“I consider this episode one of Trek’s finest, but it does get bogged down a bit in its attempt to make Miranda acknowledge her own ‘unwomanliness,’ in a scene in which Kirk shakes her into her apparent submission. Yet, despite this scene, one is chiefly left with the impression of a shockingly, intransigently modern woman bruising her head against the enforced limitations of her sex…
“When Miranda departs, she and Spock exchange compliments, this exchange has a philosophical character, Spock invoking the Vulcan credo IDIC: infinite diversity in infinite combinations. This episode allows a woman to join in the historically male tradition of rational discourse. A woman who rejects compulsory heterosexuality, ambitiously fights for her career, and participates in philosophical discourse, Miranda is a bracingly non-standard character.”
– David Greven in Gender and Sexuality in Star Trek: Allegories of Desire in the Television Series and Films (2009).
