Summary
- "Balance of Terror" introduced Romulans in a tense game of cat-and-mouse with the Enterprise in Star Trek: The Original Series.
- Romulans reappeared in TNG as complex characters and continued to appear in various Star Trek iterations.
- Strange New Worlds revisited the Romulan conflict with a twist, exploring Captain Pike's alternate future with the Romulans.
"Balance of Terror" remains one of the most iconic episodes of Star Trek: The Original Series, and Star Trek: Strange New Worlds revisited the first appearance of the Romulans with a new twist. In Star Trek: The Original Series season 1, episode 14, "Balance of Terror," Captain James T. Kirk (William Shatner) and the USS Enterprise face off against a Romulan ship that attacked United Federation of Planets outposts in the Neutral Zone. What follows is a tense game of cat-and-mouse between the Enterprise and the cloaked Romulan vessel. The Romulans would only appear in one more TOS episode, but they remain formidable enemies of the Federation.
Distant cousins of the Vulcans, the Romulans returned in Star Trek: The Next Generation season 1, and have continued to pop up in most Star Trek series. In the 24th century, long after leaving the Starship Enterprise behind, Ambassador Spock (Leonard Nimoy) began working to reunite the Romulan and Vulcan peoples, a difficult prospect that eventually came to pass long after Spock's death. "Balance of Terror" established the cunning and sometimes duplicitous nature of the Romulans, and Star Trek: Strange New Worlds revisited the events of the classic Star Trek: The Original Series episode in its first season finale.
Star Trek’s Original “Balance Of Terror” Romulan Episode Explained
"I regret that we meet in this way. You and I are of a kind. In a different reality, I could have called you friend."
As Captain Kirk officiates a wedding on board the USS Enterprise, a Romulan ship attacks a Federation outpost on the edge of the Neutral Zone. Although there had been a war between Earth and the Romulans a century before, no one in the Federation had actually seen what the Romulans looked like. The Romulan ship has a cloaking device that renders it invisible, but Kirk and the Enterprise conjure a means to track the enemy ship, eventually gaining access to a visual transmission. When Kirk and his crew first see the Romulans, they are shocked by their similar appearance to Vulcans.
On the Enterprise bridge, Lt. Stiles (Paul Comi) grows suspicious of Spock, even though Spock is just as surprised by the Romulans' appearance as everyone else. Spock surmises that the Romulans are an early offshoot of the Vulcans, suggesting that they have likely retained the warlike nature of the early Vulcans. Kirk orders the Enterprise to attack, and the two ships begin a deadly face-off. In the end, the Romulan Commander (Mark Lenard) orders the destruction of his own ship after the Enterprise disables it, lamenting that he and Kirk have a lot in common.
Mark Lenard would go on to play Spock's father, Ambassador Sarek, in Star Trek: The Original Serie s' season 2 episode, "Journey to Babel."
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Redid “Balance Of Terror” - How It Was Different
"What do Romulans care of peace? It means nothing to us. And your apparent affinity for it has sealed your fate."
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 1's finale, "A Quality of Mercy" explores what would have happened had Captain Christopher Pike (Anson Mount) been in command of the Starship Enterprise rather than Kirk in "Balance of Terror." After learning of his tragic fate in Star Trek: Discovery season 2, Captain Pike began contemplating ways he could change his future. In Strange New Worlds' "A Quality of Mercy," a future version of Admiral Pike visits his past self to warn him about what happens if he avoids his fateful accident. Captain Pike then finds himself in command of the Enterprise in an alternate future, facing the same problem Kirk did in "Balance of Terror."
In command of the USS Farragut, Captain Kirk (Paul Wesley) urges Pike to attack the Romulan vessel, but Pike wants to avoid battle.
After a brief battle, Pike negotiates a temporary ceasefire with the Romulan Commander (Matthew MacFadzean), who also wants to avoid war. One of the other Romulan officers, however, sees Pike's decision as weak and calls in reinforcements. The Romulans then attack the Enterprise, severely wounding Spock, and declare war on the Federation. Captain Pike returns to his own time, where he decides to accept his future. Not only does "A Quality of Mercy" offer a fascinating character study of Captain Pike, but it also serves as a brilliant call back to one of Star Trek: The Original Series' most iconic episodes.
