The Enterprise visits a Planet M-113. The planet is abandoned with the exception of Dr. Robert Crater and his wife Nancy. Captain Kirk, Dr. McCoy, and Crewman Darnell beam down. Doctor McCoy is there to conduct a medical examination of the Craters. Darnell turns up dead before McCoy can complete his examination of Robert Crater or begin his examination of Nancy Crater.
Nancy thinks that Darnell died from ingesting a local plant but McCoy's autopsy says otherwise. Two more crewmen beam down to investigate and turn up dead. Nancy, or something disguised as Nancy is the culprit. The creature changes its appearance and gets aboard the Enterprise disguised as one of the dead crewmen whose body has yet to be found.
It takes some time for Captain Kirk and the others to discover that the creature is aboard the Enterprise. Kirk and Spock return to the planet's surface and ask Doctor Crater for his help. He is reluctant and armed. They subdue Crater by force and bring him aboard the Enterprise. He tells them about the creature and reveals that Nancy has been dead for over a year. He refuses to help them deal with the creature.
Kirk and Spock are getting ready to use force once again to get Crater to help them when the creature, disguised as Doctor McCoy, strikes once again injuring Mr. Spock and killing Doctor Crater.
Thoughts
There is one aspect of the creature that manifests early in the episode but not later on. It appears differently to all three members of the initial landing party. They never really explore why that is and it isn't discussed later in the episode.
I've seen this episode before but it has probably been at least a couple decades, possibly more, since I last saw it. I found it to be better than I remembered it to be. It was quite good and definitely worth my time.
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