A Taste of Armageddon

Plot

The USS Enterprise travels to Eminiar VII in star cluster NGC 321, carrying Ambassador Robert Fox to establish diplomatic relations. The planet has been at war with neighboring Vendikar. The Enterprise receives a warning not to approach, but Fox orders Captain Kirk to proceed. Kirk, Spock, and security personnel beam down and are met by Mea 3 and Anan 7.

During a supposed Vendikar attack, Anan 7 explains the war is a computer simulation; the Enterprise has been "destroyed" and its crew must report to disintegration chambers for execution. Kirk's party is taken captive. Spock telepathically plants a suggestion in their jailer's mind, allowing escape. Anan 7 uses a voice duplicator to order the crew to transport down, but Scotty, suspicious, has the ship's computer analyze the message and confirms it fake.

He raises shields. Eminiar fires on the Enterprise, but the attack is deflected. Fox beams down and is taken to a disintegration chamber, where Spock and security rescue him. Kirk confronts Anan 7 but is overpowered.

Kirk orders Scotty to execute General Order 24, threatening to destroy Eminiar VII within two hours. Panic ensues; Kirk disarms guards, and with Spock destroys the war simulation computers. Anan 7 protests that real war will follow, but Kirk suggests a ceasefire and peace negotiations, with Fox as mediator.

Reception

The 1994 Deep Space Nine episode "Armageddon Game" got its title from writer Robert Hewitt Wolfe as a nod to this installment. Zack Handlen of The A.V. Club gave it a B+, calling it a classic Trek scenario that is allegorically strong but implausible by common sense, though he found its attempts at depth undercut by plot holes while still praising its ambition. In 2016, The Hollywood Reporter placed it 53rd among all Star Trek TV episodes before Discovery and 18th among original series episodes, while Business Insider ranked it 11th best of the original series that year.

The following year, it was named the 8th most hopeful Star Trek episode, and Business Insider also listed it as one of the franchise's most underrated. Collider ranked it 8th best original series episode in 2018. ScreenRant called it the 8th best TOS episode to re-watch in 2020. In 2021, Den of Geek declared it the number one original series episode.

That same year, characters on For All Mankind quoted it in the episode "Triage," comparing its story to the show's alternate history Cold War setting.