Khan Retcons Marla McGivers’ Story In The Original Series

Warning: SPOILERS For Star Trek: Khan Episode 2 – “”Scheherazade”You’ll never watch Star Trek: The Original Series‘ “Space Seed” the same way again after Star Trek: Khan episode 2. Starring Naveen Andrews as Khan Noonien Singh and Wrenn Schmidt as Marla McGivers, Star Trek: Khan is a dramatic narrative podcast revealing what happened to Khan and his followers on Ceti Alpha V.

Star Trek: Khan episode 2, “Scheherazade,” sees Khan lead members of his genetically engineered flock on a fateful hunting party. Along with battling giant wild boars, Ceti-dactyls, and their first encounter with the deadly Ceti eels, Khan and Marla speak directly and honestly about what happened when Khan tried to hijack the USS Enterprise.

Star Trek: The Original Series season 1‘s “Space Seed” focused on the conflict between Khan (Ricardo Montalban) and Captain James T. Kirk (William Shatner). Lt. Marla McGivers (Madlyn Rue) was caught in the middle between her Starfleet duty and her infatuation with Khan.

However, Star Trek: Khan finally delves into Lt. Marla McGivers’ side of “Space Seed,” why she chose to side with Khan, and the reason Marla decided to go to Ceti Alpha V and join in Khan’s exile.

Star Trek: Khan Finally Tells Lt. Marla McGivers’ Side Of TOS’ “Space Seed”

Star Trek: Khan episode 2 reveals why Lt. Marla McGivers joined Khan in Star Trek: The Original Series’ “Space Seed.” Marla confesses to Khan that her life on the USS Enterprise as ship’s historian was “a prison,” where she didn’t socialize and remained lost in her histories because she was rarely needed.

Marla knew, correctly, that Captain Kirk barely knew who she was before Lt. McGivers was summoned to join the landing party on Khan’s ship, the Botany Bay. Marla was attracted to Khan as a dynamic and powerful figure come to life, but as Khan asserted his power and tried to take over the Starship Enterprise, McGivers realized she didn’t truly know Khan.

Yet the reason why Marla chose to join Khan on Ceti Alpha V wasn’t because she was hopelessly in love with him, but it was to find a freedom she’d never known. If she accepted a Starfleet court-marital, Lt. McGivers would have traded her “prison” on the USS Enterprise for an actual prison.

On Ceti Alpha V, Marla can record Khan’s efforts to build a new world, a new empire, for his people. Star Trek: Khan reveals Marla and Khan aren’t star-crossed lovers. Rather, they are realists who see hope and potential in each other, and are carefully exploring whether it can become genuine love between the historian and the augment conqueror.

Marla McGivers Is Star Trek: Khan’s Best Redemption Story

Star Trek: Khan shows the many facets of Khan, revealing the innate nobility and depth of character that Captain Kirk didn’t see in his greatest adversary, but the podcast story’s true redemption belongs to Marla McGivers.

In Star Trek: The Original Series, Marla McGivers was a relatively passive character, torn between her loyalty to Starfleet and her infatuation with Khan. Marla’s depiction was typical of “the woman” in a 1960s narrative. Although there were hints of Marla’s true character, Star Trek was always more interested in Kirk vs. Khan.

In only two episodes so far, Star Trek: Khan has given Marla McGivers the agency she has waited nearly 60 years for. McGivers is independent, strong-willed, and she challenges Khan at the risk of displeasing the warlord.

As the only human on Ceti Alpha V, Marla endures a shunning by Khan’s augment followers. McGivers is also, understandably, horrified when she is told that Khan sees her as his “Plan B,” if his female followers can’t solve the problem that they were genetically engineered to be unable to have children.

Star Trek: Khan has many characters, but Marla McGivers emerges as a complete individual, whose intelligence, desire, resiliency, and courage are fully displayed for the first time.

Watching Star Trek: The Original Series‘ “Space Seed” with Star Trek: Khan’s retconned context of who Marla McGivers truly is and why she sided with Khan against Captain Kirk, but still fought to save Kirk and the Enterprise, makes Khan’s first appearance a brand-new and better experience.

Release Date

1966 – 1969-00-00

Showrunner

Gene Roddenberry

Directors

Marc Daniels, Joseph Pevney, Ralph Senensky, Vincent McEveety, Herb Wallerstein, Jud Taylor, Marvin J. Chomsky, David Alexander, Gerd Oswald, Herschel Daugherty, James Goldstone, Robert Butler, Anton Leader, Gene Nelson, Harvey Hart, Herbert Kenwith, James Komack, John Erman, John Newland, Joseph Sargent, Lawrence Dobkin, Leo Penn, Michael O’Herlihy, Murray Golden

Writers

D.C. Fontana, Jerome Bixby, Arthur Heinemann, David Gerrold, Jerry Sohl, Oliver Crawford, Robert Bloch, David P. Harmon, Don Ingalls, Paul Schneider, Shimon Wincelberg, Steven W. Carabatsos, Theodore Sturgeon, Jean Lisette Aroeste, Art Wallace, Adrian Spies, Barry Trivers, Don Mankiewicz, Edward J. Lakso, Fredric Brown, George Clayton Johnson, George F. Slavin, Gilbert Ralston, Harlan Ellison