The darkest line uttered by Captain James T. Kirk (William Shatner) set up the character's final, and greatest Star Trek lesson. In Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country, Kirk and the crew of the USS Enterprise-A were tasked with hosting Klingon Chancellor Gorkon (David Warner) and delivering him to important peace talks back on Earth. When Gorkon was assassinated, Kirk and Doctor Leonard McCoy (DeForest Kelley) were framed for the political assassination, with Kirk's hatred of the Klingons being cited as his motive.
Released in 1991, Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country brought the Star Trek: The Original Series era to an ending that tapped into the geopolitical situation following the end of the Cold War. The conflict between Starfleet and the Klingon Empire was always an analog for the real-world conflict between the United States and the Soviet Union. As a Starfleet officer who only knew conflict with the Klingon Empire, it was vital for Kirk to be the character that confronted his own prejudice in Star Trek VI.
