History Recap / StarTrekS3E13ElaanOfTroyius

* NoSell: Not ''entirely'', as Kirk ''is'' affected by Elaan's tears. However he nonetheless remains functional during the critical battle despite Elaan's presence on the bridge,[[note]]in previous scenes, the love-struck Kirk can barely hold himself together[[/note]] and is ultimately able to let her go. When McCoy finally finds an antidote for the tears in the final scene, Spock points out it's completely unnecessary: Kirk's love for ''Enterprise'' was more potent.
* ProudWarriorRaceGuy: The Elasians, of the sort that clearly sees no need for the social graces.

-->'''Elaan:''' It was no accident. I chose you, and you chose me. I have a plan. With this ship, you could completely obliterate Troyius. Then there will be no need for the marriage. And in gratitude, my people will give you the complete rule of this system.

!!Tropes for this episode include:

* DoubleStandardRapeFemaleOnMale: No one seems disturbed by the fact that men are incapable of saying no to Elasian women when they've been touched by their tears. Kirk certainly doesn't seem to think he's been raped (assuming he had sex with Elaan, which is strongly implied, but not stated. (And despite Kirk's reputation, this is only the ''third'' time Kirk sleeps with a non-human, even leaving aside the possibility it's DoubleStandardRapeSciFi.)

* DoubleStandardRapeFemaleOnMale: No one seems disturbed by the fact that men are incapable of saying no to Elasian women when they've been touched by their tears. Kirk certainly doesn't seem to think he's been raped (assuming he had sex with Elaan), although, to be fair, we're talking about ''[[AnythingThatMoves Kirk]]'' here. This is also DoubleStandardRapeSciFi.

* NotRareOverThere: the ship's dilithium crystals crack in the middle of a battle. Unfortunately, there are none left... until they realise that Elaan's necklace has a bunch of them. She surrenders it gladly, bemused that they would want what to her planet are WorthlessYellowRocks.

* GettingCrapPastTheRadar: It takes a while to get Kirk to respond to a call after he touches Elaan's tears. And when he speaks of "What happened", you're pretty sure more than just kissing went on between the two.Look close Kirk's hair is messed up compared to the previous shot of the two..

* RecycledInSpace: This is basically ''Theatre/TheTamingOfTheShrew'' on the Starship ''Enterprise''.
* {{Redshirt}}: When John Meredyth Lucas called Victor Brandt to play Watson, [[http://www.startrek.com/article/exclusive-with-star-treks-victor-brandt he said he had another death scene for him.]]

* GettingCrapPastTheRadar: It takes a while to get Kirk to respond to a call after he touches Elaan's tears. And when he speaks of "What happened", you're pretty sure more than just kissing went on between the two.

* CasualDangerDialogue: After he barely avoids catching a knife in his back like Petri did, Kirk calmly tells Elaas, "Tomorrow's lesson will be on courtesy."

* DoubleStandardRapeFemaleOnMale: No one seems disturbed by the fact that men are incapable of saying no to Elasian women when they've been touched by their tears. Kirk certainly doesn't seem to think he's been raped (assuming he had sex with Elaan). This is also DoubleStandardRapeSciFi.

* WouldHitAGirl: Kirk slaps Elaan after she slaps him. She responds by throwing a knife at him.

** A line that was ultimately left out explains that the only reason this folk-art necklace is cherished and is appropriate for a royal wedding is its antiquity.

* GreenSkinnedSpaceBabe: Elaan, although she's orange rather than green.%%Petri's skin color could be described as teal, but skin color isn't actually what the trope is about.

* LovePotion: The tears of an Elaian woman.

* PygmalionPlot: Captain Kirk must teach the Dohlman of Elaas civilized manners before her wedding to the ruler of the planet Troyius. He ends up falling in love with her because he touches her tears — and the tears of Elaasian women are a potent love potion.

The planets Elas and Troyius are both Federation members, but have been at war with each other for centuries. With those darn Klingons encroaching the territory, [[EnemyMine peace becomes imperative.]] How to solve this problem? Why, with a BureaucraticallyArrangedMarriage, of course! The ''Enterprise'' is assigned to transport Elaan, Dohlman (Basically, Princess) of Elas, to Troyius where she will marry the planet's leader. Petri, the Troyian ambassador, is there to help Elaan make a peaceful transition and learn the proper social graces. Easier said than done.

* [[GreenSkinnedSpaceBabe Green Skinned Space Dude]]: Petri's skin color could be described as teal. Even ignoring that and his odd hair, he looks about average. We never do see the Troyian leader. Elaan calls him a "green pig", but that could be prejudice talking. For all we know, he could be a hunk of burning love who just happens to find that it's actually quite easy being green.

* [[WhatIsThisThingYouCallLove What Is This Ancient Custom You Call Spanking?]]: Elaan knows she has been a bad girl.

* DoubleStandardRapeFemaleOnMale: No one seems disturbed by the fact that men are incapable of saying no to Troyian women when they've been touched by their tears. Kirk certainly doesn't seem to think he's been raped (assuming he had sex with Elaan). This is also DoubleStandardRapeSciFi.

* WouldHitAGirl: Kirk slaps Elaan after she slaps him. She responds by throwing a knife at him.
* YouLookFamiliar: Victor Brandt, the poor [[RedShirt engineer Watson]], reappears later in the series as [[Recap/StarTrekS3E20TheWayToEden the purple-haired space-hippie]].

* ButThisIsRidiculous: Bones responds to Petri's stabbing with "Well, I've heard of reluctant brides, but this is ridiculous."

* HeyItsThatGuy: Victor Brandt, the poor [[RedShirt engineer Watson]], reappears later in the series as [[Recap/StarTrekS3E20TheWayToEden the purple-haired space-hippie]].

* WouldHitAGirl: Kirk slaps Elaan after she slaps him. She responds by throwing a knife at him.

* IronicName: The ArrangedMarriage between '''princess Elaan''' from planet '''Elas''' and the ruler of planet '''Troyius''' is supposed '''to stop''' a war between their respective world. UsefulNotes/TheTrojanWar {{inverted}} InSpace

* CargoShip: How does Kirk get over Elaan? By going back to his one true love. [[HoYay Spock?]] No, sorry, shippers. It's the ''Enterprise''.

* TheissTitillationTheory: Hoo boy! Elaan probably gets the most costume changes of any GirlOfTheWeek on TOS with four. First, a purple outfit that makes her look like a gladiator themed superhero from the SilverAge. When she visits the engine room with the purpose of insulting Scotty, she wears what appears to be tinfoil panties and a couple of gravy boats. After she's had her off screen love scene with Kirk, she wears a glittery orange dress that has a top that looks more like a scarf. The dress she wears to die by Kirk's side is a shiny blue sleeveless, high-necked number that at first glance seems modest. Then she turns around and we see that her sides are bare from armpit to ankle. OK, Will, if your plan was to convince us that not all male fashion designers are gay, mission accomplished.

* ValuesDissonance: The Federation and one of their captains being perfectly OK with ArrangedMarriage with the bride explicitly stating her lack of consent can easily come off as this, even if considering that said bride is a [[AssholeVictim complete jerk]] and that it is all for TheNeedsOfTheMany. (In contrast, the thematically similar TNG episode [[Recap/StarTrekTheNextGenerationS5E21ThePerfectMate "The Perfect Mate"]] at least addresses that issue.)

* IronicName: The ArrangedMarriage between '''princess Elaan''' from planet '''Elas''' and the ruler of planet '''Troyius''' is supposed '''to stop''' a war between their respective world. TheTrojanWar {{inverted}} InSpace