Deep Space Nine 3x2 "The Search, Part 2"

rating: ****

the story: Odo learns who and what his people the Founders really are, while Sisko experiences what a Federation/Dominion alliance would look like.

what it's all about: "The Search, Part 2" is part deconstruction (the station crew and mission are dissected piece by piece) and character study (Odo discovers for the first time the true joy of being a shapeshifter), and it works brilliantly. 

As a continuation of its predecessor, the episode is a lot like "The Best of Both Worlds," the iconic Next Generation two-part thriller involving the showdown with the Borg: the second half of the story explores an unexpected way to conclude something sensational.  Part of it might be easy to dismiss in hindsight as a "reset button," because the Federation/Dominion alliance doesn't really happen in anything other than the minds of Sisko and his command crew, but evokes real emotion, the most emotion Sisko has exhibited all series.  It's downright spine-tingling when he unloads on Admiral Nechayev on his feelings about what's been happening, a stark contrast to the vaguely unsettling tension he showed toward Picard in the first episode of the series, "Emissary." 

It's worth noting that for as many appearances as she made across Deep Space Nine and Next Generation, Nechayev never has a better showing than in "The Search, Part 2."  She was always a proud member of the Bad Admirals club, which Deep Space Nine would finally break with Admiral Ross later in the series, but this whole scenario is a perfect representation of the compromised, almost political nature of the rank, and why it so often produced this type of character.  It doesn't hurt that Natalija Nogulich always seemed so deliciously pleased with herself playing Nechayev, which itself kind of informs the later recurring character of Weyoun, and not to mention Dukat.

But the biggest news of the episode is that not only has Odo finally found home, but his people are the bad guys!  He and Kira (and as of this episode they're officially on their way to becoming a romantic couple) have a hard time reconciling his elation with the realities of the situation, but in the end, it is what it is, and the Founders are in fact the leaders of the Dominion, which will put Odo in a lot of compromising situations as the series progresses.

It's almost easy to overlook how important this development is, because it's by far the less sensational, and in fact almost numbingly mundane, half of the episode, but for those keeping score, it's ultimately hard to ignore. 

The whole thing is what the remainder of the series looks like in a nutshell.

criteria analysis:

• franchise - This is what it looks like when a story comes together in Star Trek.
• series - This is what the Dominion in its totality looks like.
• character - Whether Odo, Kira, Sisko, or even Nechayev, this episode's got them all covered.
• essential - Do you really need to ask?

notable guest-stars:
Salome Jens (Female Shapeshifter)
Andrew Robinson (Garak)
Ken Marshall (Eddington)
Natalija Nogulich (Nechayev)
Martha Hackett

Deep Space Nine 2x21 "The Maquis, Part 2"

rating: **

the story: Sisko and company must figure out how to resolve the crisis once they realize his friend wasn't lying about the Cardassians.

what it's all about: "Maquis, Part 2" kind of proves that this was Deep Space Nine still not entirely sure how to tell multipart episodes, which was what the ambitious three-parter at the start of the season had already suggested.  While it's absolutely true that later in the series this was no problem at all (as soon as the two-part third season opener, in fact, plus the couple other two-parters from that season).

The problem here is that it's a story that was unnecessarily stretched out, the idea being to make it more of a dramatic event than it really warranted.  In fact, in hindsight it probably would've been far better just to concentrate on Dukat's participation and downplay the role of Sisko's friend, the defecting Starfleet officer who could never hope to contend with Ro Laren over in Next Generation's "Preemptive Strike."

You can tell there was some effort at emphasizing the importance of the story when frequent Star Trek guest actor John Schuck is cast, and Admiral Nechayev makes an appearance.  But neither is enough to salvage an episode that instantly loses all its relevance to the series when everything about it is done infinitely better later on.

But the one redemptive element is actually pretty cool of the season: It's kind of the apology to the earlier "Sanctuary," which completely botched an analogy of the State of Israel.  If you think about it, the Maquis are an analogy of Israel, too, and it's really "The Maquis, Part 2" that makes that clear, especially with the Cardassians being caught playing dirty against them.

criteria analysis:

• franchise - Concluding the story that helps launch Voyager makes it at least noteworthy.
• series - It improves at least one thing, from earlier in the season, which is a good thing.
• character - Not especially relevant to any of the characters, though.
• essential - If the episode had known what I read into it above, I think it would've been better, but I'm not sure it did.

notable guest-stars:
Marc Alaimo (Dukat)
Natalija Nogulich (Nechayev)
John Schuck

The Next Generation 7x24 "Preemptive Strike"

rating: ****

the story: Ro goes rogue, joins the Maquis.

what it's all about: It's really astonishing that fans later totally misunderstood the Maquis in Voyager when the whole concept was plainly laid out here in "Preemptive Strike" (as well as the less successful two-part "The Maquis" in Deep Space Nine), with a beloved character like Ro Laren helping explain it.

Ro was one of the best characters in Next Generation, but aside from her equally brilliant debut ("Ensign Ro"), the series more often than not totally blew her potential, so it's not surprising that Michelle Forbes gradually lost interest the character, and flat-out refused to continue playing her in Deep Space Nine (Major Kira was created to replace her, which actually worked out really well).  "Preemptive Strike" brings Ro full-circle, as she finally decides Starfleet really isn't for her anymore, but the distinction between how her career ends and where we first saw it is a crucial one. 

It's all a matter of choice.  Originally, it wasn't Ro's choice at all.  She agreed to play ball with Starfleet, working covertly to assist initiatives aimed at relieving the stresses her native people, the Bajorans, still felt after years of occupation by the Cardassians.  Her relationship with Picard eased a troubled career, and mind, making it possible for her to find peace. 

That in a nutshell, by the way, is what Picard was all about, throughout the series.  He gave Worf and Data, for instance, safe places in which to explore their potential, allowed Riker to see what a functioning leadership team looked like, patched things up with Crusher, gave himself redemption, and let Troi see that family history doesn't have to be a burden (probably).  Of course he did the same for Ro.  In fact, Ro's the only character where this kind of relationship was spelled out.  (I mean, he had the same thing with Guinan.  That was the whole point, what "Time's Arrowed" finally explained about them.) 

So when Ro finds a new purpose, the one thing she regrets is having to tell Picard she's moved on.  That's the Maquis for you: not so much troubled or disgruntled Starfleet officers (though Chakotay and B'Elanna Torres certainly represent those aspects in Voyager), but individuals who have moved beyond Starfleet careers and found new purpose, which just so happens to be fighting for the same ideals, against the Cardassians. 

"Preemptive Strike" is actually a pivotal episode of the franchise beyond its Maquis groundwork.  Ever since Gene Roddenberry declared humanity's future as perfect, conflict had become a difficult thing to introduce into the narrative, at least without alien antagonists.  And yet, differing philosophies will always exist, in one form or another.  It's hard to watch Ro in the episode and think she's made a bad decision, just as it would be equally unlikely to suggest that because she's made a good decision, the people she's leaving behind have made a bad one.  Ideals are always worth fighting for.  The season had earlier botched that kind of storytelling in "Force of Nature."  Here the execution is pitch-perfect, in part because we're invested in the messenger and the message doesn't clash horribly with Star Trek's ideals. 

It's a certified classic.  When Ro says goodbye to Picard, through Riker, you can't help but feel you've seen the franchise in one of its finest moments.  The most striking thing about the scene is that Riker is hardly presented with his most flattering look ever.  It doesn't matter.  It's Picard you should be paying attention to, and the character whose absence suddenly envelops the whole series.

criteria analysis:

• franchise - Embodies the contradiction at the heart of Star Trek.
• series - Fleshes out the character of the character dynamics in this series.
• character - Works for Ro, for Picard.
• essential - Explains the Maquis perfectly.

notable guest-stars:
Michelle Forbes (Ro)
Richard Poe (Gul Evek)
Natalija Nogulich (Nechayev)

The Next Generation 7x20 "Journey's End"

rating: ****

the story: Wesley Crusher finally discovers his destiny.

what it's all about: Some fans accuse Star Trek: Insurrection of being an unnecessary duplication of the earlier seventh season episode "Homeward."  Which is ridiculous.  It actually has more in common with "Journey's End," a true forced relocation story.  (But they're still pretty distinct, and you don't have to think of them in relation to each other at all.)

There's a lot of stuff going on here.  One is the more subtle Voyager groundwork episode of the season (the later "Preemptive Strike" actually features the Maquis, rather than "just" problems with Cardassians demanding things of the Federation).  The other is that this is a Star Trek episode about Native Americans that takes them much more seriously than "The Paradise Syndrome" from the original series.  Usually Star Trek metaphors use something other than what they're actually talking about, but because "Journey's End" features another attempt at forced relocation, it works perfectly well, and is allowed to properly resonate with history, as Picard points out (which actually makes Insurrection resonate quite well with this episode, too, thank you).

But you can put all that aside.  This is the last real appearance of Wesley Crusher.  After becoming a scapegoat among fans for the wildly inconsistent quality of the early seasons, this former series regular left and then only made sporadic return appearances.  Blink and you'll miss his only movie appearance (at Riker and Troi's wedding reception in Star Trek Nemesis).  But then, after "Journey's End" it would have been very difficult to pull off anyway without making it the whole focus of the story.  Fans made it clear they didn't like anything but a happy cheery follow-up when Kes finally returned in Voyager's "Fury," for instance.

No, this is a whole culmination for the character, and the payoff for "Where No One Has Gone Before," when we first meet his spirit guide, the Traveler.  Wes's journey was always about discovering his unique destiny.  Everyone tried so hard to just make him a Starfleet officer, a legacy he would've shared with his mother, Dr. Crusher, and his dead father, but he always seemed pointed in a different direction.  (Jake Sisko very quickly made a similar decision in Deep Space Nine).

What makes this episode so interesting is that it suggests a whole alternate version of Next Generation, where Wes was the lead character, and the point was to help him reach this exact point.  His last two appearances before this, "The Game" and "The First Duty" all the way back in the fifth season, very clearly set him up this in how poorly he seemed to be fitting in with Starfleet culture in his later years.  His inability to tell right from wrong in "First Duty" might have made Wes seem uncharacteristically like something other than the golden boy image he'd cultivated for so long, but the truth is, all it did was prove that he was meant for something else, something bigger.

All this sounds absurd to anyone who still hates Wes with a passion.  Good for them.  The rest of us can revel in the nuances of this character as they emerged over time, and how everything finally makes sense in "Journey's End," which is kind of the ultimate Next Generation philosophical rebuke of the original series, where a character in a similar situation would have been bad-guy-of-the-week.  Where Q, especially in the series finale, went out of his way to do much the same, having Wes do it, too, and with far less bother, just the basic human decency embodied by his mentor Picard, was also the ultimate affirmation of everything this season tried to accomplish, which was to make a final statement about the series itself, how tragedies in our past can still lead to a better tomorrow.  Isn't that the Star Trek message in a nutshell?  The decisions we make, if we make the right ones, make the future a better place, in big and small ways. 

If Wes goes off and becomes a superbeing, what else is there to say about that without making it the whole focus of the story?  Again, Kes serves as textbook example for this.  She ended up becoming very confused.  But she didn't have a guide anymore.  That's Wes's big advantage.  For all the time he seemed like he didn't have anyone who could understand him (least of all the audience), he really did always have someone to help him.  Picard hated to love him.  The Traveler never stopped believing in him.  In "Where No One," it's Wes who understood the Traveler because he didn't take his eye off him.  Well, you can bet it became the reverse.

Anyway, for an unpopular character, Wes certainly got the best possible sendoff anyone had in this series.  This is only fitting.

criteria analysis:

• franchise - Rebukes the original series, in a good way.
• series - Finishes out a longstanding arc in the series.
• character - Wes's best episode.
• essential - It ties everything together!

notable guest-stars:
Wil Wheaton (Wes)
Richard Poe (Gul Evek)
Natalija Nogulich (Admiral Nechayev)
Eric Menyuk (the Traveler)

The Next Generation 6x26 "Descent, Part 1"

rating: ****

the story: The Borg return, and Data gains emotions.

similar to: "The Search" (Deep Space Nine), "Darkling" (Voyager)

my thoughts: After the monumental "Best of Both Worlds" that served as the blockbuster introduction (for many, although they debuted in "Q Who?") to the Borg, and the much more contemplative follow-up "I, Borg," how the Collective showed up again was a crucial and probably doomed to be controversial affair, especially when later appearances (Star Trek: First Contact, Voyager) seemed to contradict the conclusions to be found in "Descent."

(For those who want explanation, it could be argued that the Borg who appear here are the remnant of the invasion force from "Best of Both Worlds," where the rest of the Collective remains as it always was in the Delta Quadrant.  Remember that the Borg were already at the fringes of Federation space as early as the end of the first season, probably a scout force that may or may not be related to the cube from "Best of Both Worlds.")

Putting aside Borg developments, the key component of this half of the story (it concludes in the seventh season premiere) is Data's struggles with emotions, how they become addictive and uncontrollable (in ways completely different, and darker, than depicted in Star Trek Generations).  Simply put, this is Data like you've never seen him before, and it makes for riveting drama.

Voyager's Doctor experiences a whole different artificial existence.  He would often manipulate his own programming, with wide-ranging results, some of them as nasty as what Data experiences here (see: "Darkling").  Data usually experienced that sort of thing due to the manipulation of his android brother, Lore, who is of course once again responsible (the plot thickens in the second part on that score).

"Descent" is foreshadowing for the kind of storytelling Deep Space Nine would tell on a regular basis, starting with the full reveal of the Dominion in the two-part "The Search," which opened its third season.  Aside from the Klingon saga (last touched on in "Rightful Heir" a few episodes ago), Next Generation was still a relatively episodic adventure, where big events were mostly self-contained.  Although the following seventh and final season continued this trend, it's easy to imagine that if the series had continued, it might have eventually embraced further serialization, and "Descent" is an example of what that might have looked like.  Lore had been around since the first season.  This is the story where his saga concludes, in impressive grandiose fashion.  But again, more on that next episode.

The first part of "Descent," meanwhile, is fascinating in its own right.  Like "Birthright" before it, the episode is an ambitious attempt to tell two separate, and yet related, stories.  This half is all about Data's initial journey, and it can't help but feel more vital than its follow-up, as we're in the familiar context of his fellow officers the whole time.

For the boldness of its vision, it's another of the unusual classics, but a classic all the same.

criteria analysis: franchise - series - character - essential (all criteria met)

notable guest-stars:
Brent Spiner (Lore)
Stephen Hawking
John Neville
Natalia Nogulich (Nechayev)

The Next Generation 6x10 "Chain of Command, Part 1"

rating: ****

the story: Tensions rise between the Federation and the Cardassian Empire, leading to a covert assignment for Picard and a new captain for the Enterprise.

similar to: "The Search" (Deep Space Nine)

my thoughts: Talk about ending the first half of the season with a bang...It's almost as if the sixth season didn't really matter to the producers until "Chain of Command," which features the kind of slam-bang impactful storytelling that typified the series at its very best, the Cardassian version of the grand Klingon saga that shaped so many of the best moments from Next Generation. 

This first half is best known for the introduction of Captain Jellico, whereas the second half, which I will discuss separately, for the torture of Captain Picard.  These are equally significant developments in the story, and for the series.

Adjusting to a different style of command is as difficult for Riker as was the presence of Shelby in "The Best of Both Worlds, Part 1."  Jellico makes the early, stiff Picard seem like a wimp.  He immediately sets about one of the most-needed revisions of the series: putting Troi in a regulation Starfleet uniform.  Fans tend to overlook, when criticizing the form-fitting outfits of Seven and T'Pol in Voyager and Enterprise, respectively, that Troi's cleavage was easily the most provocative element of the franchise (outside of all the skimpy clothes guest characters tended to wear on alien worlds).  It also didn't serve much of a narrative purpose except to single her out as a different kind of officer.  yet she was, first and foremost, a Starfleet officer, like anyone else, so it was high time she looked the part, too.  It was all part of the maturing of Troi's presence in the series, which seemed like a project for the whole season (see also: "Face of the Enemy").

Jellico sticks out more than Shelby because he rankles not just Riker, but the whole crew.  He proves how warm a presence Picard has become over the years, and what a difference it makes when someone else is in charge.  It's also the old Star Trek trick of finding interpersonal conflict when, technically, this is the bright happy future where we all get along, which dates back to the original series.  Besides Jellico, there's also the debut of the quintessential "bad admiral" Nechayev, who would make a few more appearances in the franchise.

So "Chain of Command, Part 1" is a status marker for the whole series, right when the franchise was about to expand to include another (Deep Space Nine).  And a darn good one.

criteria analysis: franchise - series - character - essential (all criteria met)

notable guest-stars:
David Warner (Gul Madred)
Natalia Nogulich (Admiral Nechayev)
Ronny Cox (Jellico)