History YMMV / StarTrekS1E13TheConscienceOfTheKing

* RonTheDeathEater: Kodos frequently gets the "take the villain UpToEleven" version of this treatment in fan works, especially those set in the [[Film/StarTrek2009 reboot]] universe. Whereas the episode depicts him as a particularly twisted (and [[TheAtoner repentant]]) WellIntentionedExtremist, these fan works often depict him as not only a ManipulativeBastard using the situation of the famine to his own benefit[[note]]though one can argue enacting a culling based on one's own theories showcases he ''did'' use the situation for his own benefit to some extent, it's not quite the same as what's often depicted in these works, which often involve a lot more manipulation of the situation on Kodos' part[[/note]], but also a sadistic monster who reveled in the pain he caused. While there's no denying that Kodos canonically committed an unspeakable atrocity, there's no indication that he, for instance, deliberately caused the famine to create a situation where he could put his principles into effect, delayed calling for help in order to ensure the death of the "unworthy", was in possession of secret stores of food the entire time that would have been enough to feed the entire colony, or delighted in torture and murder (including [[WouldHurtAChild of children]]) -- all of which are common attributes of the character in fan works.

* RonTheDeathEater: Kodos frequently gets the "take the villain UpToEleven" version of this treatment in fan works, especially those set in the [[Film/StarTrek2009 reboot]] universe. Rather than the extremely misguided (and [[TheAtoner repentant]]) WellIntentionedExtremist he's shown as in the episode, these fan works depict him as deliberately cruel and sadistic, and often as a ManipulativeBastard using the situation of the famine to his own benefit (or even engineering it for that purpose)[[note]]though one can argue enacting a culling based on one's own theories showcases he ''did'' use the situation for his own benefit to some extent, it's not quite the same as what's often depicted in these works[[/note]]; while there's no denying that he committed an unspeakable atrocity, there's no indication that he, for instance, deliberately caused the famine to create a situation where he could put his principles into effect, delayed calling for help in order to ensure the death of the "unworthy", was in possession of secret stores of food the entire time that would have been enough to feed the entire colony, or delighted in torture and murder (including [[WouldHurtAChild of children]]) -- all of which are common attributes of the character in fan works.

* RonTheDeathEater: Kodos frequently gets the "already a villain, made worse" version of this treatment in fan works, especially those set in the [[Film/StarTrek2009 reboot]] universe. Rather than the extremely misguided (and [[TheAtoner repentant]]) WellIntentionedExtremist he's shown as in the episode, these fan works depict him as deliberately cruel and sadistic, and often as a ManipulativeBastard using the situation of the famine to his own benefit (or even engineering it for that purpose)[[note]]though one can argue enacting a culling based on one's own theories showcases he ''did'' use the situation for his own benefit to some extent, it's not quite the same as what's often depicted in these works[[/note]]; while there's no denying that he committed an unspeakable atrocity, there's no indication that he, for instance, deliberately caused the famine to create a situation where he could put his principles into effect, delayed calling for help in order to ensure the death of the "unworthy", was in possession of secret stores of food the entire time that would have been enough to feed the entire colony, or delighted in torture and murder (including [[WouldHurtAChild of children]]) -- all of which are common attributes of the character in fan works.

* RonTheDeathEater: Kodos frequently gets this treatment in fan works, especially those set in the [[Film/StarTrek2009 reboot]] universe. Rather than the extremely misguided (and [[TheAtoner repentant]]) WellIntentionedExtremist he's shown as in the episode, these fan works depict him as deliberately cruel and sadistic, and often as a ManipulativeBastard using the situation of the famine to his own benefit (or even engineering it for that purpose)[[note]]though one can argue enacting a culling based on one's own theories showcases he ''did'' use the situation for his own benefit to some extent, it's not quite the same as what's often depicted in these works[[/note]]; while there's no denying that he committed an unspeakable atrocity, there's no indication that he, for instance, deliberately caused the famine to create a situation where he could put his principles into effect, delayed calling for help in order to ensure the death of the "unworthy", was in possession of secret stores of food the entire time that would have been enough to feed the entire colony, or delighted in torture and murder (including [[WouldHurtAChild of children]]) -- all of which are common attributes of the character in fan works.

* RonTheDeathEater: Kodos frequently gets this treatment in fan works, especially those set in the [[Film/StarTrek2009 reboot]] universe. Rather than the extremely misguided (and [[TheAtoner repentant]]) WellIntentionedExtremist he's shown as in the episode, these fan works depict him as deliberately cruel and sadistic, and often as a ManipulativeBastard using the situation of the famine to his own benefit (or even engineering it for that purpose)[[note]]though one can argue enacting a culling based on one's own theories showcases he ''did'' use the situation for his own benefit to some extent, it's not nearly to the extent often depicted in these works[[/note]]; while there's no denying that he committed an unspeakable atrocity, there's no indication that he, for instance, delayed calling for help in order to ensure the death of the "unworthy", was in possession of secret stores of food the entire time that would have been enough to feed the entire colony, or delighted in torture and murder (including [[WouldHurtAChild of children]]) -- all of which are common attributes of the character in fan works.

* ValuesDissonance: The romantic relationship between Kirk and Lenore Karidian is bound to raise a lot more eyebrows among a modern audience than it would when the episode aired in 1966, not so much because of the 14 year age gap as for the fact that Lenore is explicitly only just 19 years old.

** Eugenics as a whole was a widely discussed matter up until World War II. Many countries implemented policies that dabbled in it, and infamously ThoseWackyNazis had policies that prematurely terminated pregnancies that begot “life unworthy of life”, exterminated disabled people or sterilized them, along with trying to breed more "Aryans", paying "Aryan" women who had many children to reward them and forbid abortions by "Aryan" women (unless the fetus had a detectable disability). In fact this is probably the biggest factor for why eugenics was discredited in most people's eyes.

* RonTheDeathEater: Kodos frequently gets this treatment in fan works, especially those set in the [[Film/StarTrek2009 reboot]] universe. Rather than the extremely misguided (and [[TheAtoner repentant]]) WellIntentionedExtremist he's shown as in the episode, these fan works depict him as deliberately cruel and sadistic, and often as a ManipulativeBastard using the situation of the famine to his own benefit (or even engineering it for that purpose)[[note]]though one can argue enacting a culling based on one's own theories showcases he ''did'' use the situation for his own benefit to some extent, it's not nearly to the extent often depicted in these works[[/note]]; while there's no denying that he committed an unspeakable atrocity, there's no indication that he, for instance, extended the famine deliberately to wipe out the "unworthy", withheld secret stores of food that could have allowed the entire colony to be fed, or delighted in torture and murder (including [[WouldHurtAChild of children]]) -- all of which are common attributes of the character in fan works.

* RonTheDeathEater: Kodos frequently gets this treatment in fan works, especially those set in the [[Film/StarTrek2009 reboot]] universe. Rather than the extremely misguided (and [[TheAtoner repentant]]) WellIntentionedExtremist he's shown as in the episode, these fan works depict him as deliberately cruel and sadistic, and often as a ManipulativeBastard using the situation of the famine to his own benefit (or even engineering it for that purpose)[[note]]though one can argue enacting a culling based on one's own theories showcases he ''did'' use the situation for his own benefit to some extent, it's not nearly to the extent often depicted in these works[[/note]]; while there's no denying that he committed an unspeakable atrocity, there's no indication that he, for instance, extended the famine deliberately to wipe out the "unworthy", had secret stores of additional food that he withheld from the public, or delighted in torture and murder (including [[WouldHurtAChild of children]]) -- all of which are common attributes of the character in fan works.

* RonTheDeathEater: Kodos frequently gets this treatment in fan works, especially those set in the [[Film/StarTrek2009 reboot]] universe. Rather than the extremely misguided (and [[TheAtoner repentant]]) WellIntentionedExtremist he's shown as in the episode, these fan works depict him as deliberately cruel and sadistic, and often as a ManipulativeBastard using the situation of the famine to his own benefit (or even engineering it for that purpose)[[note]]though one can argue enacting a culling based on one's own theories showcases he ''did'' use the situation for his own benefit to some extent, it's not nearly to the extent often depicted in these works[[/note]]; while there's no denying that he committed an unspeakable atrocity, there's no indication that he, for instance, extended the famine deliberately to wipe out the "unworthy", had secret stores of food that he withheld from the public, or delighted in torture and murder (including [[WouldHurtAChild of children]]) -- all of which are common attributes of the character in fan works.

* RonTheDeathEater: Kodos frequently gets this treatment in fan works, especially those set in the [[Film/StarTrek2009 reboot]] universe. Rather than the extremely misguided (and [[TheAtoner repentant]]) WellIntentionedExtremist he's shown as in the episode, these fan works depict him as deliberately cruel and sadistic, and often as a ManipulativeBastard using the situation of the famine to his own benefit (or even engineering it for that purpose)[[note]]though one can argue enacting a culling based on one's own theories showcases he ''did'' use the situation for his own benefit to some extent, it's not nearly to the extent often depicted in these works[[/note]]; while there's no denying that he committed an unspeakable atrocity, there's no indication that he, for instance, extended the famine deliberately to wipe out the "unworthy" or delighted in torture and murder, including [[WouldHurtAChild of children]], both of which are common attributes of the character in fan works.

* WeirdAlEffect: [[http://www.avclub.com/tvclub/star-trek-conscience-of-the-king-balance-of-terror-24442 "While TOS was there first, the name "Kodos" has a very different meaning for anyone who didn't see this episode when it originally aired.]] (...) As such, the stinger on the cold open, which should have you thinking, "Oh my god! Who's that?" instead has you wondering if there's [[WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons a giant green one-eyed squid thing hiding behind the old guy on stage in the silly costume.]]"

** "[[Recap/StarTrekEnterpriseS04E18InAMirrorDarkly "In a Mirror, Darkly]]" reveals (via a barely visible screen) that [[Series/StarTrekEnterprise Hoshi Sato]] was among the 4,000 killed by Kodos.

* RonTheDeathEater: Kodos frequently gets this treatment in fan works, especially those set in the [[Film/StarTrek2009 reboot]] universe. Rather than the extremely misguided (and [[TheAtoner repentant]]) WellIntentionedExtremist he's shown as in the episode, these fan works depict him as deliberately cruel and sadistic, and often as a ManipulativeBastard using the situation of the famine to his own benefit (or even engineering it for that purpose)[[note]]though one can argue enacting a culling based on one's own theories showcases he ''did'' use the situation for his own benefit to some extent[[/note]]; while there's no denying that he committed an unspeakable atrocity, there's no indication that he, for instance, extended the famine deliberately to wipe out the "unworthy" or delighted in torture and murder, including [[WouldHurtAChild of children]], both of which are common attributes of the character in fan works.

*** Eugenics as a whole was a widely discussed matter up until World War II. Many countries implemented policies that dabbled in it, and infamously ThoseWackyNazis had policies that prematurely terminated pregnancies that begot “life unworthy of life”, exterminated disabled people or sterilized them, along with trying to breed more "Aryans", paying "Aryan" women who had many children to reward them. In fact this is probably the biggest factor for why eugenics was discredited in most people's eyes.

** Kodos' StartOfDarkness involved him losing most of their food supply, so he divided the population in half with no biases and exterminated one half. This wiped out exactly 50% of the colony, but he got away with it and later became a RetiredMonster [[spoiler:who dies after his sins catch up to him]]. One can't help but think of [[Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse Thanos]].

* RonTheDeathEater: Kodos frequently gets this treatment in fan works, especially those set in the [[Film/StarTrek2009 reboot]] universe. Rather than the extremely misguided (and [[TheAtoner repentant]]) WellIntentionedExtremist he's shown as in the episode, these fan works depict him as deliberately cruel and sadistic, and often as a ManipulativeBastard using the situation of the famine to his own benefit (or even engineering it for that purpose)[[note]]though one can argue enacting a culling based on one's own theories showcases he ''did'' use the situation for his own benefit to some extent[[/note]] and just using TheNeedsOfTheMany as a smokescreen.

* RonTheDeathEater: Kodos frequently gets this treatment in fan works, especially those set in the [[Film/StarTrek2009 reboot]] universe. Rather than the extremely misguided (and [[TheAtoner repentant]]) WellIntentionedExtremist he's shown as in the episode, these fan works depict him as deliberately cruel and sadistic, and often as a ManipulativeBastard using the situation of the famine to his own benefit (or even engineering it for that purpose), though one can argue enacting a culling based on one's own theories showcases he ''did'' use the situation for his own benefit.

* RonTheDeathEater: Kodos frequently gets this treatment in fan works, especially those set in the [[Film/StarTrek2009 reboot]] universe. Rather than the extremely misguided (and [[TheAtoner repentant]]) WellIntentionedExtremist he's shown as in the episode, these fan works depict him as deliberately cruel and sadistic, and often as a ManipulativeBastard using the situation of the famine to his own benefit (or even engineering it for that purpose).

* FridgeLogic: They say Kirk, Leighton, and Riley are the only ones who know what Kodos looks like. Except that there's a photo of him available in the Enterprise's library computer, when Kirk checks up on Kodos and Karidian in the briefing room. They say the witnesses are the only ones who remember Kodos' voice; except that the library computer has a recording of Kodos too.
** Later EU works specify that Kirk and the others actually saw Kodos ''give the execution order and witnessed him preside over the massacre''. This would explain why Kirk writes down Kodos' order from memory; no copies of it exist.
** [[spoiler:Lenore's]] entire plan is sloppy and not well thought out, even veering close to IdiotBall territory at times. But it's not sloppiness on the part of the ''writers''; the plan is sloppy because it was made by a person not in their right mind.
** It's also not so much that no one else could make the connection, but that Kirk and the others remembered Kodos so well that they could bring it to the attention of a Federation court—otherwise, he could live out the rest of his life in obscurity, as the whole Alpha Quadrant wasn't out looking for him.
** What kept Kodos from simply getting cosmetic surgery to change his face? Attempts have been made to justify the failure to identify him via DNA sequencing (if only to cover for the fact that the concept hadn't yet even been conceived in real life), but plastic surgery is one of the things that the show writers should have predicted would be super-advanced by the 23rd century.

** Kodos's StartOfDarkness involved him losing most of their food supply, so he divided the population in half with no biases and exterminated one half. This wiped out exactly 50% of the colony, but he got away with it and later became a RetiredMonster [[spoiler:who dies after his sins catch up to him]]. One can't help but think of [[Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse Thanos]].

* TearJerker: Kevin Riley in the moments after Kirk stops him from shooting Kodos. Even though he was about to commit murder, when he tells Kirk that Kodos "murdered my father, and my mother", there isn't even any anger in his voice, just absolute heartbreak. Also, keep in mind, this is ''Riley'', the [[ClassClown same guy]] who, a few episodes earlier, [[Recap/StarTrekS1E4TheNakedTime was belting out poorly-performed Irish ballads and promising the crew ice cream.]]
* WeirdAlEffect: [[http://www.avclub.com/tvclub/star-trek-conscience-of-the-king-balance-of-terror-24442 "While TOS was there first, the name "Kodos" has a very different meaning for anyone who didn't see this episode when it originally aired.]] (...) As such, the stinger on the cold open, which should have you thinking, "Oh my god! Who's that?" instead has you wondering if there's [[WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons a giant green one-eyed squid thing hiding behind the old guy on stage in the silly costume.]]"

** What kept Kodos from simply getting cosmetic surgery to change his face? Attempts have been made to justify the failure to identify him via DNA (if only to cover for the fact that the concept hadn't even been conceived in real life yet), but plastic surgery is one of the things that the show writers should have predicted would be super-advanced by the 23rd century.

* What kept Kodos from simply getting cosmetic surgery to change his face? Attempts have been made to justify the failure to identify him via DNA (if only to cover for the fact that the concept hadn't even been conceived in real life yet), but plastic surgery is one of the things that the show writers should have predicted would be super-advanced by the 23rd century.

* NotableOriginalMusic: "Beyond Antares". Music by Wilbur Hatch, lyrics by Gene L. Coon, and beautifully sung by Nichelle Nichols.

* TearJerker: Kevin Riley in the moments after Kirk stops him from shooting Kodos. Even though he was about to commit murder, when he tells Kirk that Kodos "murdered my father, and my mother", there isn't even any anger in his voice, just absolute heartbreak.

** Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine cast member Rene Aubejonois once shared an amusing anecdote in a TV Guide interview about his experiences watching the original ''Star Trek''. During the scene where Riley's drink is secretly poisoned, the unseen assassin is using what we now recognize as a Windex-style spray bottle (which was invented around the time of this episode's airing). He mused about how such bottles are now ubiquitous, yet appeared perfectly futuristic at the time.

** ** Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine cast member Rene Aubejonois once shared an amusing anecdote in a TV Guide interview about his experiences watching the original ''Star Trek''. During the scene where Riley's drink is secretly poisoned, the unseen assassin is using what we now recognize as a Windex-style spray bottle (which was invented around the time of this episode's airing). He mused about how such bottles are now ubiquitous, yet appeared perfectly futuristic at the time.