I have to admit that this is one of my favorite episodes of the entire series.
One aspect of the plot is something we've seen many times before. Some planet/race has requested membership to the Federation, and the Enterprise is sent to evaluate and report on their findings.
But a wrench is thrown into the process when a prisoner escapes from a lunar prison facility, and the government request the Enterprise's help in re-capturing him. With some difficulty, they do so. Only now they find that the prisoner, a veteran of a previous war, had committed no crimes, and was sent to prison only because he was now considered by the citizens of his home world as now simply being undesirable to be allowed to return to normal society.
A particularly great twist in the plot is that, after so many times before we've seen the Prime Directive take a back-seat to the desire of the crew to help other cultures, we now get to see it used to keep the Federation out from interfering with situation that the native government has brought upon itself.
And a most deservedly so situation it is!
One aspect of the plot is something we've seen many times before. Some planet/race has requested membership to the Federation, and the Enterprise is sent to evaluate and report on their findings.
But a wrench is thrown into the process when a prisoner escapes from a lunar prison facility, and the government request the Enterprise's help in re-capturing him. With some difficulty, they do so. Only now they find that the prisoner, a veteran of a previous war, had committed no crimes, and was sent to prison only because he was now considered by the citizens of his home world as now simply being undesirable to be allowed to return to normal society.
A particularly great twist in the plot is that, after so many times before we've seen the Prime Directive take a back-seat to the desire of the crew to help other cultures, we now get to see it used to keep the Federation out from interfering with situation that the native government has brought upon itself.
And a most deservedly so situation it is!