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Trust Doesn’t Rust is one of the most legendary episodes of the series because it finally pits Michael and KITT against a worthy opponent—one who also happens to be among the show’s most memorable villains: KARR. Essentially KITT’s evil twin brother. That premise sounds like pure soap opera on paper, but in execution it never feels that way.
The Plot
When two bumbling thieves accidentally reactivate KARR, the prototype for KITT that was deemed too dangerous to remain operational, Michael and the Knight Foundation are suddenly faced with an enemy unlike any they’ve encountered before. Nearly identical to KITT in both appearance and abilities, KARR quickly proves to be a ruthless and highly intelligent adversary with only one directive: self-preservation at any cost. As KARR embarks on a crime spree and kidnaps Bonnie to repair his damaged systems, Michael and KITT must confront the unsettling reality that they are up against an equal—one capable of exploiting KITT’s very own weaknesses. The result is an unforgettable showdown between two supercars in one of Knight Rider‘s most iconic episodes.
My thoughts
Trust Doesn’t Rust is such a legendary episode that the concept of KITT versus KARR proved strong enough to bring the character back for another appearance later in the series—and even for the short-lived 2008 Knight Rider reboot. That’s a testament to just how effective KARR’s introduction is.
KARR is almost a carbon copy of KITT, only lacking some of the gadgets Bonnie has added to KITT throughout the season. Since most of those upgrades are one-off episode gimmicks anyway, none of them really come into play here. What we’re left with is exactly what fans wanted: a battle between two equally matched supercars.
Aesthetically, KARR sports the equalizer-style voice box that KITT himself would later adopt, while his voicebox light glows green instead of red. Other than that, the two cars are virtually identical on the outside—a fact that the episode cleverly uses as part of its plot.
That would change by KARR’s second appearance, but here he’s essentially KITT with a different driver behind the wheel. What truly sets him apart is his personality. KARR is ruthless, selfish, and driven by self-preservation above all else. He’s also voiced by Peter Cullen, delivering an appropriately sinister performance years before becoming the iconic voice of Optimus Prime. Yes, Optimus Prime himself is the voice of KARR, and Cullen brings so much character to the role that KARR feels like a fully realized villain despite having barely twenty minutes of screen time.
This episode also cements the relationship between KITT and Michael. When Michael calls him “buddy” in the epilogue, you can really feel that he means it. These two aren’t just partners anymore—they’re friends in every sense of the word. Prior to this episode, their relationship mostly revolved around teasing each other, especially KITT dunking on Michael with his trademark dry observations. Here, however, there’s a genuine sense of camaraderie between them.
The episode also gives KITT something he rarely gets to show: insecurity. Despite constantly insisting that he is incapable of emotions or feelings, he’s quick to point out that he considers himself the newer and improved model when asked how it feels not to be one of a kind anymore. For someone who claims to be purely logical, that’s a surprisingly emotional response.
Ironically, KARR suffers from the exact same insecurity. He repeatedly dismisses KITT as nothing more than an inferior assembly-line production model, revealing that beneath his ruthless exterior he is equally concerned with proving his own superiority. It’s a nice bit of character work that turns what could have been a simple evil twin storyline into something more interesting—a clash between two machines that both insist they have no feelings while behaving very much as if they do.
I also like the direction in this episode. There are some genuinely interesting shots here, like the moment Michael is lying on the ground surrounded by police officers. You can really tell that director Paul Stanley put some effort into making this episode look a little more cinematic, whereas it could just as easily have been shot in the show’s usual, straightforward television style.
The side plot involving the two bums who stumble upon KARR and use him to rob banks is amusing, but it’s also one of the episode’s weaker elements. Fortunately, the central premise of KITT finally meeting his match more than makes up for it. It introduces something that would become a recurring staple of the series: KITT isn’t nearly as indestructible as we had been led to believe.
In previous episodes, whenever someone managed to get inside KITT, it usually meant they were out of harm’s way. The biggest threats tended to be external—missiles, rockets, or some other over-the-top weapon aimed at him. Here, however, there’s actual tension during the climactic showdown. KITT and KARR play a deadly game of chicken in which a collision could very well destroy them both. For the first time, KITT himself feels vulnerable, and that’s really good stuff.
Trust Doesn’t Rust is a great Knight Rider episode that perfectly balances humor, excitement, and character development while introducing one of the show’s greatest villains. This is the kind of episode that will inevitably find its way onto just about every Knight Rider top ten list. It’s probably too soon to say for certain, but I have a feeling it’s already earned a spot on mine.
Knight Rider tropes
KITT Shenanigans
KITT doesn’t get to fool around much in this episode—it’s all dead serious business for him. KARR, on the other hand, gets to help two bums make easy money by robbing banks and comes across as an amusing mix of socially inept and overly literal. He takes almost everything that’s said to him at face value, which leads to some genuinely funny moments.
Damsel in Distress
This episode skips the obligatory weekly beauty for Michael to woo and rescue. Instead, Bonnie herself becomes the damsel in distress when KARR and his two human accomplices kidnap her to perform a diagnostic checkup after years of being deactivated.
Child in Peril
There’s a chase between KITT and KARR through busy streets and even a public park, forcing KITT to call off his pursuit for the safety of pedestrians. Other than that, no children are featured in the episode and, consequently, none are placed in peril.
Michael’s Undercover Identity
There isn’t one in this episode.
The Villains
This episode is all about the villains—one in particular. I’ve already said plenty about KARR, who ranks among the very best villains in the entire series.
KARR is awakened from his deactivated state by two hapless thieves who break into a Knight Foundation facility. They’re simple goons who actually reminded me of the car thieves from the pilot episode. It would’ve been a nice bit of continuity if those same crooks had stumbled upon yet another talking supercar, only to have history repeat itself. But this is episodic 1980s television we’re talking about. Back then, writers couldn’t assume viewers would remember one-off characters from months earlier unless the episode explicitly reminded them.
Notable Gadgets
Apparently, KARR’s Achilles’ heel is his scanner—and by extension, KITT’s as well. Much of the episode revolves around calibrating a laser that Bonnie uses to target KARR’s scanner from KITT. Since the laser isn’t actually mounted on KITT himself, I wouldn’t really count it as one of the show’s notable gadgets in the traditional sense.
Memorable Guest Stars
Peter Cullen shines as the voice of KARR. Alongside Frank Welker, he’s responsible for voicing what feels like half of the cartoons from the 1980s and 1990s—and remarkably, he’s still actively working today.
Random Observations
When KARR drives off the cliff, it’s painfully obvious that the car tumbling down isn’t a black Pontiac Trans Am, making me fairly certain the production used stock footage or whatever stunt footage they had available.
KITT actually mentions that both he and KARR are Trans Ams, which is somewhat surprising considering they’re supposed to be highly customized, one-of-a-kind vehicles.
In Knight of the Phoenix, Michael Long drives a black Pontiac Trans Am before receiving his new identity as Michael Knight, and it’s explicitly stated that KITT was deliberately designed to resemble his old car. From that perspective, it doesn’t really make sense for KARR—a prototype that predates KITT—to also be a Trans Am. It’s one of those continuity hiccups that’s best not thought about too much.
KARR’s equalizer-style voice box is considerably cooler than KITT’s simple red light. KITT would eventually receive a similar voice box later in the series, but since KARR is the prototype, shouldn’t it have been the other way around? Why did FLAG decide to downgrade KITT’s appearance when building the supposedly superior production model?
In one shot, KARR inexplicably sports the star pattern KITT had during Slammin’ Sammy’s Stunt Show Spectacular. It’s such an obvious continuity error that it’s hard not to wonder how it slipped through production.
