Two Boonesborough settlers are assaulted and robbed by what they claim is a "Black Indian." Daniel and Gideon (Don Pedro Colley, in his second guest turn) set off in pursuit. They apprehend Luke, who claims to be a runaway slave who lived with the Choctaw for a time. But Gideon and Daniel are conflicted over how to deal with the fugitive.
This week's installment, aired close to Election Day 1968 as a year of national turmoil headed to its close, moves DB closer to the social-issue-of-the-week model "Star Trek: TOS" pioneered. Kotto, at the onset of a film and TV career most notable for "Homicide" in the 1990's, does a fair turn as a purported angry ex-slave driven to violence by the plantation murder of his wife. Much of the hour is a slow reveal as Dan and Gideon try to deduce the truth behind Luke's story.
As a television artifact, the episode is notable as an early network effort to feature multiple African-American guest stars. Parker steps back enough (for good reason other than wanting a lighter load) to let them have some defining screen time. Kotto would have been a bit more believable if he had not had a Great Plains buffalo horn ceremonial headgear inflicted upon him at the opening, a ridiculous adornment for anyone moving around 18th-century Kentucky.
Colley and Kotto set up the constitutional reform v. John Brown approach to the slavery issue that would define the 1850's, but the elaborateness of the topic's presentation is clearly a 1960's sensibility overlaid in a historically fanciful manner onto 18th century Kentucky. An admirable attempt to broaden the series' scope, but one that lacks action and a more satisfying resolution.
