"Elaan of Troyius" is the thirteenth episode of the third season of the American science fiction television series Star Trek.
As Petri explains, the Elasian Council of Nobles and the Troyius Tribunal have agreed to marry Elaan to the Troyian king to secure peace, lest the two planets destroy each other.
Mr. Scott reports that Kryton damaged the dilithium crystals in the antimatter reactor control system, making it impossible to go to warp or fire their weapons.
In Sickbay, Ambassador Petri again approaches Elaan and begs her to accept the necklace of Troyian royal jewels that was to be worn at her wedding, as a symbol of the hope for peace between their two worlds.
Spock detects strange energy readings from some of the jewels, which Elaan describes as common stones, valued only as good-luck charms.
Cut from the episode was a scene in the ship's recreation room, where Kirk, McCoy, Uhura and Spock meet and discuss how to calm Elaan.
[1] This episode features the first appearance of the D-7 class Klingon battle cruiser designed and built by Star Trek art director Walter M. Jefferies.
France Nuyen had previously starred with William Shatner on Broadway for two years in the title role of The World of Suzie Wong.
The episode's title character pays tribute to Helen of Troy from Homer's Iliad,[2] and its plot borrows from William Shakespeare's comedy, The Taming of the Shrew.
Club's Zack Handlen rates "Elaan of Troyius" as a B, making note of character development and the unexpected ending: "If you'd asked me to predict the rest of the episode after Elaan and Kirk hooked up, I would've guessed it would have something to do with Kirk interfering with the wedding ... [i]nstead, we get a nifty space battle against the Klingons, a traitor in the Elasians, an unexpected source of dilithium crystals, and a curiously muted performance from Shatner that does a good job at conveying his internal struggle between feeling and duty without overselling it.
[6] Star Trek reviewer Jamahl Epsicokhan responds to the episode with a lukewarm assessment, asserting, "The problem (or, more specifically, the running gag)—Elaan is a terrible-mannered woman from a society short on manners.
"[8] She cites Daniel Leonard Bernardi in Star Trek and History: Race-ing Toward a White Future, who claims that “Elaan exemplifies two stereotypes about Asian women, starting off as a manipulative ‘dragon lady’ and ending as the ‘submissive female slave’”.
Underhill writes that that even though Shatner and Nuyen are convincingly in love, the script has "racist and sexist imagery about manipulative and savage foreign women".
It is her fierce struggle against this fate that makes her such an extraordinary and admirable character.” ([12]) Elaan has to forsake all of her desires and autonomy in order to ensure interplanetary peace through an arranged marriage, a reflection of the experiences of real women in diplomatic history: "One might conclude that she has no other choice, just as hundreds of women have been treated as tools to facilitate exchanges of land, titles, financial security, and peace treaties.
"[13] This episode was released in Japan on December 21, 1993 as part of the complete season 3 LaserDisc set, Star Trek: Original Series log.3.