#someday i will be concise and to the point when talking about star trek. surely someday.

[favvn]

@liveshortandsuffer you are correct that, in the very end, the delay didn't actually change the projected rendezvous, hence how the commissioner agrees to the initial search to begin with. It does create a deadline that Kirk cannot ignore, however: either the crew of the Galileo is found within 2 days' time or they are to be left behind. Kirk has to deal with the fact that he sent his crew into danger, and he cannot correct the outcome if it takes longer than the deadline to rescue them. Yet Kirk does delay up to the last possible second by going so far as to order their course for Makus III at "space normal speed" instead of using any warp factor as would be standard procedure. (I'd include a screenshot but I hit the app's image limit.)

[Bridge] UHURA: The Columbus is aboard, sir. The flight hatch is closed. Transporter room reports last of the landing parties have beamed safely up. All systems report secured for warp factors. KIRK: Mister Sulu, proceed on course for Makus Three, at space normal speed. SULU: Space normal, sir? KIRK: Those are my orders. Lieutenant Uhura, order all sensor sections to direct beams aft. Full function, continuous operation until further orders. UHURA: Yes, sir.

The point does still stand that The Galileo Seven shows how Kirk reacts towards authority above his own, especially when it questions his decisions. Technically, the Makus III plotline didn't have to exist with how it's treated more as a B-plot compared to the fate of the Galileo crew. If anything, it was only included to heighten the stakes, show how Starfleet operates (chain of command, the inherent risk of the job, etc.), and show that Kirk is capable of making decisions that place others in harm rather than leading to any net good. Kirk's choice to investigate the quasar leads to the new risk of losing the Galileo's crew rather than gaining any real information about the quasar (the shuttle is destroyed, the ion storm damaged the Enterprise's systems so it's possible their tricorders might not retain any useful information after the actual events, etc). In doing so, he risks missing the rendezvous to aid Makus III on time to contain the outbreak of a plague and worsening those conditions for what is essentially a botched mission that didn't even have to happen.

(I only add this because I am aware that someone could argue it can all be ignored since "everything still worked out," but in doing so, that would be to ignore what the episode reveals about the characters, and if someone takes that thought to its logical conclusion, then why bother watching the episode to begin with? Like when Kirk teases Spock for being "a stubborn man" at the end, he may as well have directed that comment at himself because it was stubborness that put the plot in motion.)

At the risk of being a contrarian (because I have browsed the tag, I've seen the complaints), The Deadly Years isn't entirely out of character for Jim Kirk. It's just that we get to see him at his worst again.

Back in season 1, the Conscience of the King shows that he will pull rank on both Spock and McCoy--the two people on the entire ship that Kirk allows himself to be closest to--to keep them out of his life and to shut down their concerns for his well-being. Kirk is not sick or inhibited by anything in this episode (other than haunted by his past). His decision to use the Enterprise to transport the acting troupe doesn't delay a mission or risk lives outside of the Enterprise, although it does inadvertently endanger one member of his crew (Lt. Riley). In other words, he acts selfishly in this episode and lashes out towards those who want to help, much like he does in The Deadly Years.

Earlier in the season, The Galileo Seven shows that Kirk will reassert his authority as captain to put off completing a mission to deliver emergency medical supplies to Makus III and aid a colony overrun by a plague because he has "standing orders" to investigate quasars. This mission is ordered by Galactic High Commissioner Ferris, which the Enterprise is transporting to oversee the supply transfer. Ferris himself later states that he outranks Kirk and can cite regulation to support his taking command of the ship to complete the mission once Kirk makes it clear he intends to take 2 full days to locate and retrieve the Galileo's crew rather than use those days to get to Makus III. This situation is interesting in that it shows how Kirk can respond negatively to those holding authority over him, especially when those same people question his decisions. Ferris is technically correct when he argues that the Galileo did not need to be launched to begin with, given how Kirk would rather trade the life of a colony for the lives of seven crew members.

I realize TOS is inconsistent about background details with how Starfleet operates owing to its standalone story structure, and this instance of "standing orders" is yet another case of that structure hindering the world building. While Kirk doesn't follow the Prime Directive even at the best of times (best of times being the absence of a cult. I'll grant him that exception), he will ignore a high galactic commissioner to follow "standing orders" all of a sudden because, at his core, Kirk doesn't want to follow orders. He's the captain. He's supposed to be the one in charge. If he's a perfectionist (his guilt at losing crew members during missions to the point of Spock having to console him, although this also comes from his survivor's guilt from Tarsus IV), it wouldn't surprise me a bit if he has control issues alongside it. In other words, for all the good Kirk tries to do and strives to do, he is still just as capable of acting selfishly and in his own best interests, and he has done so since the start of the series.

More to the point of The Deadly Years, aging is not always painless or graceful. We get to see Kirk starting to forget recent events and commands (forgetting recent events and conversations is one of the first symptoms of Alzheimer's disease) to the point that he is an active risk to the safety of the crew. Of course, he will be in denial about it, to the point of anger and deflection. It's a painful thing to reckon with, to live in a body that doesn't work like you know it should, and to have others place judgments onto you for it because they're in perfect health. Not everyone can accept that with grace. This doesn't make Kirk out-of-character. It makes him human.