This episode is all about what makes a good leader and about decision making based on logic vs gut feeling. Spock has to prove himself as a commanding officer for the first time by taking command of an away mission that fails and results in the shuttle crashing on a planet inhabited by hostile creatures.
First of all, the lack of professionalism of the crew members and their openly displayed insubordination should have led to harsher consequences. The command structure is massively questioned, as is Spock's leadership style. His orders are constantly answered with cynical comments and even Bones, also a senior officer, joins in with this undignified behavior. Bones is not a good officer anyway and an even worse doctor. I consider him absolutely unsuitable to serve on the Federation flagship. If only his medical competence would justify his cynicism and grumpy manner - but his medical expertise leaves a lot to be desired. If you compare Bones with the holographic doctor on Voyager, who was also initially condescending and arrogant, then you have to at least acknowledge that he is an absolute expert in the field of medicine and has always given 100% for his patients - even for enemy species. That cannot be said of Bones. In any case, the junior officers should have been demoted at the very least. If not court-martialed.
The episode repeatedly plays with whether a decision is logical or whether it should have been made emotionally. With the well-being of the crew in mind. However, logic is often used completely incorrectly here. If Spock assumes that the alien creatures can be intimidated with phaser fire, then that is not logic. It is merely an assumption based on known behavior of other species. After all, one has to assume that they do not even know about energy weapons and their effects. Basically, it is just a decision with uncertainty. It would have been just as logical to assume that these creatures also react to aggression with aggression, as is known with many predators. So it was by no means "the most logical" conclusion. It is also not logical to decide to leave two crew members behind to save weight. First of all, there would have been enough unnecessary weight in the shuttle, from the chairs to the clothes they were wearing. Furthermore, it was not considered that it might be sufficient to take off with one or two crew members and make contact with Enterprise. As soon as they had been rescued, Kirk could have returned to the now known location of the crew members left behind to rescue them. They could easily have held out for several days, hunkered down somewhere with phasers at the ready.
The big problem with this episode is that Spock suggests his conclusions and decisions as the only "logical" solutions. Although he himself says that there are always alternatives. Logic is not a one-way street. In mathematics, there are often several correct ways to solve a problem. In addition, it is presumptuous to assume that one can only react to the threat of a rather underdeveloped and non-logical species with logic.
First of all, the lack of professionalism of the crew members and their openly displayed insubordination should have led to harsher consequences. The command structure is massively questioned, as is Spock's leadership style. His orders are constantly answered with cynical comments and even Bones, also a senior officer, joins in with this undignified behavior. Bones is not a good officer anyway and an even worse doctor. I consider him absolutely unsuitable to serve on the Federation flagship. If only his medical competence would justify his cynicism and grumpy manner - but his medical expertise leaves a lot to be desired. If you compare Bones with the holographic doctor on Voyager, who was also initially condescending and arrogant, then you have to at least acknowledge that he is an absolute expert in the field of medicine and has always given 100% for his patients - even for enemy species. That cannot be said of Bones. In any case, the junior officers should have been demoted at the very least. If not court-martialed.
The episode repeatedly plays with whether a decision is logical or whether it should have been made emotionally. With the well-being of the crew in mind. However, logic is often used completely incorrectly here. If Spock assumes that the alien creatures can be intimidated with phaser fire, then that is not logic. It is merely an assumption based on known behavior of other species. After all, one has to assume that they do not even know about energy weapons and their effects. Basically, it is just a decision with uncertainty. It would have been just as logical to assume that these creatures also react to aggression with aggression, as is known with many predators. So it was by no means "the most logical" conclusion. It is also not logical to decide to leave two crew members behind to save weight. First of all, there would have been enough unnecessary weight in the shuttle, from the chairs to the clothes they were wearing. Furthermore, it was not considered that it might be sufficient to take off with one or two crew members and make contact with Enterprise. As soon as they had been rescued, Kirk could have returned to the now known location of the crew members left behind to rescue them. They could easily have held out for several days, hunkered down somewhere with phasers at the ready.
The big problem with this episode is that Spock suggests his conclusions and decisions as the only "logical" solutions. Although he himself says that there are always alternatives. Logic is not a one-way street. In mathematics, there are often several correct ways to solve a problem. In addition, it is presumptuous to assume that one can only react to the threat of a rather underdeveloped and non-logical species with logic.