Revealing mistake: In McCoy's video of the Capellans, the weapon thrown at the sapling actually misses it and nails a nearby bush instead. The tree, however, obediently breaks in half and falls over anyway. (00:00:20)
Deliberate mistake: When the decoyed Enterprise heads back to Capella, the special effects shot is reversed to indicate that it's going back in the other direction. Unfortunately, this gives us two brief shots of the ship with the registration numbers backwards. (00:37:40)
Continuity mistake: Mr. Sulu's equipment comes up to aid him at red alert, yet shortly after it is gone. (00:39:00 - 00:40:00)
Continuity mistake: Kirk's arrow strikes the Klingon in the knee. But a few shots later, the shaft is protruding from his thigh, several inches above its original position. Still later, he's holding one hand to his calf just below the knee, which isn't where the arrow was either time. (00:43:40)
Continuity mistake: When Kirk's arrow hits Kras it protrudes from his leg, but in the next wideshot as Kras screams and stumbles the arrow is quite gone from his leg, but three shots later the arrow is back in his leg while he tries to pull it out. (00:43:40)
Visible crew/equipment: After Kirk hits Kras with an arrow Spock's arrow hits a Capellan on the cliff, and when the Capellan falls into the bush, a crew member wearing sunglasses and a white T-shirt is visible at the left side of the screen. (00:43:50)
Continuity mistake: After Maab gives Eleen back her life and forfeits his own life, when Keel throws the kleegat and hits Kras he drops the phaser in the closeup, but in the next long shot the phaser is back up in the Klingon's (stuntman) right hand. (00:45:50)
Continuity mistake: When the Klingon shoots Maab with a hand phaser, the beam is yellow as he fires, but red when it strikes Maab. (00:46:00)
Continuity mistake: The Klingon is standing on a hillside above Maab, yet when he fires his phaser, the beam streaks upward. From that angle, he wouldn't have hit anything but sky. Nevertheless, the beam somehow re-angles itself downward so that it hits and kills Maab. (00:46:05)
Continuity mistake: Before the Capellans reach him, the Klingon's body moves into a completely different position, and to a different spot on the ground, than it was in when he first fell. (00:46:10)
Continuity mistake: During the coup attempt, one Capellan fights with the leader and gets stabbed. Before and after he is stabbed, the man's outfit changes entirely (look at the fur scarf, which goes from purple to orange.) His costume also changes color.
Continuity mistake: In a wide shot of the Capellons and the Klingon walking down the hill, the Klingon trips and falls to the ground and picks himself up. Next shot, tight group with Klingon, he is suddenly brushing off his pants.
Suggested correction: After Kras falls, the next shot you see him still on the ground and starting to stand up, although Maab blocks the view of him. The shot cuts to the rocks and then when it cuts back, you see Kras walk up and stand next to Maab, then he starts to dust himself off.
Suggested correction: Why would he not be doing that in the next shot? There is no continuity issue.
Revealing mistake: In the tent after Kirk and friends give up their weapons, there is a small fire in the holder in the center of the room. Although the flames are slightly off center to the camera's left, the are projections of flame light from off the camera's right offscreen.
Revealing mistake: When the delegation of locals approach Kirk's party, the Red-shirt yells "KLINGON!" and goes to fire. As he moves, you can see the outline of the block the alien weapon will stick in.
Continuity mistake: The aging Kirk's hairline has receded considerably. When he ages still more and goes completely gray, however, the receding process inexplicably reverses itself, and he suddenly has much more hair on his forehead than before. (00:34:35 - 00:43:55)
Continuity mistake: Mr Checkov has a rather unfortunate hair styling during the beginning of his role in Season 2. In this episode his hair is normal until the end, where in between being given an order and carrying it out he somehow manages to go and have his hair professionally done and made all bouffant. (00:47:15)
Continuity mistake: The Romulan vessels fire plasma weapons (as seen in "Balance of Terror"), but when they hit the Enterprise they become photon torpedoes.
Factual error: As Kirk, McKoy and Scottie age during the episode, their hair goes from brown to fully grey. Mr. Spock shows this to a lesser extent, but by the end of the episode, he has full streaks of grey. This isn't how grey hair works. It starts from the root and works it way outward over time to the end of the strand. Unless their hair is growing quite rapidly, and then cut to keep it short, they shouldn't have full heads of grey hair.
Audio problem: As Commodore Stocker freezes up on the bridge, before the cut to sick bay, the bridge is shaken by a Romulan blast, but the sound is absent.
Visible crew/equipment: After Garrovick is relieved of his duties, Kirk tells McCoy and Spock to make comments and recommendations in their reports, then Garrovick returns to his quarters. Just as Kirk exits the turbo lift on the bridge, the boom mic is visible at the top, left side of the screen. Then when Kirk apologizes to Scotty, in the next wide shot two pieces of filming equipment are visible at the top of the screen. (00:17:20)
