Written by: D. C. Fontana (teleplay), Gene Roddenberry (story)

Directed by: Lawrence Dobkin

Starring: William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, DeForest Kelley, Nichelle Nichols, Grace Lee Whitney, Robert Walker

The Enterprise takes aboard Charlie Evans (Robert Walker), a teenager who has spent most of his life alone on a distant planet. He’s eager to experience the world he’s missed, but there’s something unusual about Charlie, and it doesn’t take long for the crew to discover that he has extraordinary abilities.

Star Trek does the godlike child.

I’m still getting used to the look and feel of the original Star Trek. The uniforms seem a little different in this episode, and we don’t see Sulu at all, even though he appeared in “The Man Trap”.

I’m also noticing how the show is starting to add little details that establish its identity. Spock playing an alien-looking lyre. Chess played on a tiered board. Uhura singing. Strange medical tests. A fight-training gym. Fun stuff that feels specifically Star Trek.

The episode also gives us a look at Kirk’s two very different advisers. Spock approaches problems through logic and the available evidence, while McCoy is more willing to question whether that evidence tells the whole story. It’s an interesting dynamic to watch develop.

“Charlie X” has a particularly effective visual style. The dramatic lighting and shadows give several scenes a creepy atmosphere, which works especially well as Charlie becomes more unsettling.

At first, he’s simply an odd teenager who doesn’t seem to understand how people interact. But his fascination with Yeoman Janice Rand (Grace Lee Whitney) quickly becomes uncomfortable, and his reactions to frustration reveal that there’s something much more dangerous going on.

Charlie has almost godlike powers, but the emotional maturity of a teenager. When people laugh at him or don’t give him what he wants, he responds in increasingly disturbing ways. He makes people disappear, strips away their facial features, ages a woman, and even breaks Spock’s legs. These moments give the episode some genuine horror, because Charlie’s temper tantrums can have devastating consequences.

Kirk tries to guide Charlie, almost like a father trying to teach a troubled kid how to behave. But how do you teach someone to respect other people’s boundaries when he has the power to do whatever he wants?

The ending is genuinely tragic. Charlie’s upbringing may help explain why he struggles to understand other people, but it doesn’t excuse the harm he causes. He’s both frightening and deeply lonely, and Kirk can’t find a way to save him. The episode doesn’t offer a convenient last-minute solution. Instead, Charlie has to return to the beings who raised him, with little hope of the human connection he wants so badly.

“Charlie X” seems to have something to say about masculinity, trauma, abuse, and power, but I’m not sure it successfully brings those ideas together.

I appreciated what the episode was going for, but I don’t think the execution lived up to the premise. There are plenty of moments that work, and the creepy imagery is effective, but the story feels like a slow burn that never quite comes together for me.

Star Trek Verdict: Engage!