History YMMV / StarTrekS2E1AmokTime

*** It also makes Spock's outburst towards Chapel in the beginning, when she brings him the plomeek soup, all the more painful - not just because of the length of their friendship, but even in the words he shouts at her, remembering the circumstances of their prior fling.

* HoYay: Kirk and Spock's infamous fight scene, and the obvious affection. To the point where ''WebVideo/TheShipsCloset'' host Brittany needed [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ItxlVv_WMbU&feature=bf_next&list=PL92683EB319C8E35F&lf=plpp_video a two-part special]] to cover all the gayness. For the record, [[http://fanlore.org/wiki/Kirk/Spock_(TOS)#D.C._Fontana_on_.22Canon_Slash.22 D.C. Fontana hotly denies]] that any of the [[HoYay gay "subtext" seen by viewers yearning for canon slash]] was ever intended or written in deliberately by the dozen or so writers who worked on this episode. She said the conflict was meant to be between Spock's Vulcan and Terran sides, as he struggled to maintain a facade of normality while being [[NightmareFuel torn apart from the inside]] by [[BodyHorror forces he could not control]]. Nimoy was not portraying Spock as battling an instinct to rape Kirk; he was making an effort not to ''kill'' him, seize control of the ship, or ''go into convulsions and die''.

** DC's ''Comicbook/{{Star Trek|DCComics}}'' reveals in one story arc that Spock's warning to Stonn comes to pass: His relationship with T'Pring ultimately implodes, and they wind up divorced with an unruly daughter over whom Stonn has custody (whom he perfectly happy to abandon to her fate when she ruffles feathers with local authorities). And then Stonn dies of a heart ailment by the arc's end, ruining months of Federation negotiations.

* {{Narm}}: This exchange:
--> '''Spock''': It's about biology. ''Vulcan'' biology.
--> '''Kirk''': [[CaptainObvious You mean, the biology of Vulcans?]]
** Kirk is essentially trying to say sex without actually being able to say sex due to the standards of television at the time. [[NarmCharm It works]] because Spock is supposed to be extremely reticent on this subject anyhow. Additionally, we have some AmbiguousSyntax here, since Vulcan is both the name of the world and of its sapient species. Given this, Kirk's clarifying question does make a bit more sense.

** Kirk is essentially trying to say sex without actually being able to say sex due to the standards of television at the time. It works because Spock is supposed to be extremely reticent on this subject anyhow.
** Additionally, we have some AmbiguousSyntax here, since Vulcan is both the name of the world and of its sapient species. Given this, Kirk's clarifying question does make a bit more sense.

** When Spock tells T'Pau that he will "do neither [live long or prosper]", did he mean he was suicidal or did he expect to suffer DeathByDespair over Kirk's murder? (Note that he wouldn't be expecting execution for killing Kirk; "[[Recap/StarTrekS1E11TheMenageriePartI The Menagerie]]" established that the Talos IV travel ban was the only Federation law carrying the death penalty.)

* SugarWiki/AwesomeMoments: T'Pring's plan was, as Spock himself noted, utterly brilliant. Either Kirk wins and would reject her, Spock wins and does the same as retaliation for the humiliation, or even if Spock ''does'' go through with the marriage, his Starfleet career will keep him away for extended periods and she can just screw around with Stonn in his absence. While not a villain ''per se'', she's probably the only antagonist in the entire ''Original Series'' to outright come out on top over the protagonists, and get exactly what she wants in the end.

* {{Ho Yay}}: Kirk and Spock's infamous fight scene, and the obvious affection. To the point where ''WebVideo/TheShipsCloset'' host Brittany needed [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ItxlVv_WMbU&feature=bf_next&list=PL92683EB319C8E35F&lf=plpp_video a two-part special]] to cover all the gayness. For the record, [[http://fanlore.org/wiki/Kirk/Spock_(TOS)#D.C._Fontana_on_.22Canon_Slash.22 D.C. Fontana hotly denies]] that any of the [[HoYay gay "subtext" seen by viewers yearning for canon slash]] was ever intended or written in deliberately by the dozen or so writers who worked on this episode. She said the conflict was meant to be between Spock's Vulcan and Terran sides, as he struggled to maintain a facade of normality while being [[NightmareFuel torn apart from the inside]] by [[BodyHorror forces he could not control]]. Nimoy was not portraying Spock as battling an instinct to rape Kirk; he was making an effort not to ''kill'' him, seize control of the ship, or ''go into convulsions and die''.

* TearJerker: The episode has its own section on the tearjerker page.

** Just how oblivious was T'Pau to the "neural paralyzer" scam? While the episode could support the interpretation that [=McCoy=] [[DidYouJustScamCthulhu fooled her]], at least one fan suggested that she knew [=McCoy=] was pulling something and let him get away with it because she was secretly disgusted by T'Pring's scheme but had no legal recourse to prevent it. For that matter, how long did take her (or anyone else in the wedding party, for that matter) to work out T'Pring's exact motive for choosing a man she'd just met and presumably knows next to nothing about as an alternative husband? Vulcans are stereotypically the collective [[TheSmartGuy Smart Guy]] of the Federation, after all.

** Just how oblivious was T'Pau to the "neural paralyzer" scam? While the episode could support the interpretation that [=McCoy=] [[DidYouJustScamCthulhu fooled her]], at least one fan suggested that she knew [=McCoy=] was pulling something and let him get away with it because she was secretly disgusted by T'Pring's scheme but had no legal recourse to prevent it. For that matter, how long did take her (or anyone else in the wedding party, for that matter) to work out T'Pring's exact motive for choosing a man she'd just met and presumably knows next to nothing about as an alternative husband?

** T'Pring -- nasty, manipulative villainess or justifiably angry WomanScorned? Spock has been ignoring her and their marriage for roughly twenty standard years, basically humiliating her in front the entire planet. In the meantime she's found a man who loves her and treats her right and doesn't want to risk his life.[[note]]This works best if you assume he ''was'' completely ignoring her, and not maintaining secret communication at least for courtesy's sake.[[/note]]

** Just how oblivious was T'Pau to the "neural paralyzer" scam? While the episode could support the interpretation that [=McCoy=] [[DidYouJustScamCthulhu fooled her]], at least one fan suggested that she knew [=McCoy=] was pulling something and let him get away with it because she was secretly disgusted by T'Pring's scheme. For that matter, how long did take her (or anyone else in the wedding party, for that matter) to work out T'Pring's exact motive for choosing a man she'd just met and presumably knows next to nothing about as an alternative husband?

** DC's ''Comicbook/{{Star Trek|DCComics}}'' reveals in one story arc that Spock's warning to Stonn comes to pass: His relationship with T'Pring ultimately implodes, and they wind up divorced with an unruly daughter over whom Stonn has custody (and is perfectly happy to abandon to her fate when she ruffles feathers with local authorities). And then Stonn dies of a heart ailment by the arc's end, ruining months of Federation negotiations.

* SacredCow: While not considered the ''best'' episode of the Original Series (that is universally held to be [[Recap/StarTrekS1E28TheCityOnTheEdgeOfForever "The City on the End of Forever"]], also a SacredCow), "Amok Time" is still widely considered one of the best (usually in the top 3), and the best Spock-centric one.

* SugarWiki/AwesomeMoments: T'Pring's plan was, as Spock himself noted, utterly brilliant. Either Kirk wins and would reject her, Spock wins and does the same as retaliation for the humiliation, or even if Spock ''does'' go through with the marriage, his Starfleet career will keep him away for extended periods and she can just [[YourCheatingHeart screw around with Stonn in his absence]]. While not a villain ''per se'', she's probably the only antagonist in the entire ''Original Series'' to outright come out on top over the protagonists, and get exactly what she wants in the end.