The popular opinion is that Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982)is the greatest Trek film. There’s no denying that Wrath of Khan is a spectacular entry in the series as well as an iconic and influential film in the history of sci-fi. However, my personal favorite Trek movie is actually Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (1991). Star Trek VI is effective as political allegory, combining some of the best aspects of Cold War thrillers, Sherlockian murder mysteries, and swashbuckling space opera. It’s a compelling, entertaining, and thought-provoking movie, representing the Star Trek concept at its best. It also communicates an important lesson that Christians and all people of good will should take to heart if we wish to see an increase of peace and empathy in our world.
The United Federation of Planets and the Klingon Empire have been locked in a Cold War for generations. Spock, now the Federation special envoy to the Klingons, announces that an unexpected development may have finally opened up an opportunity for a just and lasting peace between the two galactic superpowers. Overmining and lax safety precautions have led to the destruction of the moon Praxis. The resulting fallout threatens to strip away the ozone layer of Kronos, the Klingon homeworld, rendering the planet uninhabitable within fifty years.
In the face of this planetwide disaster, Klingon High Chancellor Gorkon has reached out to the Federation, hoping to open negotiations for the purpose of enlisting the UFP’s aid in return for mutual demilitarization along the Klingon-UFP border. The prospect of disarmament causes unease among some high-ranking members of Starfleet, including James T. Kirk, captain of the USS Enterprise. To Kirk’s extreme surprise and consternation, Spock reveals that he requested the Enterprise be the ship to escort Gorkon to Earth for the peace talks. Kirk is offended and feels betrayed by Spock for volunteering him for this mission. Kirk wants nothing to do with Klingons. “They’re animals!” he declares. “Don’t believe them. Don’t trust them.” When Spock points out that the Klingons face extinction, Kirk coldly retorts “Let them die.”
Kirk’s vitriolic and deeply personal hatred of Klingons stems in large part from the events of Star Trek III: The Search for Spock (1984) in which the Klingon warlord Kruge gave an order that led directly to the death of Kirk’s only son David Marcus. Although Kruge subsequently died at Kirk’s hands on the unstable “Genesis Planet,” Kirk continues to nurse a bitter grudge against all Klingons. While aboard the Enterprise, en route to the rendezvous with Gorkon, Kirk unburdens himself, dictating to his personal log: “I’ve never trusted Klingons, and I never will. I could never forgive them for the death of my boy.”
Captain Kirk’s resentment and ill will towards the Klingons in the twenty-third century Federation may seem unremarkable in a twenty-first century America where even differences of opinion about mainstream politics is cause for caustic, hate-filled rhetoric, but it runs counter to the radical standards of charity that we, as Christians, are held to by the command of Jesus Christ. During the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus instructs the crowds: “You have heard it said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your father who is in heaven.” (Matthew 5:43-44)
Jesus did not simply preach these words, he lived them even unto the point of death. As he was nailed to the cross at Golgotha, amid the cruel jeers of the Roman soldiers and the surrounding mob, Jesus prayed for his executioners, pleading “Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do.” (Luke 23:34) As Christians we are called to imitate Christ, including in his radical love and compassion for even his worst enemies.
After making contact with Gorkon’s flagship Kronos One, Kirk invites the Klingon Chancellor and his staff to dine aboard Enterprise. The mood around the dinner table is tense, eventually devolving into thinly-veiled mutual hostility between the human and Klingon officers. Gorkon realizes that Kirk doesn’t trust him but, in a gracious gesture, refuses to blame him, telling Kirk “If there is to be a brave new world, our generation is going to have the hardest time living in it.” Old habits of hatred and mistrust die hard, but St. Paul exhorts and challenges his readers to renounce sinful ways of life and to “be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and put on the new man, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.” (Ephesians 4:23-24)
Gorkon and his officers return to their ship, but the Enterprise suddenly fires photon torpedoes, disabling Kronos One. In the ensuing chaos, mysterious armored figures beam aboard the Klingon flagship and assassinate Gorkon. Kirk and Dr. Leonard McCoy arrive too late to save the dying Chancellor, whose final words to Kirk are “Don’t let it end this way, Captain.” With his last breath, Gorkon strove for peace and reconciliation. Kirk and McCoy are immediately arrested by the Klingons and charged with the Chancellor’s murder.
At a dramatic show trial, broadcast across the galaxy, Kirk is accused of orchestrating Gorkon’s assassination as an act of revenge for the death of his son. Somehow the Klingons have obtained Kirk’s personal log. The damning words resound throughout the courtroom: “I’ve never trusted Klingons, and I never will. I could never forgiver them for the death of my boy.” Kirk and McCoy are sentenced to life imprisonment and hard labor on the penal colony Rura Penthe. While in prison, Kirk admits to McCoy – and to himself – that the prospect of peace had terrified him. He used his habitual hostility towards Klingons as an emotional crutch and shield. “I was so used to hating Klingons. It never even occurred to me to take Gorkon at his word.”
Determined to exonerate Kirk and McCoy, Spock and the crew of the Enterprise begin an exhaustive investigation. It’s eventually revealed that Enterprise did not fire on Kronos One. The true culprit was a cloaked Klingon Bird-of-Prey.
After the Enterprise rescues Kirk and McCoy from Rura Penthe, a far reaching and deadly conspiracy is unmasked. Valeris, a young Vulcan officer and protégé of Spock, helped orchestrate the assassination of Gorkon and subsequently covered up evidence, altered the Enterprise’s databanks, and framed Kirk with the incriminating log entry. Valeris has deluded herself into believing that, by colluding with disaffected Klingons to murder their own chancellor, she and likeminded Starfleet officers are saving the Federation. Under mind meld interrogation, Valeris gives up the names of some of the other conspirators – “Everyone who stands to lose from peace” – including Gorkon’s chief of staff General Chang, Romulan ambassador Nanclus, and Admiral Cartwright of Starfleet. Kirk was so blinded by his hatred of Klingons that he failed to recognize the true enemies within Starfleet and among his own crew. “Gorkon had to die before I understood how prejudiced I was,” Kirk admits.
The Enterprise races to Camp Khitomer, the location of a new round of peace talks. With the aid of Captain Hikaru Sulu and the USS Excelsior, Kirk and his crew manage to destroy Chang’s prototype Bird-of-Prey and prevent a Klingon sniper from assassinating the Federation president. The conspiracy is exposed and Nanclus and Cartwright are arrested. The heroic actions of Kirk, Sulu, and their crews lead to the signing of the Khitomer Accords, a historic first step towards reconciliation between the Federation and the Klingons. As Christians, we are called to work towards and foster peace whenever possible – “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.” (Matthew 5:9)
Standing athwart a contemporary culture that encourages us to believe that our enemies, or even those who hold differing opinions, deserve nothing but our contempt and scorn, the command of Jesus Christ is clear: “Love one another as I have loved you.” (John 15:12) St. Thomas Aquinas famously defined love as “willing the good of the other.” Truly loving our enemies, willing good to those we find hardest to live with, is an important step on the pathway to peace in our families, in our nation, and in our world – and in the galaxy of the twenty-third century.
Thomas J. Salerno
Thomas Salerno is a Catholic author, freelance writer, and podcaster born and raised on Long Island, New York. Among his many passions are dinosaurs, Tolkien's Middle-earth, Star Wars, and superheroes. His writing has been featured in numerous publications including Word on Fire, Aleteia, Amendo, Busted Halo, Catholic World Report, Empty Tomb Project, and Missio Dei. Thomas is the creator and host of the Perilous Realms Podcast and is a contributor to the StarQuest Production Network (SQPN), where he serves as co-host on the Secrets of Movies and TV Shows and the Secrets of Middle-Earth podcasts. Thomas has a bachelor of arts in anthropology from Stony Brook University. You can follow his work on his Substack newsletter thomasjsalerno.substack.com or @Salerno_Thomas on Twitter.