From 6am to 6pm a town/planet under investigation lives in vapid contentment. The other twelve hours are called the Red Hour or the Festival and everyone goes ape sh-t. A large, select group of the population is controlled by a hive-mind apparatus that does not allow for freedom of individual thought.
Questions arise.
Why — when the Festival ends — does the daughter of one of the few free-thinkers have sense enough to be upset about her behavior and the behavior of others (though the others clearly have no memory of their actions)? Was throwing herself at Kirk for a whole five seconds twelve hours ago really that bad? Doubtful. Did McCoy follow up after giving her the sedative? We can only hope. What about the one-off ensign guy who was the only person openly worried about this one-off anomaly chick? Doubtless.
Mark you the lady in despair
who yesterday did walk at rest?
See how she now tears at her hair
like one who is by shame possessed?
She kept the as well as most,
in humble kindness acted host;
it is the dusk that strikes the trade,
until the dawn can spare the maid.
By cost of madness came this peace
of blindest faith in blinder lord
who heartless knowledge kept accord.
The lady weeps to see release
and see a night pass gently by,
and see a night pass gently by.
Also, Kirk managed to out-logic a computer? I’m barely okay with his apparently being better at chess than Spock and now this? Come on!