STAR TREK: Wolf in the Fold

Cafe Society
1

In memory of the passing of James Doohan I thought I’d resurrect the STAR TREK threads and jump ahead to his best episode.

For those unfamiliar the rules are basic. Treat this as a first run episode. It is the second season… Of course as this is a special occasion any mention of other episodes are allowed.

Synopsis:
Scotty is recovering from an accident with a bout of shore Leave with Kirk and McCoy. The accident was supposedly caused by a female crew member and Bones is concerned it may leave an ill effect of the good engineer.

While out on a foggy stroll with a young lass foul play occures and Scotty is found with the bloody knife in his hands. He claims he can not remember a thing and can not account for the murder.

The inhabitants of Argeullus II are hedonistic and pacifists and have an outsider, Heingis, as their law enforcer who wants to arrest Scotty.
McCoy has a medical officer (who happens to be female) check Scotty meanwhile
The Prefect Jaris insists his wife, a priestess, should use her ancient empathic contact ceremony to unlock Scotty’s memory.

During the Pyscho tricorder reading the technitian is murdered while in a room alone with Mr Scott.

The ceremony goes on as planned and during it the priestess senses an evil presence just before she too is murdered, once again it seems to be Scotty.

With nothing else left to him Kirk convinces them to use the ship’s computer to acertain if Mr Scott is lying. It is then they discover the true culprit a being named Redjack who has been murdering for centuries to feed off the fear of its victims.
Thoughts:
A good episode with some nice twists. It really looks like Scotty is to blame, especiially when Lt Tracey is killed. There was no way for anyone to get in.

Doohan’s performance was also very good. His affability in the opening (“You canna tell an Aberdeen pub crawler how to applaud”) is greatly contrated by his fear and confusion by the murders. After the first he is uneasy but sure he is innocent. After the second he seems more unhinged and the self doubt he portrays is quite believable.

By the end he is almost convinced he is the killer.

I found it odd Mr Spock off all people seemed to distrust the Argeillian empathic methods. Don’t Vulcans use this without doubt? Why doubt another race’s ability.

I like how the crew sticks up for each other in this episode. It seems obvious Scotty is guilty yet they believe in him enough to believe it to be an impossibility.

The crew acting stoned was a nice light moment in what started as a spooky moment. When Redjack takes control and threatens to suffocate the crew it was creepy.

If I were Kirk I would have taken a Stoned Scotty and McCoy to the planet. It would have been a blast.

2

“Cold it was. Like a stinking draught from a slaughterhouse…”
Doohan was great in this one.

3

I wonder if Redjack was Hannibal Lecter as well as Jack the Ripper.
:slight_smile:

4

These guys were so bad with numbers they had to bring in an administrator from another planet? Talk about outsourcing!

5

???

Sorry I must have missed what you meant.

6

I liked it best when Hengist was drugged and screaming, “I’ll kill you all! Kill you all!”, but couldn’t stay mad, and kept dissolving into giggles.

7

In addition to being a tribute to James Doohan, this thread is also appropriate as a salute to the recent passing of the wonderful character actor John Fiedler, who played Hengist in “Wolf in the Fold.”

8

I find it very creepy that the pacifistic race still practices execution by means of slow torture.
Yeesh.

Good ep, though.

9

Sulu (grinning like a mofo): “With a shot of this my arm, I wouldn’t be afraid of a supernova!”
:smiley:

10

Okay, clarify something for me. Scott’s holding the murder weapon in the first murder and was alone with the second. When the prefect’s wife is killed, he’s holding her and the knife.

Later we find out about the alien entity. Did the entity posess Scotty and then leave him? Was the entity in possession of Hengeist and Hengeist commit the murders?

Was Hengiest possessed, or was he the physical form taken by the entity?

I guess I’m curious as to who actually put the knife into the women. I can’t see how Scott DIDN’T kill the women. Obviously, from a moral perspective, Scotty didn’t kill those girls if he was possessed by an alien entity. But did his body commit the crimes? Also, if Hengeist was simply possessed, isn’t the solution rather unfair to Mr. Hengeist? Granted the entity had to die. But they worked harder to save people in other episodes.

This episode is one of my faves. It scared the bejebus out of me as a kid.

Reyjak! Reyjak! Reyjak!

11

Computer, this is a class one priority directive: compute to the last digit the value of pi.

NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh !!!

12

The main problem with this episode is that is Scotty was not shouting “she cant take more”

13

I always thought he was saying “Red Jack!” As in, Jack the Ripper.

(Or “redrum.” There. Now no one else has to say it.)

14

I thought Jack was how 19th century Londoners heard “Reyjak”; linking Reyjak and the Ripper.

15

Well, according to Startrek.com, you are more right than I am. That site calls it redjac. It also says Hengeist was the incarnation of that creature, which partially answers my question.