One of the things I love about TOS (in contrast to TNG, say) is that we get to see our heroes with warts and all. They're not politically correct perfect people.
That said, I'm concerned that the resolution to The White Iris, that past guilt made Kirk incapable of commanding, invalidates him from being in command. Learning and living with consequences of the past is part of what makes us who we are. As Kirk said in The Final Frontier "I need my pain". It's one thing to feel remorse for the sacrifices made in the past, but its another thing to be emotionally crippled by it.
Had it been made clear that the experimental drug McCoy gave him was responsible for the extreme response Kirk had, it would be acceptable. But there is no mention of that in the resolution. It's just Kirk dealing with guilt. So what other emotional problems is he hiding that could put everyone in jeopardy in the future?
It's the problem with Harlan Ellison's original ending for City on the Edge of Forever: it was beautiful, but it invalidated Kirk from being a strong commander.
π·π³ Bob the Builder and Hadji walk into a bar...
The beginning makes it clear that the head injury is in the area of the brain relating to emotions, its a quick line but it seems that a lot of "repressed" memories or ignored issues were all forced into the conscious brain at once due to the initial brain injury. The brain injury could have killed him; even after it was physically healed, the emotional response to the onslaught of memories forced to the surface continued. The physical injury caused the mental one; they both had to be dealt with; the first with the experimental drug; the second by a conscious acceptance of the memories and feelings.
So he had an injury that brought out debilitating emotional problems AFTER he was physically healed. I repeat: wouldn't this invalidate his ability to command?
For comparison, Ben Finney forgot to close a circuit once and couldn't command a starship.
π·π³ Bob the Builder and Hadji walk into a bar...
Absolutely. I mean, he was hallucinating, for goodness sakes.
Not to mention the consequent self absorption and the quest for resolution with some of the very things that make Kirk what he is.
They should ALL be up for discipline. McCoy lets him jump up and resume duty with no evaluation. Spock catches him hallucinating on the bridge. They all watch him fall apart at the crucial moment of activating the defense grid. And Kirk eventually goes off seeking advice with the councillor.
This may have been an attempt to show a vulnerable side of Kirk but in the process, makes him unfit for command and weakens Kirk as a character, invallidating his past experience. Somehow, trying to right a tragedy or tragedies is more of a fantasy notion than a laudable goal. Just doesn't sit right with me.
Imo to see how Kirk should be treated in a new Star Trek story, then the relevant background in prior Kirk stories has to be looked at. So, what happnened to Ben Finney does not apply to Kirk.
"White Iris" is partly a sequel to "Requiem for Methuselah". In that prior 3rd season episode; after Rayna helped to pursuade Flint to release the Enterprise, this should have led Kirk to return to his ship to provide an antedote to a plague. But instead Kirk fought Flint for the love of Rayna who is an android.
Kirk became unhinged in "Requiem for Methuselah". Here are some quotes.
MCCOY: Physically human but not human. These are earlier versions of Rayna, Jim. She's an android...
KIRK: Give me back my ship. Your secret is safe with us. (The model Enterprise disappears, and appears back in orbit)...
KIRK: Impossible? Impossible. From the beginning, you used me. I can't love her, but I do love her. And she loves me. FLINT: No! (They tussle) SPOCK: Captain, your primitive impulses will not alter the circumstances. KIRK: Stay out of this. We're fighting over a woman. SPOCK: No, you're not, for she is not...
KIRK: She's human. Down to the last blood cell, she's human. Down to the last thought, hope, aspiration, emotion, sheβs human. The human spirit is free. You have no power of ownership. She's free to do as she wishes. SPOCK: Gentlemen, I urge you to stop. There is a danger...
Kirk was ranting in "Requiem for Methuselah". He put his ship in further danger but his command team didn't try to take his command away. Instead Spock eventually did a mind meld to help Kirk forget the incident with Rayna.
* "The White Iris" claims that the mind meld did not fix Kirk's deeper mental problems as shown in Kirk's breakdown over Rayna in "Requiem for Methuselah". But in both stories, dispite Kirk's severe problems, his command team sticks with him.
It seems like it was the release of blocked memories that caused a lot of formerly subconscious issues to all come out of hiding, manifesting as hallucinations and visions. The head injury was in a specific area of the brain that centered on emotional memories or some such. The experimental drug seems to be a non factor. The failure of Spock's mind meld seems to be a bigger piece of the puzzle.
The thing I found most galling is that Kirk apparently created hologram programs of these women's last moments in which they absolved him. In other words, he worked through his guilt issues by creating a fantasy. How messed up is that?
That wasn't clear at all. It was implied that the women themselves (except for the young girl) were holographic projections.
But let's say you're right and that he was still interacting with hallucinations. That's just as messed up, because instead of coming to grips with the tough decisions he had to make, he instead conjured up a fantasy where these women completely absolved him. He "forgave" himself by imaging that the women forgave him. Basically, he went from denial to constructing a delusion that could fall apart at any time and again reduce him to an emotional wreck.
I thought it was pretty clear. He had been seeing them all over the place outside of the holodeck, even the little girl. The brain injury caused a release of emotionally charged / blocked memories (including the failing of Spock's mindmeld) which caused the visions, which presisted even after physical healing, once mentally released. As he came to terms with each scenario, the proper setting being supplied via the holodeck, the visions ceased.