Look at the way Spock is holding on to the back of Kirk's chair, possessively, while Kirk talks with the woman. Kirk is all business with the woman: he doesn't flirt with her. Look at the way Kirk *does not* specifically *ask* the woman or Spock for a backrub. Look at the way the woman just gets in there and starts on him without being asked, and the way ~Kirk assumes it must be Spock~.
The DIALOG is amazing! *Spock* asks what's wrong, not the woman. Kirk is *speaking to Spock* when he says "Kink in my back." He's speaking to Spock when he says, "...higher...push hard...really dig it in there...!" Holy cow! It's sounds like dialog for a porn film! LOL
Look at the woman. She automatically adopts this servile role and everything is fine until Kirk perfunctorily dismisses her. She seems a little annoyed that he doesn't seem more pleased. She starts to lecture him about needing rest and he interrupts her to shut her up. Kirk is obviously demonstrating that the woman means nothing to him. He doesn't smile at her before or after the backrub, and in fact is not even polite to her. It was highly presumptuous of her to put her hands on him like that without being invited...but if it had been Spock, that would have been different!
I marvel at this. My mind reels. Do you realize this means that Kirk sees nothing wrong with Spock volunteering a backrub on the bridge in full view of the rest of the bridge crew? Not only do they have an intimate relationship, but it is not even such a big secret....except to the yeoman, who's obviously a newbie around here.
Spock breaks the fourth wall to throw a look to the audience (us), as if to say, "Did you see that!?"
What follows is the best! The woman disappears, and Kirk and Spock have center stage. Look at Kirk's face! LOOK AT HIM! Look at *them*!
Once again, the threat of a woman getting between them has been repelled, and they are both as pleased as punch. This little scene represents the same drama that is enacted and reenacted in TOS several times.
1) Girl gets between Kirk and Spock 2) Girl gets kicked to the curb 3) Girl gone, Kirk and Spock happy together.
I'm sure you can think of several episodes that fit this pattern. :) What's hard to find is one episode that *doesn't* fit this pattern. :)
Much of what makes an episode or a scene seem slashy usually takes a keen eye and some imagination. You can't let yourself be distracted by red herrings. To my eyes Amok Time, Naked Time, Patterns of Force, Piece of the Action, This Side of Paradise (for example) are very slashy because of the very intense and intimate interactions between Kirk and Spock, featuring violent emotions or very weirdly playful shared behaviors that are not typical of men who are mere friends, but are typical of people who are passionate and playful with each other on a deeply intimate level.
City On The Edge, This Side of Paradise, All Our Yesterdays, and Requiem for Methuselah are slashy to me even though one of the guys is infatuated with a woman, because of the peculiar way the other is effected by it, or reacts to it.
1) City: Spock recognizes Kirk is getting involved with the woman and he stays out of Kirk's way, but as soon as he knows Edith must die he becomes very focused about managing Kirk's emotional involvement and influencing him to allow for her death. Outcome? Woman gone, Kirk and Spock more together than ever.
2) Paradise: Kirk recognizes that Spock is getting involved with the woman and he stays out of Spock's way, but as soon as he figures out a way to break the spell Spock is under he becomes very focused about influencing Spock's mood and actions. Outcome? Woman gone, Kirk and Spock more together than ever.
3) Yesterdays: Spock goes bats for a woman , but in the end when push comes to shove...Woman gone, Kirk and Spock more together than ever, with no regrets.
4) Requiem: Kirk goes bats for a "woman", but in the end Spock melds with Kirk to edit his memory of the infatuation. Woman gone and forgotten (so again, no regrets), and Kirk and Spock more together than ever.
Amok Time is especially weird because even though neither of the guys really want the woman and even though she doesn't really want either one of them, the guys end up fighting for their lives with each other because of her. In the end, woman gone, Kirk and Spock more together than ever, and everybody seems perfectly happy about this.
Patterns of Force is slashy to me in a very kinky way. Kirk dresses himself and Spock up like Nazis then Spock looks Kirk up and down admiringly and says, "You make a credible Nazi!" Later in the same ep they get whipped. During the whipping scene they several times are checking each other out pretty flagrantly. Next they are thrown into a cell together, and something extremely BDSMmy occurs that is IMHO one of the top slashiest scenes ever. Kirk volunteers to make himself furniture for Spock. Spock is invited to step up onto Kirk's tortured, well-whipped back to stomp around up there in his Nazi boots for a while, on the extremely flimsy pretext of enabling Spock to get a bit nearer to the cell light bulb. Spock ends up just kneeling there, which causes Jim trememdous pain, but actually gets Spock no nearer to the light than if he had just stood there and reached up. What's especially suggestive is the fact that Kirk could have clasped his hands and given Spock a boost up that way, but obviously that wouldn't have been as much fun.
Piece of the Action is similarly weird: Kirk forces a couple of gangsters out of their clothes at gunpoint, requires Spock to dress up in their clothes as a gangster, then encourages him to adopt the local lingo and mannerisms. This was not militarily necessary. Kirk insists on this apparently for the fun of it. "Hey Spock, let's play dress up and let's pretend!". What's slashy is Spock falls right into line. He is on the same bus right now. They didn't have the expected discussion about "Captain, what is the logic....etc." Are we just supposed to assume it's the logical thing to do? Well, it's not! For example, the hat doesn't hide Spock's ears, so this time we don't have that excuse. What is the excuse? None is given. It's not like they can pass, is it? Kirk doesn't even know how to drive a car, so it's obvious they are tourists, not locals. It's VERY OBVIOUS, but Kirk doesn't care, because blending in is not the issue. Kirk is having fun. That's the issue.
Kirk is having fun with Spock. They are playing together like a couple of big kids. They are playing things like:
"Let's pretend I'm a footstool and you step up on my back in your Nazi boots and stand on me and stuff. Go ahead! I don't mind! Yes, it hurts but no, I don't mind!"
"You know what, I kind of like it up here, I think I'll take my time!"
"Oh, ouch! I really don't know how much I can take! Maybe not too much longer!"
"Oh, OK, I'm finished."
"Oh good! That's great. Whew! Oh, hey, maybe you should get down now. Ouch. Ohh. Wow! That really smarts!"
Oh, yeah, that was really NOT SUBTLE. Is it canon though? Why, ~yes~, it IS!
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