"Day of the Dove" takes a few forgivable liberties to deal mercilessly with the unpleasantness of war in another of Jerome Bixby's thought-provoking stories. The worst tendency to violence is shallowly disguised as an "alien entity" that thrives on violent emotions and discord, be the heart that holds them human or Klingon. (For all the dramatic carnage this is a bloodless war onscreen, tickling the irony of war by television.) That tendency produces utterly despicable behavior from all parties, with the possible exception of Kirk, but though they lose several hundred fellow crewmen the Klingons actually compose themselves admirably throughout the events of stardate: armageddon.

Ah, what would Trek be without Kang? Michael Ansara delivers an swashbuckling performance from savage pistol whip to hearty backslap, the first Klingon officer to choose peace with humans (albeit under unique, pressured circumstances). He's a complete package of wisdom and honor that contextually begins the redemption of Klingon ruthlessness flourishing in later series. Clearly the way to Kang's heart is through his swordplay, as he joins in the effort to defeat the entity only after ignoring his wife to deeply indulge a desire to hack Kirk to bits.

Susan Howard as Mara also does a convincing job, subtly promoting Klingon sexual equality as Kang's Science Officer and wife. The Enterprise crew (why is Galloway always called Johnson?) gets ample scenery to chew, what with tortured-again Chekov and Claymore-hefting Scotty and sword-charging Bones. Spock should fare better but doesn't though Shatner's dialogue gushes in fine, imitable form. He both takes it and dishes it out, cold-cocking Pavel into a stupor then carrying him all the way to Sickbay. (Throughout the entire transit Chekov's head remains stiff held up on his neck, until placed on the bed where it slumps to rest on the pillow. Another example of superb Starfleet training!)

Unnecessary little incongruities annoy the clarity of the message, like Majel's tinny computer voice or mazetube deck paths to Engineering or strange bulkheads that somehow strand hundreds, or what exactly killed the Klingon crew? The answers thankfully aren't as important as the urgency with which this episode incessantly exhibits the hate TOS holds for war. And to do so "in front of the Klingons" reinforces Kirk's comment that in our enlightened future humanity will indeed think in other terms than war, fighting its causes if necessary. There are plenty of burning houses, sadly also a surfeit of fools, yet we can master our tendencies (alien entity or not) and, in Kang's memorable words, "cease hostilities."