#Kodos the executioner

[cdr2002]

So one of my favorite things the mirror universe does is put characters in positions their prime selves would hate.

Spock is forced into a leadership position neither version of him would particularly want, though his role as a revolutionary does echo his prime self founding the Unficationist movement later in life.

Smiley, similarly, has even more responsibilities thrust on him than the already overworked prime O’Brien. You just KNOW he’s still having to maintain that bloody space station while also leading the revolution and having to shut down Bashir’s stupid gung ho ideas (thank the prophets for Tuvok) and keep him from shooting their own guys (again)

Federation values peace first Georgiou is reflected by a brutal Emperor who later takes delight in working for Section 31, who are practically the Federation’s “Wolf Inside” to steal a phrase

Freedom fighter Kira is reflected by a slavering dictator who takes a perverse delight in causing cruelty and tries to garner validation while doing it in a manner not at all dissimilar to Dukat.

Tilly is TERRIFIED of Killy and she’s ever really met her.

But what if, for another way to show the mirror universe taking familiar faces and having things go catastrophically wrong? Before anti fascist revolution takes hold and hopefully steers things to a better path, that is.

The wrong people, in the wrong places. The worst people in positions of power.

The novels already had a kernel of this idea with Supreme Legate Dukat as leader of the Cardassian people, and without any Dominion deals to make it happen. Let’s expand on that.

First Minister to Bajor and second most powerful Bajoran after Intendant Kira? Why, Kai Winn of course. She may even take the role of Intendant after Kira’s fall from grace.

Leader of the Klingon people? Many stories give this job to Regent Worf, but I say, what if he is only a regional governor of a section of space under his rule? The throne holder back on Qo’Nos? The man with the cunning to place himself on top? No doubt with Cardassian help for “the good of the Alliance” of course. A man with no respect for Klingon tradition?

I submit to you, Emperor Duras.

Let’s go a century back, to. The Terran Empire would REWARD Kodos for his “original thinking”. A man with such power and prestige that Kirk can’t risk his career to kill him, but he would like to.

And let’s not forget Garth of Izar. Genocide is horrifyingly normal in the Imperial Starfleet, he’s NOT getting mental health treatment. He’s probably still a beloved war hero, maybe even a powerful admiral. A potential contender for the Emperor’s throne after the loss of Georgiou.

Sometimes the darkest reflections are all too familiar.

[lithiumseven]

“Whom Gods Destroy” really made Kirk, kicked to the ground, listen to his hero shout at him that he would succeed where governor Kodos of Tarsus IV had failed. They really did that

[hopecomesbacktolife]

because this particular scene (and his inflection, tone, etc. when he says this) has lived in my head rent free for years, ever since I first saw tos, here’s a reaction image I made of Kodos saying “I am tired!!”

shoutout to Arnold Moss (Kodos’s actor) for his gravitas, sheer presence, and amazing acting in this episode, too!

[fannishnan]

Nooooo, imagine Cumberbatch as Kodos the Executioner.

The meta level of adding a classically trained actor to play that character would've been gutting.

Casting Benedict Cumberbatch as Khan was the most galaxy brain racebending in Hollywood bc they really thought they'd get praise for making the character less racist by making him white, because they said it'd be problematic to cast someone who wasn't white to "play a terrorist", except Khan wasn't a terrorist before, so they invented a way for it to be problematic and thought people would say "good job" for avoiding that

Help, we took a tragic mastermind and turned him into a terrorist and then made him white to avoid the stereotypes we added to our script for no reason, why are you mad at us. Where's our kudos. We did a tie-in comic where we explain that Khan had plastic surgery to turn himself white so like, it's not even a plot hole

[anewstartrekfan]

I can’t shut up about Conscience of the King

Well hey it’s my blog I’m allowed to obsess over this.

Okay so I need to address the Kirk vs Kodos scene cuz it is not only extremely underrated, it gives us some incite into Kodos’ fascism and why I believe Kirk was on the execution list.

So let me paint a picture. It’s been 20 years since the Tarsus IV massacre and Kirk had done fairly well for himself. He’s the captain of the enterprise after all, people owe him favors everywhere, and (as far as I’m currently aware since I’m still watching s1) he’s seen as an asset to starfleet. Then over the course of an investigation, Kirk meets Kodos the executioner face to face, and Kodos calls Kirk inhuman.

“Here you stand, the perfect symbol of our technical society. Mechanized, electronisized, and not very human. You’ve done away with humanity, the striving of man to achieve greatness through his own resources.”

Kodos sees Kirk as someone who only got where he is today with the help of technology. Kirk is the symbol of everything Kodos hates about the universe. Basically what fascists say when fighting against stuff like affirmative action and social welfare programs. Kodos is arguing for a false meritocracy.

Edit: The fact that Kodos’ theater troop is steeped in old plays is also another tell for his fascism. The emphasis on so called tradition is key, and Kirk is not a traditional captain by any stretch.

So yeah, if Kodos sees the decorated captain of the enterprise like this, the barely a teenager Kirk was definitely on the execution list 20 years ago.

Kodos’ description of greatness here is also key. Because later on when he describes the massacre of the colonists, he says this,

“If the supply ships hadn’t come earlier than expected, this Kodos of yours might have gone down in history as a great hero!”

Kodos wasn’t just trying to save the colony. He was trying to achieve greatness as governor. He wanted a legacy, to go down in history for this. And he did, but not in the way he wanted. Just like the Nazis and other fascists. This also proves how much of a hypocrite he was. After all, what’s the difference between Kirk using the tools at his disposal as captain and Kodos using the resources at his disposal as governor? And Kodos even admits this, though instead refers to his acting as his tools. Kodos knows on some level that he’s lost, which is why he tries to goad Kirk into killing him.

“If you’re so sure I’m Kodos, why not kill me now?! Let bloody vengeance take its final course! See what difference it makes to this universe of yours.”

Kodos isn’t just being a dramatic actor here. He even later admits he doesn’t treasure his own life. I believe he wants Kirk to kill him now because Kirk does not have definitive proof that he is Kodos yet. So Kodos wants to die as Karidian, a nothing actor that barely made an impact on the universe at large. This is also why in the end Kodos’ priority is his daughter and why her murdering the survivors of his crimes breaks him. She was going to be his legacy, carrying on the Karidian name performing classical plays of old across the galaxy. But she couldn’t escape her father’s past. In fact, she used it as justification to murder 7 innocent people.

In conclusion this episode has many many layers.

[calliethetrekkie]

Star Trek TOS S01E12: The Conscience of the King

Original Thoughts

"It was fine. Not too much to keep me invested compared to others, but still worth a watch. Learning some more Kirk backstory was nice and performed well by William Shatner. The climax and ending are very much tragic. A tyrant caused genocide, then tried to hide and keep that legacy out of his daughter’s touch. But it failed, and that daughter killed the survivors to keep her father from facing retribution. It’s just… sad. They’re both murderers, but clearly loved each other, and the ending where the girl accidentally kills her father is just heartbreaking (even if her reaction dragged a bit too long). Finding out that Kirk survived a freakin’ genocide was also a pretty big reveal. Not the most interesting watch, but still a good one."

(Original Post)

Rewatch Thoughts

I sometimes wonder what was going on in my head back when I did the first watchthrough. I had originally started watching TOS out of pure boredom, so maybe I wasn't giving it as much attention as I should have. I had a feeling that I would enjoy this one far more than the first time... and ho boy was I right~!

This one is... a lot. Like... a looooot. We're dealing with a Shakespearean company, murder, and past genocide. And in the middle of it is Captain James T. Kirk. We find out that he was one of the people who survived said genocide and one of the few witnesses to have seen the man who ordered it. It certainly wasn't a detail about Kirk that I was expecting when I started this show, haha...

This is such an excellent Kirk episode. This is him dealing with a situation that is incredibly personal. One that he thought that he had moved on from until one of the other witnesses involves him and ends up dead. We see Kirk investigating, changing plans and reassigning one of the other witnesses without giving any explanation to Spock or anyone else, and trying to get close to the suspect's daughter Lenore (who is 19... ugh, at least she's of legal age this time...) to find out more. This is Kirk at some of his most methodical. He is a man on a mission, and the looming question throughout is if Kirk is doing this for justice? Or is it out of vengeance? A question that even he doesn't know the answer to.

This won't be the last time we see this kind of personal conflict pop up with Kirk. Obsession next season will do something similar. But this one is much more... real, for lack of a better word. He's composed for the most part, but you can tell that what happened on Tarsus still haunts Kirk. How when presented with the fact that this dictator may be alive, he doesn't want to believe it at first, but the more he looks into it the more he has to do something. He even snaps at Spock, who has realized what's going on and points out his irrational behavior, for getting involved in his personal business despite how it's affecting the ship, and it's thus Spock's job to pry. Even at the end when he stops Riley from killing Kodos, he also makes no move to save him when Lenore accidentally kills her own father. Say what you want about William Shatner as a person and as an actor, but he did a phenomenal job as Kirk here. It's one of his best performances.

Kodos himself is complicated. I don't think anyone will argue that he's a horrible person. He didn't get the name 'Kodos the Executioner' for nothing. You can argue that he was put in a difficult situation with deciding who on Tarsus got food and who didn't... but the fact that he did it based off eugenics theories causes it to not hold water. And regardless, he killed thousands, caused immense trauma for countless others, and was so much of a coward that he faked his death and started over. A chance that none of his victims had. Twenty years later he's a shell of a man, forever haunted by what he did and the constant threat of being discovered. You know what? Good. He brought all of this onto himself, and him evading justice for so long in and of itself is terrible. And the one person he tried to shield from his horrible legacy? Went insane, murdered, and caused his own death. It's sad in a away, even pitiful. But more because of those that Kodos affected, not for Kodos himself.

And Lenore... oh God Lenore. The girl was born after the Tarsus massacre, but still ended up in her father's bloody legacy. A legacy that even he wanted to keep her out of, probably the only decency he's ever shown. But not only did he fail, but she chose to murder the people her father ruined the lives of to save him. Kirk and Riley are the only ones who survived, and that was just barely. It's clear when she confesses that she's not quite mentally stable, and she loses it completely, living in her own world where her father is able to continue with his performances. There's no justifying what she did, but it's just unfortunate to see this girl ruin her own life as she did. An utter tragedy.

Then we have Spock and McCoy. Ah, we're in that part of S1 where we start getting far more with them, and their scenes are a delight. When alarmed about Kirk's bizarre choices, who does Spock go to? McCoy. Mind you, McCoy doesn't take it seriously at first, but it's still nice to see the two talk about Kirk matters. Then as Spock uncovers more and shares it with McCoy, the latter tries to deny it... but it's clear that he realizes exactly what Spock is. And even despite that, when Kirk snaps at Spock, McCoy outright tells him that it's Spock's job. We're gonna be seeing some more tension rise between the two, especially since Galileo Seven is the next episode, but it's still nice to see McCoy defend Spock.

They're both concerned about what Kirk is doing, though ultimately McCoy has to deal with Riley while he's recovering and Spock actually helps Kirk with identifying Kodos. McCoy's also worried about Kirk's mental state and what his actual motive is. Justice or vengeance? Kirk himself has no answer... and he never does reach an answer, I don't think. He didn't get to. I don't know what's worse, finding out that the tyrant who caused you and others so much torment was alive, or watching them die and not being able to see them get either justice or get your own vengeance. He can't even feel glad that Lenore is stopped, since she both lost her mind, and he grew to at least like her despite using her. You get nothing. All that Kirk can do is have Lenore placed in proper care and go on with the knowledge that he's seen Kodos die before his eyes, but never truly have closure. Even as McCoy tries to talk to him at the end, he just stays in Captain Mode and gives orders to continue on. It says all that you need to know.

Like I said, there's a lot here. This episode is a tragedy, full stop. I don't know enough about Shakespeare to read into any of that, but it certainly feels like a Shakespearean tragedy. It's an excellent episode, and I can't believe that I thought it wasn't much of a watch the first time. There is SO MUCH to read into with Kirk, this tidbit of his history, about Kodos and Lenore, and just how horrible and senseless it all feels. So many lives ruined by one man, including his own flesh and blood, despite trying to prevent it. At least he's dead now, for all that's worth.

Original Rating: 3/5 Rewatch Rating: 8/10

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[infamousbrad]

The Noonien-Singh Family (ST:TOS & ST:SNW)

So the fact that Lt. La'an Noonien-Singh, the Enterprise's security officer, is a descendant of Khan Noonien-Singh, one of the brutal dictators that were overthrown in the Eugenics Wars, always raised the question, "But were his augments inheritable?" Is she, technically, what the bullies on the playground called her, an augment?

And I want to be bluntly clear about something here: Khan, and his fellow augments, had their DNA hand-selected by their parents, but I know of no canon or even soft-canon source that says that it was non-human or artificial DNA. I read the clues as suggesting that the particular augmentation package that his parents chose selected for intelligence, ambition, and ruthlessness at the expense, however intentional, of conscience or empathy.

So there's a follow-up question to that that's been on my mind literally since I first saw "Space Seed" in UHF reruns as a kid 50ish years ago, something that seemed obvious to me if no one else.

So what if the augments' parents deliberately gave birth to highly capable sociopaths? It's not like Earth didn't already have plenty of naturally-born highly capable sociopaths.

How much of the augments' rise to power, in the years before World War III, had to do with the fact that they were bright, high-functioning sociopaths? And how much of it had to do with the fact that their parents were wealthy enough to have access to the procedure? Or politically powerful enough? Or both? Did, in fact, the augmentations actually do anything?

So we find out in this episode that La'an Noonien Singh fears that she may have inherited, from one of her many ancestors, gene complexes predisposing her to sociopathic tendencies. At that remove, there's no reason to assume so. There's also no reason to rule out the possible that she, or Pike, or M'benga, or Chapel, or Uhura, or anybody else on the ship could have inherited those same naturally-occurring gene complexes. At this many generations removed from the Eugenics Wars, are her odds actually that much higher?

High on the list of reasons that the augmentation ban is such serious horseshit (not bad writing, not unrealistic, but legitimately a horseshit fact about the Federation) is that "do you have sociopathic ancestors?" is not a relevant question. The question is are you a sociopath?

Acting governor Kodos of Rigel Minor, "Kodos the Executioner," was a sociopath, and he was Starfleet. John Gill, who recruited the pre-warp people of Ekos to straight-up Nazism was clearly a sociopath, and he was a Starfleet Academy instructor. Neither of them had the excuse of having an augmented ancestor.

You know who hasn't shown any evidence yet of sociopathic tendencies, just brusque manners? La'an Noonien-Singh. And, yes, Una Chin-Riley.

(And by the way, even if being augmented had more to do with their rise to power than their inherited wealth and position, all that would prove is that augmenting humans is a bad idea, that humans can't be trusted with unsupervised access to genetic engineering. It wouldn't prove anything about whether or not the Illyrians could be trusted with it, now, would it?)

[ao3feed-spirk]

Immutable

read it on AO3 at https://archiveofourown.org/works/52019593 by obsidienne When he is summoned to testify at the trial of Kodos the Executioner, Jim finally allows himself to share his deepest traumas with Spock. Words: 4261, Chapters: 1/1, Language: English Series: Part 15 of The Vulcan Heart Fandoms: Star Trek: Alternate Original Series (Movies) Rating: Mature Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Categories: M/M Characters: James T. Kirk, Spock (Star Trek), Hikaru Sulu, Pavel Chekov, Montgomery "Scotty" Scott Relationships: James T. Kirk/Spock Additional Tags: Established Relationship, Past Child Abuse, Childhood Trauma, Trauma, Soul Bond, Vulcan Mind Melds (Star Trek), Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Comfort, Episode Related read it on AO3 at https://archiveofourown.org/works/52019593

[thesimpsonsultimateshowdown]

The Simpsons Ultimate Showdown!

Round 4; 16 Competitors Remain:

KRUSTY THE CLOWN VS KANG & KODOS

Krusty the Clown TidBit: The third season episode "Like Father, Like Clown" is the first to establish that Krusty is Jewish. Krusty's religion had not been part of the original concept, and the idea came from Jay Kogen. The episode is a parody of The Jazz Singer, which is about a son with a strict religious upbringing who defies his father to become an entertainer. In order to make "Like Father, Like Clown" a full parody of The Jazz Singer, the decision was made to make Krusty Jewish and have his father be a rabbi.

Kang & Kodos TidBit: Kang and Kodos's names are derived from two Star Trek characters. Kang was a Klingon captain portrayed by actor Michael Ansara in "Day of the Dove", whereas Kodos the Executioner was a human villain from "The Conscience of the King".

[usslakevee]

Always a Way to Win

This is an incredibly rough draft of an idea I had a little bit ago. I think I'm going to rewrite the whole thing using Spock's POV instead of Kirk's but wanted to share this first draft

"There's no such thing as a no win scenario."

"I expected you of all people to know better?" Jim Kirk blinks for a moment, who is this man. How dare he think he knows Jim.

"What?" He growls out, not giving the Vulcan a chance to answer. "You think because I was on Tarsus IV I should believe in no win scenarios?" He snarls, and his vision is red. He doesn't see the way the Vulcans eyes widen.

"I can tell you all about a man who believed in no win scenarios Commander Spock," he spits the man's name back at him. "His name was Kodos, I called him Governor Kodos, and the history books call him Kodos the Executioner."

"Mr. Kirk," someone says, and he turns his eyes on them, unseeing.

"Kodos believed that help wouldn't come for six months." He says, voice deceptively calm. "Kodos believed the only way for anyone to survive was to kill half the population. Kodos believed there was no way to win." He scowls at the group in front of him.

"Your test trains Captains to think like him." He says. "carefully configured so there's no way out, ignoring Starfleet procedures, cultural norms, and reality." He hisses.

"Now that's-" someone says, and Jim turns back to the Vulcan.

"There is always a way out. Sometimes a Captain will pick wrong, sometimes people will die. But I will never give up before I start," he states. "I will keep all 8,000 colonists alive for as long as I can. And I will research, and I will send distress signals, and I will fight the blight, and search for food. I will find a way to win, and if there isn't one I will make one." There's silence and his words ring in the empty space.

"I found a way to beat your impossible test." He says, "and you think, because I did, I don't understand its purpose. I understand it perfectly Commander Spock."

[trekkingthroughthestargate]

Star Trek really is inventive in the different ways it gives exposition in a way that’s interesting for the viewer.

In Balance of Terror, we had Kirk setting up how important Spock’s exposition dump was by reiterating how important it is that we are all on the same page, so if you know it then listen again, before following it up by explaining that the stakes are higher than anybody in the crew realizes.

In Dagger of the Mind, we have some transporter techs momentarily forgetting a protocol for something that they rarely have to do, that is what provides us our exposition.

And in this episode, Conscience of the King, we have this emotional setup of 1) Leighton being convinced that Karridian is “Kodos the Executioner”, and that title alone is enough to prick any ears 2) revealing that Kirk is an eye witness and survivor of whatever earned Kodos that epitaph 3) Kirk vehemently insisting that he’s dead. And only after all of that, do we finally have a moment of Kirk sitting alone and researching Kodos and Karridian. So now, while this is exposition, we want the answers that the exposition provides. The computer could be reading off Kodos’ phone number and we’d still be intrigued because of all the emotional weight of our setup.

It’s seriously so good!

[trekkiehood]

Imagine being a child and being sentenced to death because it is believed that you are not valuable and aren't worth the resources. You are told you will never amount to anything and therefore you will be executed.

Then just out of spite you survive and become the youngest Starship Captain in history who saves multiple planets and becomes one of the most notable and infamous captain in history. You foster peace treaties. You go down in history books. People study your life and tactical strategies for generations.

You are arguably the most valuable asset the Federation has in your life time.

All this and yet you still hear the voice of a madman in your head as he reads that you are sentenced to death so the more valuable people can live.

[robynnemrys]

This is one of the reasons I love Star Trek. They're always making you think. So many of the TOS is analyzing who a person is and what are the fundamental pieces of who you are.

For example, Kirk getting divided into two characters. Evil!Kirk may seem, well, evil but without him Kirk is incapable of being a good Captain as he's unable to make a decision. At the end of the day/episode you have to realize that we are not all good but those negative parts are still a part of who we are and sometimes necessary for us to function. For example, sometimes we need to focus on ourselves to function. And that means being a bit selfish from time to time. It doesn't necessarily make us bad even if it's often seen that way.

I mean some moral dilemmas are more obvious. For example in "The Conscience of the King" we learn about the colony on Tarsus IV and the mass genocide that took place there. There was a fungal infection that destroyed the crops and there was some concern on whether or not they could survive on their stores until help arrived. Kodos, the governor at the time, decided that the best thing for the survival of the colony was to kill off half the population in order for the rest to survive. He chose people based on eugenics and killed off approximately 4 thousand people. He was believed dead but Kirk and another survivor, Thomas, end up recognizing a disguised Kodos among a traveling theater troop. Thomas is later found murdered which only further raises Kirk's suspicions. Aboard the Enterprise, Kirk and another survivor, Lt. Kevin Riley, are both attacked but manage to survive. Riley discovers Kodos is aboard and attempts to attack him in revenge for the attack on himself and the murder of his parents but Kirk eventually talks him down. Its discovered that Kodos' daughter, Lenore, has been attempting to murder any possible witnesses who could testify against her father. Kodos, who believed his daughter was the only thing unaffected by what he'd done, was horrified and when she tries to kill Kirk steps in the way and is killed by her. She goes insane with grief and eventually is institutionalized.

Okay now that we have a rough summary, let's unpack all that.

Firstly, we have the actual events on Tarsus itself. There's the debate on what he's done though the show firmly states that his choice to commit genocide was wrong and earned him the title "Kodos the Executioner." Though some point out that on many other occasions on the show they argue that "the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few" which can lead to the argument that the genocide could have been somewhat justified if not for the eugenic basis for who lived or died. The show doesn't explore this but I have read some fics which dive into it.

Next we'll skip to Kevin Riley's storyline. There's the debate on whether his decision was justified. On one hand, we have the argument that murder is never okay but at the same time, Riley lost his whole family because of this man and believed Kodos had just tried to murder him in order to hide his crime. That seems like a pretty good justification to murder someone. I can't recall if Kodos would have been jailed or executed should he be tried for his crimes but I believe there was a chance he'd have been executed so he might have died anyway, so would it have been wrong to let Riley kill him?

Then we have Kodos and his daughter, Lenore. Lenore was born shortly after the Tarsus IV massacre and Kodos believed she was the one thing unaffected by what he'd done. He planned to live his life without ever hurting anyone again however his daughter discovered who he really was at some point and decided to protect him no matter what. She became a serial killer, murdering the few survivors who had seen his face and could testify against him. Kodos seems legitimately upset upon discovering that his daughter has become a murder for him and his decision to live has caused even more death. He chooses to sacrifice himself in order to save Kirk and dies. Kodos seems like a cut and dry villain at first but becomes a more complicated, three dimensional character as the plot progresses. As Tom Hiddleston once said, "every villain is a hero in their own mind" and Kodos exemplifies that well. In his mind he was protecting the colony and ensuring its survival while all the rest of us can see how horrifying his actions were. When given the chance, he tried to live peacefully and seemed genuinely remorseful for what he'd done. Meanwhile his daughter, who had seemed nice through most of the story, turned out to only care for her father and was willing to do anything to protect him which led to her murdering 7 of the 9 eye witnesses who had seen Kodos' face. In her mind she was just protecting her father and couldn't handle his death.

There are many other questions you can ask based on the moral dilemma of this episode. (Heck, you can argue about how gross it is that Kirk, who lived through the massacre, was basically dating Lenore who wasn't born til after said massacre. Granted she did choose to do so in order to get close to him so she could kill him, but still.) But generally we can agree on the obvious ones, eugenics is bad and so is murder. But the rest still make you think which I love. (Plus we get tons of excellent fanfic out of it!)

X

[warpfactornonsense]

Angsty comic time! 

Warning: mild depictions of Tarsus IV and baggage that comes with.

[startreklivebloggers]

KODOS?!

Kodos the Executioner, is totes alive, Jim!

Listen to your buddy!

[japper2]

“Spock and McCoy confront Kirk in his quarters explaining what they know.  Kirk is at first irritated from his officers interfering what he views as a private affair, but ultimately agrees to their help.  Shortly thereafter they hear phaser on overload, someone is now trying to assassinate the Captain!  Kirk searches for the weapon instead of running because if it explodes it may take decks off the ship.  He finds it in the nick of time and drops it down a disposal shoot, which I guess means of disposal shoots of the Enterprise are so strong that they can withstand phaser explosions.”