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This Side Of Paradise - Blog Posts
All smiles TOS publicity photos for “Star Trek”. Eddie Paskey, Leonid Nimsy and Jill Ireland.
McCoy: Well, that's the second time man's been thrown out of paradise.
Kirk: No, no, Bones. This time we walked out on our own. Maybe we weren't meant for paradise. Maybe we were meant to fight our way through. Struggle, claw our way up, scratch for every inch of the way. Maybe we can't stroll to the music of the lute. We must march to the sound of drums.
Spock: Poetry, Captain. Non-regulation.
Kirk: We haven't heard much from you about Omicron Ceti Three, Mister Spock.
Spock: I have little to say about it, Captain, except that for the first time in my life I was happy.
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This might legitimately thee most beautiful ending of any episode of Star Trek ever made. The dialogue, as per usual from Dorothy Fontana, is exquisitely written, and it's performed perfectly by all three.
But I find it especially interesting that Ralph Seninsky chose to cut to Spock while Kirk is talking about how "we must march to the sound of drums", because while it's a philosophy that Kirk wholeheartedly agrees with, this episode seems to show that it's one that Spock has taken onto himself - his self-made purgatory. To Kirk, marching to the sound of drums is the only way to find true happiness. To Spock, marching to the sound of drums is the life that he has chosen, and for it he must sacrifice happiness.
But I also find it additionally interesting, as Spock plays a Vulcan harp/lyre/lute. It's almost as if Kirk's poetical philosophizing is speaking directly to various parts of who Spock is as a person. Perhaps he cannot stroll to the music of the lute, but that does not mean he cannot embrace that music all while marching to the beat of the drum.
Like I said earlier, I feel like Spock genuinely did grow after this episode because he does seem to embrace an appreciation for beauty after this more than he had before, and this is the final moment showing that. In his own way, Kirk is telling Spock that he does not have to give up the former in order to achieve the latter. And in his own way, in response, Spock gently denies that.
And it's heartbreaking, and beautiful, and amazing in every way
It's so interesting how Kirk's idea of paradise is so different from most other people's idea of paradise. And that's partly because he's not under the influence of the spores, but Spock indicating "belonging" being a true Eden is extremely in character for him, so I don't think it's just that.
So for Kirk, it is unthinkable to stagnate - to not take life by the fists and refuse to let go until he gets everything out of it that he can. And it's a characterization that continues all through the movies - when he's promoted to admiral and begins stagnating, that's the closest to hell that he's ever been. It makes him feel old, worn out, like he's got one foot in the grave.
To Kirk, the idea of paradise isn't about mere contentment; for him it's about constantly reaching out for something more, because if you do that you will find paradise in all of the different things you can find
Watched Star trek tos episode 25 "This side of paradise" recently, and I am still thinking about how after Kirk manages to snap Spock out of the spore's influence, Spock says: "The spores are gone... I don't belong anymore."
And I don't see anybody talk about this part because it gets overshadowed by the part at the end where Spock says the has a responsibility to the man on the bridge (Kirk). And I also loved that part, but as an autistic women that really relates to Spock, this one line hit me so hard. Spock never feels like he belongs, not with the humans, not with the vulcans, and because of the spores he finally fit in with everybody. He is not his real self here, and it's good that the influence of the spores is eventually broken, but I understand so well how sad he is at losing that feeling of belonging.