Our first glimpse of the Romulans on Star Trek was in the episode "Balance
of Terror", a brilliant episode which gave us so much to study. The
Romulans were, and still are, a very complex race. On the surface, they had
pointed ears and slanted eyebrows to match the Vulcans. And yet, they were so different from the Vulcans in
character. The Vulcans are logical, unemotional, and worship peace above all.
The Romulans are warlike and emotional.
In the episode, the Romulans pulled a sneak attack
on several Federation outposts, with the Federation not even knowing who had
attacked them. Of course, they did have their suspicions. The outposts were
bordering the Romulan Neutral Zone, so
it was reasonable to assume it was the Romulans. The Romulans had been silent for over a
century and now suddenly appeared with a powerful energy plasma weapon and a
cloaking device, giving them a weapon of ultimate destruction and a weapon of
ultimate stealth. No one could see them coming until they were ready to fire
their weapons, and then it was too late. Yet, they had no warp drive, thereby
showing to Kirk and crew that they were not invulnerable. They did not have the
most advanced technology in every way. They made up for their slower ships by
utilizing power and subterfuge, while the Enterprise could use speed, backing
away from the plasma energy blast, to null the effects of the Romulan plasma
weapon. With both sides having their strengths and weaknesses, playing cat and
mouse in what seemed like an even match, it was a long match of wits, before
one side was able to claim a win.
Most
of the episode followed the Enterprise crew, but the few scenes we got to see
on the Romulan ship were very telling and highly relevant to the story. There
were noticeable parallels between the Enterprise crew and the Romulan crew. The
most obvious being that Captain Kirk was similar to the Romulan Commander. They
were both good, seasoned leaders who didn't want a war between their two
factions. They knew the death toll for war would probably be high on both
sides. The Commander seemed much more contemplative than just a man of action.
He was analytical and thoughtful. He knew it was wise to "study the enemy,
seek weakness". Kirk was also being contemplative and using strategy. As
the Commander stated at the end, they could have been friends in another life.
It's really unfortunate that they didn't get to converse with each other until
the very end, for if Kirk had known the Commander was as reluctant as he
himself was to start a war, they may have come up with a way to prevent it
without any loss of lives. Kirk confided in McCoy, asking him what if he made
the wrong decision. In the same vein,
the Centurion was the one the Commander confessed to that their mission would
be "successful" by defeating the Federation ship and bringing on a
war that he didn't want. Both leaders had their trusted advisor whom they were
glad to have at their side.
The Enterprise's Lt. Stiles was like the Romulan,
Decius, as they both represented the negative side of their respective races.
Stiles' bigotry was fed by the loss of his relatives in the previous
Federation/Romulan conflict over a century ago, and was further fueled upon
learning that Romulans had pointed ears and slanted eyebrows like Vulcans. He
hated Spock for no other reason than the fact that he was an alien. He
encouraged Kirk to destroy the Romulan ship as Decius encouraged his Commander
to destroy the Enterprise. Both Stiles and Decius were arrogant and questioned
their superiors' orders. Seeing the interactions of both ships reminded the
viewing audience of how similar we all are, and how someone we think of as the
enemy is not so different as we would like to believe. Stiles was redeemed at
the end by Spock saving his life. If someone who carried as much hatred as
Stiles could have a change of heart, then maybe it could have been possible for
the Romulan crew, if they had survived.
The Centurion died when the Enterprise's phaser hit
the Romulan ship. The Centurion’s death was foreshadowing of what would happen
to the rest of the Romulan crew. He was the first Romulan to die in this
episode. Fitting, as he was probably the oldest. But he was the Commander’s
most trusted advisor and friend. His death seemed to signify the coming deaths
of the entire crew, for their most experienced soldier was gone. It was also a
death that let the Commander know how serious this battle was, and that their
advanced technology would not make them the easy victors they had thought they
would be with their new technological advances. In the end, he kept his pride
by destroying his ship and not letting himself and his crew be taken as
prisoners.
From
the beginning of the episode, the Romulans were the ones who crossed the
Neutral Zone and entered Federation
space, literally crossing the line that had previously been agreed upon by both
sides. Destroying Federation outposts, they were the overconfident aggressors,
thus laying the groundwork for future storylines with the Romulans. Later Trek
stories about the Romulans on screen, in books, and in fan fiction have
depicted them as a race full of military and political intrigue. Always the
smug, strategizing people, they have been one of the enduring races of Trek,
both as adversaries and, in some stories, as unlikely allies.
-by the Honorable Kavura
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