangs. ''Series/StarTrekEnterprise'' later confirms that the smaller ones can be kept as pets, as long as they're properly cared for.

* ShirtlessScene: [[MrFanservice Kirk]] is topless for no reason (maybe changing out of his dress clothes into a more everyday uniform?) when he is informed of the murder of Ambassador Gav. Justified when he's in the sickbay swathed in bandages from Thelev's attack.

* OlderThanTheyLook: Sarek appears to be about 40 to 50 Earth years of age, but is well over 102 Earth years old at the time the episode takes place in 2268, having been born on Vulcan in the Earth year 2165. Learning that Sarek had retired prior to the events of the episode Doctor [[=McCoy=]] made a point to ask Sarek why he had retired at such a relatively young age.

* NotEvenBotheringWithTheAccent: Reggie Nalder makes no attempt to hide his Austrian accent as Andorian ambassador Shras, though to his credit this only further emphasizes the character's alien nature.

* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: The fate of Coridan, the planet whose admission to the Federation is the subject of the Babel Conference, is not revealed. The implication is that it will be admitted (Sarek, whose vote carries others, has survived his life-threatening operation; one of the primary opponents of admission, the Tellarite Ambassador Gav, is conveniently dead). [[Recap/StarTrekTheNextGenerationS3E23Sarek Almost a century later]], viewers would learn that Sarek's vote did indeed carry others and Coridan was admitted to the Federation.

* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: The fate of Coridan, the planet whose admission to the Federation is the subject of the Babel Conference, is not revealed. The implication is that it will be admitted (Sarek, whose vote carries others, has survived his life-threatening operation; one of the primary opponents of admission, the Tellarite Ambassador Gav, is conveniently dead). [[Recap/StarTrekTheNextGenerationS3E23Sarek More than two decades later]], viewers would learn that Sarek's vote did indeed carry others and Coridan was admitted to the Federation.

* AbsenteeActor: Despite being referenced, Scotty does not appear.

* AssInAmbassador: A whole shipload. Gav (the biggest ass of the lot) ends up dead.

* {{Foreshadowing}}: It's mentioned early on that Sarek had previously retired, but returned for the conference. [=McCoy=] notes that he's surprisingly young to be retiring -- [[LongLived he's only 102]]. As it turns out, he had a good reason to retire; his health was failing, which he didn't want to reveal due to his natural Vulcan sense of privacy.

* NoodleIncident: Why DID Sarek marry Amanda? "[[ItSeemedLikeAGoodIdeaAtTheTime At the time, it seemed the logical thing to do.]]"

* WhamLine:

* PlayingSick: Inversion. Kirk [[ICanStillFight fakes being healthy enough]] to take over his captain duties so Spock is free to donate the blood his father needs.
** And then played straight when Kirk has the ship play wounded in order to trick the attacking Orion vessel to swing back into phaser range.

Spock has been estranged from his parents for awhile. Spock and Sarek haven't spoken in 18 years due to Sarek not approving of Spock going into Starfleet rather than the Vulcan science academy. And Amanda just wants him to smile, dammit! But, Spock has no time or desire for lovey-dovey family reunions. Things are tense with all the delegates on board, many with personal grudges against each other. And just to make matters worse, an unidentified vessel is stalking the ''Enterprise''. And just to put the cherry on the crap sundae, Sarek is not only accused of murder, but he has a heart attack just as soon as the charges are made against him!

* HoldingHands: An odd Vulcan variant is introduced here. When Sarek introduces his wife, he holds out his hand, the first two fingers extended and the others curled in towards his palm, and she holds out her hand in the same position, and they touch the tips of their extended fingers together. Later, after Sarek's surgery, they repeat the gesture. We've seen emphasis placed on Vulcan hands before, what with the mind meld, neck pinch, and StrangeSalute, but it probably isn't until "The Enterprise Incident," when Spock and the Romulan Commander (and later [[Film/StarTrekIIITheSearchForSpock Spock and Saavik]]) essentially begin making out by just touching and caressing hands, that the significance of this becomes apparent. Vulcans BizarreAlienBiology makes touching hands an intimate gesture, and the form demonstrated by Sarek and Amanda seems something like a hug or chaste peck on the cheek by human standards.

* HoldingHands: An odd Vulcan variant is introduced here. When Sarek introduces his wife, he holds out his hand, the first two fingers extended and the others curled in towards his palm, and she holds out her hand in the same position, and they touch the tips of their extended fingers together. Later, after Sarek's surgery, they repeat the gesture. We've seen emphasis placed on Vulcan hands before, what with the mind meld, neck pinch, and StrangeSalute, but it probably isn't until "The Enterprise Incident," when Spock and the Romulan Commander essentially begin making out by just touching and caressing hands, that the significance of this becomes apparent. Vulcans BizarreAlienBiology makes touching hands an intimate gesture, and the form demonstrated by Sarek and Amanda seems something like a hug or chaste peck on the cheek by human standards.