Why did Captain Kirk kill his friend Gary Mitchell in Star Trek: The Original Series? Reasons explored

Captain Kirk in Star Trek is known for being a level-headed leader who makes decisions upon tactical and emotional reflection. In Star Trek: The Original Series Season 1 Episode 3 titled Where No Man Has Gone Before, Captain Kirk ignores his emotional conflict by killing his friend and fellow crew member Gary Mitchell to save his ship.

In Where No Man Has Gone Before, the USS Enterprise comes across a space energy barrier as they are leaving the galaxy. The barrier damages the ship, killing crew members on board, and giving Gary Mitchell and Dr. Elizabeth Dehner unknown telekinetic powers. A silver-eyed Gary displays psychic abilities making him feel ‘god-like’ as he looks down on the other crew members. Kirk who realizes the dangers of it, decides to abandon his friend for the sake of the greater good.

Where No Man Has Gone Before was the second pilot produced after the unaired pilot episode titled The Cage. However, during its run, it was the third episode to be aired on NBC in 1966. In the episode, we see Gary Lockwood as Gary Mitchell, William Shatner as Captain Kirk, Sally Kellerman as Dr. Elizabeth Dehner, and Leonard Nimoy as Mr. Spock.

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Who was Gary Mitchell?

Lieutenant Gary Mitchell was the Helmsman of the USS Enterprise. Mitchell and James T. Kirk met first during their time at the Starfleet Academy. They formed a deep friendship when were cadets. As per StarTrek.com Gary Mitchell describes Kirk from his Academy days,

‘…Stack of books with legs….The first thing I ever heard from an upperclassman was, ‘Watch out for Lieutenant Kirk. In his class, you either think or sink.’’

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What happened to Gary Mitchell?

In Where No Man Has Gone Before, the USS Enterprise receives an emergency transmitter from SS Valiant, a vessel that went missing two centuries ago. While examining the data from the Valiant ship, they came upon a piece of information wherein the crew was searching for data on ESP or Extrasensory Perception. Many of the crew members on Valliant get killed. The Enterprise crew are befuddled to learn that the captain of the Valiant ordered the self-destruction of the ship.

Meanwhile, the Enterprise crosses an energy force field at the edge of the Galaxy. The force disrupts the ship’s warp drive, kills a few crew members, and knocks Lt. Gary Mitchell and Dr. Elizabeth Dehner unconscious. Mitchell and Dehner were recorded to have high ESP ratings.

When Captain Kirk visits the sickbay, Mitchell displays annoyance and hostility towards his friend. Mitchell’s eyes are now silvery and he is able to control instruments on the ship using his mind. He displays abilities to gain knowledge rapidly, telepathy, telekinesis, and manipulation of matter.

Kirk realizes that the force field has altered Mitchell’s personality, making him more cruel and distant. Spock gets increasingly concerned with Mitchell’s 'god-like' power and believes that it could lead to unforeseen catastrophes that endanger the Valiant as well.

Spock informs Kirk that he could either kill Mitchell or leave him on the planet Delta Vega. Kirk is hesitant to harm his friend and decides to desert him on the planet instead. Dehner’s powers start to surface as well, who in turn helps Mitchell.

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Captain Kirk kills Lt. Gary Mitchell

Mitchell’s powers get stronger and Dehner’s role in helping him becomes clear. Kirk tries to make Dehner understand that Mitchell is not God and that his intentions are not all good. When Mitchell tries to kill Kirk, Dehner realizes that Kirk is right and turns on Mitchell.

Mitchell makes Kirk kneel before him and pray to him as if he were a real God. Mitchell even has a grave and tomb ready for Kirk. Dehner stuns Mitchell and Kirk uses his phaser to cause a hillside top to collapse on Kirk, burying him inside the grave. Dehner also dies in the scene.

Once Captain Kirk is back on the ship, he appears to be reeling from the guilt of having killed his friend. He is aware that Mitchell acted out of character because of the psychic powers that he did not ask for. Kirk leaves a record on the log where he mentions that Mitchell and Dehner were killed while performing their duties.

Star Trek: The Original Series was a space adventure series created by Gene Roddenberry. The NBC show ran for three seasons between 1966 and 1969. Despite getting canceled owing to low ratings, the series went on to acquire a loyal fan following. The Star Trek universe expanded to a more profitable franchise with comics, animated series, films, and spin-off shows.

ALSO READ: Star Trek: Interesting facts about the iconic USS Enterprise

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