The 14 Dumbest Things In Star Trek II: The Wrath Of Khan

8. Kirk And Bones Both Blow It

Kirk Wrath of Khan
Paramount

The film’s story forces Kirk to catch the Idiot Ball in order to show him as “old, worn out,” and in desperate need to get his mojo back, which we can accept to a point, but it goes overboard in this regard, and does Bones dirty in the process. Upon discovering Terrell and Chekov on the Regula One space station, Chekov emotes:

CHEKOV: Oh, sir! It was Khan! We found him on Ceti Alpha V. ...He... put ...creatures in our bodies to control our minds...
McCOY: It's all right. You're safe now.
CHEKOV: ...made us say lies, ...do things. ...But we beat him. ...He thought he controlled us, but he did not. The Captain was strong.

Wait a Vulcan minute. Lt. Commander Bad Accent just explicitly told them the titular Super Genius had put creatures in their bodies to control their minds, and what is the first reaction to this bombshell?

Bones effectively says “it’s all good.”

WHAT?!

The instant Chekov admitted this, both Kirk and Bones ought to have suspected Khan was behind every word coming out of the Reliant boys' mouths. Sure, Kirk is focused on the Genesis materials and finding Dr. Marcus, but he’s beyond thick here.

And Bones?

What sort of doctor hears two potential patients say they had foreign creatures placed inside their bodies to control them and doesn’t immediately ask how and where, and examine the living crap out of them?

Kirk’s not the only one caught with his britches down; McCoy’s tripping over the metaphorical pants around his ankles.

 
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Contributor
Contributor

Maurice is one of the founders of FACT TREK (www.facttrek.com), a project dedicated to untangling 50+ years of mythology about the original Star Trek and its place in TV history. He's also a screenwriter, writer, and videogame industry vet with scars to show for it. In that latter capacity he game designer/writer on the Sega Genesis/SNES "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine — Crossroads of Time" game, as well as Dreamcast "Ecco the Dolphin, Defender of the Future" where Tom Baker performed words he wrote.