Line #6 Recap/StarTrekS2E10JourneyToBabel


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/journeytobabel.png]]
2	[[caption-width-right:350:Bones operating on Spock's father, Sarek.]]
3
4	'''Original air date:''' November 17, 1967
5
6	Everyone's getting all primped up to greet the ambassadors whom the ''Enterprise'' is delivering to the neutral planetoid of Babel for an important conference on the admission of the planet Coridan to the Federation. The arrival of Vulcan Ambassador Sarek and his Terran (i.e., human) wife Amanda is particularly looked forward to. The awaited arrival comes with a shocking surprise: Sarek and Amanda are Spock's parents!
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8	Spock has been estranged from his parents for awhile. Spock and Sarek haven't spoken as father and son 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!
9
10	Then Kirk gets stabbed in the back by Thelev of the Andorian party. Spock is told that only his blood could save his ailing father, but with Kirk indisposed, the ''Enterprise'' needs a commanding officer, particularly with that alien vessel closing in.
11
12	What's a Vulcan to do?
13	----
14	!!Journey to Tropes:
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16	* ABNegative: Sarek and Spock both have T Negative blood, a type rare even among Vulcans.
17	* AmazinglyEmbarrassingParents: Amanda tells [=McCoy=] about Spock's pet ''sehlat'', a Vulcan animal apparently similar to a "fat teddy bear." Bones lights up like a Christmas tree at the idea while Spock desperately tries to pretend he didn't hear that. The little glance she gives him before she mentions this shows she knows ''exactly'' what she's doing.
18	* {{Ambadassador}}: Sarek is quite capable of defending himself and easily pushes the overly aggressive Tellarite ambassador Gav away when their disagreement starts to become physical. Gav is stopped from further escalating the argument by Kirk, who just walked into the room. When Gav is later found stuffed in a Jeffries tube, apparently killed by an ancient Vulcan martial arts technique once used as a merciful form of execution, Spock points out that Sarek was quite capable of killing with his bare hands if he thought it logically necessary.
19	* AssInAmbassador: A whole shipload. Gav (the biggest ass of the lot) [[AssholeVictim ends up dead]].
20	* AwLookTheyReallyDoLoveEachOther: While Sarek is quite cold toward Spock publicly, in private he chastises Amanda for relating embarrassing stories of Spock's childhood, noting that Spock should be paid the respect he has earned. Amanda quickly intuits that Sarek really is proud of his son, but of course Sarek won't come out and say it.
21	* BearsAreBadNews: Sort of. Amanda reveals that Spock kept a similar creature as a pet, despite it having six-inch fangs. We see it in ''[[Recap/StarTrekTheAnimatedSeriesS1E2Yesteryear Yesteryear]]'' and ''Series/StarTrekEnterprise'' later confirms that the smaller ones can be kept as pets, as long as they're properly cared for.
22	* BigShutUp: [=McCoy=] to Spock and a shush to Kirk at the end of the episode.
23	-->'''[=McCoy=]''': "Well, what do you know; I finally got the last word!"
24	* BizarreAlienBiology: Vulcan anatomy is very different from humans and not studied by most Terran physicians. Seems the heart is somewhere where a human's liver would be.
25	* BlackEyesOfEvil: Gav and presumably all Tellarites have completely black eyes. While Gav doesn't come off as completely evil, he is considerably belligerent.
26	* BloodTransfusionPlot: Spock is Sarek's only compatible donor, but would have to donate a dangerously large amount of blood so the human factors can be filtered out. Forcing him to choose between his duty to the ''Enterprise'' and his duty to family.
27	* CaptainsLog:
28	** Kirk supplies two at the beginning of the episode to explain the point of the conference and note the "explosive" tensions of the delegates.
29	** Notably, after Kirk is injured, Spock supplies the log to note how he's in temporary command.
30	* CallBack: Makes references to "The Naked Time." This episode provides Call Back material for pretty much every Spock-based story out there.
31	* ClearMyName: Sarek is accused of murdering Gav due to his cause of death being similar to [[TouchOfDeath Tal-Shaya]] -- a merciful Vulcan method of execution. Sarek could have logical motive as well as means and has no alibi beyond he was meditating. Actually, he was recovering from another heart attack. He didn't tell Amanda how bad his heart condition was because [[IDidntTellYouBecauseYoudBeUnhappy he didn't want her to worry]]. He has another heart attack as he asserts his innocence.
32	* CluelessMystery: The culprits are a race completely unrelated to anything happening with the ambassadors.
33	* ContinuityPorn: One of the few plot threads to actually be seen to completion in the series, given that Spock's half-human heritage had been alluded to all the way since [[Recap/StarTrekS1E10TheCorbomiteManeuver the beginning of the series]].
34	** The events of this episode would later be referenced and alluded to in both ''TNG'' and ''Enterprise''.
35	* CulturalPosturing: Amanda gets in on both sides of this coin: Speaking to Kirk, she defends the Vulcan philosophy of Logic as "a better way", but later on she reminds Spock that he is part Human and that it's "not a dirty word!"
36	* {{Deconstruction}}: A minor one for the Federation itself. As it turns out, it's not quite the big happy family we're generally led to believe; after all, it's made up of dozens of worlds and races with their own -- sometimes conflicting -- agendas. The issue of Coridan's admission is apparently a controversial one because some Federation members, including the Tellarites, wish to keep the planet out so they can exploit its resources, or even annex it themselves; the tensions over this bring them to the brink of civil war (pushed along by the Orions, true, but they were only exploiting cracks that were there to begin with).
37	* DramaticUnmask: Thelev breaks an antenna, revealing he's not an Andorian at all!
38	* DrivenToSuicide: Thelev takes a poison rather than risk further interrogation. The Orion ship also self destructs.
39	* EmotionsVsStoicism: Spock's dilemma.
40	* FantasticallyChallengingPatient: Bones performs surgery on Spock's father Sarek. As a Vulcan, Sarek's organs are arranged a bit differently than a human (his heart is where a human's liver is, for example), and Spock is the only crew member who can donate blood to him.
41	* FeigningHealthiness: Whilst transporting numerous dignitaries, Captain Kirk is hospitalised by an assassin and Spock takes over command of the Enterprise. Meanwhile, Spock's father Sarek (one of the diplomats) needs a blood transfusion, with Spock as the only viable donor. However, as the quantity needed would also put him out of action for several days, Spock's sense of duty won't allow him to relinquish command whilst the ship is still in danger. To avoid him being responsible for his father's death, Kirk fakes an early recovery to retake command. He initially plans to simply hand over control to Scotty and return to his own treatment once the operation has started, but at that moment the Enterprise is attacked, forcing Kirk to stay on the bridge during the battle in spite of his wounds.
42	* FollowInMyFootsteps: Sarek really wanted Spock to go to the science academy just as he and his father before him did.
43	* ForcedIntoTheirSundayBest: Bones expresses dislike of having to wear a dress uniform for the delegates.
44	--> '''Bones:''' Dress uniforms, spit-and-polish...I don't know how much longer I'm gonna be able to stand this. I feel like my neck's in a sling.
45	* {{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, partly due to his natural Vulcan sense of privacy and partly because he didn't want his wife to know, as he felt it would only worry her pointlessly.
46	** At one point, Sarek discretely swallows a pill, which is apparently the benjisidrine that his doctor prescribed for him.
47	* FragileSpeedster: The ship that attacks the ''Enterprise''. It's extremely fast and maneuverable, but one phaser hit cripples it.
48	* HandshakeRefusal: Sarek offers Kirk and Bones the Vulcan salute, but makes a point of not returning Spock's salute.
49	* HeartInTheWrongPlace: Thelev obviously stabbed Kirk in the lower back, which is [[ArtisticLicenseBiology nowhere near the heart]], unless Kirk's organs have the habit of migrating around into a Vulcan configuration.
50	* 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 (or their touch telepathy, or both) makes touching hands an intimate gesture, and the form demonstrated by Sarek and Amanda seems something like holding hands, a hug or chaste peck on the cheek by human standards.
51	* IdiosyncraticCulturalGesture: "Journey to Babel" reveals that Vulcan couples extend their pointer and middle fingers from their hand and touch the tips as a sign of being in a relationship.
52	* ImADoctorNotAPlaceholder: Inverted! Spock and Kirk discuss what should be done for the ailing Sarek, with input from Sarek himself. When Kirk gets around to asking Bones what they should do, he says "I'm glad someone is asking me!"
53	* IndignantSlap: Amanda hauls off and belts Spock a good one across the face when he refuses to undergo the operation to save Sarek due to the current crisis on the ''Enterprise''.
54	* ItSeemedLikeAGoodIdeaAtTheTime: Sarek, gives this as the reason why he married Spock's human mother:
55	-->'''Spock:''' ''(about his mother)'' Emotional, isn't she?\
56	'''Sarek:''' She has always been that way.\
57	'''Spock:''' Indeed. Why did you marry her?\
58	'''Sarek:''' At the time it seemed the logical thing to do.
59	** Though, given how the couple are never shown as other than HappilyMarried, it sounds like it was actually the logical thing to do.
60	* ItsPersonal: Gav of Tellar Prime isn't friendly to anyone, but holds a particular animosity toward Sarek. We later discover that the two clashed during a previous Federation debate, with Sarek winning the argument. Since intense debating is the Tellarite [[PlanetOfHats hat]]--to the point where it's considered a sport on their world--being bested in that field is a personal insult, and it's clear that Gav hasn't forgiven Sarek for it.
61	* LastWords: "I seem to have miscalculated." - Thelev, after declaring that the poison he took would give him only 10 minutes to live.
62	* LeaningOnTheFourthWall: After telling Spock to shut up and Kirk to shush, Bones smiles not quite into the camera and says "Whaddya know? I finally got the last word!" Cue end credits. Falls short of outright BreakingTheFourthWall since WordOfGod is that Bones was addressing Nurse Chapel, but it's certainly the nearest the franchise has ever come to breaking it.
63	* LudicrousPrecision: As befits the father of Spock, Sarek corrects Doctor [=McCoy's=] estimate of his age to the thousandth decimal. He specifies that he is using Earth years, meaning that is accurate to within ''eight hours''.
64	* TheMainCharactersDoEverything: Due to George Takei's and James Doohan's absence, the command crew runs a little shallow this episode. As a result during the space battle, with Spock in sickbay, Chekov is shifted from his own station to Spock's and back, with an extra taking over navigation in his absence.
65	* MeaningfulName: A rather ironic meaning in this case. In the Bible Babel was where what was left of humanity dispersed because they couldn't understand each other. Here, Babel is where people from different planets go in an attempt to understand each other.
66	* NeckSnap: ''Tal-shaya'' involves applying very specific pressure to the victim's neck, causing it to snap instantly. As Dr. [=McCoy=] puts it, Ambassador Gav's neck was "broken - by an expert."
67	* NeverTellMeTheOdds: After [=McCoy=] notes that the chances of producing enough blood for Sarek's operation are extremely small, Spock begins "Indeed. I would estimate the odds--" Amanda cuts him off. "Please don't."
68	* NiceJobFixingItVillain: When Sarek claims to have been incapacitated at the time of Gav's death, Kirk indicates that while his heart condition makes it less likely that he's the killer, without anyone who can back him up he's still their prime suspect. Not long afterwards, the ''actual'' killer makes an attempt on Kirk's life, unwittingly taking suspicion away from Sarek.
69	* NoYou: This is Ambassador Gav's reaction when Sarek accuses him and the other Tellarites of arguing for the sake of it. Luckily, Kirk intervenes before things can get nasty between the two.
70	* 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]].) This is revisited in ''Film/StarTrek2009'', in which Sarek first protests that it was merely logical, then later simply states that he married her because he loved her.
71	* NotEvenBotheringWithTheAccent: Creator/ReggieNalder 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.
72	* NotSoStoic: Sarek smiles a little when he's alone with Amanda.
73	* 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, noting that it was fairly unusual for a Vulcan to retire at that age.[[note]]Mark Lenard, the original actor to portray Sarek was about 6.5 years older than Spock actor Leonard Nimoy.[[/note]]
74	* PartingFromConsciousnessWords: "It should be possible to identify them this way, it's-- important..." - Spock, just before the anesthetic kicks in.
75	* PlanetLooters: Coridan has a near-limitless supply of dilithium crystals, making it a prime target for mining operations both legal and illicit. Several alien species want Coridan to stay out of the Federation so they can continue looting without fear of reprisal; Sarek remarks that unscrupulous Tellarites have been caught doing so, prompting a fight with Tellarite ambassador Gav.
76	* PlayingBothSides: In the aftermath, Sarek and Kirk conclude that the Orion plan was to trigger a civil war which would create [[WarForFunAndProfit profitable opportunities]] to raid Coridan and sell dilithium to both sides.
77	* 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 it's played straight when Kirk has the ship play wounded in order to trick the attacking Orion vessel to swing back into phaser range.
78	* RecycledInSpace: A smallish example since the storyline isn't ''just'' about the conflict between Spock and Sarek, but the whole thing will be very familiar to anyone who's seen ''Film/TheJazzSinger''. Even Leonard Nimoy supposedly commented on the similarities during filming.
79	* RedShirt: Their usual dramatic role is averted in the scene where they are ordered to search Thelev. When he resists, one red shirt simply stuns him with his phaser, discovers a small transmitter that was on the prisoner and immediately reports it to the bridge.
80	* SecretStabWound: Sorta. It's no secret that Kirk was stabbed, but he [[FeigningHealthiness pretends to be sufficiently recovered]] to resume command so that Spock will leave his post and give blood for Sarek's operation.
81	* ShirtlessScene: [[MrFanservice Kirk]] is topless for no reason (maybe changing out of his dress clothes into a more everyday uniform or off-duty clothing?) when he is informed of the murder of Ambassador Gav. Justified when he's in the sickbay swathed in bandages from Thelev's attack.
82	* SmugSnake: Thelev.
83	* StrangeSalute:
84	** The famous Vulcan salute. Bones can't do it and settles for a quick wave.
85	** The finger tip touching between Amanda and Sarek.
86	* SuicideMission: Both the attacking ship and their spy on board have self-destruct orders.
87	* TookALevelInBadass: The only previous appearance by the Orions featured them becoming the TropeNamer for GreenSkinnedSpaceBabe.
88	* {{Troll}}: Surprisingly enough, Spock and Sarek team up to gently needle Amanda after she complains that she's sick to death of Vulcan logic, as seen under ItSeemedLikeAGoodIdeaAtTheTime above.
89	* TruthSerums: Used on Thelev off-screen, with no success.
90	* UnnecessaryCombatRoll: Kirk does a weird and hilarious off-the-wall kick while fighting Thelev when he could have just dealt him a normal kick or punch. It barely touches Thelev and leaves Kirk wide open for a follow-up attack as he tries to recover, which Thelev duly delivers with his knife.
91	* WellDoneSonGuy: Spock, no matter how much he pretends not to care.
92	* WhamLine: PlayedForLaughs when Kirk asks Spock why he isn't on the surface of Vulcan to visit his parents:
93	--> '''Spock:''' Captain, Ambassador Sarek and his wife are my parents.
94	* 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]] Riker stated Sarek's vote did indeed carry others and Coridan was admitted to the Federation.
95	* WhatTheHellHero: Amanda gives one to Spock when he chooses his duty to the ''Enterprise'' over saving his father, accompanied by a stinging slap.
96	* WhoMurderedTheAsshole: Gav is loud, belligerent, and rude to everyone, especially Sarek. His murder doesn't exactly cause tears to be shed among the other delegates, but the ''Enterprise'' crew still has to solve it to avert a civil war.

Context Recap / StarTrekS2E10JourneyToBabel