86: Pandora's Stasis Chamber

Good vs. Evil in Star Trek.  

We generally understand the meaning of "good," whether in the sense of following the rules or in the sense of minimizing the suffering of others. But, paradoxically, we understand the nature of "evil" to a far lesser degree. While Star Trek tends to shy away from making strict moral judgments, opting instead to humanize its villains by explaining the psychological motivations for their actions or the roots of those actions in past experiences, Star Trek does, however, explore the nature of evil in characters such as Armus from "Skin of Evil" (Star Trek: The Next Generation), the Borg Queen (Star Trek: First Contact; Star Trek: Voyager), and the Pah-Wraiths (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine).  

In this episode of Meta Treks, hosts Mike Morrison and Zachary Fruhling discuss "good versus evil" in the Star Trek universe. Are these supposedly evil characters are truly evil, or are they off the hook because of their backgrounds and their respective sob stories?  

Chapters 
Intro (00:01:19) 
Initial Thoughts on Good and Evil (00:03:17) 
Pah-Wraiths and Evil in DS9 (00:08:43) 
False Dichotomies and Defining Characteristics of Evil (00:11:25) 
Enter Armus from "Skin of Evil" (00:18:09) 
Comparing Evil in Star Trek to Evil in Theology (00:28:52) 
The Borg as a Candidate for Evil (00:38:00) 
The Borg Queen vs. The Pah-Wraiths (00:50:39) 
Nietzsche and the Judaeo Concept of Evil (00:56:41) 
Khaaaan! (01:05:51) 
Final Thoughts (01:13:52) 
Closing (01:27:02)  

Hosts 
Mike Morrison and Zachary Fruhling  

Production 
Mike Morrison (Editor) Zachary Fruhling (Producer) C Bryan Jones (Executive Producer) Matthew Rushing (Executive Producer) Ken Tripp (Executive Producer) Patrick Devlin (Associate Producer) Kay Shaw (Associate Producer) Mark Walker (Associate Producer) Norman C. Lao (Associate Producer) Richard Marquez (Production Manager) Brandon-Shea Mutala (Patreon Manager)