"That Which Survives" only does so in an unexceptional way. Oh it's fun to see Lee Meriwether collapse like an erasing felt-tip line (ooh spooky music!) but in terms of plot the less inspected the better. At first the episode sets up an intriguing mystery but sadly turns midway to padded technobabble and rushed ending. As a possible improvement the scenes aboard ship should have been ignored (OK keep M'Benga since he's cool). Follow instead the landing party, focussing the story back to where it's interesting and avoid some needless challenges to credibility.

For example, why toss the Enterprise a thousand light years away when simple destruction would take less energy? Why destroy the ship at all if Losira-plicants could just take them out one at a time? How does the "I am for you" defense mechanism of total cellular disruption work anyway? It would seem easier to destroy invaders just by obliterating them. And how can NCC-1701 accelerate to extreme speed after its fuel lines "fuse" (threatening a poorly paced explosion) but do so unaccompanied by any sort of rumbling, shaking, or other signs of stress?

At least Kirk excels leading the marooned landing party (though could he really throw a overloading phaser far enough from the explosion?). Poor D'Amato. Though he doesn't wear red once he gets a prominent position as the senior geologist it's just a matter of time until he finds a bad way to die ("there are no good ways"). McCoy and Sulu, whatever their reason for away team duty, deserve commendations for their performance as does Mr. Scott. Strangely it's Spock acting "out of character" if not outright annoying, this doubly considering the precarious position of ship and crew. He reacts to human idiosyncrasies like he hasn't endured them for years, and spends too much time fondling his handheld brain box (a wirehead souvenir from McCoy?).

There are certainly watchable little details here. The planetoid-quake set seen early in the show is well done. It's neat to finally see a tricorder do watchdog detail. This episode also features a clear view of Jimmy Doohan's right hand while he reverses the polarity on his gizmo during his Kobayashi Maru stream-crossing moment. For whatever reason, despite some impressive production credits, the elements never congeal and the overall result is unfocused, with a few hints at an ambitious screenplay that is never quite realized. Maybe beauty survives, as Kirk says with a quip to redeem the episode, but this effort does little to convince us of it.