Hmm… An episode about having the restoration of all of history as we know it riding on Kirk’s shoulders, even as it breaks his heart, versus one where telepathic and telekinetic beings force him to let a midget ride on his back.

The Kirk-Uhura kiss is a unique moment it TV history, but it comes from a rather mediocre and at times even embarrassing episode, whereas the scene at the end of CotEoF provides a fitting and amazing conclusion to a superiorly scripted and directed episode.

Apparently, Ellison’s original script had Kirk watching frozen in indesicion as someone else sees to doing the difficult act of letting her die. Good thing the production team on Trek had the wisdom to change that or Kirk’s character would have been compromised for the rest of the series. Just goes to show that sometimes even the best writers don’t make the best calls, and others can improve upon aspects of their work.