The Enterprise is transporting teenager Charlie Evans, who has mysteriously survived most of his life in complete isolation after crash landing on a planet. Perhaps there's truth to the rumors of unknown life on that planet? But there's a much bigger problem: Charlie begins lashing out in uncontrolled tantrums with powerful mental abilities that threaten the ship and crew. The only chance at stopping him may be for Captain Kirk to assert himself as a father figure for Charlie before it's too late.
"Powerful godlike aliens" was one of the original Star Trek's most enduring tropes. This was the first example of that ever seen by audiences, but the abandoned first pilot had already featured them, and at least one other episode with them had already been filmed before "Charlie X" (and would air soon). I find them all loosely in competition with one another, and that this one in particular lands on the weaker side of the scale.
For my tastes, the episode gets too wrapped up in "how could Charlie have survived as a child?", as opposed to "what must that life have been like for Charlie?" We see examples of Charlie's unsocialized behavior, and of allowances made because he "doesn't understand." But I'm not feeling a lot of empathy for the character in any of this. It's possible this is because the episode tips its hand almost immediately in revealing to us that Charlie has godly powers. Or maybe I'm kept at a remove by the trappings of the 1960s -- editing that features languid close-ups without any dialogue; casting that has a clearly adult man playing a 17-year-old; writing that includes butt slapping, a lascivious card trick, and the wild line "there's no right way to hit a woman." It's only at the very end, when Charlie begs for help, that the episode finally wants us to feel sorry for him -- and for me, that's far too late.
Still, this is a new show finding its way, and there are more signs it's doing so here. Yeoman Rand once again is a surprisingly strong character amid the uncomfortable gender landscape. Uhura continues her fun flirtation with Spock, and the two star together in a memorable musical interlude. The episode features the first aired chess match between Kirk and Spock, showcasing the banter that would become iconic for the characters. In a specific improvement over "The Cage," here Kirk actually overcomes Charlie before the Thasians arrive to help (where Pike merely thinks he's winning, just as the Talosians decide for themselves to give up). Even small details are already snapping into place, with this episode (in air order) giving us the first appearance of Kirk's green uniform tunic.
So in all, I want to place this a cut above the episodes so far. But only a small cut. I give "Charlie X" a C.
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