"Balance of Terror" is by far the most important episode I've watched so far. This statement applies both to the show's contribution to the Star Trek canon and to its political message.

More-or-less an anti-war story

"Balance of Terror" takes the analogue of starships and sea vessels to its logical depths by depicting the Enterprise's pursuit of a Romulan Bird of Prey as a submarine story. I've never seen a single submarine movie, but I've learned a lot about them from listening to a Star Trek podcast called the Greatest Generation, whose hosts are big fans, and who have enjoyed when TNG and DS9 play with ideas associated with submarine movies.

The definitive feature of submarine adventures is apparently the lack of information that the hunting and chasing vessels have about each other's motives and capabilities. Secondarily, they're about how the crew members cope with decaying ship conditions. Arguments between hawks and doves about the next course of action also drive the conflicts.

While most of this episode involves Kirk and the Romulan commander's anticipation of each other's moves and growing mutual respect, the blindnesses on both sides plays out in more meaningful ways as a metaphor for the causes of war and the dangers of ignorance about the "enemy."

"Balance of Terror" begins, strangely, with a wedding, but I suppose that is meant to demonstrate Kirk's officerial role on the ship: its privileges, as well as its responsibilities. We'll come back to this. The celebration is interrupted just before the "I do"s when Spock informs the captain that outposts along the neutral zone with the Romulans are being attacked by an unknown force.

Much is made about the mystery of these attacks, but it's pretty clear that the culprits are the Romulans, though Kirk is very careful not to rush to this conclusion. His concern is not primarily with the safety of the outposts or identifying the motives behind the attacks. Instead, his mission is to ensure that these attacks do not escalate into a full scale war.

Here we learn about a past conflict with the Romulans over a century ago, which was decimating to both sides. Somehow, no one on the Earth side, nor any of its allies, have ever seen a Romulan. This fact gets played to dramatic effect—as does just about every second of this drawn-out episode full of dramatic pauses and musical cues—when it is finally revealed that Romulans look exactly like Vulcans.

It's at this moment that the show is able to deliver its most interesting message. Before this point, one officer has stated his belief that the Romulans are no good, and that the Enterprise must deal with the threat in the most aggressive ways possible. This officer, Stiles, represents the most warlike element on the ship, and he shares his reasons for prejudice against the enemy:

STILES: We know Outpost four has been attacked, sir, so if we intercept Romulans now
KIRK: After a whole century, what will a Romulan ship look like, Mister Stiles? I doubt they'll radio and identify themselves.
STILES: You'll know, sir. They're painted like a giant bird-of-prey.
KIRK: I had no idea that history was your specialty.
STILES: Family history. There was a Captain Stiles was in the space service then. Two Commanders and several junior officers. All lost in that war, sir.
KIRK: Their war, Mister Stiles. Not yours. Don't forget it.

Stiles's angry tone prompts Kirk's warning reply, which speaks to an incredibly forward thinking message that seems lost to many even today. Stiles regards the events of the past as controlling his own destiny. The violence of the past is, to him, a matter of family obligation; he has inherited a grudge against Romulans that colours his attitudes in this crucial moment. Since Kirk's deepest concern is to prevent war, Stiles's attitude is a powerful threat to the mission. It is an attitude frequently responsible for blocking overtures toward peace in real-world conflicts.

Sins of the Past

Little comes of Stiles's anger, though the revelation that Vulcans and Romulans are so similar prompts some animosity toward Spock, whom Stiles accuses of being a spy. Later, Spock saves Stiles's life, and that changes things for Stiles. The xenophobia and racism that Stiles earlier expressed is here challenged, and Stiles humbly admits his error. The formula of the prejudiced proving their goodness with extreme acts of kindness is a problematic trope, and one I've discussed at length elsewhere. It's not a damning approach, but I'd hope Star Trek could do better—it did do better, particularly in season 3 of Enterprise.

Stiles's development over the course of the episode is just one of the subthemes that "Balance of Terror" includes to make the main story more powerful. To reiterate, this episode challenges traditional beliefs about loyalty to country and to family, relegating past conflicts to the dustbin of history and regarding them as destructive influences on present fortunes. Kirk embodies this in his unwavering commitment to his mission of preventing war.

At times, the episode struggles to make that effort sympathetic since Kirk wants mainly to spy on the enemy vessel rather than outright destroy it. It's Spock who argues that the logical means of preventing war is a show of force. He comments that if the Romulans are indeed descended from Vulcans, then they have retained a warlike, colonial philosophy that Vulcans have since dropped. The Roman-inspired characterization of the Romulans confirms this opinion, as do the scenes we get from the Romulan perspective.

Those scenes are interesting too for their counterarguments to Kirk's perspective on war. The Romulans never explain why they have suddenly attacked these outposts and violated the treaty, but Spock's thesis appears likely. It's subtle, but the commander questions the wisdom of his superiors in ordering this attack. He suggests that the goal of the mission was to establish "proof of the Earthmen's weakness," but he is dubious about the value of that:

COMMANDER: Our gift to the homeland, another war.
CENTURION: If we are the strong, isn't this the signal for war?
COMMANDER: Must it always be so? How many comrades have we lost in this way?
CENTURION: Our portion, Commander, is obedience.
COMMANDER: Obedience. Duty. Death and more death. Soon even enough for the Praetor's taste.

The obedience and order of the Romulans clearly contrasts the more democratic style of the humans. Stiles, who challenges Kirk throughout, and Spock, who grudgingly agrees with Stiles against the captain, are allowed their opinions, and Kirk welcomes their advice, even if he may admonish Stiles's tone. Conversely, a Romulan officer who zealously sends an unauthorized communication to his superiors is immediately demoted "two steps in rank." The Commander is immediately warned to watch his back because this officer, Decius, has powerful connections. Kirk's sense of order, fair and procedural, is inverted by the Romulans, whose judgments are swift and decisive, and for whom power, not peace, is the ultimate goal.

Yet, the Commander questions his people's ideals when he laments the deaths of his friends caused by the Praetor's bloodthirst. Nevertheless, he is duty-bound to follow his orders and incite war. This in turn necessitates the destruction of the bird of prey for Kirk. As Spock says, a show of force would be the only way to prevent war. Kirk doesn't like it, and he eventually offers to transport the Romulan crew to his ship to give them medical attention. The Romulan refuses, saying "that is not our way." We're left with the old quandary about needing to prepare for war if you desire peace. This concept, appropriately enough, is closely associated with classical Latin sources.

And so, the Romulans represent an older, even ancient mentality that puts the glory of nation above individual good. Even if the Commander would rather "see the stars of home" than engage in protracted missions of war, his people's philosophy represses the individual desire for peace and comfort. Kirk's anti-war agenda, on the other hand, is forward-looking, an attempt to leave behind exactly the sorts of warmongering that the Romulans represent. Stiles is a holdover from the present, someone who desires peace, but is too angry and terrified of the enemy to admit that they might want peace too. The Commander himself is struggling from the other side. He is forward-looking toward peace, but locked into his culture's preference for war.

Friend?

This leaves us last of all with the parallels between Kirk and the Romulan Commander. Each expressly puts their personal feelings second to the duties of their positions. Each has interactions with officers they consider close friends, and each reprimands an inferior. Each develops a grudging respect for the enemy's cleverness and strength of will. Hence the Commander's famous remark to Kirk "you and I are of a kind. In a different reality, I could have called you friend." At least, famous to me because it's quoted in an episode of Futurama.

Just in case you thought the episode was out of poignancy, there's more! Did you forget the wedding that was interrupted at the beginning? Just one crew member of the Enterprise dies in this episode. Guess who? The groom of course. Incidentally, he is his fiance's immediate superior officer, and their exchange revealing that fact is a little iffy by today's standards, but not all bad. She’s in charge of a weapons station, so that's pretty cool for the 60s. But the point is, he dies, and she's left a grieving fiance. The last words of the episode are in a conversation between her and Kirk.

KIRK: It never makes any sense. We both have to know that there was a reason.
ANGELA: I'm all right.

Kirk doesn't offer closure. He cannot know whether he has prevented a war or not, whether Spock's theory was accurate, or whether or not the destruction of the Romulan ship will itself be a cause for war. All he knows is that he did not violate a treaty by entering the neutral zone, as per his instructions. He has done the best he can given the situation; people have died, and he has nothing but faith that there was a reason for any of it. He doesn't say there was a reason. He enjoins himself and Angela only to believe there was one.

Often, a story like this might end with a commentary on the loneliness of command, but Kirk is able to share his uncertainty with Angela, who suffered a greater loss than anyone else on the ship. She provides the closure Kirk needs with her resolve. It's nice to see the writers recognizing that the man's death need not completely destroy Angela's world. She still has a life as a crew member and as an individual. Just as Kirk must go on, so must she, and she knows she can. It's a small improvement over the depiction of women in other episodes, but an improvement nonetheless.

Verdict: 9 cloaking devices out of 10