TOS did NOT show that the Gorn weren’t monsters. It showed, through the Metrons, that *Kirk* wasn’t a monster.
The Gorn was going to kill Kirk no matter what.
The fetishization of Starfleet is weird to me. Disco continually told us Starfleet was better without actually earning that.
The only time we saw anything close to the idea that the people of the Federation* were above things was early TNG.
The conflation of Federation and Starfleet is problematic
Starfleet is shown in the show, across multiple series, to have very significant independent authority, especially in dealing with external powers. It’s almost like the show itself conflates Starfleet with the government. It’s why I’m not a fan of the “future history” concept of Trek.
Sep 5, 2025 20:48
