In this offbeat episode, aliens change venue from giant spheres to crewmember bodies. Most of this episode lacks the action feel of many of its neighbors; it has an operatic, schmaltzy feel more akin to Metamorphosis or several 3rd season shows. Yet, I actually feel the episode takes a turn for the worse when the plot takes several predictably threatening turns. The action and drama are turned up, but at the expense of some of the episode's uniqueness; it becomes just another Enterprise in danger episode. It might not have been so bad to have the occasional feel-good show in which an interaction with aliens was synergistic from the get go.

Tidbit: This episode must beat out Spectre of the Gun for the 'longest teaser' award. Doohan, as was so often the case, played the voice of Sargon here. Muldaur would reappear in the superior Is There in Truth No Beauty?, as well as on The Next Generation.