Why Does This Read Like Ransom Note Instructions Arthur?

The saddest moments of Star Trek TOS belonged to "throwaway" characters

They all deserved better.

1. Lieutenant Riley - Conscience of the King

Faced with the chance to kill the man who once ordered the executions of thousands (including his family) in the wake of a famine, Riley's chance is stripped from him and he is ordered to stand down.

This is also a devastating moment for the captain himself as the only other remaining survivor of the colony. Kirk stops Riley's drastic actions, which, although damning, were perhaps his only chance of overcoming the guilt of having once been selected to live while others were sent to death.

Both enter a confrontation regarding their shared past, but neither heal.

2. Janice Rand - The Enemy Within

Although it was an "evil extension" of Kirk who perpetrated the assault on Janice Rand in her own room, at this point she only had reason to believe that the assailant was Kirk himself.

Rand is forced to testify with Kirk (the man she thought she loved, a captain with both power and position over her, an officer flanked by his two closest allies, and a man whose proximity in the same ship could endanger her after the testimony) standing over her. Rand even admits to "not wanting to get him into trouble", highlighting how closely her struggle mirrors the victims of everyday workplace violence against women.

What may even be worse are the blatant intimidation tactics Kirk employs throughout the scene. Although he knows he didn't do it (and perhaps suspects foul play), Kirk makes no attempt to empathize with the testimonies of Rand and Fisher regarding what they saw, and he even hints at the danger of them conspiring against a man of his rank.

Rand endured constant objectification in each of her appearances in the series, and would go on to be entirely forgotten after its first season. (Though she would return in The Motion Picture.)

3. Lieutenant "Joey" - The Naked Time

Joey delivered perhaps the most poignant monologue of the series, just moments before his impending death. Though Joey's inhibitions were altered by the infection that would soon kill him, we see later in the episode that the infection forces people express existing wants and needs. Therefore, real are his pleas begging to understand why humanity should be in space at all when it has merely taken and taken... leaving only destruction in its wake and its own to die.

Not only did he bare his own insecurities, Joey also established a central conflict of the entire series: can a utopian vision of the future include acts like leaving six people to waste away on an empty planet?

Tragically, Joey couldn't bear the burden of this conflict alone (no one else had or would mention this guilt at any point in the series) and though his death was prompted by the infection, it only acted as a catalyst for what was truly a su*c*de.

McCoy ruled in the autopsy that Joey might have survived, but he simply gave up fighting.

People: Effie loved being an escort. She was so brainwashed. She probably applied for the job because she thought it was an honor to be an escort, to gain fame and feed her ego.

Effie in the whole SOTR book:

Like the famed character with whom she shared her number, Lucile Sharp was in prison for theft.

Unlike Jean Valjean however, I highly doubt Lucile was in desperate need of the gold watch, chain, locket, diamond scarfpin and $17 she stole.

I also don’t recall Jean Valjean drugging anyone in the course of stealing his loaf of bread.

This will never make it in front of right-wing eyes. The government is a mystery of spending that can not be understood!

And it’s all because of trans people!

Or immigrants!

Whatever the enemy of the week is… enemy of the weak? 🤔

tesla owners are directly responsible for aiding in our surveillance state.

let’s not forget that when the new years attacks went down, it was widely reported that elon musk provided authorities with camera footage and charging station information (though i can suspiciously no longer find any articles saying so. if you find them, PLEASE add them to this post). trump all but said the words “elon musk manipulated the votes in my favor,” at his rally on sunday, january 19th 2025. if he was truly capable of doing so, there’s no chance that he doesn’t have back door access to tesla cars and trucks.

if he can access those things to help with terrorist investigations, what do you think he’s gonna do now that he’s in the white house ?

if you are organizing, be sure to cover your face or use anti-facial recognition makeup. there are more cameras than you thought.

sometimes i feel like im climing up this incline again alone but thankully sisypus and the itsy bitsy spider and here with me

They bully him relentlessly

I like it when tybalt tells mercutio to “have at thee boy” because it’s like a really old timey “try me bitch”