S3E12
The Empath
⚠ Spoiler alert This recap gives away what happens in this episode.
Episode Summary & Review
Summary
After arriving at a outpost to pick up the two members of a science team, Kirk, McCoy and Spock find the team missing. They are then transported to another location by alien beings who use them in a torturous experiment involving a young girl who does not speak.
Our Take
A quiet, stagey hour that leans on atmosphere rather than action, and mostly gets away with it. The black void set and the mute empath’s expressive performance give it an eerie, dreamlike feel, though the aliens’ experiment drags once you see where it’s headed. Worth a look for the McCoy material, which lands the emotional weight the rest of the episode reaches for.