History Recap / StarTrekS3E22TheSavageCurtain

* InvoluntaryBattleToTheDeath: As in in "Arena", "The Gamesters of Triskelion", "Bread and Circuses", and "Spectre of the Gun", Kirk is forced to fight for an alien's amusement.

* InvoluntaryBattleToTheDeath: As in in "Arena" and "Spectre of the Gun", Kirk is forced to fight for an alien's amusement.

* MeaningfulName: Obliquely implied, but Yarnek speaks of his people's test as a "spectacle" or "play", suggesting that the battle is taking place on a stage and that its beginning means a curtain is rising; the ''Enterprise'' bridge crew is even made spectators to further the metaphor. The "savage" aspect obviously relates to it being a battle to the death. It may also relate to the thin curtain of willpower and ideology separating good from evil.

JustForFun/TheOneWith UsefulNotes/AbrahamLincoln InSpace

* VoiceChangeling: The fake Kahless is able to perfectly mimic the voices of both Surak and Lincoln.

** In retrospect, this example is quite odd when you consider that both earlier episodes as well as future installments of the franchise use minutes, hours, days and years just as commonly (if not more so) as they do Stardates; most likely a case of Main/DependingOnTheWriter.
** Or just a case of Kirk breaking out some polite, dry sarcasm.

* ArtisticLicenseBiology: The rock monsters are stated to be carbon life forms, where silicon based life would make much more sense. Even more baffling as silicon based life has appeared on the show earlier.

* AllThereInTheScript: Yarnek is never named in dialogue, but is so named in the script. Even in the closed captioning, he's merely identified when speaking off-screen as "Excalbian."

On beaming down, they meet Surak, a MessianicArchetype from Vulcan history who makes Spock look like a {{Keet}}. They also meet a RockMonster called Yarnek who wants to know if Good or Evil is stronger. To find out, he becomes Teddy Long and makes an 8 person Tag team match, pitting Kirk, Spock, Lincoln and Surak against UsefulNotes/GenghisKhan, Zora (a MadDoctor from Tiburon), [[GeneralRipper Colonel Phillip Green]] (ecoterrorist and genocidal maniac from WorldWarIII) and Kahless the Unforgettable ([[EvilOverlord Hero of the Klingons]]). Why? Eh, why not?
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* ArchivedArmy: The Hero team is Captain Kirk, Mr. Spock, Abraham Lincoln and Surak of Vulcan. The villain team is Genghis Khan, the Klingon Kahless, Colonel Green and the MadScientist Zora. Everyone except Kirk and Spock are actually alien rock creatures masquerading as humanoids.

On beaming down, they meet Surak, a MessianicArchetype from Vulcan history who makes Spock look like a {{Keet}}. They also meet a RockMonster called Yarnek who wants to know if Good or Evil is stronger. To find out, he becomes Teddy Long and makes an 8 person Tag team match, pitting Kirk, Spock, Lincoln and Surak against UsefulNotes/GenghisKhan, Zora (a MadDoctor from Tiburon), [[GeneralRipper Colonel Phillip Green]] (Eco-terrorist and genocidal maniac from WorldWarIII) and Kahless the Unforgettable ([[EvilOverlord Hero of the Klingons]]). Why? Eh, why not?

* BlueAndOrangeMorality: Yarnek does not understand the concept of good and evil, and doesn't seem to learn much from the events of this episode.

* BlackAndWhiteMorality: Sums up the whole episode, with Yarnek the super power who wants to know if Good or Evil is stronger. Ultimately subverted — at the end, he expresses confusion because the distinction between the two ''isn't'' as clear as he'd been expecting, since Kirk's team also resorted to violence to win. Kirk explains the difference was in what motivated them: the villains were offered power, while Kirk and Spock were fighting for the lives of the Enterprise crew.

* BlackAndWhiteMorality: Sums up the whole episode, with Yarnek the super power who wants to know if Good or Evil is stronger. At the end, he expresses confusion because the distinction between the two ''isn't'' as clear as he'd been expecting, since Kirk's team also resorted to violence to win. Kirk explains the difference was in what motivated them: the villains were offered power, while Kirk and Spock were fighting for the lives of the Enterprise crew.

* BlackAndWhiteMorality: Sums up the whole episode, with Yarnek the super power who wants to know if Good or Evil is stronger.

* WhiteMaleLead: Col. Green instantly takes command of the villain team, with no less than ''UsefulNotes/GenghisKhan'' obeying his orders. There seems to be no reason for this except that he's the one white dude. The real Genghis Khan and Kahless (a member of a race that considers humans inferior) would not approve. But of course, arguably justified because they're ''not'' the real Genghis or Kahless.

* WhiteMaleLead: Col. Green instantly takes command of the villain team, with no less than ''UsefulNotes/GenghisKhan'' obeying his orders. There seems to be no reason for this except that he's the one white dude. The real Genghis Khan and Kahless (a member of a race that considers humans inferior) would not approve.

* NotSoDifferent: Yarnek insists his method of exploration is no different from Kirk's. That's BlueAndOrangeMorality in action, folks.

TheOneWith UsefulNotes/AbrahamLincoln InSpace

* DoorJam: Yarnek isn't letting anyone go until they show whether good or evil is stronger.