#The Empath

[chaos-whatever]

Don't worry about them :)

[trek-tracks]

Imagine this. You're Spock. You've tried not to get yourself emotionally involved with your crewmates. It's not going very well. Your doctor goes and contracts a terminal illness and doesn't tell you (but luckily your captain can't go three seconds without breaking Space HIPAA or whatever exists in the future) and then tries to run away and die on an asteroid. You take out the Instrument of Obedience, privately thinking that it would be nice to have some control over this maniac you somehow care about's actions. You spend Surak knows how much time downloading and translating an entire civilization's medical library to cure him. No problem. It was just an incurable disease. You didn't need to sleep this month.

Two episodes later, another alien civilization tries to check said doctor out like he's a library book and then writes "withdrawn" on his forehead and pretends they don't have to give him back. He tells you to leave to save yourself; he'll stay. Did you mention you decoded an entire medical archive like two weeks ago for---fine. You go through unspeakable emotional violations to put him back into circulation on the Enterprise. It's cool. You didn't need your dignity anyway.

Two episodes after that, your illogical, self-sacrificial doctor mutinies and sedates you--the ranking officer in charge--undoing the fact that, again, how many hours did you spend? Curing an incurable illness because you couldn't let him die? Singing like an idiot in front of a bunch of snickering Platonians with laurel leaves on your head and no pants to speak of?--so he can get himself tortured to death on your behalf. You convince an empath to save him. He pushes her away because he "can't destroy life." Your captain is crying. The shiny force field shows everyone that you're having very non-shiny emotions. Do Vulcans even believe in hell

You think you've finally reached some sort of sacrificial detente. It's been a while. Neither of you have died on the other's behalf. You've both had to save your captain a few times, but that's normal. All in a day's work. Then said captain wants all three of you to check out a mysteriously abandoned library of time periods. You should have figured you would wind up in some sort of frozen wasteland with your doctor and no perceivable way to return what you'd borrowed. Well. At least there's the two of you so that you can keep an eye on--

He falls down in the snow. His hands are blue. "Go on without me," he says, dramatically. "Alone, you have a chance."

yeah I'd strangle that fucker against a cave wall too

[possumtion]

I am normal about the empath (lie)

(Prompt fill for the @mcspirkevents bingo card: “Final Moments)

[starberry-cupcake]

they just did all these little things to each other throughout decades and new versions need to get on this level of being weird with each other (affectionately)

[forecast0ctopus]

noooo they gave him the worst crop top of all time……..sick and twisted

[major-comet]

the biggest problem with tos’ episodic format is that the episode usually ends pretty quickly after the conflict resolves and then they never really talk about it again - no matter how intense or harrowing it was

which means that we don’t get to actually *see* the interpersonal fallout of bones being diagnosed with and cured from a previously-incurable terminal illness (that he didn’t even want to tell jim and spock he had), and then just four episodes later drugging them so that he can go be tortured (and likely die) instead of spock, and so jim doesn’t have to make the choice between them.

did they talk about it? beyond just a standard debrief and a “never fucking do that again bones i swear to god i mean it this time”? did they make it the captains’ quarters for the debrief, only for mccoy to be pulled into a crushing, trembling hug as soon as the door shut while jim tried to assure himself that bones was still here, was still breathing? spock hovering nearby - a hand gently coming to rest on his shoulder?

why didn’t mccoy want to tell them about the xenopolycythemia, anyways? to try and hold onto a few more normal-ish months before every time they looked at him their eyes would be filled with grief - mourning a man they hadn’t yet lost? the same reason he ran away; to spare them what he went through with his father?

only for him to immediately turn around and throw himself back to the wolves to (almost) die right in front of them anyways

i don’t really know how they handled it. whether they talked about it and attempted to soothe the hurt, or just resolutely tried to bottle it up.

but i do know this: spock eventually came back from gol because jim simply (though accidentally) called out for him in a moment of need. bones only came back because jim personally drafted him back into starfleet

[thymelessink]

There are so many episodes of Kirk getting hurt, Spock getting hurt and Kirk getting hurt again...

But actually I need more episodes of this man getting hurt

I need him to look pained and pretty, to strongly endure whatever alien torture one can come up with but I also need him to be rescued like a damsel in distress and to be comforted by his two boyfriends

[electronickingdomfox]

Reddit asking the real questions.

And then the correct answers:

The tragedy is that they DID film a shot of half-naked McCoy, and then never got to use it in the final episode!

[iamenits]

[muirmarie]

the empath au where spock's like. hmm. 93% of insanity. interesting. what if i just.....backed myself up somewhere??? to be restored later??? and he manages to catch mccoy before he can hypo him, and just uploads his katra right on up into mccoy without so much as a by your leave per usual, and they have to go on mr. toad's wild ride back to vulcan in season 3 - and the vulcan healer looks at kirk like??? is this a joke??? where's his katra???

and kirk's like. hmm. i wonder if this has anything to do with why my chief medical officer is being fully unhinged. i thought it was just survivor's guilt, but now i WONDER.

anyway yeah spock and mccoy post-katra (beta canon linked) bestie brains from season 3 on, is what i'm saying

[hvezdnastreka]

I watched the empath!

The second time posting this, as tumblr hid it for some reason from dashboard and tags. I hope it was because of the long rant about the episode and not because of the art. Please don't hide this tumblr, thank youuu

[discoonthegrass]

Amok Time: In the throes of his Pon Farr mating period, Spock must return to Vulcan to meet his intended future wife, betrothed from childhood.

The Empath: Trapped in an alien laboratory, Kirk, Spock and McCoy meet an empath and are involved in a series of experiments.

This is the last poll of Round 6, which means…

WE’RE AT THE FINALS

The 3rd place bracket will happen next Wednesday. Then, join me on Friday for the GRAND FINALE of the best Star Trek TOS episode!

Make sure you’re spreading the word to all your moots. It’s gonna be contentious, but so very worth it. I’ve loved going on this journey with you all! As always, check out the other polls here!

[trek-tracks]

him

[your-name-is-jim]

McCoy captured and tortured by aliens:

Kirk captured and tortured by the same aliens:

Sorry, aliens, but I have questions LOL

[s3 e12 - The Empath]

[starberry-cupcake]

the empath started well for jim, as usual

in a reversal of the immunity syndrome, bones got to be the one to sacrifice himself in this one

which means there's a lot of domestic mcspirk in this one