“The Gamesters of Triskelion” (season 2, episode 16)
“The Gamesters of Triskelion” is most famous for its above-average amount of brains in jars, the amount of time Captain Kirk goes shirtless, and guest star Angelique Pettyjohn.
Lieutenant Uhura, Ensign Chekov, and the captain are supposed to beam down to Gamma Two, an automated communications and astrogation station. Instead, they end up on the planet Triskelion, where the Providers (the aforementioned brains in jars) enslave them and force them to fight as gladiators against “drill thralls.”
Kirk’s strategic seduction of his thrall, Shahna (Pettyjohn’s character), gets most of the screen time. The most dramatic moment involving Uhura occurs when her thrall, Lars (Steve Sandor), physically assaults her. We see the attack only in shadows cast on a cave wall, but it’s still a disturbing moment (as you can see for yourself in the video above).
On the other hand, Uhura does hold her own as a fighter the arena on Triskelion. The vampire-like master thrall Galt (Joseph Ruskin) told her, “Your spirit is as great as the captain’s”—no small compliment. She also refuses to strike another thrall as a “practice target.” When Galt warns her that refusal is not allowed, she replies, “I don’t care whether it’s allowed or not—I will not do it.”
While not one of Star Trek’s strongest stories, “The Gamesters of Triskelion” still emerges as an away mission in which we see the strength, courage, and moral compass of Lieutenant Uhura.