@lefthandedguitarist They are such dicks to Spock in this one! They brush off his totally legitimate concerns by literally calling him The Devil.
@andrewbloom It shocked me because of how against Star Trek's usual message it was!
@lefthandedguitarist Is it really against Star Trek's message or is it the exception that proves the rule?
Is this any worse than the numerous times that Picard or Janeway violate the Prime Directive because it suits them? In this case Kirk appears to legitimately think this is the right thing, it isn't just a matter of convenience as we see in tNG and Voyager.
Shout by LeftHandedGuitaristBlockedParent2016-11-02T22:55:56Z
So, Kirk and crew encounter a primitive culture and decide they're doing things wrong. They kill their God and force their own values on these people's society. They then consider this a good day's work. I am deeply uncomfortable with that. Spock at least has the wherewithal to point out that they may not have done the right thing at the end, but his comrades literally laugh at him. Wow.
That aside, it's an entertaining enough episode, the earlier sections with the hazardous planet and crew deaths being the most exciting part. It also appears that Spock is virtually indestructible just due to the fact that he's Vulcan.